Central Europe
Casinos Austria Appoints New Members to the Supervisory Board
NEW MEMBERS WERE APPOINTED TO THE SUPERVISORY BOARD AT CASINOS AUSTRIA AG ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND SUPERVISORY BOARD MEETING.
- Reorganisation of the Supervisory Board: Wolfgang Hesoun is the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board – additional experts have been appointed
- Syndicate contract brings stability to the corporate group
- Player protection is to be a focus of the Supervisory Board
- Implementation of extensive restructuring programme
- Strengthening of distribution and online offers – fight against illegality
Reorganisation of the Supervisory Board
New members were appointed to the Supervisory Board at Casinos Austria AG Annual General Meeting and Supervisory Board Meeting.
At Casinos Austria AG, Wolfgang Hesoun, a top Austrian manager, took the helm as the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board. His currently sole Vice Chairman is SAZKA Group CEO Robert Chvatal, who has chaired the Board since Walter Rothensteiner’s departure.
ÖBAG Director and former PwC CEO Christine Catasta and compliance and player protection expert Erika Stark-Rittenauer were appointed to the Supervisory Board. Gerhild Hofer and Thomas Polzer are leaving the committee.
“I am delighted that we were able to secure an experienced top manager as President of the Supervisory Board, and that person is Wolfgang Hesoun. Our current personnel decisions show that after a challenging period, we are embarking on a new chapter for the company, one in which the Managing Board, the employees, the Supervisory Board and the owners work together to create a positive future for the company,” says ÖBAG Managing Board member Thomas Schmid.
Syndicate contract brings stability to the company
The basis for the changes in membership of the Boards is the syndicate contract between the SAZKA Group (majority owner) and the state-owned holding company ÖBAG. This contract was recently approved by the EU Competition Commission. “The syndicate contract between the two main owners amicably regulates the strategic development and alignment of the corporate group. Our shared vision and long-term strategy provide the stability that the company needs. This is particularly important in the current difficult situation as well as with regard to the challenges facing the corporate group in the near future. In particular, the two main owners will make a substantial contribution to strengthening distribution and building up new online services, as well as driving forward the urgently needed fight against illegality,” SAZKA CEO Robert Chvatal says about the new cooperation between the owners.
Player protection is to be a focus of the Supervisory Board
Player protection and handling gambling responsibly has always been a central issue within the Casinos Austria/Österreichische Lotterien Group. In future, the Supervisory Board will provide tangible support for the company’s efforts in this crucial area. “Casinos and lotteries bear great social responsibility in the gaming sector. As a core shareholder, it is of particular interest to ÖBAG that our shareholdings continue to expand their pioneering role in the area of player protection in Europe. With Erika Stark-Rittenauer, we on the Supervisory Board can provide valuable input in this regard,” Schmid says with respect to the future focus.
Implementation of the restructuring programme
The report on the ReFIT restructuring programme was discussed at length in today’s meetings. Following intensive negotiations, a comprehensive package was put together in a very short time, and most of it has already been implemented. These far-reaching measures will save 50 million euros in the long run and reduce the number of employees by around 500 FTEs across the entire Group. The fact that almost the entire personnel reduction could be carried out in the form of amicable separations and accompanied by corresponding social plans, new collective agreements and company agreements was noted as a positive aspect. This was possible because an amount in the high double-digit millions was spent on the design of these separation packages. Far-reaching internal restructuring has made processes much more efficient and made it possible to focus on new entrepreneurial tasks. This has created a basis for the long-term security of the corporate group.
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Central Europe
Scientific Games and Polish National Lottery Continue 20-Year Scratchcard Tradition as Sales Grow
Scientific Games will continue to bring exciting instant scratchcard games to Polish National Lottery players through a new agreement with Totalizator Sportowy. Celebrating the instant lottery’s 25th anniversary last year, Totalizator Sportowy is among the top five performing instant game lotteries in Europe (La Fleur’s 2025 World Lottery Almanac). The world’s largest lottery games company has provided scratchcards to Totalizator Sportowy for more than 20 years, with scratchcard game sales in Poland growing by 20% over the past three years (2022 to 2025).
