Latest News
The online gaming sector around the world connects with MGA Games Day
MGA Games, opened its doors again with the 3rd edition of MGA Games Day. The virtual meeting presented the company’s latest news and plans for the future. In 2023 the company will double the number of games and commit heavily to its 5-reel and Megaways products internationally. MGA Games will also present a new series of games developed from land-based machines and will be expanding strongly in Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Italy with leading partners in the market.
All of this in keeping with the essence of the company and its localized product strategy.
“Being a leader is not easy. It requires maximum effort and perseverance, which is the DNA of MGA Games”, said its CEO and founder, Joan Sanahuja. This is how MGA Games has become a leading provider in the industry. It is the result of “our commitment to innovation and the creation of unique content” he said. Joan also highlighted MGA Games’ “unique positioning vision in the gambling industry” – a factor that adds to “the perfect execution of our strategic plan year after year to position ourselves as leaders”.
The company, created in 2001, with a portfolio of more than 100 titles, has had a year-on-year growth of 35% over the last 5 years. MGA Games currently leads the Spanish market with a penetration of 99% and a 15% market share. “The incorporation of highly qualified personnel to provide the best service to our clients is key and one of our priorities,” said the CEO of MGA Games. And the fact that the company is considered a great place to work in the sector makes it easier to “count on top-level, expert, and qualified personnel.” The quality is in the company’s products, with excellent animation, graphics, and great download speed.
José Antonio Giacomelli, General Manager at MGA Games, explained the company’s news and plans for the coming year. In 2023, MGA Games will double the number of productions launched in 2022. It will also be heavily committed to its 3-reel product, with more than 24 games, and above all and following its international strategy: its 5-reel and Megaways products, with 28 new productions.
As in 2022, MGA Games will continue to bring successful land-based games to the online world, a product that has received great acclaim. In the Spanish market, the company will release R. Franco classics such as El Habanero, Reinas de Africa, Cavernícola, Jazz & Blues, and the star game: El Lejano Oeste.
But perhaps one of the most striking novelties within the localised product strategy is the addition of the best Spanish television games to the MGA Games online catalogue. For the Spanish market, this means prime-time productions such as La Voz, number one in audience viewings in its time slot; Pasapalabra, a Spanish TV classic and Mask Singer: adivina quién canta, the TV program currently featuring the most celebrities.
The Spanish Celebrities catalogue will, of course continue to grow and will feature famous faces such as Gemma Mengual, the important Spanish athlete with more than 24 Olympic medals; Sofía Cristo, the well-known DJ, and producer, and one of the most popular celebrities on television at the moment, Makoke.
Internationally, MGA Games will continue its expansion plans, with important agreements for continued growth in Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Colombia, and Portugal. These countries already have more than 200 localised products to which MGA Games will add more mini-games, Free Spins, multipliers, and Wilds. And in 2023, 4 new Megaways slot games will also be available.
Localised product will be created for each of the international markets, focusing on famous people from each country but also on productions with local themes. For Portugal, Portuguese Celebrities joining the series include the famous actress Sofia Sousa; the renowned influencer Andreia Da Silva; Elisabete Moutinho, one of the country’s top models, and the star influencer Maria Nunes.
For the Dutch market, the Netherlands Celebrities will feature top celebrities such as the Dutch Instagram star Aylin Hayret and the TV personality Bobbi Eden. While in Italy, with 50 new operators thanks to agreements with Microgame, 2023 will see Italian Celebrities of the magnitude of actress and dancer Marina Evangelista, the revolutionary influencer Elena Rizzello, presenters Floriana Messina and Jolanda de Rienzo and the showgirl Elena Morali.
All these productions will undoubtedly be impressive and surprising. The company is determined to make 2023 mark ‘a before and after’. The company is also exploring the Markets in Asia and North America, and “There will be news on these developments very soon,” Giacomelli said.
The leitmotif for this year’s event was about connectivity. “We are all connected” and “in 2023, everything will be connected.” This connectivity was made evident by the participation of the company’s principal partners and clients in the MGA Games Day. These big players in the gaming sector who give paramount importance to the continued improvement of their results connected with the event to share their views. Javier Lanfranchi, Sales Director at MGA Games, presented the event and spoke with these important MGA Games partners to “know what the sector thinks from different places on the planet”.
Paul Guyton, Marketing Coordinator at Finnplay, from Finland talked about MGA Games’ great product and table games. Finnplay has been in the business as a platform provider for 15 years, mainly in regulated European markets such as the Netherlands, Romania, and Lithuania. “When I first came across MGA and their team I was very taken aback by their diverse portfolio with the likes of their table games, their 3-reel slots, their 5-reel slots, their online Bingo and my personal favourite, the premium Celebrity games as well as the Megaways slots,” reflected Guyton.
