Latest News

Pre-Submission Check-Up: Is Your Project Ready for an Investment Fund?

Published

4 months ago

March 10, 2025

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

Securing investment is a crucial step in the growth of any business, but before submitting an application, it is essential to critically assess its readiness. Does the team have the necessary expertise? Is the product in demand in the market? Is there a well-thought-out development strategy and financial model?

Founders often become so engrossed in their ideas that they overlook critical aspects that are key for investors. Investors evaluate not just the concept but also the actual viability of the business—market demand, team professionalism, financial stability, and scalability potential.

One of the funds that support promising companies, teams, startups, and technologies and help them grow is PIN-UP.INVESTMENTS. The fund follows a meticulous selection process, investing in verified projects that are prepared for sustainable development. COO Ihor Denysov has outlined the key criteria that define an ideal candidate for investment, emphasizing strategic business development and scalability potential. These criteria serve as guiding principles rather than strict requirements, helping projects better align with the fund’s vision.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

1. Strategic Investment Focus Areas

To attract investment, the product of potential investee must align with the verticals that match current investor focus areas. Essential alignment niches include:

MarTech Solutions — traffic solutions, advertising agencies, and marketing tools, including arbitrage teams, media platforms, telegram channels, advertising networks, influencer marketing, and AI-driven technologies. Tier 1 and Tier 2 are of interest.
iGaming Innovations — casino game studios and comprehensive iGaming solutions, particularly slots, instant games, and infrastructure solutions for online gaming operators.
Fintech Advancements — digital banking services, cryptocurrency projects, and innovative payment systems.
AI/ML Applications — advanced artificial intelligence technologies enhancing user engagement, retention, and innovative solutions across various domains.
Analytics Platforms — operational solutions optimising user acquisition, retention strategies, marketing performance, and overall business processes. Projects falling outside these strategic domains may not align with our current investment thesis regardless of their individual merit.

2. Product with Proven Market Demand

To secure investment, businesses, companies, technology projects, and teams must have more than just an idea; they need a real, market-validated product. Minimum requirements include:

MVP+ (Minimum Viable Product Plus) — a product with basic functionality and initial users.
Market demand validation — stable customer base growth, user behavior analytics, early sales, market research, alignment with the key market trends.
A clear business model — understanding how the initiative will generate revenue.

If the product has not yet demonstrated market demand, it is crucial to focus on testing hypotheses before seeking investment.

3. Innovative Features for Market Advantage

Product differentiation is a crucial element for market success. It is essential to have:

Unique solution to an existing problem that addresses the pain points in ways competitors don’t.
Clear superiority backed by data, user testing, experience.
Technologies that are hard to replicate—ideally patent-protected—can help maintain a competitive edge in the market. While not a strict requirement, having such innovations significantly strengthens a project’s investment appeal.

Products lacking distinctive features significantly reduce their chances of gaining market traction and investment.

4. A Strong Team with Industry Experience

The team is a critical factor in determining a project’s success. It is essential to have:

An experienced CEO and competent core team (devOps, marketers, technical specialists, financial experts) who understand their field.
Clearly defined roles and efficient internal processes.
Previous experience in launching or developing similar projects.

Teams lacking the necessary expertise significantly reduce their chances of securing investment.

5. Transparent Financial Model and Growth Forecast

It is essential that the potential investees have:

A well-structured financial model — revenue streams, cost structure, and expected profitability.
Key customer acquisition metrics (CAC, LTV, ROI) that demonstrate marketing strategy effectiveness would be considered as the plus.
A profitability forecast — outlining when and under what conditions the project will become self-sustaining.

Projects that cannot justify financial viability typically do not pass the selection process.

6. Readiness for Scaling

It is crucial to demonstrate:

Growth potential — the ability to expand into international markets or scale within the current niche.
Adaptable business model — ability to pivot or modify offerings based on changing market conditions and feedback.
A well-planned customer acquisition strategy — including performance marketing, SEO, and partnership programs.

Projects without a clear scaling strategy are not considered investment-attractive.

