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World Cricket Championship inks exclusive deal with Israel-based in-game ad solution provider Anzu to bring new-age blended ad technology

Published

5 years ago

February 8, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Nazara’s subsidiary, Next Wave Multimedia Pvt. Ltd., exclusively partners with Israel-based Anzu with the aim to bring advancement in blended in-game advertising for the second edition of their award-winning World Cricket Championship (WCC) franchise. The game will look to leverage Anzu’s blended in-game ad technology, bringing more opportunities for brands and advertisers in the Indian ecosystem.

Being a leader in this space, Anzu will now bring to WCC2 ad viewability, brand lift measurement, audience verification, data enrichment, and fraud detection in partnership with industry leaders such as Moat, Comscore, Kantar, and Nielsen, in addition to native ad placements with blended in-game banner ads across the game on Android and iOS devices.

The native advertising format that this collaboration brings will help advertisers reach their audiences in a seamless manner, without disrupting user experience, while integrating a brand’s message in the game’s environment.

On the exclusive partnership, Next Wave Multimedia co-founder and CEO P.R. Rajendran says, “We are glad to be able to bring more value to brands. We believe this collaboration will help us serve users and advertisers better by taking gaming and digital advertising a notch higher for enhanced experience.”

Anzu’s CEO and co-founder, Itamar Benedy, remarked, “Every region is seeing a growth in gaming, and advertisers realise that in-game ads can help them connect with a once elusive audience. We are thrilled to partner with such a well-established studio and help them achieve their goals while opening up the in-game advertising market for advertisers across India.”

The APAC region has always had a record number of players, with the current estimate at 1.5 billion. Now that Anzu has inked a deal with AdColony’s APAC division, advertisers across the region will have even more access to gamers. Amit Rathi, AdColony’s Country Manager for India, noted, “Gaming has transformed from an underground pastime to mainstream entertainment, and it is rivaling the reach of social media. Advertisers need to take note of this and treat gaming as an equal if not a more effective channel for communicating with consumers. Placing in-game ads in games like WCC 2 will allow advertisers to reach their desired audiences.”

Overall, WCC apps have garnered more than 140 million installs across devices. Earlier in 2020, WCC MAUs and Daily Active Users (“DAU”) hit a peak of 15 million and 3.5 million respectively (Next Wave Multimedia), gaining from the lockdown-induced surge in mobile gaming. WCC2 alone counts more than 50 million downloads on Google Play Store. The user engagement for the WCC games has increased considerably, evidenced by the fact that the average daily user engagement time for WCC2 was 45 minutes but this has increased to 55 minutes for the WCC3 title.

To help align in-game advertising with other media channels, Anzu has formed several strategic partnerships, including one with WPP to introduce in-game advertising standards. Through its affiliations with leading AdTech vendors, Anzu supplies in-depth measurements for campaign effectiveness and ad verification. It is these types of technologies that give big-name advertisers such as Vodafone, Samsung, and 7-Eleven the confidence they need to shift more of their budgets to in-game ads and game developers including Ubisoft, Toplitz Productions, and APB Reloaded the security to integrate ads into their games.

Chelsea Pinho Head of Casino at Midnite

Octoplay builds lifetime-exclusive slot for Midnite in the UK

Published

29 minutes ago

July 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

octoplay-builds-lifetime-exclusive-slot-for-midnite-in-the-uk

Midnite Express is the first bespoke title under the pair’s July 2025 partnership and adapts mechanics from Fire Rail Express: Hold And Win.

Octoplay has launched Midnite Express, a lifetime-exclusive branded slot built for UK operator Midnite. The title is the first custom product released under the companies’ partnership, which went live in July 2025.

Midnite Express is based on the game mechanics behind Fire Rail Express: Hold And Win, which Octoplay says is among its strongest-performing titles in the US. The supplier points to the EILERS-FANTINI Online Game Performance report, where it says the game has held a top-three position in the “New Top Game Ranks – Slots” category for three consecutive months.