From Poland, Nikita Keino, Partner Managers Team Lead Game Aggregator at Softswiss, talked about opening up to new international markets. SoftSwiss is an international igaming company founded in 2009 supplying certified software solutions for managing gambling operations. “MGA Games develops first rate games that are a perfect fit for Spanish and LATAM markets,” he said, adding that “this co-operation can be called a win-win.”
From Malta was Callum Harris, Director of Partnerships at Pariplay, who spoke about the value of having localised content. PariPlay is the number one aggregator in the business, with a market reach focused predominantly on regulated markets, “which is why MGA Games is so exciting to us,” he said. Pariplay, which is expanding in Latin America and North America, highly appreciates “how specialised MGAs’ content is for certain regulated markets. It is the localised content that MGA produces and develops that sets them aside from other suppliers in the market,” said Harris.
Finally, also from Malta, Luis Alberto López Acuña, Country Manager of Platin Casino, spoke. For him, customer service is paramount. “We have a natural passion for top-notch casino games and a vision, focus on player satisfaction,” he said, noting the excellent relationship between the two companies. Furthermore, he said “localised content is always a priority within our roadmap”.
MGA Games Day 2022 ended with an invitation to casino operators around the world to come and meet MGA Games in Barcelona. To live the MGA Games Experience. To get to know the passion, innovation, growth, hard work and aspiration and core values of the company. But also to get closer to the history, culture, creativity, gastronomy and leisure of the city of Barcelona. “We are waiting for you in Barcelona! We look forward to seeing you at the MGA Games Experience!” With this invitation, which is more of a ‘see you soon’ than a ‘goodbye’, Javier Lanfranchi bid farewell to those attending the event.
Powered by WPeMatico
Betsson Group
Betsson Group Wins “Employer of the Year” at SBC Awards Europe 2026
Betsson Group has secured “Employer of the Year” award at the SBC Awards Europe 2026, held on 30 April 2026 in Malta. The SBC Awards Europe celebrate excellence across the European sports betting and gaming sector, recognising top-performing operators, affiliates, suppliers, payments providers and game developers.
In addition to this honour, Betsson Group also received three silver awards: Socially Responsible Initiative of the Year, Casino Operator of the Year and Sportsbook Operator of the Year. These recognitions highlight Betsson’s commitment not only to delivering high-quality gaming experiences, but also to operating responsibly and sustainably while maintaining its strength in casino and sportsbook verticals.
These achievements reflect Betsson’s continued focus on employee engagement, sustainability and commercial success, reinforcing its commitment to maintaining high industry standards.
The post Betsson Group Wins “Employer of the Year” at SBC Awards Europe 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
Entain Urges IFR to Ban Illegal Gambling Sponsorship
Entain has officially urged the UK’s Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to ban Premier League clubs from accepting sponsorship from gambling operators that lack a UK license. The call was made in response to the IFR’s Second Licensing Consultation (CP 2/26), in which the IFR is seeking views on a new club licensing regime for the top five tiers of English men’s football.
The IFR’s draft already prohibits English football clubs from accepting income “connected to serious criminal conduct”. Entain is asking the regulator to confirm, in a single line of guidance, that the rule covers the unlicensed gambling operators currently sponsoring six Premier League clubs – operators that commit a criminal offence under section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005 every time they accept a bet from a British consumer.
Stella David, Chief Executive of Entain plc, said: “Premier League clubs are being sponsored by criminal gambling firms. The Independent Football Regulator can stop this tomorrow by simply acknowledging that unlicensed gambling companies targeting UK customers through English football are breaking the law – plain and simple. The regulator does not need any new powers, new legislation, or even a new rule to make this happen. In fact, it has already drafted one. We are asking the regulator to define and apply it before the next season begins. The IFR was created to fix English football’s governance failures. This is one of them.”
The scale of the unlicensed market is significant and growing. Research by Frontier Economics, commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council, found that 1.5 million Britons stake £4.3 billion a year on unlicensed sites, which already account for 9% of the total UK gambling market, according to analysis by Yield Sec. One in five 18-to-24-year-olds has used illegal channels. An estimated 420,000 British schoolchildren are gambling on the black market, routed there through social media, VPNs and crypto wallets. The Gambling Commission has found that 67% of GamStop users (people who have actively excluded themselves from licensed gambling) report being targeted by black market advertising. Unlicensed operators conduct no affordability checks, offer no self-exclusion tools and answer to no regulator.
