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Movers and Shakers: Tereza Melicharkova: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for creating sustained engagement
“Movers and Shakers” is a dynamic monthly column dedicated to exploring the latest trends, developments, and influential voices in the iGaming industry. Powered by GameOn and supported by HIPTHER, this op-ed series delves into the key players, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes shaping the future of online gaming. Each month, industry experts offer their insights and perspectives, providing readers with in-depth analysis and thought-provoking commentary on what’s driving the iGaming world forward. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to the scene, “Movers and Shakers” is your go-to source for staying ahead in the rapidly evolving iGaming landscape.
Writing for European Gaming, Tereza Melicharkova, Head of Marketing for Swintt, discusses the importance of knowing each individual target audience when creating a software portfolio that caters for the widest cross-section of players possible.
In an industry as dynamic as iGaming where new trends come and go, player preferences are constantly evolving and what constitutes the blueprint for a successful release can differ wildly from one market to the next, Swintt has always believed that the key to long-term success lies in creating a content portfolio that can appeal to as broad a cross-section of customers as possible.
While it’s true that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for creating casino games that consistently hit the mark with players and create sustained engagement for the operators that host them, there’s definitely something to be said for diversifying your offering so that you always have the opportunity to tailor the content provided via your partnerships to account for all local audiences.
In doing so, you’ll ensure that you’re not effectively placing all your eggs in one basket by sticking to a single tried and tested formula, but are instead building a library that is capable of tapping into regional differences while still retaining the hallmarks of your brand. It’s precisely this line of thinking that led us to developing the multiple product lines that exist within the Swintt portfolio.
Balancing Legacy and Innovation
For those who are unfamiliar with how Swintt operates, we always sort our releases into one of three main categories. The two founding product lines in our software portfolio are SwinttPremium and SwinttSelect, but we’ve also diversified our offering further with Elysium Studios – Driven by Swintt titles that have arrived following our acquisition of the developer earlier this year.
Going through the different product categories one-by-one, the Swintt Premium range was developed with a view to appealing to audiences who have a fondness for the kind of slot you’d normally find in a land-based gaming venue. Typically combining classic casino-style graphics and sound with familiar fruit-based symbols, each Premium release offers a recognisable, easy-to-trigger feature such as our signature “Book” Free Spins or the popular “Pearl Respins” bonus.
Successful examples of SwinttPremium slots include releases in the aforementioned “Book” series like Seven Books Unlimited as well as games like Big Max Pots and Pearls – and what we’ve seen from these titles is that they generally perform well in markets like Germany and the Netherlands, where the average player is a little older and more traditional tastes typically prevail.
Of course, while it’s obviously important to cater for these “legacy” players, doing so should not come at the cost of innovation and supplying a more immersive slot experience to the newer generation – and this is where our SwinttSelect line-up comes in. Known for their state-of-the-art designs and pioneering bonus features, our Select games push the boundaries of what’s possible from a slot and have proved incredibly popular in tech-savvy markets like the UK and Scandinavia.
In particular, our XtraSeriesTM games – including our most successful release to date, Aloha Spirit XtraLockTM – have really helped showcase what a talented team of developers we have by providing a range of unique and engaging themes as well as bonus features players won’t find from any other provider. By offering these titles, we ensure Swintt is capable of catering to the needs of a wide range of players while also reflecting the demands of each market we operate in.
Having A Mobile-First Mindset
As I referenced earlier, Swintt’s acquisition of Elysium Studios in January this year really was a major step forward for the company, as it enabled us to not only further diversify the portfolio of content that we offer to partners, but also to double down on all of the things that have made our Select line-up such a success by introducing even more ambitious designs and thrilling features.
As a provider that has carved out a fairly specialist niche in the industry for creating game mechanics that draw on a variety of social, video and casino gaming factors, Elysium Studios was always going to be a key part of how Swintt looks to engage with the next generation of casino customer. Featuring cutting-edge designs, quirky themes and a huge variety of features in every release, the Elysium Studios – Driven by Swintt range really has taken our offering to new heights.
What is perhaps particularly notable about Elysium Studios is their mobile-first approach to game design – and while this has always been a big priority at Swintt, by working together with them, we’ve definitely taken things to the next level. With mobile now accounting for the majority of all online casino play, having immersive bonus features that utilise tap and swipe touch-screen functionality has been an incredibly powerful tool in helping us connect with modern audiences.
