Industry News
SAZKA Group: COVID-19 update
SAZKA Group wishes to give an update to its stakeholders regarding the measures our companies and retail partners have taken with regard to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.
First and foremost, in order to protect the health and safety of our customers, employees, partners and the public, all our companies have fully complied with all the decisions and recommendations of the public authorities in the countries of their operations. We have successfully implemented contingency and business continuity plans with no significant impact to our business processes, and almost all our employees are currently working from home.
While all our digital channels continue to operate without interruption, our physical retail networks have adopted various measures to safeguard public health and the health of our employees.
We anticipate that these developments will impact our financial performance. The extent of the impact will depend on factors including the duration of the outbreak, how longer current restrictions remain in place, further measures taken by governments, and the extent of economic disruption.
Robert Chvatal, CEO commented: “Management are working on mitigating steps to minimise the financial impact for our companies, our employees, and our partners. SAZKA Group is in daily contact with its local operating companies to coordinate timely response to the developments in individual markets.”
Below is a brief overview of the current situation in our markets:
Greece
On Friday 13 March 2020, the Greek government published its decision to impose a temporary ban on the operation of a wide range of shops, indoor venues and other locations. As a result, all of the OPAP stores and PLAY gaming halls in Greece will be closed for two weeks, from Saturday 14 March until Friday 27 March 2020 inclusive. The horseracing facility at Markopoulo Park will also be closed.
Consequently, during this period, the company’s gaming activities will only be operating through its online platforms, which offer sports betting and certain other lottery games, and via the street vendor network of Hellenic Lotteries, which offers scratch cards and passive lotteries.
OPAP’s stores in Cyprus have been temporarily closed as of.
Austria
On Friday 13 March 2020, the Austrian government published its decision to impose a temporary ban on the operation of a wide range of shops, excluding those providing basic services such as food retail, pharmacies, post offices, banks, petrol stations and tobacco stores. The decision went into force on Monday 16 March 2020. The ban has so far had only a limited impact on the availability of Austrian lotteries products through its main retail channels, as more than 90% of all point-of-sales are excluded from the ban.
Austrian Lotteries’ online gaming activities remain available to the public during the entire period. They include draw based games (including Austrian Lotteries’ major products Lotto and Euromillions), instant scratch cards, online casino, poker, bingo and sports betting.
In coordination with the authorities, Casinos Austria has decided to close all its casinos in Austria and its subsidiary Austrian Lotteries has decided to close all its 19 gaming halls on March 13, 2020. The casinos and gaming halls will be closed at least until April 13, 2020. The Austrian government is introducing measures to support part time work, which may allow reduce Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries to reduce the financial impact of the closure
Casinos Austria International, which operates casinos and VLT businesses in multiple countries, is closely monitoring the situation and acting in accordance with the instructions of local governmental bodies.
Czech Republic
As of Monday 16 March, the State Security Council of the Czech Republic has decided to severely limit free movement in the Czech Republic in order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic. Citizens are allowed going to work and shop for supplies limited to food, vital supplies, fuel and medicine, as well as use of necessary financial and postal services. We estimate that 70% of SAZKA’s Czech retail network, including newsstands and post offices, continues providing their services to the public.
At the same time, we are actively promoting the use of online platforms for lottery products as well as digital-only offerings. In recent weeks we have seen a 25-30% increase in sales via digital channels compared to previous weeks.
Italy
Most shops, restaurants and cafes in Italy are currently closed as a result of a number of recent measures. Tobacconists, which are a key channel for LOTTOITALIA, are allowed to remain open, however traffic has declined.
About SAZKA Group:
We are one of the largest pan-European lottery operators. Our businesses operate lotteries in all the major continental European countries where lotteries are privately operated, including the Czech Republic, Greece, Austria and Italy, and in Cyprus. Our businesses focus on the lottery segment, including numerical lotteries (draw-based games) and instant lotteries (scratch cards), and also provide complementary products, including sports-betting and digital-only games. They sell their products both through various retail networks and through digital platforms.
Ainsworth Game Technology
AGEM Announces Board Of Directors Elected at 2026 Annual Meeting
The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) announced that its membership elected a new Board of Directors at its 2026 Annual Meeting. AGEM Board Chair Ryan Comstock, Acting Chief Executive Officer at Ainsworth Game Technology, was not up for election as he transitions into the second year of his two-year term as Chair and led the meeting which approved one-year terms on the Board of Directors for:
• Elaine Hodgson, DIRECTOR (President / CEO, Incredible Technologies)
• Lauralyn Sandoval, DIRECTOR (Vice President of Gaming Strategy & Business Development, Aristocrat Gaming)
• Phil O’Shaughnessy, DIRECTOR (Vice President, Global Communications, Government Relations & Sustainability, IGT)
• Steve DiMasi, DIRECTOR (Senior Vice President of Global Government Affairs & Business Development, Light & Wonder)
• Randy Gilbert, SECRETARY (Chief Executive Officer, TableTrac)
• Thomas Jingoli, TREASURER (President & Chief Operating Officer, Konami Gaming).
The AGEM Board of Directors also approved one-year terms as ex-officio/non-voting members on the Board of Directors for:
• Cassie Stratford, EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR (Senior Vice President, Legal Operations & Compliance–Boyd Gaming Corporation; Global Gaming Women Advisory Board Member)
• Bob Parente, EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR & ASSISTANT TREASURER (Executive Vice President & Chief Business Development Officer, Light & Wonder).
