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Zynga Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Istanbul-based Rollic

Published

6 years ago

August 6, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Zynga Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment, announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Istanbul-based Rollic, a mobile games developer and publisher with an exciting portfolio of popular hyper-casual games that have been downloaded more than 250 million times. With this acquisition, Zynga enters the hyper-casual market – one of the largest and fastest growing gaming categories on mobile – and adds a highly talented team and an extensive network of external developers. Rollic will meaningfully increase our audience and grow our advertising business.

Founded in December 2018 by Burak Vardal, Deniz Basaran and Mehmet Can Yavuz, Rollic is a hyper-casual publisher and game developer based in Istanbul, Turkey. Eight of Rollic’s games have reached #1 or #2 top free downloaded games in the U.S. App Store, and their latest releases, Go Knots 3D and Tangle Master 3D, were the top two most downloaded games in the U.S. App Store in Q2 2020. Rollic’s titles currently have more than 5 million mobile daily active users (DAUs) and 65 million mobile monthly active users (MAUs).

“We are excited to expand into the hyper-casual category with the acquisition of Rollic, one of the fastest growing hyper-casual developers and publishers worldwide in 2020, led by an incredibly creative team,” said Frank Gibeau, Chief Executive Officer of Zynga. “With Rollic, we are meaningfully growing our audience, expanding and diversifying our global advertising business, and adding to our game pipeline and developer network. Zynga and Rollic are well-positioned to grow faster together.”

“The Rollic team is proud to be joining Zynga,” said Burak Vardal, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rollic. “Our expertise in hyper-casual is a seamless fit for Zynga’s proficiency in product management, data science, ad monetization and world-class publishing. With Rollic’s robust slate of existing and new hyper-casual games joining Zynga’s portfolio, we look forward to advancing our collective mission to connect the world through games.”

Zynga will acquire 80% of Rollic for $168 million in cash. The final upfront transaction consideration will also include customary closing adjustments and is expected to close on October 1, 2020. Over the next three years, Zynga will acquire the remaining 20% in equal installments at valuations based on specific profitability goals.

AB Trav och Galopp

Richard Woodbridge Elected to ATG Board of Directors

Published

27 minutes ago

May 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

richard-woodbridge-elected-to-atg-board-of-directors

At the Annual General Meeting of AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) on Thursday, May 7, 2026, Richard Woodbridge, CEO of Scandinavian Heritage AB, was elected as a new independent member of ATG’s board. He succeeds Mårten Forste, who left the board at the end of 2025.

“We welcome Richard to ATG’s board. His solid experience from the gaming market will add significant value to the board’s work,” said Peter Norman, chairman of ATG.

“I am pleased and grateful for the trust in me to take a seat on ATG’s board. ATG is a very strong company and brand with an important role in both gaming and horse racing, and I look forward to future collaboration with the rest of the board,” said Richard Woodbridge.

The Nomination Committee’s proposal for re-election of other board members was approved by the meeting.

ATG’s board thus consists of:

• Peter Norman (Chairman, independent)

• Boris Lennerhov (Vice Chairman, trotting representative)

• Katarina G. Bonde (Board member, independent)

• Marie Osberg (Board member, independent)

• Richard Woodbridge (Board member, independent)

• Marie Thelander Dellhag (Board member, trotting representative)

• Anders Lilius (Board member, galloping representative)

Employee representatives on the board:

• Björn Haglund (Board member, employee representative)

• Camilla Hasselström (Board member, employee representative)

• Alternates: Gustav Enström and Leo Wilson, both employee representatives.

The post Richard Woodbridge Elected to ATG Board of Directors appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

affiliate marketing

ReferOn completes management buyout as Alex Bukin becomes CEO

Published

27 minutes ago

May 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

referon-completes-management-buyout-as-alex-bukin-becomes-ceo

ReferOn has completed a management buyout, with former General Manager Alex Bukin acquiring the iGaming affiliate management platform and taking over as Chief Executive Officer.

Bukin said the deal is intended to support longer-term product and market plans: “This is an important moment for ReferOn and the beginning of a new chapter for the business. The management buyout provides us with the long-term focus required to continually advance the platform. We remain committed to product development, strengthening our offerings for partners, and supporting ReferOn’s continued growth across key markets.”

ReferOn reported that in its first 12 months post-launch it recorded 35.7 million clicks, 2.4 million registrations, 18,000 affiliates, and 136,000 active trackers. The company also said it was named “Best Affiliate Platform” in 2025 and 2026 by industry stakeholders.

The company said the ownership change will not affect day-to-day operations and that existing support and partnerships will continue. It also pointed to recent product updates including Refie, described as a built-in interface layer, alongside features such as dynamic reporting, Company Grouping, Sub-Affiliation, Independent Deal Calculation (IDC), two-factor authentication (2FA), and mobile optimization.

As part of the transition, ReferOn said its leadership team remains in place, with Vlad Bondarenko moving from Head of Product to Chief Product Officer and David Harris moving from Operations Lead to Chief Operations Officer.

The post ReferOn completes management buyout as Alex Bukin becomes CEO appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

ELA Games

ELA Games’ Joker Winpot shortlisted for Game of the Year at SBC Awards Americas

Published

27 minutes ago

May 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

ela-games’-joker-winpot-shortlisted-for-game-of-the-year-at-sbc-awards-americas

ELA Games said its slot title Joker Winpot has been shortlisted for “Game of the Year” at the 2026 SBC Awards Americas, with winners set to be revealed on June 10, 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The company described Joker Winpot as a consistent performer in its portfolio, combining a dark, character-driven theme with a 1×1 grid format.

ELA Games said the title’s core differentiator is its proprietary Winpot mechanic, a progression-based feature built around player choice. As rewards build inside the Winpot, players can either cash out or keep spinning in pursuit of higher payouts.

The 2026 SBC Awards Americas ceremony will take place at the Broward County Convention Center. Organizers expect around 600 industry professionals, with the awards running alongside SBC Summit Americas from June 9–11.

The post ELA Games’ Joker Winpot shortlisted for Game of the Year at SBC Awards Americas appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.