Latest News
YGAM announce new Board members
The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) has welcomed three new Trustees to its Board as part of a commitment to diversify leadership at the charity.
The Charity Commission has confirmed the appointments of Christina Okorocha, Anne Casey and Kwaku Owusu-Ansah. The additions are the result of a targeted recruitment drive with the objective of attracting education specialists as well as young professionals from ethnic minority communities.
Christina Okorocha, 27, is a successful entrepreneur who founded VAMP, the first agency to solely focus on the representation and development of black digital talent in the UK. Christina also launched TAG, a network for young black professional, creative and entrepreneurial women. She is an ambassador for the ‘Mayor’s Fund for London’.
Christina said: “I am honoured and excited to join YGAM as a trustee. I look forward to using my digital marketing experience and network to support YGAM in engaging and reaching vulnerable people and those from diverse communities.”
Anne Casey joins the YGAM board after over 30 years of education experience as a teacher, principal, local authority officer and senior civil servant. From 2013-2016, Anne was the Founding Principal for the UTC in Media City UK in Manchester, taking it from vision to reality. Anne is now a director of her own company, ACE Limited, an educational solutions company supporting MATs, free schools, universities and school boards. She is also a part-time Department for Education Adviser.
Anne said: “We have seen the power of technology in education, especially over the last year, and want to ensure that all young people understand their digital footprint and the lifelong impact of the choices they make. Every child should be entitled to live a healthy, safe, secure and well-educated life and I want YGAM to make a major contribution to that.”
Kwaku Owusu-Ansah is a recent Mechanical Engineering (MEng) graduate From University College London and he is currently working as an analyst in the Structured Finance, Investment Banking Division of Japanese bank, MUFG. Kwaku is a keen gamer and former footballer having played for Millwall FC, Leyton Orient FC and Colchester United FC.
Kwaku said: “I’m really looking forward to joining the board and being part of the YGAM journey. What YGAM has accomplished so far is fantastic. I think it’s important to continue to tackle the issues faced by young people caused by gambling and gaming. I’m a big gamer myself and I definitely believe more can be done to safeguard young people online and address issues such as excessive spending on loot boxes and gaming addiction.”
YGAM’s Chair, Mike Wojcik, welcomed the new board members saying: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have such talent joining the Board at such a pivotal time for YGAM. As we ambitiously look towards the future and develop our new strategic plan, it’s critical the make-up of our Board and team has greater representation and insight of our society. They all bring something different to the Board, which goes beyond the typical skills and experience, and we are already benefitting from their energised perspective.”
All members of the YGAM Board are independent from both the gaming and gambling industry and offer their time voluntarily. The new board will lead the charity through its continued growth and build the organisations strategy for the coming years.
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Chicken X & Friends
Million Games unveils multiplayer crash game Chicken X & Friends at ICE
Million Games is heading to ICE 2026 with its most ambitious release yet. Chicken X & Friends is a real-time, unlimited multiplayer crash game and the official sequel to their award-nominated hit Chicken X.
Set across a chaotic multi-lane highway, Chicken X & Friends brings the beloved Jack Chicken back into action. This time, he is not crossing the road alone. Players jump into a shared, always-on playground where gameplay never pauses and no sessions need to fill. There is no waiting. Players can join at any moment and start their run instantly.
The game introduces a genre-first for crash gameplay. Unlimited, real-time multiplayer gameplay. Players see each other live on screen as they navigate traffic, build multipliers, and decide when to cash out before the crash hits.
“This is a big moment for us,” said Thomas Nimstad, CEO at Million Games. “Crash games are built on tension and timing. With Chicken X & Friends, we’ve made that tension social. You’re not just watching a multiplier climb. You’re watching other players make decisions in real time. We’re pushing the format further by making it social, visible, and strategically deeper.”
Player choice at the core
Gameplay takes place across multiple traffic lanes, each offering a different risk-and-reward profile. Slower lanes feature lighter traffic and steadier multiplier growth. Faster lanes increase volatility with denser traffic, but multipliers rise much quicker.
Players actively decide where to play. Stay in safer lanes. Push into danger lanes. Or move between them as traffic patterns change. Every jump is a choice, and every choice affects potential payout.
Safe zones offer a brief pause from traffic, but they are not an escape. Stay too long and the game will automatically cash you out, keeping the pace fast and the pressure on.
Movement is intuitive and fast, controlled via taps or directional buttons, allowing players to react instantly as traffic closes in.
Always social, always competitive
Up to eight players appear live on screen in each public playground. Jack Chicken represents you, while other players appear as pigeons, creating instant visual awareness of who is still in the race. The current top performer is crowned “the king”, highlighted with a unique skin and a visible live multiplier.
Leaderboards track the best runs over the past hour and the past 24 hours, allowing players to compare performance, chase rankings, and return repeatedly to improve their position.
Players can choose how they want to play. Join a public playground by default and compete with others. Create a private room and invite friends. Or play solo without other players visible. The experience adapts to different play styles while keeping the same high-pressure core.