“Midnite Express is the first custom product we’ve built for Midnite, and it’s a meaningful step in how this partnership is developing,” says Ralitsa Georgieva, CEO at Octoplay. “A year on from our initial launch, we’re moving from portfolio integration to co-developed content built specifically for their players. Adapting the mechanics behind one of our top-performing US titles for the UK with Midnite reflects how we work with operators who want more than off-the-shelf content.”

Chelsea Pinho, Head of Casino at Midnite adds: “Octoplay has been a strong content partner since we went live together last year, and Midnite Express is the result of a collaboration grounded in shared ambition. Having a lifetime exclusive title based on proven mechanics gives us a product we can put behind with confidence.”

The launch follows a run of UK integrations for Octoplay, including a recent go-live with Bally’s Intralot, and earlier integrations with Evoke’s 888 and Mr Green brands, Virgin Bet, and LiveScore Bet. Octoplay says it is now live in 18 regulated markets, including the UK, Malta, Romania, Croatia, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Finland, Georgia, Brazil, New Jersey, Michigan, and Ontario.

The post Octoplay builds lifetime-exclusive slot for Midnite in the UK appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

blask

Blask replaces fixed plans with modular pricing for iGaming analytics

Published

29 minutes ago

July 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

blask-replaces-fixed-plans-with-modular-pricing-for-igaming-analytics

Blask has rolled out a modular subscription model for its AI-powered iGaming analytics platform, replacing its Early Adopters pricing plans. The company said customers can now build subscriptions by selecting countries, analytics modules, add-on features and the access period.

Under the new structure, the minimum configuration starts at €247 per month, or approximately €160 per month on an annual contract, according to the company. Blask said subscriptions can cover as little as a single country.

Blask said pricing is made up of base access to the platform plus selected products and markets. Market analytics covers 135 countries across three pricing tiers, ranging from €7 to €28 per country per month. Game analytics is available in 25 countries at €5 to €20 per country per month. State and province-level data is priced at €56 per month for the United States, and €28 per month each for Canada and Australia.

The company has also opened access to its data via an API, allowing customers to integrate metrics into their own analytics systems, CRM platforms and AI tools through MCP, without working inside the Blask interface. For companies looking for one-off work, Blask said it also offers customized reports combining its data with analysis from its research team.

“Analytics is now a basic condition for survival in this market,” said Max Tesla, chief executive and co-founder of Blask. “That is why we are making it more accessible: build a plan around your specific task, start with one country and scale when you are ready. Making analytics affordable has been part of Blask’s DNA from the very beginning.”

Blask added that the pricing update follows a week of industry recognition, after it received two awards at the 2026 iGB Affiliate Awards, winning Rising Star and Innovator of the Year.

The post Blask replaces fixed plans with modular pricing for iGaming analytics appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Affiliate Succes

ReferOn wins Best Affiliate Management Platform at iGB Affiliate Awards 2026

Published

29 minutes ago

July 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

referon-wins-best-affiliate-management-platform-at-igb-affiliate-awards-2026

The award was announced live at iGB LIVE, with the company pointing to product updates including its Refie UX layer.

ReferOn has won “Best Affiliate Management Platform” at the iGB Affiliate Awards 2026. The company said the award was announced live at iGB LIVE.

ReferOn positioned the recognition as a result of product development and customer growth over the past year, with a focus on simplifying affiliate operations through automation, real-time insights, and streamlined workflows.

The company also pointed to the introduction of Refie, described as an integrated UX layer designed to translate operational data into “clear, actionable insights” for affiliate teams across onboarding and daily performance tracking.

Alex Bukin, CEO of ReferOn, commented: “Winning the iGB Affiliate Award is a remarkable achievement for our entire team. As affiliate programs grow, so does the complexity behind them. From day one, our ambition has been to remove that complexity, so operators can focus on growth instead of operational friction. This recognition reinforces our belief that great B2B technology should be simpler, more intuitive, easier to work with, and built around the people who use it”.

ReferOn added that it has won other industry awards in the past 18 months, including ‘Affiliate System of the Year’ at AffPapa and ‘Best Affiliate Software’ at SiGMA, and said its roadmap includes expanding AI-powered assistance and increasing visibility into affiliate operations.

The post ReferOn wins Best Affiliate Management Platform at iGB Affiliate Awards 2026 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.