Latest News

Kindred Group completes the acquisition of Relax Gaming

Published

5 years ago

October 6, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Kindred Group has on 1 October 2021 completed the previously announced acquisition of the remaining outstanding shares in Relax Gaming, a leading and rapidly growing B2B iGaming supplier.

Kindred Group announced on 2 July 2021 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 66.6 per cent of the outstanding shares in Relax Gaming. Relax Gaming is a market leading B2B iGaming software supplier that designs and develops online casino games, supported by an open distribution platform for third party aggregation as well as proprietary poker and bingo products. Relax Gaming was founded in 2010 and has today c. 240 full-time employees with four main hubs in Malta, Estonia, Sweden and Serbia. Kindred has been invested in Relax Gaming since 2013 and was prior to the transaction the largest owner with 33.4 per cent of the outstanding shares.

The acquisition accelerates Kindred’s strategy to increase its focus on product and customer experience by strengthening Kindred’s product control and product differentiation capabilities. The acquisition is expected to generate annual run-rate synergies of EUR 8 million within the next three years for the Group, driven especially by lower investment needs and reduced cost of sales. In order to secure continued integrity of Relax Gaming’s B2B customers, Kindred’s intention is to keep Relax Gaming as an independent entity within the Group with a separate management team and Board of Directors. Patrik Österåker, the co-founder of Relax Gaming, will remain as the Chairman of the Board. Kindred’s ambition is to continue to invest in Relax Gaming to cement its position as a leading B2B iGaming supplier by further strengthening Relax Gaming’s product offering and by broadening their B2B customer base.

In conjunction with the completion of the transaction, all existing employee share option programmes in Relax Gaming have been exercised, and Relax Gaming’s management, who is committed to the future success of the company, retains an ownership of seven per cent of the total fully diluted shares in the company. Kindred’s ownership in Relax Gaming after the transaction is 93 per cent of the total fully diluted shares.

The transaction values the Relax Gaming at up to EUR 320 million on a cash and debt free basis (Enterprise value) and a total value of the outstanding shares of approximately EUR 295 million (Equity value). The initial consideration for the remaining outstanding share of approximately EUR 80 million (on a cash and debt free basis) has been settled in cash. In addition to the initial consideration, the maximum earn-out payments amount to EUR 113 million and may become payable in 2022 and 2023, subject to Relax Gaming achieving certain earnings thresholds.

iGaming Express

David Natroshvili Recognized as iGaming’s Leading Global Influencer

Published

20 minutes ago

June 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

david-natroshvili-recognized-as-igaming’s-leading-global-influencer

The annual ranking places the SPRIBE founder ahead of figures including Peter Jackson, Denise Coates and Ed Craven.

International industry publication iGaming Express has named SPRIBE Founder and CEO David Natroshvili the most influential person in the global iGaming industry in its annual ranking.

iGaming Express said Natroshvili “pioneered an entirely new category of crash games” and helped turn SPRIBE’s Aviator into a global hit. The publication added that SPRIBE’s growth and product approach have influenced player expectations and operator views on modern iGaming.

The ranking places Natroshvili ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump, Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson, Bet365 Co-CEO Denise Coates, and Stake Co-Founder Ed Craven.

“This recognition belongs to the entire SPRIBE team. Over the past few years, our goal has not simply been to build a successful product, but to create an experience capable of driving the industry in a new direction. I am delighted to see these efforts receive such high international recognition,” said David Natroshvili.

iGaming Express said Natroshvili’s influence extends beyond SPRIBE, pointing to innovation as a driver for creating new markets in iGaming.

The post David Natroshvili Recognized as iGaming’s Leading Global Influencer appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Conference

Danish regulator to speak at Gaming in the Nordics launch event

Published

20 minutes ago

June 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

danish-regulator-to-speak-at-gaming-in-the-nordics-launch-event

On Thursday, June 18, 2026, Gaming in the Nordics will bring together in Copenhagen key decision makers in the regulated (or soon-to-be-regulated) Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian iGaming markets.