Football is one of the black market’s most effective acquisition channels. Research by WARC, commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council, projects that unlicensed gambling sponsorship will account for more than half of all UK sports sponsorship spend by October 2027, with unregulated firms set to triple their spend on 2019/2020 levels. Yield Sec analysis found that 92% of online betting content in certain social media categories directs users to unlicensed sites. A 2024 audit by Deal Me Out found that 84% of relevant content creators reviewed promoted unlicensed operators.
Entain’s submission to the IFR sets out four specific recommendations:
• Confirm in guidance that income from gambling operators conducting unlicensed activity in the UK constitutes funds “connected to serious criminal conduct” for the IFR’s draft Annex B, Part IV.
• Add a board attestation to the Annual Declaration requiring directors to verify the licence status of any gambling operator with which the club holds a significant commercial arrangement. Annual Declarations are signed by directors and carry legal consequences for false attestation. A vague governance principle cannot create the same accountability.
• Strengthen the Football Club Corporate Governance Code to require boards to treat reputational risk from commercial partnerships as a standing governance responsibility, and to demonstrate proportionate oversight of partners in sectors associated with consumer harm.
• Publish general guidance applicable to all licensed clubs, setting out the due diligence and notification obligations that apply to gambling commercial partners. Entain argues that a club-by-club Discretionary Licence Condition approach is inadequate for what is plainly a market-wide problem: systemic risks require systemic responses.
The IFR’s consultation comes ahead of a forthcoming consultation by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on banning unlicensed gambling operators from sponsoring British sports teams.
Entain has also written to Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League, urging an immediate voluntary ban on sponsorship and advertising by unlicensed operators ahead of the 2026/27 season.
The post Entain Urges IFR to Ban Illegal Gambling Sponsorship appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
DCMS
GamScore to Launch a First-of-its-kind, Consumer-focused, Betting-wellbeing App in October 2026
GamScore is a real-time platform that gives bettors a clear, dynamic view of their gambling health with their own personalised dashboard and score. It helps individuals understand, manage and improve their betting behaviour, in one place, while enabling a safer and more transparent betting ecosystem.
A bettor’s GamScore is derived through an algorithm, using data that shows they are betting responsibly and within their means. It will also identify any early-stage risk with proprietary AI driven behavioural science insights and educational tips when flagged, guiding users towards healthier betting behaviour.
Most existing compliance tools rely on static, point-in-time financial risk checks. GamScore provides a live, continuously updating view of a bettor’s
gambling activity.
The GamScore dashboard will flag black market activity and offshore operators. It has been well published that black market turnover has risen three-fold over the last five years. Thousands of UK consumers are unaware that they are staking bets with the black market or the risks associated.
The GamScore app will identify behavioural patterns consistent with unregulated betting, educate users on the risks of offshore and unlicensed operators and provide regulators with aggregated insights into market trends. Current financial risk checks are creating friction for consumers and operational challenges for bookmakers.
In its second phase, GamScore will provide a modern, data-driven alternative that balances consumer experience with operator compliance and regulatory objectives. It will give bettors clarity, control and confidence without the need for repetitive document requests. Better data combined with better tools lead to better outcomes. By improving the regulated experience, GamScore will help reduce the incentive to move offshore.
Given its potential to support both consumer protection and market sustainability, GamScore has answered the UKGC’s call for innovative technical solutions that the whole industry can support. They would welcome the opportunity to work with policy makers, regulators and operators to find a way to provide the app, free at the point of consumption, to every UK bettor.
GamScore believes this will support the DCMS’s aims of balancing consumer protection with the long-term health of the domestic betting and gaming industries.
The post GamScore to Launch a First-of-its-kind, Consumer-focused, Betting-wellbeing App in October 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
-
game launches7 days agoSpinomenal releases 3 Magical Genies slot with Hold & Hit bonus
-
Canada6 days agoAnalysis flags World Cup 2026 stress test for Canada’s patchwork betting rules
-
game release7 days agoR. Franco Digital releases Squad Royale slot with cascading reels and survival bonus rounds
-
Advisiments7 days agoWE names Valentina Ursini Group Account Director for IBJR and key clients
-
2026 FIFA World Cup6 days agoCanada’s Provincial Betting Divide Will Be Exposed During the 2026 World Cup, New Analysis Finds
-
Asia6 days agoIGT Presents Powerful Combination of Gaming and FinTech Solutions at G2E Asia 2026
-
Compliance Updates5 days agoEndorphina secures UAE Gaming-Related Vendor License (Tier II) from GCGRA
-
Canada6 days agoRESPWNED and LOTUS 8 to launch GIRLGAMER Winnipeg Festival in 2026



