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Parimatch: Consumers want stories, not spreadsheets

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Sergey Berezhnoy, Parimatch¹s Chief Product Officer.

 

Parimatch’s Chief Product Officer Sergey Berezhnoy spoke at ICE London 2020 about how the operator plans to evolve the traditional sports betting experience with a focus not just on technology, but on storytelling. With a history in the video gaming industry, Sergey can see many narrative-building concepts that would translate nicely to the betting sector, although he believes the main overlap – esports – still has a few mountains to climb.

Following a strong 12 months in its home markets, Parimatch attended ICE London 2020 with a clear vision in mind for the future of its sports betting offer.

The international operator has grown its market share with bold marketing campaigns and a strong product backed by great tech, but the main focus for Parimatch’s Chief Product Officer Sergey Berezhnoy over the next year is to research, develop and evolve sports betting’s current customer journey. Many of the innovations at ICE provide the backbone of that journey, providing several payment methods, hundreds of ways to bet, and thousands of events and markets to bet on, with other exciting developments such as VR and AI further bolstering to the industry’s toolbox in recent years. For players, the customer journey is smoother than ever before, but for Sergey, that’s not enough. His background is in the video gaming industry, and he believes that to tap into the widest possible market, the sports betting sector has to develop a story around the act of betting that is as engaging and rewarding as current popular mobile games.

“I use one word, and it’s narrative,” said Sergey. “I joined this sector from the video gaming industry, and there the focus is not on waiting for the end result, but providing as much entertainment as possible on the way to it.

Unfortunately, sports betting is currently the opposite; you come, you bet, you leave. There is no story, no great focus on the clubs involved, and often there are very few relevant events to bet on. Players who are engaged with the betting culture might bet on anything, but new and casual players need a story to bring them in. Look at Snapchat, Instagram and Tik Tok, they only show short stories, but it’s enough to get consumers engaged.”

In fact, the immediacy of sports betting is something else Sergey wants to move forward. While the rise of in-play betting has helped, many results can take between a few hours or a few days to come through depending when bets are placed, so Berezhnoy intends to make sports betting on Parimatch something players can jump into and be rewarded whenever they choose.

“In betting, the distance between betting and reward can be very high, whereas in video games the award is more achievable. We are trying to shorten that distance, but not as short as casino games,” he said. “In our research, we have taken a lot from casual gaming. If you are riding the subway or tube, everybody plays casual games or goes on social media. The big question is, why don’t they bet? It’s about a customer journey, but many sports betting sites still look like excel spreadsheets. Instagram has changed the way we consume photos, it’s our ambition to change the way people bet on sports.”

Berezhnoy added that this will involve asking players human-centric questions on pre-selected content, providing a personal touch to short, targeted stories for players to bet through. Like in video games, they won’t be faced with a thousand choices, but with a few highly engaging ones based around content they already enjoy, whether that be through live, fantasy or virtual sports – or even esports. This is another aspect of gaming that Berezhnoy has a lot of experience in, however he still believes there’s a few challenges ahead before the rapidly rising pastime becomes a key vertical for the sports betting sectors.

“Games publishers are in control of esports and they are not interested in the regulations that are needed to elevate the level of trust required for bookmakers,” he explained. “Publishers want more players, and tighter regulations can put up barriers to that. With a few exceptions, they also don’t give access to their data feed, which makes it very difficult to trade. Sports betting operators are interested in the most popular games with the biggest events, but those publishers don’t need to include sports betting into their model to be successful, and these are major roadblocks for its expansion in the industry.”

Sergey hopes that this will change over the next decade, but in the meantime, he is looking forward to weaving the storytelling ability of video games into all of Parimatch’s sports betting offers.

“At the end of the day, most of us prefer to be told stories than to scour over spreadsheets, and that’s what I want to offer to our players,” he concluded.

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Bwloto goes live with Loterie Maxa in the Czech Republic

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Bwloto has gone live with Loterie Maxa in the Czech Republic, the company confirmed on 26 June 2026. The rollout is a direct integration that brings five Bwloto eInstant games to Maxa’s players.

