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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.

ELA Games

Neon Towers & Plenty of Thrill: ELA Games Unleashes New Winpot Game Joker Jam

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The studio releases its latest exciting addition to the Winpot series

ELA Games announces the release of its latest title, Joker Jam, a bold visual addition to the studio’s growing portfolio of strategic yet aesthetic games.

Set under the neon glow of a vibrant city, Joker Jam reimagines the classic Vegas aesthetic into a thrilling experience. Familiar symbols such as sevens and fruits adorn the reels while looming Winpot towers grow with each win. Joker Jam is a game for all players due to its engagingly strategic yet straightforward mechanics and high replay value.

Spoiler alert: the Joker Jam is available now in a seasonal holiday edition, featuring a limited-time winter-themed design. After the festive season, the game will revert to its original visual version.

The Newest Addition to the Winpot Series

Joker Jam is the latest addition to the Winpot series, adding a new visual angle to an already established product line. The Winpot Towers grow with each win, where the player can choose their own style of play to increase winnings. The 7 symbol charges up the Winpot Towers, with each Seven powering the tower with its own colour, with respective multipliers when you fill them to the top.

Joker Jam joins the family of Winpot games, which includes Joker Winpot, Zeus Winpot, and Rabbit Winpot Deluxe. This award-nominated trademark mechanic has demonstrated notable results for operators due to its fast-paced nature, giving players control over their gameplay by allowing them to decide when to cash out or continue.

Reimagining Classic Visuals With Thrilling Features

One of the most enticing aspects of Joker Jam is its visually rich animations and design, allowing players to immerse themselves in the game fully. To complement this, the game has various features to keep gameplay action-packed:

  • Winpot Towers: Each 7 symbol fuels its matching colour tower, and players can choose to climb the Tower for bigger rewards or cash out when they want.
  • Good Joker: This Joker boosts your run, jumping players’ progress up one level across all Towers instantly.
  • Bad Joker: One appearance from the meddling Bad Joker resets all progress in the Towers.

The game’s familiar visuals that have been revamped with the studio’s signature art style, atmosphere, and high-stakes mechanics make Joker Jam both easy to pick up and hard to put down.

Marharyta Yerina, Managing Director, commented on the game’s release, “Joker Jam is an important addition to the Winpot series as we look to develop our trademark mechanic to continue its status as a must-have feature in casino lobbies. The game’s mix of enticing visuals and fast-paced gameplay drives growth for operators, which has quickly elevated it as one of the most replayable titles in our well-balanced portfolio. We look forward to seeing how the game performs on initial release and hope everyone enjoys it!”

Jam Under the Neon Lights Today

The Jokers are always looking to play. Are you ready to entertain them?

The post Neon Towers & Plenty of Thrill: ELA Games Unleashes New Winpot Game Joker Jam appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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SPOTLIGHT SPORTS GROUP RELEASES WORLD CUP 2026 BETTING OUTLOOK AS INDUSTRY PREPARES FOR SURGE IN FIRST TIME BETTORS

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New research reveals high intent to bet, major entry of first time bettors and rising demand for personalised, trusted content ahead of the biggest World Cup in history.

Spotlight has released its World Cup 2026 Betting Outlook, presenting new insights into how fans will watch, bet and engage across the expanded 48 team, 39 day tournament.

Key findings show major shifts in fan betting behaviour:

  • 66% of planned bettors will be betting on the World Cup for the first time
  • In the US this rises sharply to 90%, signalling significant entry of new bettors into the market
  • 70% plan to place a bet, but only 7% feel confident doing so
  • 44% say late night and early morning kick off times, particularly for UK fans, will push them toward more pre match betting
  • 96% want personalised betting content tailored to their interests
  • Social media is the least trusted source of betting insight

The research also highlights strong enthusiasm for the expanded tournament format itself, with 93% feeling positive about the 48 team structure and 86% planning to stay engaged throughout the full 39 day schedule.

Mark Langdon, Group Sports Director at Spotlight Sports Group, said: “The data shows that the 2026 World Cup will bring a huge wave of new and inexperienced bettors into the market. Operators that deliver simple onboarding, strong pre-match insight and personalised content will be best positioned to capture and engage this audience.”

The findings will be discussed in detail during Spotlight Sports Group’s SBC webinar Engaging Audiences During the 2026 World Cup on Thursday 4 December at 2pm GMT.

 

About the research

The survey gathered responses from 600 sports fans across the UK, US and LATAM.

The post SPOTLIGHT SPORTS GROUP RELEASES WORLD CUP 2026 BETTING OUTLOOK AS INDUSTRY PREPARES FOR SURGE IN FIRST TIME BETTORS appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Anton Ivannikov CPO at Playson

Playson debuts dynamic new feature in Tornado Power: Hold and Win

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Tornado Feature and dynamic Thunder Bonus Feature enrich both Main Game and Bonus play

Playson, the accomplished digital entertainment supplier, has unleashed a whirlwind of excitement with Tornado Power: Hold and Win, introducing a new Tornado Feature and enhanced payouts.

The 3×4, 10 payline slot features immersive visuals with old-school charm, as the untamed gameplay is further enhanced by a new Tornado Feature, which can be randomly triggered whenever a Thunder Bonus Symbol lands during the Main Game or Bonus Game.

Once active, multipliers of up to an impressive 20x may activate as well as Bonus Symbols to increase the likelihood of triggering the Thunder Bonus Feature or Hold and Win Bonus Game.

When both a Bonus Symbol and Thunder Bonus Symbol lands on the reels, the Thunder Bonus Feature comes into action. The feature collects the values of all Bonus Symbols in play, including four in-game Jackpot Symbols, before adding them to the winnings for the spin in the Main Game or Total Win in the Bonus Game.

Landing at least one Bonus Symbol on each reel grants access to the Hold and Win Bonus Game, where players benefit from only Bonus and Thunder Bonus symbols for the entirety of the round. In a striking twist to bonus play, up to four Thunder Bonus Collect symbols can land on the centre reel, further amplifying the win potential on offer.

Additional entry to the Bonus Game is also boosted by the Pile of Gold Feature. Any Bonus Symbols that land on the reels during the main game can randomly trigger the feature, which sees Bonus and Thunder Bonus Symbols added to the grid in quantity enough to activate the Bonus Game.

This latest release demonstrates Playson’s ability for developing unique mechanics that enhance player engagement based on data-driven insights.

Anton Ivannikov, CPO at Playson, said:Tornado Power: Hold and Win showcases our commitment to elevating the Hold and Win experience with engagement-boosting mechanics that genuinely move the needle. The new Tornado Feature introduces a fresh layer of dynamism to gameplay, giving players more ways to interact with bonus elements and enjoy heightened win potential.

“It’s a strong reflection of our data-led approach to development, and we’re confident it will resonate across a variety of markets.”

The post Playson debuts dynamic new feature in Tornado Power: Hold and Win appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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