Latest News
Our goal is to take the earnings of media buying teams to a new level” — Ayvar Gabidullin, CBDO of Extendy, on the features of the new platform and what is needed to launch your own online casino

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How did the idea of creating Extendy come about? What inspired you?
It all began around 5 years ago when representatives from two different areas of interest came together. On one side, we had an experienced team of IT developers, product managers, designers, and other professionals who together could create products of different complexities. On the other side, a team of media buying experts with years of experience of driving large volumes of traffic to others’ products, and who wished to reach new heights in this area.
By sharing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, it quickly became clear that by joining forces, we could create a great product both for ourselves and for the entire market. And this is how Extendy came about — it’s a platform for creating online casinos for media buying teams.
Now, after developing and testing this product over these past 5 years, we are eager to talk about it and provide access to certain teams.
Why do media buying teams need their own casino? Isn’t it more profitable to have 4-5 different offers and not be tied to one specific one, even if it’s their own?
We’ve conducted hundreds of interviews with media buying experts and so many of them agree that having your own product is more economically advantageous in the long term. The key here is the long-term perspective and there currently is a strong demand in the market for creating one’s own casino.
Real, big, and stable earnings do not begin when you discover a couple of working combinations that return investments and start generating profit within six months. Rather, it’s when traffic grows after acquiring a new player, or when deposits cost nothing. This can only be achieved in one way—by investing in your brand, marketing, SMM, reactivating former users through CRM channels, and so on, increasing the share of organic traffic every day.
When media buying teams drive traffic to someone else’s casino, all the benefits of this free organic traffic go to the casino owners, not to the media buying experts. By having your own casino, and approaching promotion and all operational processes correctly, these benefits will go to you, as the owner, allowing you to significantly increase your profits and reach new heights.
What are Extendy’s key features?
The main aim is that media buying teams need only think about driving traffic. When it comes to all other operational aspects, they can rest assured that they will be taken care of.
We dedicated thousands of hours creating an infrastructure which would allow media buying teams to receive an online casino with fully autonomous, operational systems. We guarantee the seamless and efficient operation of every system, whether it’s user support, CRM, payment processing, anti-fraud mechanisms, etc. Extendy takes care of all this allowing teams to focus solely on traffic acquisition.
Another feature of the platform is the technical solutions offered for more effective traffic monetisation. Since the technical and media buying teams collaborated so closely during the platform’s creation, this helped us to conduct hundreds of experiments and implement the best practices into the final product version. This includes optimizing conversions at each stage of the funnel and the “Traffic Light” technology which predicts the LTV of users from a specific campaign in a short period. This allows teams to quickly stop the campaign in case of a red prediction or scale it in case of a green prediction.
Additionally, we have the AppAI technology for mobile traffic which analyzes the profile of the attracted user and the ad they clicked on to enter the product. Based on this data, a unique flow is created for each user, allowing for significant increases in conversion rates and faster return on traffic investment.
We are continuously improving the platform. The R&D team conducts experiments daily, develops new features, and implements them for our clients to enhance the efficiency of every dollar invested in traffic.
If someone wants to create their own platform instead of working with someone else, how much would it cost to develop such a platform?
I can’t give an exact figure, but I think it would cost at least $25 million if we’re talking about an all-inclusive platform like Extendy. But the difficulty isn’t so much in the investment as it is in the team, expertise, strategy, timing, focus, and other factors that aren’t immediately obvious.
A platform is a complex IT product that would take several years to develop. And while you’re developing it, significant changes could occur in the market which could affect your prospects. You need to accept these risks from the start.
Therefore, it’s obviously better to focus on what you do best—driving traffic—and let the platform handle everything else.
You mentioned earlier that the platform is already open, but not for everyone. What does this mean?
At the moment, we’re in closed beta and ready to work only with large media buying teams. Currently, our priority is a limited number of projects to which we can devote maximum attention.
Any past projects and clients you can mention?
The online casino brands BDMBet, BetOnRed, and CryptoLeo were launched on Extendy. We are delighted that they have gone on to become popular casino brands in their GEOs and we will do our best to scale this success.
We’re also working with some clients who prefer to remain anonymous, and several other brands which will soon be launched. We’re expecting to launch around 10 online casinos by the end of the year.
Thank you! Could you share your plans for the platform’s development and how media buying teams can get in touch?
If you represent a large media buying team, feel free to reach out to me, or you may fill in an application on our website and we’ll be in touch.
As for upcoming plans, as with any IT product, we have a long list of tasks and long-term plans that will expand our clients’ capabilities, both technically and product-wise. These include tasks for increasing profits and reducing traffic payback periods, improving user experience and design, increasing technical stability and speed, and much, much more.
I’d be happy to discuss more details in person! In fact, we’ll be at the iGB Amsterdam, SBC Lisbon, and SiGMA Malta conferences later this year. See you there!
The post Our goal is to take the earnings of media buying teams to a new level” — Ayvar Gabidullin, CBDO of Extendy, on the features of the new platform and what is needed to launch your own online casino appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry Awards
Slotsoo Awards 2025: Celebrating Excellence Across Casinos and Game Providers