The post AGEM Announces Board Of Directors Elected at 2026 Annual Meeting appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Industry News
QTech Games recruits banking and AI leader Jonny Youssef as CTO to drive next phase of its growth journey
QTech Games, the leading game aggregator for emerging markets, has appointed Jonny Youssef as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the next phase of the company’s technology organisation, innovation and technology strategy as QTech accelerates its global expansion. Jonny will lead the continued development of QTech’s platform architecture and engineering organisation, focusing on scalability, AI-driven capabilities and next-generation tools designed to support operators and content partners across fast-growing markets. Jonny brings more than 20 years of technology leadership experience across banking, fintech, SaaS platforms and AI-driven innovation. His background combines enterprise-scale infrastructure expertise with hands-on experience building and scaling digital platforms and emerging technology systems. Previously, Jonny served as Head of Innovation for Swedbank Group Lending & Payments, where he led digital initiatives across lending, payments, APIs and digital channels within one of the Nordic region’s largest banking groups. He has also held senior technology leadership roles at Entercard Group, overseeing technology infrastructure and mission-critical production environments supporting large-scale payment operations across Nordic markets. Alongside his enterprise leadership experience, Jonny has founded and scaled several technology ventures and digital platforms. As a technology founder and CTO, he has led the design and development of international platforms operating across Europe and Asia, building distributed engineering teams and scalable digital infrastructure.
In recent years, Jonny has contributed to the development of next-generation AI and sustainability technology initiatives, including work with Circular Living and Biotonomy, where advanced AI, IoT and Edge AI systems are used to power intelligent environments, autonomous infrastructure and real-time operational insights. Beyond his commercial initiatives, he is also a board member and early contributor to The AI Community of Sweden, a national innovation network connecting professionals, enterprises and academia to collaborate on AI innovation. At QTech Games, Jonny will focus on strengthening the company’s technology foundations as it continues to scale globally, enhancing AI-driven functionality, automation and analytics capabilities that enable partners to unlock greater value from the platform. He will also oversee QTech’s engineering and technology teams to ensure continued innovation while maintaining the speed, reliability and integration flexibility that have become hallmarks of QTech’s aggregation platform.
QTech Games’ CEO, Philip Doftvik, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Jonny to QTech at an important moment in our growth journey.
“He brings a rare combination of enterprise technology leadership, platform-building expertise and forward-looking innovation in AI and automation. His experience across banking infrastructure, global digital platforms and emerging technology ecosystems makes him uniquely positioned to guide us through its next phase of technological evolution.
“As we continue to expand across emerging markets, Jonny’s leadership will help ensure we remain at the forefront of innovation — delivering scalable infrastructure, AI-driven insights and powerful technology solutions that help our partners grow.”
Jonny Youssef added: “QTech Games has built a strong reputation as one of the most innovative and reliable aggregation platforms serving emerging markets.
“What impressed me most is the company’s focus on speed, simplicity and partner success — combined with a clear ambition to continue evolving the platform through technology. I’m excited to join the team at a time when AI, automation and data-driven capabilities are creating new opportunities to deliver even greater value to operators and game providers.
“My focus will be on strengthening the platform architecture, scaling our technology capabilities with AI and supporting the next phase of QTech’s growth.”
The post QTech Games recruits banking and AI leader Jonny Youssef as CTO to drive next phase of its growth journey appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
GameOn
GameOn Expands Fractional CMO Division with Appointment of Roxana Nazalu
GameOn, the specialist iGaming marketing and PR agency, has added Roxana Nazalu to its growing GameOn CMO team.
Roxana joins as a Fractional CMO and in a consulting capacity. She will be responsible for supporting clients across campaign strategy, creation and implementation.
Roxana is one of the most experienced iGaming marketers in the industry, having worked for some of the biggest names in the business.
This includes the likes of Las Vegas Sands, Casimba Gaming, Aspire Global and Pragmatic Play.
This experience led her to launch Orange Synapse, a specialist agency serving iGaming providers in markets across the world.
Roxana’s appointment as a Fractional CMO Consultant marks a deeper collaboration between GameOn and Orange Synapse, allowing each to offer a wider range of products and services to its respective clients.
GameOn’s Fractional CMO service has gone from strength to strength since launching back in October 2024.
Led by Alex Wilson, it allows clients to unlock the benefits of a full-time CMO but on a fractional basis, making it the perfect option for start-ups and smaller organisations in growth phase. It’s also a great option for established organisations, allowing them to embrace marketing as a revenue engine and not just a support function, but with board-level accountability.
Alex Wilson, Head of Marketing Division at GameOn, said: “We are delighted to welcome Roxana to the GameOn CMO team at such a pivotal moment for our agency. Since launching our fractional service in 2024, the demand for high-level strategic leadership, without the overhead of a full-time executive, has exploded.
“Roxana is a powerhouse in the iGaming space and her track record with global giants like Pragmatic Play and Las Vegas Sands speaks for itself.
“By bringing her expertise into the fold, we’re not just adding a consultant, we’re significantly deepening our strategic offering and ensuring our clients have access to the very best marketing minds in the business.”
Roxana Nazalu, Fractional CMO Consultant at GameOn, added: “Joining forces with GameOn is a natural evolution for me and a fantastic opportunity for Orange Synapse.
“I’ve always admired GameOn’s reputation for delivering clear, results-driven PR and marketing within the iGaming sector. This collaboration allows us to offer a truly holistic service, bridging the gap between high-level strategy and technical implementation for slot studios, operators, affiliates, payment providers and other industry stakeholders.
“My focus will be on helping clients navigate complex markets and scale their brands with the agility that the fractional model provides. I look forward to working alongside Alex and the team to drive meaningful growth for our partners.”
The post GameOn Expands Fractional CMO Division with Appointment of Roxana Nazalu appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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