Gaming in the Nordics is the latest initiative from Gaming in Europe, which is well known for its annual Gaming in Holland, Gaming in Germany, and Gaming in Spain conferences.

The event will take place at the Better Collective HQ in Copenhagen, and will feature Mr. Anders Dorph, Director of the Danish Gambling Authority as its headline speaker.

Other confirmed speakers include:

Pontus Lindwall, CEO, Betsson
Jesper Søgaard, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Better Collective
Morten Ronde, CEO, Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA)
Fredrik Stenstrøm, Secretary General, Norway Association for Online Gaming (NBO)
Pekka Ilmivalta, Head of Office, Nordic Legal – Finland
Birgitte Sand, CEO, Birgitte Sand & Associates
Josh Hodgson, COO, H2 Gambling Capital
Peter-Paul de Goeij, Managing Consultant, QuodBonum.se (day chair)

Gaming in the Nordics founder, Willem van Oort commented: “We are extremely pleased that Mr. Anders Dorph has agreed to speak at the Gaming in the Nordics launch event. In my experience, it is always good to able to facilitate a dialogue between regulatory authorities and the industry – which in this case will be very capably represented by Betsson’s Mr. Pontus Lindwall, as well as several leading trade bodies. Although the Nordic markets are in varying states of regulation and market maturity, there nonetheless exist certain commonalities, which together provide a solid basis for the fruitful exchange of lessons learned and best practices.”

Launch event

This year’s Gaming in the Nordics launch event will be a small, half-day conference with a limited capacity for accommodating event attendees.

A full-size, annual Gaming in the Nordics Conference will be held in June in Copenhagen from 2027 onward.

Stay tuned for future updates!

Signup & waiting list

If you would like to attend this year’s Gaming in the Nordics launch event, please register your interest here: https://luma.com/605sboce

As only a very limited number of attendees can be accommodated, all registrants will initially be placed on a waiting list.

We will let you know as soon as possible whether we will have a seat available for you.

For press access, please contact: [email protected].

Video sessions

Key sessions of the Gaming in the Nordics launch event will be recorded and shared with the members of the Gaming in Nordics community.

If you would like to receive updates, including the links to the recorded sessions, please sign up for our Gaming in the Nordics mailing list at www.gamingin.eu.

Sponsorship opportunities available

Sponsorship and media partnership opportunities are available. Please contact Willem van Oort at [email protected] for more information.

The post Danish regulator to speak at Gaming in the Nordics launch event appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Avanti Studios

Avanti Studios finalises seed round

Published

21 minutes ago

June 2, 2026

Wladimir P.

Disruptive live casino supplier, Avanti Studios, has announced the finalisation of its second instalment, raising €5m in this round giving a total of €10m in seed funding.

Having only recently opened the opportunity up to investors, the latest investment round quickly became oversubscribed and closed on 19 May. The oversubscription reflects strong investor confidence in the company’s vision, strategy, and long-term prospects, while providing additional capital to accelerate its growth and commercial execution.

Genting Casinos UK, a first round investor, provided additional investment during this second round, underscoring its continued belief in the new live casino vertical Avanti Studios is building.

The participants of the second investment round join Avanti Studios at a critical stage of its journey, with the deployment of its innovative casino content planned to take place in the coming weeks, June 2026. Operators have voiced continued excitement in bringing new and innovative content to their players in Spain and beyond.

Gustaf Hagman, Co-Founder at Avanti Studios, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the investor group we’ve assembled. Their backing demonstrates not just a belief in our company, but a belief in the future, and I’d like to give a special thank you to the board of Genting Casinos UK for their continued support, guidance and the overall contribution they’ve made to our journey so far.”

Jonas Delin, Co-Founder at Avanti Studios, said: “Avanti is thrilled to have finalised its second stage of funding in what has been one of the biggest investment rounds in an industry start-up this year. We strongly believe that the future belongs to real-time, lifelike, interactive digital humans, and to see so many investors share this vision with us indicates one thing… this is only the beginning!”

The post Avanti Studios finalises seed round appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.