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James Bennett joins Receptional to launch “must-have” digital services for sports betting and iGaming brands
Receptional – the Bedford, UK-based digital marketing agency – has appointed James Bennett to the Board as PR Director. James brings 12 years’ experience in the iGaming industry, as Editor of eGaming Review, Head of Communications at Playtech and Director at Square in the Air.
In his new role, James will bolster Receptional’s digital marketing services for sports betting and iGaming firms. The agency already counts a tier-one bookmaker and leading brands, such as Betdaq, Casumo, Lottoland, Plus500 and Time2Play, among its clients. Its team of specialist sports writers and link builders create and place 7,000 pieces of content with 10,000 sites annually.
James will augment these services with a focus on digital PR, brand and creative strategy, and paid and social media for B2B companies in the sector. This includes Receptional’s latest proprietary tool, Decision Maker, which enables suppliers to gain both brand awareness across target media and measurable sales from target buyers, with bespoke campaigns that no other agency can offer.
He will also spearhead Receptional’s expansion into international markets, where changing regulations are creating new opportunities for sports betting and iGaming brands.
James says: “I’m delighted to have joined such a forward-thinking and dynamic agency as Receptional. We’ve already begun to take our new proposition to market and the feedback has been phenomenal.
“We’re launching a series of must-have digital marketing and PR services for the sports betting and iGaming industry that no other agency can offer, which will make a huge difference to brands and suppliers in 2022 and beyond.”
Justin Deaville, Managing Director at Receptional, adds: “James has built an extensive network of knowledge and contacts across the global sports betting and iGaming industry. Having him on board will elevate our knowledge of the sector, expand our already growing client base, and enable us to become the only specialist agency able to offer a complete range of digital services.”
Receptional will be showcasing these services in April at ICE London – the largest global gathering of iGaming operators and suppliers in Europe.
On Wednesday 13th April, the agency will host an exclusive research briefing, unveiling its latest analysis of bettors’ behaviour, with a panel of both players and operators discussing the trends.
James is the latest in a string of senior hires that Receptional has made to build its creative services division. Robin Smith joined as Creative Director in summer 2021, bringing 35+ years’ experience in some of the world’s top agencies – and more than 100 creative and effectiveness awards. Amy Canavan followed in the autumn, to lead Receptional’s consumer PR team, having held publicist roles at Pan Macmillan and Lionsgate UK.
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This summer’s Women’s Euros promises to be more popular with sports bettors than the Six Nations, Super Bowl and the Ashes, a new survey shows.
A new OLBG survey conducted by YouGov shows how bettors are likely to behave in 2025, including the most popular events to bet on, which regions of the country are most likely to gamble and how having kids affects betting behaviour.
The quarterly study asked 2,054 adults in the UK how they planned to bet this year.
Of people who said they were likely to gamble in 2025, 16% said they would bet on the Women’s Euros, which will take place in Switzerland in July, with England and Wales among the 16 teams in action.
That compares with only 9% who said they would bet on the Super Bowl, 10% who would bet on Rugby Union’s Six Nations and 6% who said they would bet on cricket’s Ashes series.
The data shows that 18% of men expect to bet on the Women’s Euros, compared with 11% of women.
Among the events specified, racing’s Grand National (48%) is the event of 2025 that most respondents said they would bet on, ahead of the FA Cup Final (33%), Champions League Final (29%) and Cheltenham Festival (22%).
OLBG CEO Richard Moffat said: “The surge in popularity of women’s football is well documented and it seems that betting patterns are starting to follow suit. Undoubtedly, the fact there’s a major tournament this summer including England and Wales will drive interest among bettors.
“It’s interesting to see that more people intend to bet on the Euros than some big, established, showpiece events in 2025 such as The Ashes, the Superbowl and the Six Nations.”
North West is the UK betting capital
Data shows 26% of people in the North West plan to place a bet on a sporting event during 2025 – the highest percentage region in the country.
The region with the next highest percentage of people planning to gamble this year is Yorkshire and the Humber, with 24%. Third is London (22%) ahead of Northern Ireland (21%).
According to the results, the region with the lowest appetite for betting is the South West, with just 13% of people saying they plan to gamble this year.
In the North West, the listed sporting event people are most likely to bet on this year is the FA Cup final (39%), ahead of the Champions League final (36%), followed by the Grand National (35%).
The picture is quite different in Yorkshire and the Humber, where 55% of potential bettors expect to bet on the Grand National, 25% on the FA Cup final and just 12% expect to bet on the Champions League final.
Interestingly, London is the region with the lowest percentage of people intending to bet on the Grand National, with just 31% but the highest percentage of people expecting to bet on the FA Cup final at 55%.
OLBG’s CEO Richard Moffat said: “It looks like the North will be the sports betting capital of the UK this year, with northern regions such as the North West and Yorkshire leading the way in terms of percentage of people planning to bet.
“The breakdown of events people plan to bet on is fascinating and it’s interesting that the two big football finals – the FA Cup final and Champions League final – are the most popular events in the North West. This is perhaps driven by fans of big clubs like Liverpool and Man City optimistically planning to back their teams in those showpiece events.”
The post Women’s Euros set to be more popular with punters than Six Nations, survey shows appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Q: Gaming Corps has just released its latest slot game called Gates of Hellfire. Tell us how it works and what its standout features are.
The Gaming Corps team prides itself on our innovative approach to slot development, which is exactly what we’ve delivered with Gates of Hellfire.