The initial game line-up includes Piratzy, Piratzy Gold, Diamonds ‘R’ Forever, GoFish Frenzy and Fruitastic Wins.

The launch marks Bwloto’s entry into the Czech market and extends Loterie Maxa’s online instant-win content offering.

“Going live with Loterie Maxa is a milestone we’re proud of. Maxa moved quickly and professionally, and the result is five of our games in the hands of Czech players. It’s exactly the kind of partnership we build for.” — Ivar H. Unnthorsson, CEO, Bwloto

“We’re always looking for fresh, high-quality content for our players, and Bwloto delivered exactly that. The integration was smooth, the games look great on mobile, and the early response has been positive. We look forward to building on this.” — David Vincenc, Product Manager, Loterie Maxa

The post Bwloto goes live with Loterie Maxa in the Czech Republic appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Esports World Cup 2026 opens in Paris with $75m prize pool

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Seven-week event runs through August 23 with 2,000 players, 200 clubs and 25 tournaments across 24 games at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.

The Esports Foundation has opened the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, marking the first international edition of the event. The tournament runs through August 23 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and will feature more than 2,000 players and 200 esports Clubs from over 100 countries competing across 25 tournaments in 24 games for a $75 million prize pool.

Organisers said the Paris finals follow the largest “Road to EWC” qualification programme to date, with more than 1.5 million players participating across 330 qualifying events spanning tournaments, publisher leagues and international circuits.

The opening press conference took place at the Hôtel de Ville with opening remarks by Emmanuel Grégoire, the Mayor of the City of Paris.

Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports Foundation, said: “Competitive gaming has always had great players, great games and unforgettable champions. The Esports World Cup brings them together in one defining annual stage. For seven weeks in Paris, every title crowns its own winner, but every result also contributes to a bigger race: the Club Championship. That is what makes EWC different. It rewards not only individual brilliance, but the depth, consistency and ambition of an entire Club.”

The Esports Foundation said Cristiano Ronaldo and Magnus Carlsen return as Esports World Cup Global Ambassadors. The event’s Club Championship will distribute $30 million of the overall prize pool, including $7 million for the winning Club, with Team Falcons aiming to defend its title after wins in 2024 and 2025.

On distribution, the organiser said EWC 2026 will be available in 160 countries via more than 100 broadcast and OTT partners, with more than 7,000 hours of live programming planned and coverage in over 40 languages. The Esports Foundation also said it expects up to 5,000 official co-streamers via its Creator Program, which it described as up 42% year-on-year.

The post Esports World Cup 2026 opens in Paris with $75m prize pool appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Wings of Heroes raises the stakes with campaigns, jets and deeper progression

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The second quarter of 2026 marked one of the most important development periods for Wings of Heroes to date. The game introduced a new campaign system, expanded PvE gameplay, added new battle formats and began a strategic shift in player progression and the in-game economy. The last update continues this direction by expanding the campaign system with time-limited jet campaigns, including the first F-16 campaign, alongside a new skill-based game mode – Time Trial, and further improvements to gameplay variety.

Wings of Heroes is entering a new stage of development. In recent months, the team behind the mobile air combat game introduced a broad set of features designed to increase gameplay depth, strengthen long-term engagement and test new growth opportunities for the title. These include campaigns, expanded PvE experiences, a plane rarity system, a major economy rebalance, larger battle formats and additional gameplay modes.

The update reflects more than a regular content expansion. It marks a strategic shift in the way Wings of Heroes builds progression, engagement and monetization. While the game remains rooted in dynamic World War II-inspired aerial combat, the new systems add more structure, context and variety to the player journey. They also create new ways to build limited-time events, communicate aircraft value and develop stronger LiveOps mechanics around specific goals, rewards and aircraft types.

“- Over the last three months, we have been reshaping Wings of Heroes from a title built mainly around individual battle sessions into a broader, more scalable gameplay ecosystem. Campaigns, plane rarities, economy rebalance and new modes are not separate additions – they are connected systems designed to strengthen progression, give players more reasons to return and open new monetization opportunities,” said Michał Szurma, Product Owner of Wings of Heroes. “- This is an important strategic step for the game. We are testing new engagement and monetization levers, while at the same time making the player journey clearer, deeper and more rewarding.”

