Industry News
SPORTRADAR UNVEILS SIMULATED REALITY PRODUCT RANGE AS AI TECHNOLOGY DRIVES NEW SPORTS BETTING OFFERING
Simulated Reality draws on the company’s vast sports data and artificial intelligence know-how to generate a seamless user experience for sport fans and bettors
In the ongoing absence of live sports, Sportradar, a global provider of sports content and intelligence, today has announced the launch of Simulated Reality, an AI-driven product for professional sports matches, which will be made available to customers within its existing portfolio of events.
In an industry first, Sportradar has tapped into its AI and machine learning capabilities to deliver a sports betting experience which is as close to real life as possible, seamless and with no integration needed.
Carsten Koerl, CEO, Sportradar, said: “We have listened carefully to our customers and the betting community who have made it clear there is an appetite for alternative means of betting during this time where this is a void in live sports action. Simulated Reality will give our sports betting partners seamless access to a highly unique product that is first to market at no extra cost and integration. As market leaders in the industry, we pride ourselves on our ability to quickly pivot our business strategy and redirect our resources towards delivering new and innovative solutions such as this.”
Drawing on Sportradar’s historical football database and statistical output to provide match data for the product, the first simulated reality games will offer a comprehensive range of pre-match and live (in-play) betting opportunities. The simulations will reflect team form and normal match play creating an advanced gaming experience.
Simulated Reality will be launching on Friday, 3 April covering the top-tier football leagues from England, Germany and Spain. Simulated Reality football will offer fans the chance to complete the current football season, with all remaining fixtures scheduled to be played as per their original date and kick-off time.
Played out over a full 90 minutes, fans will be able to bet on their favourite teams, access match analysis and league tables, while the game itself will be visualised by live match trackers.
Sportradar plans to extend its Simulated Reality product to several other leagues and competitions in the near future, with other sports earmarked for production including tennis and basketball.
Alex Pratt
Edge Marketing Institute launches G.A.M.E marketing leadership programme for B2B gaming
Online, on-demand course targets CMOs and senior marketers, with WorldGaming signed as exclusive media partner.
Edge Marketing Institute has launched in the gaming sector with its flagship programme, G.A.M.E (Gaming Advancement in Marketing Excellence), positioned by the company as a dedicated marketing leadership course for B2B gaming.
The company said the programme is designed to help senior marketers develop commercial leadership skills as businesses push marketing teams to contribute more directly to revenue and growth.
Founded by Paul Rees and Gerhard Sagat, Edge Marketing Institute said G.A.M.E consists of 10 senior-level modules covering strategic marketing leadership, positioning, product marketing, sales alignment, go-to-market execution, marketing measurement, brand strategy, and organisational influence.
Paul Rees, Co-Founder of Edge Marketing Institute, said: “Gaming has talented marketers throughout the industry, but too many have been forced to learn senior leadership on the job without structured development or exposure to broader marketing best practice.
“This isn’t a talent problem; it’s a structural one.
“We created Edge Marketing Institute and G.A.M.E to help marketing leaders operate with greater commercial clarity, confidence and influence, so marketing becomes a genuine driver of growth rather than simply a delivery function.”
The programme has launched with the support of WorldGaming as its exclusive media partner. Alex Pratt, Managing Director at WorldGaming, said: “As gaming continues to evolve, the role of marketing is becoming increasingly commercial and strategically important.
“Helping marketing leaders better align marketing with business growth, commercial objectives and long-term industry development is positive for the wider gaming ecosystem, which is why we’re pleased to support the launch of Edge Marketing Institute and G.A.M.E.”
The post Edge Marketing Institute launches G.A.M.E marketing leadership programme for B2B gaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
BetBlocker
BetBlocker adds Syrian Arabic language support for gambling harm prevention
The charity says the rollout targets displaced Syrian communities across Europe as it works toward a partnership with a European regulatory agency.
Gambling harm prevention charity BetBlocker said today it has expanded its service to include support for Syrian Arabic speakers, aiming to improve access for displaced Syrian communities living across Europe.
The organisation said years of conflict have led to large Syrian diaspora communities across neighbouring countries and many European nations. BetBlocker added that immigrant communities can face higher risk of gambling harm, with religious, social, cultural and linguistic barriers reducing engagement with support services.
BetBlocker said the Syrian Arabic rollout was prioritised as part of work towards a partnership with a European regulatory agency, positioning it to support diaspora Syrian communities across Europe.
Founder and Trustee for BetBlocker, Duncan Garvie, said: “I’m always really happy when BetBlocker can line-up priorities for where our work for mature markets also facilitates us extending protections to populations that are under served. Our project to deliver Ukrainian as apart of the Improving Outcomes for Minority Communities fund via GambleAware in the UK was a great example of a project that met the needs of the UK funding system, while concurrently extending the support we could offer to an entirely new project.
This project offers similar opportunities. Where extending our support to Syrian Arabic both allows us to submit a more competitive tender to an EU regulator, whilst simultaneously expanding our support to a country/population that currently has very limited options for people experiencing gambling harm.
BetBlocker’s uptake in Syria is climbing rapidly at the moment, and this new launch should ensure that far more people who need support can access it.”
The post BetBlocker adds Syrian Arabic language support for gambling harm prevention appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
AI
Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket
Tugi Tark has released a 2026 whitepaper, The economics of AI-powered iGaming customer support, arguing that AI changes the unit economics of player support and can reduce costs compared with human-led operations.
The report cites “verified pricing” of EUR 0.15 per AI-handled ticket. It compares that with fully loaded employer costs for human support in Romania and Bulgaria of EUR 1.73 to EUR 1.88 per ticket. At a “realistic” 70% AI containment rate, the whitepaper claims a blended cost of about EUR 0.67 per ticket, which it describes as roughly a 64% reduction versus a human-only baseline of EUR 1.88.
Tugi Tark says its analysis draws on Eurostat 2024 labour cost data, published research on AI chatbot benchmarks, independent iGaming player behaviour research, and operational data from its own deployments. The company estimates operators can achieve a 55% to 75% reduction in total support expenditure, and argues AI can absorb volume spikes—such as during major sporting events—without additional hiring or training lag.
Harpo Lilja, founder and CEO of TUgi Tark, said: “In 2026, the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI is costing operators millions in unnecessary overhead. We aren’t just talking about chatbots; we’re talking about a fundamental shift in the unit economics of player retention.”
The whitepaper also frames customer support as a retention lever, stating that payment issues account for 52% of ticket volume and that slower response times drive churn. It claims a 0.5 percentage point churn reduction could retain an additional 500 players per month for a mid-sized operator, translating to €200,000 in annual revenue based on an assumed €400 Player Lifetime Value. Tugi Tark also claims AI agents average ~7 seconds for first response versus ~60 seconds for human agents, and outlines use cases across Responsible Gambling escalation, KYC/AML workflows, and GDPR-aligned data sovereignty.
The post Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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