It’s a slot that’s unlike any other. I say that because it uses a unique payment system, requiring players to battle various demon enemies on the reels to secure wins, for a maximum prize of 5,000x the player’s stake.
We have prizes that can only be collected if the player gathers specific weapons that eliminate the enemies – and in doing so, they collect their prizes.
The objective is to land an enemy on the grid, while simultaneously landing a weapon to destroy that enemy. For example, shotguns are the weakest weapon but will kill the lowest-valued enemy.
Then, as the game progresses, players will see different weapons with different attributes that will cause various types of damage and have different radii of destruction that will affect the grid.
Gates of Hellfire offers a thrilling and groundbreaking way for players to collect prizes. To put it another way, there’s simply nothing quite like it on the market.
Q: Where did the name Gates of Hellfire come from, and what is the thinking behind giving this slot the feel of a video game? Why will this appeal to the market?
Gates of Hellfire is a battle of Good vs Evil played out across a slot-machine grid, a sort of demonic fantasy sci-fi epic that’s a battle between Good and Evil.
We decided to have this as the theme and then the name came quickly after that.
And yes, the game is heavily influenced by shoot ’em-up video games. We took established mechanics for the millennial generation and merged them with an innovative version of a classic mechanic and themes that will induce nostalgia among our players.
We think the results will appeal to both traditional players who played video games in their youth, as well as delight a millennial generation looking for the latest and best features in their slot entertainment experiences.
Q: Are you focusing on gamification with this slot, rather than just trying to deliver a traditional slot experience?
Collection mechanics have become immensely popular with slot players in recent years, and with Gates of Hellfire we have reimagined these mechanics to offer players something unique.
People want more nowadays, the simplicity of traditional slots doesn’t deliver enough entertainment any more. Players want to be reminded of video games or the social games they play on their phones.
Gates of Hellfire is an example of how modern slots are now influenced by video games.
It’s got a lot of action but it’s still recognizably a slot machine, with the same functionality but different reward mechanisms that will remind the player of a video game.
Q: Does Gaming Corps believe mixing slots and video gaming will appeal to players?
We aim to give players captivating gameplay experiences they can’t find anywhere else.
You must offer features that connect with players if you want to attract them and then keep them coming back. There’s a lot of choice out there so you need something special to retain their loyalty and interest.
That’s why we mixed things up and offer elements of more than one type of entertainment experience.
We see animations as extremely important because they build suspense and are another way of capturing the player’s attention.
Sound is an important component too, which is why we design the music and sound effects early on so they create an appropriate atmosphere.
All these elements are used to make the slower parts of the game more exciting, and the exciting parts become truly memorable.
Q: What factors will determine whether this release is a success for Gaming Corps, and what do you aim for when you release a game onto the market?
With Gates of Hellfire and all our other slots, we’ll start gauging its impact by paying attention to the standard statistics for slots, such as player retention rate and what LTV and ROI the game offers operators.
But those aren’t the only metrics we follow. Feedback is really important to us, both from players and operators, and we’ll take that on board when we come to launch our next release.
The best thing you can do when you release any game is to have people talking about it, generating a buzz about an exciting new release.
It’s hard to achieve all the time, but we think we’ve done just that with Gates of Hellfire.
We’re already working on sequels and further iterations for it, so things are hotting up very nicely for our latest slot game right now.
Playing with hellfire has never looked so good.
The post Gates of Hellfire Q&A with Connor Blinman, Head of Games at Gaming Corps appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
Michigan Lottery Achieves iCAP Re-certification for Responsible Online Gaming Practices
The Michigan Lottery has received re-certification for its commitment to responsible gaming after completing the Internet Responsible Gambling Compliance Assessment Program (iCAP) through the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG).
The Lottery first earned iCAP certification in October 2015 and was the first lottery in the United States to achieve this certification.
“We are incredibly proud to have once again received certification for our commitment to responsible gaming through the iCAP program, underscoring the Lottery’s dedication to player safety and well-being. We will continue to prioritize responsible gaming practices and provide Michiganders with the resources and support they need to play responsibly,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli.
Developed by the NCPG, iCAP is the first and only online responsible gaming assessment program in the US. The NCPG evaluated the Lottery’s compliance with Internet Responsible Gaming (IRG) standards developed based on best practices from jurisdictions around the world. IRG standards are the highest standards for online responsible gaming in the nation. The nine areas of focus for the NCPG iCAP certification are:
• Corporate policy and commitment to responsible gaming
• Staff training
• Information available to players through com, and player account features to assist players in informed decision making
• Assisting players who indicate they are in distress or experiencing problems
• Self-exclusion and player-initiated restrictions on online play
• Advertising and promotion
• Game and website features that assist with gambling responsibly
• Research based on the transparency of play data
• Payment controls and limits
• iCAP re-certification provides Lottery players assurance that MichiganLottery.com is trustworthy and has adopted the best standards of player protection.
The NCPG, a non-profit organization founded in 1972, leads state and national stakeholders in the development of comprehensive policy and programs for all those affected by problem gambling.
Michigan Lottery players have a chance to win up to $500,000 instantly playing online. Players also may win prizes ranging from $1 up to multi-million dollar jackpots playing Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life, Lotto 47, and Fantasy 5 online. Through its online platform, the Lottery offers players more than 200 different games with plays ranging in price from .05 cents to $20.
The post Michigan Lottery Achieves iCAP Re-certification for Responsible Online Gaming Practices appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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