One of the key features introduced in the second quarter of 2026 was the campaign system. Campaigns bring a new PvE layer to Wings of Heroes, built around sets of missions connected by historical context and scenario-based progression. Instead of focusing only on standard battles, players can now progress through defined mission sequences, complete specific objectives and experience more immersive combat scenarios.

Depending on the campaign and the country of origin of the aircraft in the player’s hangar, players can also be supported by scenario-specific assistants, who guide them through the mission and strengthen the feeling of being part of a larger historical scenario. This gives the game a more narrative-driven layer and allows the team to develop content that combines action, progression and atmosphere.

Campaigns also introduce a new structure for temporary events. Some campaigns can become permanent parts of player progression, unlocked as players advance through tiers, while others can be time-limited. This creates new opportunities for LiveOps, goal-based engagement and monetization, as players are encouraged to complete missions, secure rewards and progress within a specific timeframe.

The June 30 update expands this system further with a new time-limited jet campaign. For the first time, players can take part in a special campaign-style experience featuring modern jets, with the first campaign centered around the F-16. Unlike regular battles, where players use aircraft from their hangar, jet campaigns are built around one specific aircraft provided within the campaign. Other jets may appear as enemies, but the player uses one dedicated jet during the experience.

Jets are one of the most distinctive additions to Wings of Heroes so far. With campaigns focused around modern jet fighters, the game moves beyond its classic World War II-based aerial combat formula for the first time, adding modern aircraft, a new visual layer and a different type of combat experience. This also creates an opportunity to reach new groups of players. At this stage, jets are available only within campaigns, allowing the team to test the format in a controlled, time-limited environment.

Together with jets, Wings of Heroes is also introducing a new Time Trial mode, where precision flying and maneuvering skills are key. Players navigate a specially designed route with a series of gates, aiming to pass through them as accurately as possible within a set time limit. The run ends when the player reaches the end of the route, the timer runs out, or the aircraft crashes. This single-player mode focuses on control, precision and mastery of flight, offering a skill-based experience built around piloting ability rather than direct combat.

Another important addition is Team Deathmatch, a more classic team-based mode in which players can return to combat with the same aircraft after being shot down and compete to reach the target team score.

In recent months, the team also expanded its game mode capabilities with NvN formats, including larger battles such as 10v10 gameplay. This system allows Wings of Heroes to create variations of existing modes with different numbers of players per team. The feature gives the team more flexibility in shaping future events and battle formats.

Alongside new gameplay features, Wings of Heroes introduced a significant change to aircraft progression through the plane rarity system. Aircraft are now assigned one of four rarity levels: Common, Rare, Epic or Legendary. The aim is to make progression smoother, aircraft value clearer and rewards more meaningful for different groups of players.

The rarity system was accompanied by a broad economy rebalance and changes in blueprint distribution, unlock costs and upgrade pacing. Common aircraft are easier to unlock, while rarer planes become more clearly differentiated within each tier.

Wings of Heroes also introduced in-game commendations, a new battle element that highlights combat actions such as double or triple kills. Commendations can be earned multiple times during a single battle and are designed to make combat feel more dynamic, interactive and rewarding.

“- Wings of Heroes has a strong foundation, but the next stage of development is about understanding how far we can take it,” added Michał Szurma. “- The systems introduced in recent months give us more room to experiment with events, aircraft formats, progression and player motivation. This creates a stronger framework for learning what drives engagement, what supports monetization and where the game’s further growth potential may come from.”

Together, these initiatives point to a broader strategic direction for Wings of Heroes. The game is expanding beyond standard battle loops into more structured progression, richer PvE, time-limited campaign experiences and clearer monetization systems. The end of June update is designed to help the team test what drives engagement and where the title’s further growth potential may come from.

The post Wings of Heroes raises the stakes with campaigns, jets and deeper progression appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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