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Survey: Supporters of Centre Party, Finns Party and National Coalition Party are against the Government’s decision concerning Veikkaus Ltd
The Finnish Government’s decision to make budget appropriations in order to fully compensate Veikkaus Ltd.’s beneficiaries for the decline in Veikkaus’s revenue from gambling divides the Finnish people into two, almost equal-sized opposing camps, as indicated by the survey commissioned from Bilendi Oy.
Finns are split almost exactly in half over whether or not the Finnish Government reached the right solution in deciding to make budget appropriations to fully compensate Veikkaus Ltd.’s beneficiaries for the decline in Veikkaus’s revenue from gambling in 2020.
In March this year, Veikkaus Ltd, the government-owned betting agency that holds a monopoly in Finland, shut down its gambling machines in grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants and petrol stations due to the coronavirus crisis. Additionally, sports betting has faced an exceptional situation, as many popular sports have temporarily ceased.
41% of Finns are in favour of the Government’s decision to fully compensate the beneficiaries for the decline in revenue, while 38% of them are against it. The rest cannot say how they feel about it.
These are some of the findings of a survey conducted by the market research company Bilendi Oy as part of its M3 Panel, a nationwide consumer panel, between 10 and 13 July 2020, on commission by Kasino Curt, the gambling information website (https://kasinocurt.com/). The margin of error in the survey is ±3.1 percentage points. A total of 1,000 Finnish adults responded to the survey, and the sample was weighted by age, gender and place of residence to represent the Finnish population on a national scale.
Out of all parties’ supporters, the decision by the Government headed by Prime Minister Sanna Marin arouses the most opposition among Finns Party voters, of whom just 31 percent relate favourably to it. Out of the Cabinet parties’ supporters, Centre Party voters are against the Government’s decision; merely 37 percent of them are in favour of it. Likewise, supporters of the National Coalition Party and the minor parties are against the Government’s decision.
“On the whole, the difference between the support and opposition is so small that it falls within the margin of error. However, different age groups relate very differently to the matter. The 18-24-year-olds feel most negatively about the decision, whereas among the 45-54-year-olds, as many as 47 percent consider the decision a good one,” says Janne Juntunen, Senior Client Service Manager for Bilendi Oy.
Gambling machines in grocery stores: a sign of the post-COVID-19 era?
In June, Veikkaus publicly announced it will restart the gambling machines on 15 July. Veikkaus also announced it will do so with attention to the health risks caused by COVID-19, which seems to have convinced the Finnish people.
According to Kasino Curt’s survey, 46% of Finns approve of Veikkaus’s decision to turn the gambling machines back on while 30% of them disapprove of it. The rest cannot say how they feel about it.
“The coronavirus epidemic was not mentioned in conjunction with the survey for impartiality reasons, but the respondents may have thought that the restart of Veikkaus’s gambling machines is a sign of the post-COVID-19 era,” Juntunen mentions.
Last year, Kasino Curt commissioned two similar surveys from Bilendi. The findings of these surveys indicated that more Finns support than oppose the idea of abolishing Finland’s gambling monopoly and adopting a gambling licence system and that Finns are suspicious of the Finnish MPs’ motives in gambling matters.
The results of all the three surveys are still available online at https://kasinocurt.com.
Listed below are the statements of the most recent survey and those responses that indicated agreement or disagreement with them (that is to say, the responses “Cannot say” are not included in the listing):
- In March this year, Veikkaus Ltd shut down its gambling machines in grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants and petrol stations. On 15 July, Veikkaus will turn the gambling machines back on. In my opinion, the decision to restart the gambling machines is the right one. Agree 46%, disagree 30%.
- The Finnish Government has decided to make budget appropriations in order to fully compensate Veikkaus Ltd.’s beneficiaries for the decline in Veikkaus’s revenue from gambling in 2020. In my opinion, this is right. (The beneficiaries are represented by a number of organisations.) Agree 41%, disagree 38%.
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game-mechanics
RubyPlay rolls out in-game Missions and Tournaments engagement tools
RubyPlay has launched a new suite of in-game Engagement Tools—starting with Missions and Tournaments—aimed at helping operators increase session depth and retention through game-level events.
The company said the tools move away from “wallet-level” engagement mechanics common in the market by tying objectives and scoring to events that occur inside the slot experience. Missions lets operators build campaigns where players complete specific in-game objectives in exchange for instant rewards.
