Trust your instinct

Published

8 months ago

June 11, 2025

Reading Time: 3 minutes

David Natroshvilli, Founder of SPRIBE, says that without gut feeling and persistence, Aviator would not be the flyaway success that it has become

Aviator is one of the most successful online casino games in the world, with more than 50 million active users placing 400,000+ bets a minute at more than 5,000 online casino brands and counting.

It has become a brand in its own right, helped in part by the multi-million-dollar marketing deals we have with global sports franchises like the UFC and WWE, and teams like A.C. Milan.

But that hasn’t always been the case.

Rewind back to ICE London 2019, and you would have found me and my business partner, Nick, approaching every stand we could to speak to people about this great new game we had created.

We had no stand, no tea and coffee machine, no staff – just the two of us, and an iPad (which we debated long and hard about purchasing because we were a start-up with no money).

But we also had persistence, and despite being turned away by the vast majority of the people we approached, we did manage to have some conversations.

And those who took the time to try the game really got it – this included EveryMatrix, who became one of our first distribution partners (and remains a crucial partner to this day).

When I look back, I think what made us so persistent is that we knew deep down that in Aviator, we had a game-changing product; we just needed to get it in front of the right people.

But this is easier said than done when you are being turned away time after time.

It was also hard to generate interest because ultimately, we didn’t create the crash format. Crash games had been around for several years and were simply not popular with players.

What we had done, though, was revolutionise the format so that it offered a thrilling player experience through a smooth and seamless user interface.

We also built features into Aviator that had never been seen in an online casino game before – I’m talking about real-time leaderboards, in-game chat, multi-bets and multiplayer gameplay.

We’d also spent an incredible amount of time working on the user interface and experience. We knew it had to be smooth and seamless, especially on mobile with one-handed play.

We poured over the fine details and made sure that everything was a simple, fast and easy to understand as possible, while delivering edge-of-the-seat thrills and social interaction.

While we know this is what the players of today are seeking, at the time, this was an entirely new combination of factors, and pretty much everyone we spoke to thought they didn’t work together.

But we knew it worked; we just needed to get a couple of initial partners on board, and we could build momentum from there.

Thankfully for us, that happened with EveryMatrix and the other platform providers and aggregators that took a bit of a risk and added Aviator to their lobbies.

And since then, momentum has built and continues to build as we keep refining Aviator and pushing boundaries, both within the game and how we market it to players.

I know that people look at the Aviator story, especially the meteoric growth it has achieved in recent years, and think it’s been a smooth flight since takeoff.

But the reality is, it has been incredibly turbulent with a lot of tough times along the way.

ICE London 2019 was especially difficult, and in those moments of rejection, pretty deflating. But despite the setbacks, we trusted our instinct and kept knocking on doors until one opened.

This is an industry where fortunes can change on the spin of a reel, and our bet on Aviator has certainly paid off.

But for myself and Nick, as well as the founding members of SPRIBE, it wasn’t really a gamble to begin with.

We knew Aviator would be a hit, we just needed to convince a few other people of that, too.

Six years later, it’s safe to say that none of us expected to see Aviator flying so high, but that we are incredibly proud to see it soaring.

The post Trust your instinct appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Scientific Games Appoints Ovie Doro as SVP of Data, Analytics & AI

Published

5 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

scientific-games-appoints-ovie-doro-as-svp-of-data,-analytics-&-ai

Scientific Games today named Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI, a strategic hire that accelerates the company’s investment in data science, machine learning and AI-driven insights for its global lottery business. Doro will lead the expansion of SG Analytics, Scientific Games’ enterprise analytics group, to deliver stronger product performance, personalized player experiences and measurable ROI for lottery customers across retail and digital channels.

Driving analytics-led growth for lotteries

Scientific Games says the appointment marks a step-change in how it uses data and AI to inform lottery game development, optimize player engagement and support lottery beneficiaries. As head of SG Analytics, Doro will focus on turning large volumes of market and player data into actionable intelligence for product, sales and operations teams.

“Advanced analytics is critical to how Scientific Games supports our lottery customers and drives innovation and performance for sustainable growth,” said Pat McHugh, CEO of Scientific Games. “Doro brings deep experience understanding consumer behavior and building scalable analytics and data science capabilities at global organizations, and we’re excited to have him lead this mission-critical work.”

What Doro will lead at SG Analytics

Doro’s remit will include expanding capabilities in:

Market and channel intelligence to identify growth opportunities across regions and channels
ROI and growth modeling to quantify the value of product and marketing investments
Data engineering and standardized reporting to speed insights to decision-makers
Data science, machine learning and experimentation for personalization and cross-channel optimization
Visualization and business intelligence to make analytics accessible to commercial teams

These priorities are designed to better connect retail and digital play, enable experimentation-driven product improvements, and provide lotteries with measurable results that support their beneficiary missions.

Proven leader in enterprise analytics and ML

Doro brings more than a decade of experience building enterprise analytics and machine learning platforms for major consumer and e-commerce companies. Most recently he served as Senior Global Director of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering at AB InBev, where he led the AI strategy for the company’s global B2B e-commerce platform. His prior leadership roles at Walmart and Jet.com focused on customer analytics, personalization, experimentation platforms and lifecycle modeling—translating applied research into production-grade analytics systems that drive growth and retention.

