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YGAM launch ‘Parent Hub’ as university research highlights loot box danger amongst children
National charity, YGAM has joined with research teams from Newcastle and Loughborough Universities to help parents and carers understand the danger of loot boxes, with one young respondent in the Economic and Social Research Council funded project confirming how he spent nearly £500 buying packs of random cards.
The expert insight and advice is being posted on YGAM’s new ‘Parent Hub’ website www.parents.ygam.org. The hub which has been developed thanks to funding received from Lottoland, GVC and Playtech, provides families with the resources, information and activities to help build digital resilience and safeguard children. ‘Parent Hub’ helps explain why children are drawn to purchase loot boxes, ranging from the surprise and suspense of opening a box and the desire to win something rare, to receiving specific items that deliver an in-game advantage or boost their social status.
The research covers the potential harm loot boxes can cause, such as young people’s exposure to and normalisation of gambling style systems, as well as the emotional and financial harm from repeat spending – with one young person telling researchers how he spent nearly £500 in a mobile card game by buying packs of random cards, playing for up to seven hours a day. The advice covers how parents can take important steps to safeguard children, including the use of parental controls and identifying potential signs of harm.
“For some children, the act of opening a loot box is as important as what it contains” explains Dr James Ash, Reader in Technology, Space and Society at Newcastle University, who is leading the research. “Feelings of surprise and suspense lead to the repeat purchase of loot boxes. But this is often short-lived.
“Children and young people have told us how they feel disappointment, frustration, anger, and regret at loot box purchases, yet they are still driven to purchase again. This is concerning, given the deliberate design of these mechanisms – the visual stimulus, the randomised contents, and the very unfavourable odds for unboxing rare items – which can lead to repeat loot box purchases.”
Amanda Atkinson, Head of Parental Engagement at YGAM said the research will help inform and develop the charity’s educational programmes so that all young and vulnerable people are safe from gaming and gambling related harms. She stated: “Certainly the enormous variety of games and in-app purchases that are available can make it confusing for parents to keep on top of safety controls. Through our educational resources, we are focused on providing crucial information to parents so they can identify changes in behaviours and understand the effects this may have on mental and financial wellbeing.”
In collaboration with GamCare, YGAM is delivering the UK’s ground-breaking National Gambling Education and Prevention Programme. Supported by members of the Betting and Gaming Council, the £10 million programme will reach over 3 million young people to raise awareness of the risks of potential gaming and gambling related harms.
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Kai Botha
QTech Games continues to move fast with Playnetic integration
QTech Games, the leading game aggregator for all emerging markets, has announced its latest partnership with Playnetic, an emerging force in iGaming casino entertainment content allowing its platform clients access to another timely delivered portfolio of games focusing on immersive experiences.
Integrating games from one of the more visually stunning slots providers adds yet more variety to QTech Games’ premier platform, which is taking the widest range of online games to emerging territories with established names sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers. Playnetic’s standout titles include recent releases like Patrick vs Joker, alongside established fan favourites such as Joxer, Scarabs of Wealth and Lucky Licks.
Playnetic prides itself on creating engaging, innovative and high performing games that are suitable for all global gaming markets, delivering a personalised approach, which offers operators more flexibility in their iGaming content choices to suit specific markets. This integration also ensures QTech’s array of operator partners can leverage more innovative and high-performing content to stay ahead in a competitive marketplace.
Playnetic’s portfolio has been optimised for mobile, a cornerstone of QTech’s RNG model, which is founded on its fully-owned and customised technical platform, allowing games providers and operators the fastest integration available. With over 50 years’ management experience, QTech Games’ diverse range of gaming options is designed to provide a definitive one-stop shop. While its all-inclusive licence fee model, unified game launcher and wallet integration API mean clients can easily connect and access an all-encompassing portfolio in a few clicks. This has fast-become the “go-to” solution for worldwide operators across developing territories.
Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “We will continue to add fresh content to the platform, prioritising suppliers who provide unique, localised content. Playnetic’s immersive and player-focussed gaming suite fits the bill perfectly. Their content brings a new level of energy and engagement which we’re excited to share across our ever-growing group of operators.