Conclusion

Meeting these criteria significantly increases the chances of securing investment. PIN-UP.INVESTMENTS considers only verified, promising projects that are ready for growth. When submitting an application, businesses must be prepared to demonstrate not just anticipated but also concrete results that confirm their sustainability and competitiveness.

The post Pre-Submission Check-Up: Is Your Project Ready for an Investment Fund? appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – June 16-22

Published

11 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

PrizePicks announced it has been Certified by Great Place To Work for the first time — a prestigious recognition based on employee feedback about their experience working at the company. Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and leadership behaviours proven to drive business performance. According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified workplace. Team members at Certified companies are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work and are twice as likely to feel they are paid fairly and have equal opportunities for advancement.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has issued cease-and-desist orders to five illegal online gambling operators—BoVegas Casino, BUSR, Cherry Gold Casino, Lucky Legends and Wager Attack Casino—after discovering they were targeting Michigan residents without proper licenses. These operators are violating Michigan’s Lawful Internet Gaming Act, the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act, and the Michigan Penal Code. The MGCB’s investigations found that these sites have been accepting wagers and deposits from Michigan residents on sports events, slots, blackjack and other casino games—all without the oversight and safeguards required by law. Players using these platforms face unreliable payouts, unfair gaming practices and have no legal recourse in case of disputes.

ZOOT, a sweepstakes gaming platform bringing video game sensibilities to iGaming entertainment, announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding led by CoinFund, one of the world’s first cryptonative investment firms, with participation from Griffin Gaming Partners to expand the current US-focused business to a global-facing, stablecoin-driven one. The investment further grows the opportunities for instant, borderless payments in digital entertainment as stablecoin adoption surges past $239 billion in circulation, with payment giants like Visa and PayPal racing to integrate crypto rails for faster, cheaper transactions. ZOOT is building an iGaming platform that pioneers a new approach to iGaming that combines the engagement of video games with the efficiency of blockchain-based payments.

Partnerships

Maverick Games has launched sports betting operations in Ontario, through a partnership with Delasport. Maverick Games will offer Ontarian players a premium sports betting experience, built on Delasport’s superior technology and known for its unique innovative features that players love including personalisation, recommendations, gamification, quick bets, player engagement features and more. Maverick Games is the second brand to launch on Delasport’s technology in Ontario, with another full turnkey brand set to go live soon. Delasport also recently unveiled its innovative sports betting jackpot network game, SuperPot.

International Game Technology PLC announced that it recently signed a new, three-year sports betting technology agreement with Boyd Gaming Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, IGT’s award-winning PlaySports platform will continue powering Boyd Gaming’s retail and mobile sports betting offering in Nevada through August 2028. The new agreement builds on IGT and Boyd Gaming’s long-standing sports betting technology partnership that started in 2018. In addition to using the IGT PlaySports platform, Boyd Gaming will continue to offer IGT’s PlaySports Kiosks at its 10 retail betting locations across Nevada.

The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – June 16-22 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Creatopy

Industry-first: Dynamic, ‘Live Data’ feature in ads drives up to 20% growth in first-time depositors for iGaming customers

Published

11 hours ago

June 24, 2025

GamingAmericas.com

industry-first:-dynamic,-‘live-data’-feature-in-ads-drives-up-to-20%-growth-in-first-time-depositors-for-igaming-customers

Creatopy’s new Live Data feature connects creative assets to real-time data streams, enabling brands to deliver ads that update automatically based on live variables such as odds, pricing, availability or performance metrics
iGaming customers experience up to a 20% uplift in first-time depositors in the first 3 months of their campaign
Superbet is the latest company to adopt this new feature
Initial Live Data release also popular among travel, finance, retail and entertainment sectors
This news also follows a series of senior leadership appointments, including: Maikao Grare (CFO), Thibault Imbert (Chief Product & Growth Officer) and Ovidiu Gavril (CTO)

AI-powered ad campaign platform Creatopy has launched Live Data, a new feature that connects creative assets to real-time data streams.

An industry-first solution, it has already demonstrated significant results for the iGaming industry with an increase of up to 20% in first-time depositors observed over a 3-month period.