Tournaments adds a time-bound competitive layer, with players earning points by triggering in-game events such as high-value symbol landings and feature activations. RubyPlay said both tools are designed to run as a native part of gameplay rather than an external overlay.
Deployment will extend across RubyPlay’s portfolio and its studio ecosystem, including RubyPlay Studio, Koala Games, Mad Hat Games, xSlots and Firerose, with each able to embed Missions and Tournaments in their titles.
Tsachi Maimon, Chief Executive Officer at RubyPlay, said: “When we developed our Engagement Tools, the goal was not to add another promotional layer on top of the game. The goal was to strengthen the game itself.
“Most engagement mechanics in the market are built around wallet activity or broad player behaviour. We wanted to take a different approach by building Missions and Tournaments around real in-game events, the moments players already connect with during the slot experience.
“That creates a more relevant and intuitive journey for players, while giving operators a powerful way to support longer sessions, stronger retention and deeper engagement across RubyPlay’s full content ecosystem.”
The post RubyPlay rolls out in-game Missions and Tournaments engagement tools appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
crypto sports
iBankroll signs risk-sharing deal with MonkeyTilt for VIP wagering limits
Partnership targets high-stakes variance coverage, enabling up to $1m-per-round blackjack and unlimited daily withdrawals, the companies say.
iBankroll has signed a risk-sharing partnership with crypto sports and casino operator MonkeyTilt to expand the operator’s high-stakes VIP wagering limits, the companies said.
The agreement uses iBankroll’s “Bankroll-as-a-Service” model, which is designed to absorb short-term variance tied to high-stakes play. iBankroll said the structure reduces the need for operators to hold large capital reserves to cover VIP action, freeing up balance sheet for investment in product, marketing and customer experience.
Under the deal, MonkeyTilt said it will offer $1 million per-round blackjack, $6 million maximum slot wins, unlimited daily withdrawals, and “top-of-market sports limits.” The press release adds that MonkeyTilt is backed by PolyChain and Pantera Capital and has raised over $80 million in funding.
Hayden Bowman, Co-Founder of iBankroll, said: “MonkeyTilt is building one of the most ambitious consumer products in the space.
“Sam and the team don’t take partnerships lightly and we don’t either when the deal is this size. We’ve spent the last several months getting every piece into place so MonkeyTilt can take on serious volume and volatility with zero bankroll risk on their side. It’s been a real pleasure working with them and we’re excited to keep going.”
Sam Kiki, Founder and CEO of MonkeyTilt, said: “MonkeyTilt has raised over $80 million from investors like Pantera Capital, Polychain, PokerGo, and myself. However, we have always had to earmark a large portion of our balance sheet to guarantee immediate payouts to winners.
“Moving forward, this risk will be assumed by our partners, freeing up our capital for growth. What most people don’t realise is that 99 percent of startup casinos don’t actually have a bankroll. Some take $100K-per-hand action knowing they can’t cover the downside. This deal puts us in the 1 percent that doesn’t have to think about it.”
The post iBankroll signs risk-sharing deal with MonkeyTilt for VIP wagering limits appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
content-supplier
Pragmatic Play adds football theme to Big Bass series with new slot
Pragmatic Play has released Big Bass Football Bonanza, a new entry in its Big Bass slot series that switches the franchise’s fisherman theme to a football stadium setting.
The 5×3 title uses trophy scatters to trigger a bonus game. According to the supplier, landing 3-5 trophy scatters awards 15-25 free spins, with wilds split into red and blue “teams” that collect money symbols worth up to 5,000x.
Pragmatic Play said red and blue wilds are collected on their respective sides, with every fourth wild on each team awarding 10 extra spins and adding multipliers of 2x, 3x and 10x on the first, second and third retrigger. The supplier added that if wilds land with no money symbols, or money symbols land with no wilds, paying symbols can be randomly transformed into wilds or cash prizes.
The launch lands just over two weeks before the world’s biggest football tournament gets underway. Pragmatic Play positions the release as the latest addition to the Big Bass franchise following recent titles Big Bass Trophy Catch and Big Bass Raceday Repeat.
Sharon McHugh, Director of Public Relations at Pragmatic Play, said: “Big Bass Football Bonanza has been designed to capture the electric atmosphere surrounding the world’s most-watched football tournament. From the stadium-inspired setting to the football-themed symbols, the game delivers an entertaining twist on the popular Big Bass formula.”
The post Pragmatic Play adds football theme to Big Bass series with new slot appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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