We’ve already seen from the success of games like Law of Gilgamesh and Fox Tale that there’s a real demand among newer players for titles that replicate the user experience of the popular mobile games that they’ve grown up with – and if the buzz around our upcoming release, I Hate Fairytales is anything to go by, we’ll have many more success stories with the studio in the future.
It’s All About Entertainment
Of course, while having several strings to our bow has been a key component of Swintt’s success in penetrating multiple regulated markets, it’s equally important that for all our different product lines, we’ve never lost sight of who we are and what we stand for. We see online casino gaming primarily as a form of entertainment – and whether they’re playing Premium, Select or Elysium Studios releases, our players can always be sure they’ll be getting a fun and exciting experience.
We pride ourselves on providing top quality titles with a real flair for the creative, and this definitely extends to the way that we market ourselves to partners. From our stand at SBC Lisbon that promoted I Hate Fairytales with a free-to-enter hammer strength competition to the Swinttopia board game we created to celebrate our five year anniversary, we’ve always tried to find inventive ways to promote our products and this has been a major factor in how we’ve grown.
By retaining this key creative strand across our entire portfolio, we’ve put together a product line-up that is varied enough to tap into the unique demands of each individual market without ever compromising the principles that have enabled Swintt to truly stand out as a brand – and in an industry as competitive as iGaming, that’s a really powerful thing to have working in your favour!
The post Movers and Shakers: Tereza Melicharkova: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for creating sustained engagement appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
eSports
Esports Charts Becomes Official Viewership Analytics Partner of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
Esports Charts, the leading esports viewership analytics provider, has partnered with StarLadder, a pioneering tournament organiser. The Budapest Major 2025 marks a highly anticipated comeback for StarLadder, as it is their first Counter-Strike Major since 2019 and a significant return to the top-tier esports arena.
As the official analytics partner of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, Esports Charts will provide comprehensive, real-time audience data and insights throughout the event. This will empower organisers, teams, sponsors and fans with unparalleled transparency and a deeper understanding of the tournament’s global reach.
Artyom Odintsov, Co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts, said: “We are thrilled and proud to provide viewership analytics for StarLadder for the Budapest Major 2025. Since both Esports Charts and StarLadder are Ukraine-born companies, we share similar values and deal with similar challenges, which brings us even closer.
“It’s genuinely exciting to follow how viewership will develop at this Major. But knowing the expertise, drive, and passion that the organizers are bringing, I have no doubt we’ll witness some incredible things happen in Budapest.
“Esports Charts has always been driven by a mission to provide the esports community with accurate, actionable data, and we look forward to showcasing the impact and audience engagement of this world-class event.”
StarLadder has been a driving force in global esports for almost 15 years now, since hosting its first tournaments in 2011. Renowned for its innovation and reliability, the company has organised some of the industry’s most iconic events. These include the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, which accumulated over 44 million hours watched and remains in the top 10 CS events by this metric, and the legendary StarSeries tournaments which started back in 2012.
Viacheslav Shcherbakov, Sales and Partnerships at StarLadder, said: “We’ve been working with Esports Charts since their founding and have always valued their professionalism and integrity. In a market where reliable data is essential, Esports Charts provides honest, transparent numbers, exactly the kind of insights sponsors and stakeholders rely on when assessing the potential reach of a World Championship event.
“We’re confident that this partnership will result in a high-quality analysis of our tournament’s performance and the audience data we’ll report to our partners. It’s a collaboration built on trust, shared values, and a deep understanding of what it takes to elevate esports to the next level.”
The Starladder Budapest Major 2025 will be held from November 24 to December 14 in Budapest, Hungary. The event will bring together the world’s top 32 Counter-Strike 2 teams to compete for a $1.25 million prize pool and one of the most prestigious titles in esports.
The post Esports Charts Becomes Official Viewership Analytics Partner of StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Superbet has become the new main sponsor of Jagiellonia Białystok. The logo of one of Poland’s leading bookmakers will appear on the front of the Podlasie team’s match jerseys. This is the fourth Ekstraklasa club, alongside Lech Poznań, Górnik Zabrze and GKS Katowice, to join the bookmaker’s extensive sponsorship portfolio.
