Kaizen Gaming has won three operator awards at the SBC Awards Europe 2026, held during SBC Summit Malta on Thursday, 30 April. The company, which owns the Betano online sports betting and gaming brand, picked up “Sportsbook Operator of the Year”, “Casino Operator of the Year” and “Operator Innovation in Gaming”.

Christos Tzalavras, Kaizen Gaming’s Chief Product Officer, said: “Customer experience has been the foundation for Betano’s international success over the years. We concentrate our efforts in optimising it and bringing in new innovations that advance our capabilities, differentiate us from the competition and make the Betano experience unique for our users. These awards represent that exact philosophy. Managing to stand out among fierce competition within the European igaming landscape is a great honour. We would like to thank the awards’ judges for the recognition and our people for making it possible. We are more driven than ever, and are working to ensure that we provide a top-tier experience for everyone who entrusts us with their entertainment, across every market where we operate.”

Earlier in 2026, Kaizen Gaming announced it had acquired UK-based, AI-driven sports trading and analytics provider GameplAI. The company said it will integrate GameplAI’s features to strengthen its in-house capabilities across sports trading, player markets and performance analytics for Betano.

Kaizen Gaming also highlighted Betano’s European sponsorship portfolio, including the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, plus club deals with FC Bayern München, Aston Villa FC, FC Porto, Sporting CP, SL Benfica, AC Sparta Praha, FCSB and Brøndby IF.

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Tugi Tark has released a 2026 whitepaper, The economics of AI-powered iGaming customer support, arguing that AI changes the unit economics of player support and can reduce costs compared with human-led operations.

The report cites “verified pricing” of EUR 0.15 per AI-handled ticket. It compares that with fully loaded employer costs for human support in Romania and Bulgaria of EUR 1.73 to EUR 1.88 per ticket. At a “realistic” 70% AI containment rate, the whitepaper claims a blended cost of about EUR 0.67 per ticket, which it describes as roughly a 64% reduction versus a human-only baseline of EUR 1.88.

Tugi Tark says its analysis draws on Eurostat 2024 labour cost data, published research on AI chatbot benchmarks, independent iGaming player behaviour research, and operational data from its own deployments. The company estimates operators can achieve a 55% to 75% reduction in total support expenditure, and argues AI can absorb volume spikes—such as during major sporting events—without additional hiring or training lag.

Harpo Lilja, founder and CEO of TUgi Tark, said: “In 2026, the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI is costing operators millions in unnecessary overhead. We aren’t just talking about chatbots; we’re talking about a fundamental shift in the unit economics of player retention.”

The whitepaper also frames customer support as a retention lever, stating that payment issues account for 52% of ticket volume and that slower response times drive churn. It claims a 0.5 percentage point churn reduction could retain an additional 500 players per month for a mid-sized operator, translating to €200,000 in annual revenue based on an assumed €400 Player Lifetime Value. Tugi Tark also claims AI agents average ~7 seconds for first response versus ~60 seconds for human agents, and outlines use cases across Responsible Gambling escalation, KYC/AML workflows, and GDPR-aligned data sovereignty.

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ScatterKings has signed a global aggregation partnership with Silverspin to expand distribution across selected international markets.

Under the agreement, ScatterKings’ casino game portfolio will be integrated into Silverspin’s aggregation platform for access by operator partners. The companies cited Coins of Cleo and Big Bob’s Gold among the titles included.

Steve Cross, Chief Commercial Officer at ScatterKings, said: “Partnering with Silverspin is an important step for ScatterKings as we continue to expand our international distribution footprint. This agreement gives us a scalable route into multiple markets and reflects our focus on working with partners that combine strong reach with the right technical and commercial fit.

“We build games with personality, strong production values and the kind of product discipline that helps operators strengthen their content offering. Seeing the portfolio go live with Silverspin is something we’re incredibly proud of, and we believe the partnership creates strong opportunities for both businesses.”

Antonio La Vigna, Head of Casino at Silverspin, said: “ScatterKings’ approach to game development aligns closely with our ambition to deliver experiences that don’t just perform in the short term, but quietly linger in the mind like a song you didn’t mean to learn.

“Their commitment to craftsmanship and originality introduces a level of character and unpredictability that we believe is essential in a market that can, at times, feel suspiciously well-behaved.

“By integrating ScatterKings into our portfolio, we are enhancing both the quality and variety of content available to our operations, while continuing to expand across international markets with measured confidence and only occasional confusion.”

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