“Doro’s appointment strengthens our ability to translate data into action and value for our customers,” said Carrie Galvin, Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer at Scientific Games. “His experience building analytics capabilities that deliver real-world business outcomes will help us better serve lotteries through smarter products and performance insights.”

Background and reporting

Doro holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology. At Scientific Games, he will report to Carrie Galvin and collaborate closely with leaders across product, technology, sales and operations.

With this hire, Scientific Games positions SG Analytics to accelerate AI-driven product development, deepen personalization, and deliver clearer ROI for lotteries worldwide—strengthening the company’s role as a data-first partner to the lottery industry.

The post Scientific Games Appoints Ovie Doro as SVP of Data, Analytics & AI appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Gambling in the USA

Scientific Games Announces Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI

Published

5 hours ago

February 2, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

scientific-games-announces-ovie-doro-as-senior-vice-president-of-data,-analytics-&-ai

Scientific Games has named Ovie Doro (“Doro”) as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI, strengthening the company’s investment in advanced analytics, data science and AI-driven insights to support growth and innovation across its global lottery business.

Scientific Games has named former InBev, Walmart and Jet.com data science leader Ovie Doro as Senior VP of Data, Analytics and AI.

Doro will lead the expansion of the SG Analytics group, Scientific Games’ enterprise analytics practice that combines deep expertise with business intelligence tools, data and insights to support decision-making and increased performance of the company’s lottery products and services. His appointment advances the company’s industry-leading use of data and AI to help guide development of lottery games and technologies, enhance player experiences and deliver measurable, ROI-driven value for lottery customers—helping optimize performance in support of their beneficiary missions—across retail and digital channels.

“Advanced analytics is critical to how Scientific Games supports our lottery customers and drives innovation and performance for sustainable growth,” said Pat McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games. “Doro brings deep experience understanding consumer behavior and building scalable analytics and data science capabilities at global organizations, and we’re excited to have him lead this mission-critical work.”

Doro has more than a decade of experience in architecting and scaling enterprise analytics and machine learning platforms across global consumer and e-commerce organizations. Most recently, he served as Senior Global Director of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering at AB InBev, where he pioneered the AI strategy for the company’s global B2B e-commerce platform, transforming it into an AI-enabled ecosystem that drove revenue growth and partner value across multiple international markets.

Doro has held senior data science leadership roles at Walmart and Jet.com, where he led teams responsible for customer analytics, experimentation platforms, personalization and lifecycle modeling. His work focused on translating applied research into production-grade analytics and machine learning systems that supported growth, retention and omnichannel engagement.

At Scientific Games, Doro will advance SG Analytics by translating data into action across market and channel intelligence, competitive and industry insights, ROI and growth modeling, data engineering, data science and machine learning, supported by standardized reporting and visualization. He will also play a central role in enabling analytics-driven product growth, personalization, experimentation and cross-channel optimization that connects retail and digital play.

Doro will report to Carrie Galvin, Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer of Scientific Games, and will work closely with leaders across product, technology, sales and operations organizations.

“Doro’s appointment strengthens our ability to translate data into action and value for our customers,” said Galvin. “His experience building analytics capabilities that deliver real-world business outcomes will help us better serve lotteries through smarter products and performance insights.”

Doro holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

The post Scientific Games Announces Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Gamblers Connect

Gamblers Connect has officially launched its iHub, a new dedicated page created to be your ultimate connection to the iGaming world

Published

8 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

gamblers-connect-has-officially-launched-its-ihub,-a-new-dedicated-page-created-to-be-your-ultimate-connection-to-the-igaming-world

Gamblers Connect, the award-winning iGaming media and affiliate platform, is proud to announce the official launch of the iHub, a new dedicated page created to be your ultimate connection to the iGaming world.

The iHub exclusively features companies that have an official partnership or verified collaboration with Gamblers Connect, ensuring that every listing meets our editorial, commercial, and quality standards. To achieve this feat, we have successfully organized the complex web of the iGaming industry into a single, centralized location.

The sole purpose of the iHub is to function as a comprehensive database that allows anyone in iGaming, whether it is affiliates, operators, or players, to find the right solutions in one place. Unlike open directories, the iHub is a curated environment, only trusted, officially partnered companies are included, with no self-submissions or automated listings. The iHub, just as the industry itself, is built upon four essential pillars that cover every facet of the iGaming realm, including Affiliates, Game Providers, B2B Providers and Payment Solutions.

Every company featured within the iHub is manually reviewed and onboarded through an official partnership with Gamblers Connect, ensuring accuracy, relevance, and long-term value for the industry.

Gjorgje Ristikj, Founder of Gamblers Connect, said: “The launch of the iHub perfectly reflects our goal to be the most transparent source of information in the iGaming world. It marks a new milestone in our history, as it represents a step forward in our ongoing mission to bring clarity to the industry. By launching the iHub, we unite the four essential pillars in a transparent and centralised manner, giving our community the ultimate resources to navigate the iGaming landscape.”

The post Gamblers Connect has officially launched its iHub, a new dedicated page created to be your ultimate connection to the iGaming world appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.