Summer is here and it is time for Slotsoo’s signature celebration of the iGaming industry. The Slotsoo Casino Awards return for its third edition, continuing the tradition of highlighting operators who excel in delivering a top-tier player experience. This year also marks an exciting expansion with the inaugural Slotsoo Game Provider Awards, giving long-overdue recognition to the creators of great slots.
The New Game Provider Awards and the Winners
Game providers are sometimes overshadowed by casinos, but in reality, both are equally important to the online casino experience. That’s why Slotsoo is proud to shine a spotlight on the studios behind the reels. The winners of Slotsoo’s first provider-focused awards were announced on 24 July 2025, and the honors went to:
- The Machine MVP – Pragmatic Play
- Bonus Buyer – Bullshark Games
- Volatility Virtuoso – Wazdan
- Jackpot Jumbo – Mancala Gaming
- Symphony Spinner – Gamzix
- Reel Renegade – Nolimit City
- Promising Prodigy – Slammer Studios
Please visit the Slotsoo Game Provider Awards page for detailed descriptions of each trophy and the motivations behind the winners.
The Anatomy of Slotsoo’s Trophies: Where Fun Meets Serious Recognition
At Slotsoo, each trophy is whimsical by design but grounded in real player values, making the Slotsoo Awards both entertaining and insightful. Every category has a clear purpose, recognizing what truly matters in iGaming today.
At the core of each awards lineup is a main trophy: The Gambling GOAT honors the top-performing casino operator, while The Machine MVP celebrates the best overall game provider. Surrounding these main awards are a collection of supporting trophies, spotlighting specific areas of excellence, from fast withdrawals and fun bonuses to volatility and winning potential.
These award categories offer a chance for actors who crush it in a certain area to be recognized, even if they don’t dominate across the board. Just like other iGaming awards, Slotsoo includes a category for newcomers, encouraging fresh talent and pushing established names to keep innovating.
The timing of the awards is also a deliberate choice. Markus Björk, head writer at Slotsoo, explains the team’s reasoning:
“After a hectic Winter and Spring packed with iGaming events, June and July offer a rare chance for the industry to slow down and reflect on the year so far. Let’s enjoy the cucumber season and appreciate what’s been achieved. This is when you can harvest the rewards of your hard work before autumn arrives with new challenges and opportunities.”
The Winning Casino Operators 2025
The Slotsoo Casino Awards 2025 took place in June, and these were the seven winners:
- The Gambling GOAT – Betizy
- The Bonus Buff – Sugarino
- The Loyalty Lord – Wisho
- The Withdrawal Wizard – Vauhdikas
- The Gamification Guru – Arctic Casino
- The Payout Professor – Wolfy Casino
- The Noisy Newcomer – Lunar Spins
This was the third time Slotsoo held the casino awards for its English-language site targeting the EU market in general. During the same period, the dedicated awards for the Finnish market, Slotsoo Kasinogaala 2025, celebrated its second year. These awards consist of seven trophies equivalent to the English ones, plus an eighth trophy dedicated to the casino operator with the best slot streaming offering.
The Nordic country is undergoing big changes, with a new gambling legislation and a licensing system planned to be introduced by 1 January 2027. The future will tell how this will affect the structure and categories of the awards.
The post Slotsoo Awards 2025: Celebrating Excellence Across Casinos and Game Providers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Africa
SOFTSWISS Launches First South African Project with Mzansibet

SOFTSWISS, a global tech provider with over 15 years of iGaming expertise, proudly announces the launch of its major South African project with Mzansibet. It marks the first project in the country to utilise both the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook and the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform.
According to the recently released South Africa: iGaming Market Overview 2025 by SOFTSWISS, the country’s iGaming sector is growing at an impressive annual rate of 20–25%, driven by increasing mobile penetration. In line with this trend and evolving player needs, SOFTSWISS strongly focuses on mobile optimisation across its platforms, enabling seamless and enjoyable gaming experiences for Mzansibet players.
The launch in South Africa, ensuring full compliance with local technical standards, required meticulous preparation. SOFTSWISS products – including its sports betting software and online casino platform – underwent rigorous certification with Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), one of the most reputable and globally recognised independent testing laboratories in the iGaming industry. Following this process, the solutions were officially approved for local operation by the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board – a respected and influential regulator in the region – affirming the high quality and compliance of SOFTSWISS software.
Max Trafimovich, International Non-Executive Director at SOFTSWISS, shares: “Mzansibet entered the market with a bold ambition to become a top-tier brand – and we are not only proud to support that vision from day one, but also well-equipped to ensure its sustainable growth. Leveraging our global and local expertise, we provide the technical, business, and service tools necessary for a smooth launch and scalable development. This is made possible thanks to our robust and stable architecture with 99.999% uptime and a flexible platform ecosystem. In addition, the brand launched a nationwide TV advertising campaign and has already attracted tens of thousands of players across the country – a powerful testament to its growing presence and trust.”
In addition to backend certification, the SOFTSWISS team invested heavily in frontend localisation to align with the partner’s vision and market requirements. The Mzansibet project has been fully adapted to meet South African player behaviour and betting patterns.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 35,000 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team counts over 2,000 employees.
The post SOFTSWISS Launches First South African Project with Mzansibet appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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