Industry leaders and the local community united in Malta for an evening of meaningful impact

Popular iGaming content provider BGaming is proud to announce the success of its second Charity Gala, held at The Phoenicia Malta on May 29 in support of DAR Bjorn. Bringing together more than 400 guests from across the iGaming industry, the local business community, and Maltese society, the event raised over €200,000 for the neurological home and the people it supports.

Ian Borg, Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, was also in attendance, underscoring the importance of the Charity Gala’s mission to support DAR Bjorn and its contribution to the Maltese community.

DAR Bjorn is Malta’s neurological home, providing care and support for people living with ALS, MS, and other severe neurological conditions. Founded by former iGaming professional Bjorn Formosa following his ALS diagnosis at the age of 28, the organisation now cares for 60 residents while supporting more than 800 people throughout the country.

The funds raised by this year’s event will go directly towards equipping DAR Bjorn’s new Respite Centre with essential medical care and equipment. As part of its ongoing commitment to DAR Bjorn, BGaming is dedicating all money raised to the cause, with the studio covering the event’s operating costs.

One of the meaningful parts of this year’s initiative was a special merchandise collection co-created by Portuguese street artist Gonçalo MAR and residents of DAR Bjorn. Inspired by their stories and creative contributions, the collection gave them the opportunity to become active participants in the project. The merchandise was first unveiled at NEXT Summit Valletta and later made available online in exchange for donations. The initiative raised €5,000 for DAR Bjorn, extending the Gala’s impact beyond a single evening.

BGaming would like to extend its sincerest thanks to all partners whose generosity and support made this year’s Charity Gala possible, including NEXT.io, which was an official media partner for the event.

MyAffiliates were the event’s Golden Partner, while 1spin4win, Finteq Hub, Amusnet Gaming, and TaDa Gaming were Bronze Partners. Supporting Partners included Flutter International, Alea, SiGMA, Focus Gaming News, The Phoenicia Malta, Booming Games, Internet Vikings, Behind the Gloves, EGT Digital and SWAG42.

Marina Ostrovtsova, CEO at BGaming, said, “When we organized the first Charity Gala last year, we simply wanted to help DAR Bjorn and do something meaningful together as an industry. We never imagined it would grow into such a powerful annual initiative.

What inspires me most is not only the amount raised, but the people behind it. Seeing companies that normally compete come together for one shared purpose says a lot about our industry and the kind of community BGaming has built around it.

The impact of this evening goes far beyond fundraising. It helps improve the lives of people at DAR Bjorn, but it also reminds all of us that we have the ability to create meaningful change when we work together.”

Maria Formosa, the executive secretary of ALS Malta and the wife of ALS activist Bjorn Formosa, said, “Charity Gala by BGaming showed the extraordinary impact that can be achieved when the gaming industry unites behind a meaningful cause. The generosity shown throughout the evening will directly help us equip new rooms in our respite home and improve the lives of people living with neurological conditions. It was truly another memorable night in a magical venue filled up with beautiful souls who believed in our mission.

We are profoundly grateful to BGaming, to Madame Lubov for her hard and meticulous work she did once again for the success of the event, to the support received from Next.io and every supporter who helped turn compassion into action.”

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Following the success of the inaugural Charity Gala by BGaming, the content studio is returning to The Phoenicia Malta on May 29th for another meaningful evening, bringing the industry together to raise funds for a valuable cause.

The invite-only event will raise funds for the DAR Bjorn in Malta, a care centre for people suffering from ALS, MS, and other life-altering neurological conditions.

In this article, we sit down with CEO BGaming, Marina Ostrovtsova, to discuss the story behind the event, the importance of DAR Bjorn, BGaming’s wider approach to charity, and more.

Can you start by telling us a little bit about DAR Bjorn and explaining why BGaming has chosen to support it?

DAR Bjorn is a cause very close to our hearts at BGaming. It is a neurological centre in Malta that provides care and treatment for people living with neurological conditions such as ALS and MS.

The centre was founded by Bjorn Formosa, who actually comes from the iGaming industry himself. He was diagnosed with ALS at just 28, and I think his story resonates very deeply with many people across our industry. Despite everything he’s faced, Bjorn remains incredibly positive, driven, and committed to helping others, which is something our whole team truly admires.

What also makes DAR Bjorn so special is the scale of the support they provide. Today, they care for around 60 residents across their centers and support nearly 800 more people in the Maltese community. The impact they have on people’s lives is very real and very visible.