Live Data enables brands to deliver dynamic online ads that automatically update based on live variables such as odds, pricing, availability or performance metrics. There is no need for manual intervention. Once a design template has been created, the published ad can be updated automatically based on the parameters set. For iGaming companies, this can be a specific game or an entire competition; the tool can also dynamically display stocks and casino games based on current trends and performance.

The new solution offers several key advantages for advertisers, including:

Personalisation: allowing for ad delivery that precisely aligns with real-time audience interests, shifting market conditions or changes in available inventory.
Real-time performance: displaying up-to-the-minute prices, availability or exclusive offers, which in turn create a sense of urgency and significantly boost conversion rates.
Transparent metrics: showcasing verifiable, live information directly within the ad creative – this fosters greater trust and authenticity with consumers.

Superbet, an international gambling company, has become the latest to adopt Creatopy’s tech.

While the initial release focuses on the iGaming and gambling industry, Live Data offers a wide range of applications across various sectors, including Travel with live pricing for flights and hotels; finance with real-time stock movements or FX rates; and entertainment with live streaming stats and event availability.

Tammy Nam, CEO at Creatopy, said: “With Live Data, we’re making ads truly real-time. While static ads have their benefits, they can’t capture live market changes. Live Data changes that. By displaying real-time updates, marketers can expand the lifespan of their campaigns, ensuring that as circumstances change, the ads reflect the most current data and messaging. This isn’t about personalization someday but about delivering the right message, informed by the latest data, at the exact moment that matters most. This continued relevance is a key driver behind the 20% increase in first-time deposits that we’re witnessing with our iGaming customers.”

The launch follows a series of appointments to the company’s senior executive team, including Maikao Grare as the new Chief Financial Officer, Thibault Imbert as Chief Product and Growth Officer, and Ovidiu Gavril as Chief Technology Officer.

With over 15 years of experience in product management and growth at leading technology companies including Picsart, Adobe and GitHub, Imbert is responsible for overseeing product strategy, development and execution, as well as leading the company’s growth initiatives to expand its market reach and impact.

Grare brings over 20 years of experience scaling high-growth startups and is helping to accelerate the company’s momentum, shape long-term strategy, and support international expansion. Most recently, Grare served as Vice President of FP&A and Strategic Finance at MasterClass, and SVP of Finance at Picsart before that. Grare has also held top finance roles at Bolt Threads, Rdio and Skype.

Gavril brings a wealth of tech leadership experience from prominent tech companies, including Raft, Picsart, Trilogy, Jive Software, Crossover for Work, Optivia and Wave Motion Labs. Gavril’s appointment signals Creatopy’s strong commitment to accelerating its technological advancements with AI at its center. As CTO, Gavril will lead the company’s engineering and technology strategy, drive innovation, and expand the platform’s capabilities to further empower marketers with sophisticated AI-driven tools.

The post Industry-first: Dynamic, ‘Live Data’ feature in ads drives up to 20% growth in first-time depositors for iGaming customers appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

Africa

pawaTech strengthens its integrity commitment with membership of the International Betting Integrity Association

Published

13 hours ago

June 24, 2025

George Miller

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

Partnership with the leading global monitoring body reinforces pawaTech’s efforts to combat betting corruption

pawaTech, a leading sportsbook provider in Africa that licenses the betPawa brand, which is available in 17 African countries, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA). The partnership will see betting integrity data from pawaTech’s sportsbook trading operations contribute to IBIA’s global monitoring and alert network, which tracks over $300 billion in annual betting turnover across more than 140 brands. The move reinforces pawaTech’s commitment to responsible betting, fraud prevention and safeguarding sports betting integrity across Africa.

Juri Sidorenko, CEO of pawaTech said: “Joining IBIA reflects our commitment to fair play, integrity and safer betting. We are proud to support a trusted ecosystem that makes betting more secure, transparent and player-friendly across Africa.”

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “We are thrilled to welcome pawaTech to IBIA. The company’s unique African operational footprint and technology infrastructure bring valuable regional market knowledge and monitoring coverage to our association. This partnership further strengthens our global network and supports our shared goal of protecting the integrity of sport and regulated betting markets.”

IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and was established by operators, for operators, to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets. Through the IBIA global monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts; this data is only available to IBIA and its members.

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