“Our goal is to give our players entertaining scratchcard experiences while responsibly generating maximum proceeds for Polish sport and culture. We are delighted to continue working with Scientific Games to offer fun, modern scratch experiences,” said Katarzyna Woznica-Borkowska, Manager of Instant Products for Totalizator Sportowy.
Most recently, Scientific Games collaborated with Totalizator Sportowy to offer Polish players the PLN30 GIGA 7 game produced with the company’s advanced Dimension technology, which enhances the play experience with three-dimensional, reflection-at-different-angle refractions above and below the game graphics.
Currently, the company provides instant games to 110 government-regulated lotteries worldwide, including more than 50 European lotteries.
“Scientific Games is honored to continue our longtime relationship with Totalizator Sportowy that we have built across two decades,” said Paul Dures, Lottery Sales Director EMEA for Scientific Games. “We look forward to continuing our work to drive meaningful growth for the scratchcard games in Poland creating more innovative and attractive games for players.”
With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world (La Fleur’s 2025 World Lottery Almanac).
The post Scientific Games and Polish National Lottery Continue 20-Year Scratchcard Tradition as Sales Grow appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Central Europe
Number of companies and employees in German games industry falls for first time in years
After years of growth, the number of companies and employees in the German games industry declined in 2025. This was announced today by game – The German Games Industry Association on the basis of data from gamesmap.de in cooperation with Goldmedia. According to the data, the number of companies in Germany that develop and/or publish games has dropped by 4 per cent within the past year, to 910. The boom in start-ups in the games sector, which was set in motion by the introduction of the German Federal Games Funding Programme in 2020, has now completely subsided. Last year’s figures already indicated a clear slowdown. This decline was due in particular to the consolidation of the global games market and the unreliable availability of games funding to date in Germany.
Three times since 2020, there have been months-long suspensions placed on funding applications. Despite the newly registered drop, the number of companies has risen by 46 per cent overall since the initial start of the games funding programme in 2020. Of the 910 present companies, 454 work exclusively in game development and 52 exclusively as publishers. The remaining 404 companies are active in both the development and publishing of games.
‘Last year was another very difficult one for the German games industry,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Germany’s international competitiveness was further decreased by the ongoing flip-flopping of the games funding policy, which ran right into the consolidation wave that swept the global games sector. Fortunately, the new federal government has already taken the necessary steps to level the playing field for companies in this country. The future funding budget is to be increased and thus adjusted to actual needs, and applications can be submitted from August onwards. These are crucial growth impulses that are urgently needed. The additional funds will not only give companies more planning security, but also time to implement additional tax breaks for games, as set out in the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD. The improved conditions will finally give games companies a boost, which will hopefully soon be reflected in more start-ups and the creation of new jobs.’
The number of employees at games companies in Germany has also declined over the last year. Whereas game developers and publishers employed 12,408 workers in 2024, the current figure stands at just 12,134 – a drop of 2 per cent. As with the number of companies, the employee numbers had previously shown strong growth since the introduction of the games funding programme at the federal level: a rise of 23 per cent from 2020 to 2024. The recent decline indicates that the current conditions for the games industry, which offer limited scope for planning due to the repeated funding application stoppages and significant current funding restrictions, are having an impact on the job market. A year ago, there were still more companies with ongoing projects that were internationally competitive thanks to funding at levels comparable to those in other countries – financing that had stabilised Germany’s game sector, despite the global consolidation wave and a lack of funding certainty for the industry here. The game industry secures a total of over 30,000 jobs in Germany. In addition to jobs in development and publishing, these include, for example, skilled professionals in educational institutions, the media and the public and commercial sectors.
About the data
The data is drawn from a survey carried out by Goldmedia on the basis of entries on gamesmap.de. It was conducted on behalf of game – The German Games Industry Association for the period ending on 12 May 2025.