Kai Botha, Chief Commercial Officer at Playnetic, added: “Playnetic’s mission is to create innovative, thrilling, and high preforming premium quality games that connect with players across multiple markets. For us that means casino content that is informed by market insights, advances in game play features supported by robust technology and the latest gameplay trends.
This deal marks another significant stride in enhancing our delivery efficiency, accelerating markets access to our games to connect with even more players. We look forward to seeing our games portfolio being available through QTech’s network.”
The post QTech Games continues to move fast with Playnetic integration appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Andrew Cardno
SkyCity Expands its Strategic Partnership with Quick Custom Intelligence
Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), a leading provider of casino operational intelligence software, announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with SkyCity Entertainment Group, New Zealand’s premier entertainment and gaming company.
SkyCity has successfully utilised QCI Slots for several years to enhance operational visibility, productivity and optimisation across its gaming floors. Building on that foundation, SkyCity is now expanding its engagement with QCI to support a more integrated, enterprise-wide view of customer and operational intelligence across its properties, product channels and services.
The expanded collaboration will introduce additional capabilities within the QCI Enterprise Platform, enabling SkyCity to consolidate data from across its ecosystem and transform it into actionable insight. It introduces enhanced tools to support customer engagement, segmentation and targeted decision-making, helping teams better understand customers, tailor experiences and respond more quickly to changing customer and operational needs. This is a key capability in an increasingly omni-channel environment.
“Our partnership with QCI has developed into a truly strategic collaboration, supporting how we integrate critical customer, product, and operational intelligence,” said Christina Katsibouba, Chief Digital & Transformation Officer at SkyCity.
“As we continue to develop our digital and omni-channel strategy, this expanded engagement reflects a shared goal to use connected data and insights to make better decisions, achieve stronger customer outcomes and create long-term value across the organization. Collaborating closely with QCI allows us to operate with greater agility today, while also shaping the future of how integrated entertainment and gaming businesses utilize intelligence at scale.”
QCI’s Enterprise Platform supports casino resorts worldwide by integrating data from across gaming, hospitality, and digital environments, delivering real-time intelligence that empowers teams to improve efficiency, enhance customer engagement and make faster, more informed decisions.
“SkyCity has been an outstanding partner and an innovative leader in the gaming industry. This expansion reflects the strong foundation we’ve built together and our shared commitment leveraging connected intelligence to drive stronger customer outcomes, support omni-channel strategies, and create a more agile and data-led operating model,” said Andrew Cardno, Co-Founder and CTO of Quick Custom Intelligence.
The continued collaboration between SkyCity Entertainment Group and QCI reflects both organisations’ commitment to innovation, customer excellence and the ongoing advancement of technology within the global gaming industry.
The post SkyCity Expands its Strategic Partnership with Quick Custom Intelligence appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Brooks Pierce
Inspired Entertainment Announces New SaaS Distribution Agreement with Playtech
Inspired Entertainment, a leading provider of B2B gaming content and systems, announced a new SaaS distribution agreement with Playtech, one of the world’s leading gambling technology companies.
Under the agreement, Inspired’s Virtual Sports portfolio, including its market-leading licensed content and U.S. sports offerings, will be distributed via Playtech’s Sportsbook platform to operators worldwide.
The SaaS solution features a cloud-hosted back-end integration with Playtech, allowing for modular delivery that can be adapted to customer needs. Inspired’s Virtual Sports portfolio provides operators with products designed to enhance engagement and drive player growth. This integration enables Playtech’s partners seamless access to Inspired’s Virtual Sports.
“This partnership represents a major milestone for Inspired. By becoming one of Playtech’s Virtual Sports partners, we can deliver our cutting-edge content to a wider global audience via one seamless integration,” said Brooks Pierce, President and CEO of Inspired.
“We are delighted to partner with Inspired Entertainment. This agreement extends our Virtual Sports offering and reaffirms Playtech’s commitment to providing innovative, engaging experiences to players across multiple regulated territories,” said Yori Arami, VP of Sports Commercial at Playtech.
This agreement combines Inspired’s innovative content and cloud-native delivery with Playtech’s established operator network, resulting in a more engaging virtual gaming experience for players.
The post Inspired Entertainment Announces New SaaS Distribution Agreement with Playtech appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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