Latest News
FACEIT’s AI admin tackling toxic behaviour learns to detect verbal toxicity and mic spam
FACEIT, the makers of Minerva, the first artificial intelligence powered admin, can reveal her upgraded capabilities in the fight against toxic behaviour in competitive games. Minerva can now hear and is able to understand voice messages in all languages. Detecting toxic behaviour on voice chat including verbal toxicity and mic spam.
- Last year FACEIT embarked on a journey to reduce toxic behaviour in online multiplayer games by releasing Minerva, an artificial intelligence powered admin, able to detect and take action against toxic messages at infinite scale. According to surveys of FACEIT users, anti-toxicity solutions were one of the most requested features.
- Since launch she has:
- Analysed more than 1.4bn chat messages
- Detected more than 1.9 million toxic messages and issues warnings
- Banned over 100k players
- As a result, the FACEIT platform has seen:
- 21% fewer toxic messages sent
- 62% reduction in seriously offensive messages being sent
- The first iteration of Minerva began by analysing thousands of text chat messages to detect abusive language and toxic behaviour, but there were other forms of toxicity relating to gameplay she was unable to detect including; players acting as obstacles for teammates, staying AFK, deliberate friendly fire, blocking, griefing and potential offensive and abusive language via voice channels
- To detect and take action against negative behaviours in gameplay, FACEIT launched Justice, a community-driven portal, that thanks to the endless effort of many members of the community, has managed to resolve more than 60,000 cases, issuing almost 30,000 punishments since it’s launch in April.
- The FACEIT community also fed back that text detection didn’t go far enough thus prompting the development in Minerva’s ability to listen. Now she is able to analyse audio sources of data and detect two different types of potential abuse: toxic verbal messages and microphone spamming.
- Minerva is able to analyse full conversations among players during a match. An important aspect that makes the overall process more reliable and less prone to misleading interpretations that could come out by analyzing single and isolated messages.
- In addition to detecting potential toxic voice messages Minerva is able to detect and sanction other forms of repetitive annoying user behaviours and sounds, which could worsen their teammates’ ability to concentrate and make the overall experience less enjoyable such as screaming or excessively loud music. To achieve this, Minerva reviews the audio file of the match and by applying a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) technology, she can recognise a series of negative behaviours and issue either a warning or a ban in case the player has been caught multiple times.
To find out more about Minerva please head to https://fce.gg/minerva-gets-ears
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1spin4win & Blask report 7 out of 10 top games in Africa are slots
The study analyzes key markets across both regions, including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Using real-time data on game placement and player demand, the research provides a clear view of what content operators prioritize and what resonates most with players. The report also features insights from operators such as BetPawa and MSport, adding industry perspective to the data-driven analysis.
One key finding is that slots continue to dominate across both regions. In Africa, they account for 71% of the Top 30 games featured in casino lobbies, while in Latin America, they make up 67% of the Top 30 games analyzed — outperforming both crash and live formats.
At the same time, the data shows that what operators place in lobbies does not always match what players are actually looking for. Some of the most searched-for games are not prominently featured or are missing from lobbies altogether.
For 1spin4win, this report is part of their broader expansion strategy across Africa and Latin America. The provider began actively extending its presence in these markets in 2025, strengthening partnerships with local aggregators and refining its product strategy to better align with regional player preferences. These include mobile optimization and fast loading and smooth performance even on weak internet connections. In Africa, these efforts led to a 9.2x increase in the number of bets.
Olga Hlukhovskaya, Business Development Director at 1spin4win, “At 1spin4win, we place strong emphasis on working with data. It’s at the core of how we approach product development. We focus on understanding player preferences and making informed decisions that help us deliver experiences that truly resonate with our audience.”
Ilya Batcherikov, Blask CPO, commented, “By aggregating non-branded search data at scale, we help teams understand what players are actually looking for in each market — often before those trends become visible inside the product. This allows operators to move from reactive content strategies to proactive ones, aligning supply with real-time demand and capturing value that would otherwise be missed.”
Full insights from the research are available in the report “What’s hot in LATAM and Africa” on the Blask website.
About 1spin4win
1spin4win is an established game provider founded in May 2021 by ambitious developers with over 15 years of experience in the gambling industry. Since its inception, the company has expanded its portfolio to include over 200 classic online slots, all characterized by quality mathematics, transparent mechanics, and well-balanced gameplay — key factors that drive strong player retention. The studio aims to release an average of four new games each month in 2026 and offers effective promotional tools for casino operators to help them enhance player loyalty.
Allwyn
UK High Court Rejects Legal Challenges Relating to the National Lottery Licence
On 17 April 2026, the UK High Court rejected in full the claims brought by The New Lottery Company Limited (TNLC) and Northern & Shell PLC (N&S) against the Gambling Commission in relation to the award of the Fourth National Lottery Licence.
In summary, the claims alleged that the Gambling Commission had wrongly awarded the Fourth National Lottery Licence to Allwyn, and that instead, TNLC should have won the competition. The claims also alleged that the Gambling Commission and Allwyn had entered into impermissible modifications to the Licence arrangements following the competition.
The lengthy trial of the claims took place in the High Court before Mrs Justice Joanna Smith between 9 October and 2 December 2025, with an additional day on 13 January 2026.
The High Court has now ruled in favour of the Gambling Commission on all of the claims, rejecting the allegations which had been made.
This is an important judgment for the future of The National Lottery. This judgment makes clear that the Gambling Commission ran a fair and robust competition to award the Fourth National Lottery Licence, and that none of the contested changes to the Licence, in the course of its implementation, were substantial or contrary to the relevant procurement regulations.
The judgment gives resounding support to Good Causes by enabling Allwyn, with oversight from the Commission, to continue with their plans of investment in The National Lottery without further distraction.
The National Lottery is one of the world’s largest lotteries and since launching in 1994, National Lottery players have collectively raised more than £52 billion for more than 670,000 Good Causes across the UK, transforming lives and contributing to the arts, sport, heritage and communities.
The post UK High Court Rejects Legal Challenges Relating to the National Lottery Licence appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
ESG
Play’n GO publishes 2025 Sustainability Report with emissions and governance updates
Play’n GO has published its 2025 Sustainability Report, framing the year as a milestone as the supplier marks 20 years in the gaming industry. The report covers performance across four pillars—Players, Partners, People and Planet—and positions sustainability as tied to product design, operations, and partner expectations.
On climate reporting, the company said it has “achieved and exceeded” its long-term 90% reduction target for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and reported a 69% absolute reduction in Scope 3 emissions versus its 2023 base year. Play’n GO also said its total material emissions for 2025 were kept below 500 MTCO2e.
The report also points to a move into land-based delivery. In 2025, Play’n GO said it launched its first land-based gaming solution in partnership with Genting UK, positioning the rollout as part of a “player-first, low-footprint approach” for regulated venues.
On responsible entertainment, the company said it continues to reject game mechanics it believes “compromise player trust or wellbeing,” and highlighted participation in discussions on digital wellbeing and cognitive health, including at the United Nations and G7. “We have always believed that great entertainment should be fun, safe and fair,” said Vanessa Björkbacka, Director of CSR at Play’n GO.
The report also outlines internal development and reporting infrastructure. Play’n GO said 43% of employees engaged in AI-related learning during 2025 and that average training time exceeded seven hours per employee globally. It added that reporting was further aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and World Economic Forum Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, alongside investment in “secure, AI-supported carbon data management.” “As expectations on transparency and accountability continue to rise, we see it as our responsibility to lead,” Björkbacka added.
The post Play’n GO publishes 2025 Sustainability Report with emissions and governance updates appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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