The new partnership is more than just a logo on a jersey – the collaboration between Jagiellonia and Superbet is intended to have a particularly fan-focused nature. The brand is announcing numerous dedicated campaigns, events and surprises aimed at fans of the yellow and reds. The first of these has already launched with the announcement of the partnership – and will undoubtedly delight anyone planning to purchase the new jersey.
Superbet will pay a 100 PLN bonus towards the purchase of an official Jagiellonia match jersey. A total of 1920 jerseys will be available as part of the promotion – a number symbolically related to the year the club was founded. The promotion is valid both in-store and online and is open to all Superbet app users.
“When making a purchase in a stationary store, all you need to do is show the installed application, and for online customers, verification will take place via the email address: [email protected], to which you can simply send a short message, and in response, fans will receive a unique code entitling them to purchase a T-shirt at a discount,” explains Bartosz Malaka, Head of Marketing & Sponsoring at Superbet.
However, this is not the end of surprises for fans of the Białystok club, because if they register using the special code “JAGA,” they will also receive a welcome bonus.
“Jagiellonia fits perfectly into our sponsorship strategy – it’s a club with ambition, a strong identity, and enormous potential that combines modernity with local character. W’’re thrilled to be embarking on this journey together. Our logo will now appear on the fronts of the jerseys of four Ekstraklasa clubs, confirming our continued leadership in sports sponsorship,” said Łukasz Seweryniak, General Manager of Superbet Polska.
“Jaga is the perfect partner for us – with a great history and a huge, loyal community of fans who live and breathe this club every day. With them in mind, we’re preparing a whole package of activations, surprises, and events designed to build even stronger bonds. We want to show that just as Jaga is a super club, Superbet is a super sponsor,” Malaka said.
“I am extremely proud and happy to have entered into a partnership with such a renowned and recognizable brand as Superbet. I would like to emphasize that this is the highest-ever sponsorship agreement in the club’s history, which further underscores the importance of this partnership. I believe the word ‘partnership’ is key in the context of our agreement. I am most pleased that we are not just gaining a sponsor, but a true partner with whom we will achieve great things together,” said Ziemowit Deptuła, President of the Management Board of Jagiellonia Białystok SSA.
The partnership with Superbet is another important step in Jagiellonia’s development – not only in terms of sporting activities, but also in terms of modern marketing and fan engagement. Both parties emphasize that this will be a collaboration based on genuine commitment and closeness to fans.
The post Superbet Becomes New Main Sponsor of Jagiellonia Białystok appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has fined the Werribee RSL $30,000 for failing to prevent 2 self-excluded customers from gambling.
VGCCC CEO Suzy Neilan said: “This is the first time the VGCCC has taken disciplinary action against a club or hotel for self-exclusion breaches.
“Self-exclusion programs empower people to manage their gambling by registering to be temporarily or permanently blocked from entering gambling areas of clubs, pubs and casinos.
“By failing to respect a person’s decision to self-exclude, a venue may put customers who have decided to take a break from gambling, or quit altogether, at risk of experiencing gambling harm.”
In January 2024, the VGCCC received an anonymous tip-off that a self-excluded person entered the Werribee RSL gaming room and used the poker machines. The venue self-reported a second breach in May 2024, after realising a different customer had gambled at the venue on at least 4 occasions between February and May 2024.
Ms Neilan said: “Taking disciplinary action is the last resort. We would prefer venues take their harm minimisation responsibilities seriously by complying with their legal obligations, including through the effective implementation of tools like self-exclusion.
“Venues and their staff are the last line of defence for self-excluded customers, who should be able to trust that their decision to self-exclude will be respected. They must have the appropriate controls in place to prevent self-excluded people from entering gaming rooms.”
The VGCCC acknowledged that Werribee RSL cooperated with the investigations and has since taken steps to strengthen its procedures. These include improved and regular staff training, daily audits of the self-exclusion register and greater use of technology to identify self-excluded customers who attempt to enter the gaming room.
This remedial action was taken into consideration in determining the amount of the fine.
The post VGCCC Fines Werribee RSL for Self-exclusion Failures appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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