The post Number of companies and employees in German games industry falls for first time in years appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Promatic Group, a Polish manufacturer of slot machines and system solutions for the gaming industry, is launching a new collection of slots dedicated to casino customers – the Pro Selection multigame. The first devices have already been certified in Poland and stood in casinos in Warsaw and Krakow.
One platform, up to 55 games
Pro Selection is software with a collection of as many as 55 different titles, covering the full functional and stylistic range of games from the Polish company’s portfolio. Players will find both classic “fruits” games – traditional and simple in form – and modern adventure games, based on an elaborate narrative and unique logics. Branded productions that stand out for their original creations and high graphic quality are also worthy of special attention.
“In Pro Selection, we wanted to include our best titles and those that have proven themselves in both the land-based and online slot segments. That’s why players will find classics such as Miss Joker, one of the most popular games at Poland’s only legal online casino, or 81 Show, a popular hat game. There are also online hits of recent months such as Pixel Fruits and Ale Cool Bober. On top of that, we have added titles that have so far only been available in land-based slot machines and have been great in them, namely Golden Train, Aladdin or Magic Ladybird Mega,” says Piotr Fedak, CEO of Promatic. – “As for branded productions, games with Mariusz Pudzianowski remain a hit, and not only in Poland”, he adds.
Variability and mathematics for every player
One of the important features of Multigame Pro Selection is the mathematical diversity of the games available in it. The collection offers games with varying levels of volatility – from low to very high (on a scale of 1 to 5 stars). As a result, the package meets the needs of both enthusiasts of long session play with frequent, smaller wins, and players looking for higher risk and high wins.
Also new to Pro Selection is a revamped user interface. An intuitive lobby, it provides quick access to all titles, convenient filtering and easy navigation – both from the touch screen and traditional buttons. This is part of software that meets the highest industry technical standards and has been certified by a Polish testing laboratory accredited by the Minister of Finance as authorized to test gaming machines.
“As a product dedicated to casinos, i.e. the most demanding B2B customers, Pro Selection is designed to be fully integrated with the SAS protocol, which is standard in this market, giving compatibility with various casino management systems and providing full operational and billing transparency. It’s a product that is ready for deployment in casino environments where reliability and control are key,” explains Piotr Fedak. – We strive to ensure that Pro Selection’s multigame always goes hand in hand with our proprietary Royal Sevens Jackpot progressive jackpot system, which in itself is a huge asset and player magnet, Fedak adds.
Ease of maintenance and energy efficiency
Pro Selection software is available exclusively on the latest casino-class slot machines from Promatic Group – that is, the Casino 27 and PRO VIP 27 and 32 cabinets These are top-quality terminals equipped with HD monitors, state-of-the-art sound systems and RGB lighting to enhance the gaming atmosphere.
“Thanks to their modular design and intuitive service menus, our multigames are virtually maintenance-free – that is, technical service friendly. Interestingly also, our energy efficiency studies have shown that compared to the competition, Promatic machines consume significantly less energy,” says Piotr Fedak. – At the moment Pro Selection is fully certified for the Polish market, and work is already underway to obtain licenses for the Czech Republic, Slovakia where our goal is to implement this 100% Polish product in those very markets, says Piotr Fedak.
About Promatic Group
Promatic Group is a Polish company with more than 28 years of experience in the gambling industry, specializing in the production of gaming machines and providing dedicated software for gaming rooms and casinos, both land-based and online. The company’s headquarters and factory are located in Warsaw and Jelenia Gora.
In Poland, Promatic’s devices can be found in Totalizator Sportowy’s legal gaming salons, casinos of the WinCasino chain and selected Casinos Poland locations. The company also operates in Latin American and African markets.
Promatic Group is certified to ISO 27001 for information security and ISO 9001 for slot machine manufacturing quality.
Since 2021, the company has also been developing its online gaming segment under the Promatic Games brand, offering online slots in regulated markets in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It also holds B2B licenses issued by regulators in Romania (ONJN) and Malta (MGA) and plans to enter more than a dozen new markets in the next few months.
The post Pro Selection – next generation casino multigame from Promatic Group appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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