Press Releases
Parimatch: Consumers want stories, not spreadsheets
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.
Brazil
Z.ro anuncia aquisição da Paag em um movimento estratégico voltado à consolidação de mercado
Z.ro firma acordo com Paag em um negócio relevante que adiciona mais de 200 milhões de transações anuais à vertical de pagamentos da companhia.
O Z.ro Global Payments, que até abril operava como Z.ro Bank, anuncia a aquisição e incorporação da vertical de pagamentos da Paag, em um movimento estratégico voltado à consolidação de mercado e ao ganho de participação no setor de pagamentos digitais.
A integração será realizada por meio de um plano estruturado de migração, desenhado para assegurar continuidade operacional, com estabilidade e segurança para todos os clientes ao longo do processo.
Segundo Edisio Pereira Neto, presidente do Z.ro, a operação amplia de forma expressiva o volume processado pela empresa, que já supera 500 milhões de transações.
“A Paag tem forte presença em processamento de pagamentos, especialmente no mercado de jogos, com mais de 200 milhões de transações anuais que serão incorporadas ao nosso ecossistema, reforçando nossa liderança no setor”, afirma Edisio.
Como parte da operação, João Fraga, CEO da Paag, e Ricardo Vidal, CSO da empresa, passam a atuar também como sócios responsáveis pela vertical dedicada ao mercado de iGaming dentro da Z.ro Global Payments.
“A criação dessa frente específica reflete a relevância do segmento e da necessidade de criar soluções cada vez mais customizadas para este mercado.
Nossos dois novos sócios trazem um know-how essencial para liderar esta frente”, afirma o CEO da Z.ro Global Payments.
“Estou muito motivado em assumir esse novo desafio. Com a união das expertises, consolidamos a maior operação de pagamentos voltada ao mercado de jogos no Brasil.
Tenho a convicção de que essa integração nos levará ao maior market share do setor. Literalmente, zeramos o game”, declara Vidal.
Para a Paag, o movimento também marca um novo momento estratégico da companhia.
Após anos de atuação no mercado de pagamentos para operações digitais, a empresa passa a atuar como Paag Shield, focada no desenvolvimento de soluções de gestão de risco, compliance e prevenção à fraude, e Paag Engage, focada em inteligência operacional, aquisição e retenção. Ambas sem vínculo societário com a operação realizada ao lado do Z.ro Global Payments.
“Esse movimento marca uma nova fase para a Paag. Construímos uma operação sólida de Payments ao longo dos últimos anos e temos confiança de que os clientes continuarão sendo atendidos com excelência dentro da estrutura da Z.ro.
A partir de agora, concentramos ainda mais nossos esforços na evolução do Paag Shield e Paag Engage, com soluções voltadas à inteligência de risco, compliance e eficiência operacional”, explica Fraga.
Nova vertical dedicada ao segmento de jogos no Z.ro
“A criação dessa frente específica reflete a relevância do segmento e da necessidade de criar soluções cada vez mais customizadas para este mercado. Nossos dois novos sócios possuem amplo know-how para liderar esta frente”, explica Edísio.
“Atualmente, o segmento já responde por aproximadamente 25% da nossa receita. Com a nova estrutura, deverá subir para cerca de 35% já no primeiro ano”, afirma.
A iniciativa reforça a estratégia do Z.ro de segmentação de negócios, permitindo maior profundidade nas operações, otimização de negociações e desenvolvimento de soluções adaptadas às demandas específicas de cada mercado.
O Z.ro International, responsável por recolher pagamentos na América Latina e enviá-los para qualquer país do mundo, e o Z.ro Digital Assets, de pagamentos internacionais com criptoativos, são outras duas verticais lançadas no último ano.
Aquisição não concluída
Em 2025, o banco BS2 chegou a anunciar negociações para a aquisição da Paag, em um movimento que indicava o interesse da instituição em ampliar a atuação no processamento de pagamentos digitais para o mercado de jogos .
Na ocasião, a estrutura do acordo previa a entrada inicial com uma participação minoritária na empresa.
O plano também contemplava a possibilidade de aquisição total da Paag em um prazo de até três anos.
No entanto, apesar do anúncio e das tratativas iniciais, a negociação não foi concluída e não avançou para a efetivação da operação.
Mudança de nome
Recentemente, o antigo Z.ro Bank alterou seu nome para Z.ro Global Payments, refletindo a estratégia de internacionalização da companhia, iniciada em 2025.
A mudança consolida o posicionamento da empresa como provedora de infraestrutura global de pagamentos, com soluções inovadoras voltadas para serviços de processamento de pagamentos locais e transfronteiriços, além de Bank as a Service.
The post Z.ro anuncia aquisição da Paag em um movimento estratégico voltado à consolidação de mercado appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Las Vegas
Plaza Hotel & Casino books Bolero – The Show for June 20 one-night run
Latin music-and-dance production led by Las Vegas-based producer Adan Alejandro plays the Plaza showroom at 7:30 p.m.
Plaza Hotel & Casino will host Bolero – The Show for a one-night performance in its showroom on Saturday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
The production is billed as a Latin music-and-dance show featuring a live band, singers, and dancers, with influences including bolero, flamenco, salsa, tango, mambo, and other Latin rhythms.
Bolero – The Show is led by Las Vegas-based producer, singer, and songwriter Adan Alejandro. The Plaza said the show’s production team and performers have roots in the Latin entertainment community and experience performing in Las Vegas and other venues across the US and Latin America.
Tickets are now on sale for the June 20 performance.
The post Plaza Hotel & Casino books Bolero – The Show for June 20 one-night run appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Latest News
Bolero – The Show performs for one night only at the Plaza Hotel & Casino, Saturday, June 20
The Plaza Hotel & Casino welcomes Bolero – The Show to its classic Vegas showroom for one night only, Saturday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Bolero – The Show is a bohemian Latin musical blending Latin rhythm, passionate dance, and timeless love songs. Featuring a live band, singers, and dancers, the show creates an immersive and elegant experience inspired by bolero, flamenco, and Latin music.
Led by Las Vegas-based producer, singer, and songwriter Adan Alejandro, the production team and show performers have roots in the Latin entertainment community and many years of experience performing live music and entertainment events in Las Vegas and other venues across the United States and Latin America.
Bolero – The Show is designed as an immersive live entertainment experience that blends music, dance, and theatrical elements inspired by Afro-Caribbean and Latin American traditions. The production combines bolero, salsa, tango, flamenco, mambo, and other Latin rhythms in a format created specifically for the Las Vegas showroom environment.
With a live band, dancers and vocal performers, Bolero – The Show creates a large-scale Latin musical and theatrical experience with an emphasis on rhythm, movement, passion, and audience connection that is designed specifically for the Plaza’s showroom.
Tickets are now on sale for the June 20th performance at Bolero – A Bohemian Latin Musical – Plaza Hotel and Casino.
The post Bolero – The Show performs for one night only at the Plaza Hotel & Casino, Saturday, June 20 appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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