Play it first at ICE
Chicken X & Friends will be showcased at ICE 2026 ahead of its official launch on 28 January. Visitors can experience the game live at the Million Games stand 2C72, where a daily tournament will run throughout the show, giving attendees a hands-on look at real player behaviour, competition, and pacing.
The original Chicken X was shortlisted for Crash Game of the Year and quickly became one of Million Games’ most played titles. With Chicken X & Friends, the studio expands the format with unlimited gameplay, deeper strategy, and visible multiplayer tension.
Fast to enter. Hard to master. Impossible to ignore.
Operators and partners interested in early access or distribution opportunities are encouraged to visit the Million Games team at ICE 2026.
The post Million Games unveils multiplayer crash game Chicken X & Friends at ICE appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Latest News
QTech Games shepherds more creative content through Wild Sheep Games
QTech Games, the leading game aggregator for emerging markets, has continued to build the strong momentum in its pipeline, thanks to its exclusive deal with the rising star supplier, Wild Sheep Games.
Integrating content from such a forward-thinking studio, ably abetted by its founders’ combined decades of experience and expertise in the slots sector, adds yet more creative muscle to QTech Games’ offering, which is taking the broadest spectrum of online games to emerging territories with established names sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers – of which Wild Sheep Games is another timely example.
Wild Sheep Games is known for its high quality slots and engaging gameplay, which has manifested itself in a range of ten popular initial releases, with two more new titles scheduled to follow each week until the end of 2026. These titles will comprise a wider library of constantly upgraded content, all of which is now exclusively available via the QTech Games.
The announcement organically broadens Wild Sheep’s international footprint, unlocking untapped jurisdictions for global growth, where Wild Sheep is looking to make a big impression over the coming 12 months. Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “We’re thrilled to unveil this partnership with Wild Sheep, making the point that our diverse portfolio draws from a deep well of established stars and emerging forces in slots provision. Their unique focus on emerging markets perfectly matches our own ethos, while the power of their production line is relentless.”
A Wild Sheep Games spokesperson added: “Wild Sheep Games is growing at a great pace, thanks to our “players-first” mentality to game development and only build high-quality games. This collaboration with QTech will only accelerate that growth. Moreover, every title benefits from Wild Sheep’s RG mantra of great returns, transparent mechanics, and certified integrity. We don’t copy — we craft. Every slot runs on fresh, in-house maths that’s built to keep our partners’ players coming back for more.
“We can’t wait to see how these games perform across a spread of new territories via QTech Games’ preeminent platform for emerging markets.”
To find out more, or book a demo, email: [email protected] or visit: https://wildsheepgames.com/
The post QTech Games shepherds more creative content through Wild Sheep Games appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
2026 Tech Partnerships
eyeDP Partners with idvcheck to Provide Anti-Money Laundering Solutions
eyeDP, the innovative provider of AI-powered document verification technology, has announced a strategic partnership with idvcheck, an international identity verification and customer acquisition specialist.
Per the partnership, eyeDP’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) services will be integrated into the idvcheck platform, enhancing existing systems to help clients maintain their AML obligations across iGaming, fintech, financial services, and other regulated sectors.
Additionally, idvcheck will integrate eyeDP’s core document verification services including data extraction from unstructured documents; AI-powered data summarisation; content validation; and document tamper and fraud detection. to boost efficiency across its service offering.
This two-way partnership will see idvcheck’s manual review and forensic investigation workflows being fully integrated into eyeDP’s platform, providing built-in failsafe for cases that cannot be automatically verified or more sophisticated requests that require further intervention. This combination of AI-powered verification and human expertise will provide the highest quality document verification and AML protection in the market.
idvcheck currently verifies documents from around 200 countries worldwide, specialising in white-labelled customer acquisition services. By integrating eyeDP’s AML technology, idvcheck will be able to process a higher volume of straightforward cases, more efficiently, whilst enabling its team to focus their expertise on more complex tasks.
Jess Whitehouse, Director of Customer Operations, at eyeDP, said: “This partnership gets 2026 off to a strong start for eyeDP as we continue to grow and establish ourselves as one of the leading document processing companies on the market.
idvcheck has a strong, international presence that will allow our platform to showcase its ability on a larger scale. Together, we can continue to develop identity and document verification solutions that provide efficient, reliable safety checks for our partners.”
Andy Pinks, Chief Operating Officer at Idvcheck, said: “During extensive testing, the benefits of integrating eyeDP’s technology into our existing infrastructure became quickly apparent. Although (at least in its current form) AI cannot replace human experience, the symbiosis of human and artificial intelligence has created immediate operational improvements. This enables us to deliver a more cost-effective and time-efficient service, to all markets, without compromising on quality.
We are excited to be working in partnership with eyeDP to deliver new and innovative products that satisfy the ever-evolving needs of our clients.
The post eyeDP Partners with idvcheck to Provide Anti-Money Laundering Solutions appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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