And of course, Malta itself is an important home for many of us in iGaming. Supporting a local organisation that does such meaningful work felt like a very natural thing for us to do. We genuinely feel honored to support DAR Bjorn and to help contribute, even in a small way, to the incredible work they do every single day.

Last year was the inaugural Charity Gala by BGaming. What did you learn from that? And what has inspired you to return for a second year?

Last year’s Charity Gala was honestly one of the proudest moments for our team at BGaming. We raised more than €200,000 in a single evening, exceeding all our expectations. Those funds went directly toward supporting the construction of DAR Bjorn’s new Respite Centre, which is now becoming a reality.

But I think the most important thing we learned was how much real impact is actually possible when people come together around a shared purpose. Seeing the industry unite in that way was incredibly emotional and inspiring for all of us.

Sometimes in iGaming, we get so focused on the business side that we forget how influential and connected this industry really is. Last year reminded us that when companies, partners, and people decide to support something meaningful together, the result can be far bigger than anyone initially expects.

That’s really what inspired us to come back for a second year. Once we saw the tangible difference the Gala made for DAR Bjorn and the people supported by the centre, continuing the initiative felt like the only natural next step.

Can you tell us a little bit more about this year’s event and what makes it different from last year’s?

We really wanted this year’s Charity Gala to evolve naturally from what we created last year, not just become bigger, but also more ambitious and impactful.

One of the biggest additions this year is our partnership with NEXT.io as the official media partner, which has helped us bring even more visibility to the initiative across the industry. We’ve also expanded the overall experience for guests, with live music by Versatile, a charity raffle, an art auction, and several entertainment and fundraising activities throughout the evening.

But I’d say the biggest difference this year is the level of clarity around the impact itself.

Last year, the funds raised helped support the construction of DAR Bjorn’s new Respite Centre. This year, the focus shifts toward equipping that centre with very specific medical and care equipment, including ventilators, oxygen concentrators, specialised beds, and resident rooms. So people can very clearly see where the support is going and how it directly improves residents’ quality of life.

And honestly, one of the most inspiring things this year has been the level of support from the industry itself. Seeing companies like Flutter, Alea, SiGMA, MyAffiliates, 1spin4win, Finteq Hub, and Amusnet Gaming come together around the same cause really shows how deeply this initiative resonates within the iGaming community.

Art and creativity sound like they will be two key focuses for the evening. Can you tell us more about this?

Art and creativity have always been a very natural part of BGaming’s identity, so it felt important for us to bring that into the Charity Gala as well. This year, we’re incredibly lucky to collaborate with two outstanding artists, Gonçalo MAR and L7Matrix, both of whom are helping turn the evening into something much more immersive and emotional than a traditional charity event.

The Gala will feature an art auction with works by Gonçalo MAR, alongside a live art performance by L7Matrix during the evening itself. Art has this unique ability to create emotional connection and tell stories without words, which fits very naturally with the spirit of the initiative.

But what makes this year especially meaningful for us is the collaboration with the residents of DAR Bjorn themselves. Together with Gonçalo MAR, they participated in creative workshops that inspired a special merch collection connected to the Gala.

For us, it was important that residents were not simply beneficiaries of the initiative, but actual participants in it. Their stories and creativity became part of the project itself.

The collection will be available during NEXT Summit Valletta and online, with proceeds going directly toward supporting DAR Bjorn and the new Respite Centre.

The DAR Bjorn Charity Gala by BGaming is one of several CSR initiatives and events BGaming has been involved with in 2026. How does this align with the company’s wider philosophy?

CSR initiatives are a very important part of how we see BGaming as a company. We often describe ourselves as being “beyond” a game provider, and for us, that idea goes far beyond products or entertainment alone. It’s also about the kind of impact we want to have in the communities around us.

Whether it’s the Charity Gala by BGaming or initiatives like our recent collaboration with Centurion in Brazil, focused on supporting underserved communities, the common idea behind all of these projects is quite simple: if we have the ability to help, we should use it.

We don’t approach CSR as something separate from the business or as a short-term PR activity. It’s much more about responsibility and long-term involvement. We operate in many different markets around the world, and we genuinely believe it’s important to support the communities connected to them in a meaningful way.

I also think initiatives like this help show a different side of the iGaming industry. People often see the industry only through a commercial lens, but in reality, it’s filled with passionate people, strong communities, and companies capable of creating real impact when they come together around a shared purpose.

The industry has enormous reach, resources, and influence. And I believe projects like this are a reminder that those things can be used not only to grow businesses, but also to genuinely improve people’s lives.

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