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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.

Aurora Armaro Senior Client Success Manager at Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil expands presence in Brazil with three commercial deals

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Yggdrasil has significantly expanded its footprint in Brazil after partnering with three leading operators in the regulated market as it looks to carve a dominant market position in the country.

F12, Blaze, and Novibet customers now have access to more than 400 of Yggdrasil’s proven, high-performing titles, strengthening their casino offerings with premium content that has resonated with players globally and within Latin American. Included in the titles available in Brazil are Buffalo Freedom, MexoMax2, 4 Wolves of Fortune, among others.

The launches rapidly accelerate Yggdrasil’s growth strategy in the country, as it looks to establish itself as a leading supplier in the regulated Brazilian iGaming market. Alongside its award-winning in-house content, Yggdrasil will also deploy games created through its YGG Masters program, as well as its new technology service Game in a BoxTM, an all-in-one slot development platform streamlining the entire game creation process.

This triple rollout marks a major milestone for Yggdrasil in Brazil, coming one year after the country’s iGaming regulation took effect. The market continues to demonstrate strong growth and maturity, and Yggdrasil is now live with more than 14 operators across the country, with additional partnerships planned in the coming months.

Aurora Armaro, Senior Client Success Manager at Yggdrasil, said: “For us at Yggdrasil, adding three major iGaming operators in Brazil of the calibre of F12, Blaze, and Novibet to our network is key to strengthening our presence in the country and bringing our core and YGG Masters portfolio to even more players.

“It also highlights our speed to market, as we’ve scaled rapidly across 14 operators in the market, with parallel deals occurring in Italy recently as we continue to enjoy commercial growth in regulated markets.”

The post Yggdrasil expands presence in Brazil with three commercial deals appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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Ashley McCulloch

Evoplay appoints Ashley McCulloch as Vice President North America

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Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, has appointed Ashley McCulloch as Vice President North America, reinforcing its strategic focus on expanding across the US and Canada.

McCulloch brings more than 15 years of experience spanning land-based, VLT and online gaming. She has held senior commercial roles at IGT and Light & Wonder and most recently served as Director of Account Management North America at Inspired Gaming Group, where she was responsible for leading strategic account growth and supporting new market entry initiatives.

Alongside commercial achievements, McCulloch is also a board member for Women in Sports and Events, a member of the Global Gaming Women, and was named in the Emerging Leaders in Gaming 40 Under 40 in 2024, reflecting her leadership within the industry.

At Evoplay, McCulloch will drive partnerships, regulatory licensing, product rollout and wider business development initiatives as the provider accelerates its expansion into the North American market.

Evoplay has already established a strong foothold in the region, going live in Ontario through partnerships with leading operators in the province, including BetMGM and Caesars Entertainment.

In November 2025, Evoplay took a significant first step into the United States by entering the lottery market in Washington DC, creating a bridge into the US online gaming ecosystem.

With McCulloch’s appointment, the company plans to build on this momentum and further expand across regulated US states.

 

Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, said: “North America represents one of the most exciting growth opportunities for Evoplay, and Ashley McCulloch’s appointment is a major step forward in realising our ambitions in the region.

“Her extensive experience across land-based and online gaming, combined with her track record in commercial strategy, makes her the ideal person to lead our efforts as we scale.”

 

Ashley McCulloch, Vice President North America at Evoplay, added: “I’m very excited to be joining the Evoplay team at such a pivotal moment in its growth journey.

“The studio has built a strong reputation for high-quality content, and I look forward to developing partnerships and driving sustainable growth across North America.”

The post Evoplay appoints Ashley McCulloch as Vice President North America appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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Codere Online

RubyPlay and Codere Online join forces to elevate gaming offering in Mexico

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Leading Mexican operator leverages provider’s content ecosystem to diversify casino offering

RubyPlay, a studio-based content ecosystem, has strengthened its presence in Mexico through a new partnership with Codere Online, one of the leading digital sports betting and casino operators in the country.

The deal has seen Codere Online integrate a broad selection of RubyPlay’s most popular titles, including player favourites such as J Mania® Loco Habanero, Grand Express Diamond Class, and Zeus Rush Fever® Deluxe SE.

The partnership also includes content incorporated from Koala Games, one of the fast-growing studios within RubyPlay’s ecosystem, including popular hits Voltage Blitz® Rapid and Voltage Blitz® Vortex, while providing Codere Online with access to additional content from across RubyPlay’s wider studio network as further titles are introduced.

This collaboration reinforces RubyPlay’s expansion across the LATAM region, where its content is strongly performing with multiple leading brands. At the core of this growth is RubyPlay’s multi-layered content ecosystem, which is benefitting operators of all sizes with a greater variety of games. The model enhances RubyPlay’s ability to develop tailored, relevant content while leveraging a unified distribution network.

This approach enables faster delivery cycles, greater portfolio diversity, and improved responsiveness to both operator requirements and evolving player preferences.

The NASDAQ-listed operator has established itself as a leader across its core Spanish-speaking markets, including Mexico. Through this latest partnership, RubyPlay’s portfolio will reach an even broader audience in Mexico, the second-largest market in Latin America, supporting Codere Online’s ongoing commitment to delivering a high-quality and engaging online casino experience for players in the region.

Dima Reiderman, CCO at RubyPlay, said: “Partnering with Codere Online represents a significant milestone in our expansion across Mexico and the wider LATAM region. The operator’s strong brand recognition and vast customer base make them an ideal partner to reach even more players within the region.

“Through our studio-based ecosystem, including Koala Games and Mad Hat Games, we can leverage additional market-focused content to support Codere Online’s evolving strategy in Mexico and the wider LATAM region.”

Sarit Adania, Head of Casino Product at Codere Online added: “RubyPlay’s consistently high-performing titles through its impressive content ecosystem will become a significant addition to our online casino offering in Mexico.

“By integrating content from both RubyPlay and Koala Games, we are seamlessly diversifying our games portfolio and continuing to deliver the engaging, premium experiences our players expect.”

The post RubyPlay and Codere Online join forces to elevate gaming offering in Mexico appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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