Deal expands distribution for 18Peaches titles including Hacker Crash Jackpot, Money Tree Jackpot, Wild Yoga and Frozen Fruits.

QTech Games has signed a content deal with slot supplier 18Peaches, adding the studio’s titles to QTech’s game aggregation platform for emerging markets.

The agreement puts 18Peaches content in front of QTech’s operator network across regions including Africa and Latin America, according to the companies. 18Peaches was established in 2022 and releases slot content on a monthly schedule.

Titles referenced in the announcement include Hacker Crash Jackpot, Money Tree Jackpot, Wild Yoga and Frozen Fruits. The supplier said its games are designed for cross-platform play and optimised for mobile.

QTech Games CEO Philip Doftvik said: “We’re committed to rolling out more and more high-class content that drives revenue for our partners. Therefore, this deal with 18Peaches extends our impressive sequential pipeline for 2026 – and we’ve so much more to come! We are on the way to be able to offer over 200 suppliers with a wide range of global and local suppliers. Meaning QTech is the right aggregator regardless of the targeting market.”

Aziz Azkylbekov, CPO at 18Peaches, added: “At 18Peaches, we specialize in being a disruptive provider of slot games, dedicated to delivering innovative and engaging gaming experiences. And we’ve assembled a team of industry veterans and passionate creators, who are perfectly placed to push the boundaries of slot game development.

“As we all know, QTech’s platform is a gateway to global audiences, so we can’t wait to see how our highly engaging games perform across a largely greenfield landscape of emerging markets for 18Peaches. By combining creativity and technology to craft unique, engaging online slots with distinctive graphics and features, we will raise the bar for a premium gaming experience together.”

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New role covers Scratchcards performance, game strategy, brand and retail execution for The National Lottery operator in the UK.

Allwyn UK, operator of The National Lottery, has appointed Nikki Vadera as Director of Scratchcards.

The newly created role gives Vadera ownership of the Scratchcards category, including commercial performance, game design strategy, brand development and category innovation. Allwyn said she will also lead retail execution across the business, working cross-functionally to support growth plans for Scratchcards.

Vadera has held senior roles across L’Oréal, Henkel, Danone and Dorel, where she led teams and managed multi-brand portfolios, according to Allwyn. The company also noted she has been recognised as one of Marketing Week’s Top 100 Most Effective Marketers for five consecutive years.

Bridget Lea, Managing Director of Retail at Allwyn, said: “Scratchcards are one of the most important and complex parts of The National Lottery, and a key focus within our retail strategy. As we continue to evolve the category, Nikki’s appointment will help turn our ambition into real growth across the portfolio, benefitting both our retail partners and Good Causes.”

Nikki Vadera as Director of Scratchcards at Allwyn, added: “I’m thrilled to join the Allwyn team to lead the Scratchcards category. Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about helping mature categories evolve by combining consumer understanding, commercial discipline, and innovation to unlock growth. This opportunity is particularly exciting as it brings together category ownership, commercial leadership, and the potential for transformation at scale. It represents an opportunity to shape the future of an iconic category, while contributing to increased returns for Good Causes. I’m looking forward to working with Bridget and the wider team to help build the next chapter of growth for the category and The National Lottery.”

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Background

Austria’s governing coalition — ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS — has agreed a sweeping overhaul of the Gambling Act. The draft bill entered parliamentary consultation on, Monday 29 June 2026. Lead negotiators Andreas Ottenschläger (ÖVP), Jan Krainer (SPÖ) and Christoph Pramhofer (NEOS) call it the biggest reform of the law in 26 years. Two pillars: tougher player protection, and a ground-up rewrite of online licensing.

Timing

No formal Council of Ministers resolution is public yet. What is public: the draft amendments went into parliamentary consultation today. Next comes TRIS — the draft must be notified to the European Commission, says Vienna-based gambling lawyer Arthur Stadler, triggering a standstill of at least three months before parliament can hold a final vote. Extensions are possible.

Cooling-off / non-offering period

The bad-actor clause has three teeth: retroactive tax payment, settlement of player claims, and a non-offering period. On the last point: Under the draft, operators must clear that freeze properly: from 1 January 2027 until the licence is actually granted, they have to shut down their existing unlicensed online offering. Fail to comply, and the penalty escalates fast: any operator that doesn’t observe the cooling-off phase faces an 18-month lock-out from licensing altogether. Stadler’s math: That’s a minimum nine-month freeze, 1 January to end-September 2027 at least depending when the licenses are awarded individually. It looks like that first license might be granted to those new market entrants adopting such early blackout, timewise landing exactly after the moment when Austrian Lotteries’ win2day concession expires on 30 September 2027.

The bad-actor clause has three teeth: retroactive tax payment, settlement of player claims, and a non-offering period. On the last point: Under the draft, operators must clear that freeze properly: From 1 January 2027 until the licence is actually granted, they have to shut down their existing unlicensed online offering. Fail to comply, and the penalty escalates fast: any operator that doesn’t observe the cooling-off phase faces an 18-month lock-out from licensing altogether. Stadler’s math: the legislator has, without saying so explicitly, built in an incentive structure. The floor is a nine-month freeze — 1 January through end-September 2027 — though actual length depends on when individual licences get awarded. The likely sequencing: new entrants who front-load the blackout early position themselves first in line, with awards landing right after Austrian Lotteries’ win2day concession expires on 30 September 2027.

Contradiction

Stadler sees a basic contradiction baked into the package. “Two of the three major elements work against each other. If the Finance Ministry wants to maximise retroactive tax recovery, a mandatory blackout period hands you a tax base of zero for that exact stretch. You can’t optimise for both. Operators are left asking whether the real goal is revenue or exclusion.”

Austria as a high-tax jurisdiction

Beyond the clearance condition — and an unresolved question of whether repaid player amounts can be offset against ongoing tax liabilities — sits the headline number: a 45% GGR tax rate. That puts Austria in elite company, in the same bracket as the UK (40% from April 2026) and the Netherlands (37.8%). “It’s a top-of-the-table tax rate for a market that doesn’t even have a functioning licensed channel yet,” Stadler says. But the tax rate alone doesn’t tell the whole story, he adds. “Even at 45% GGR, whether Austria actually functions as a licensed market depends on the regulatory mix around it (player protection rules, advertising limits, deposit and stake caps, AML obligations and more). You have to look at the framework as a whole and ask whether it’s actually attractive enough for new entrants. That’s the kind of detail that decides whether the channelisation target is achievable.”

Author: Arthur Stadler | STADLER PARTNER

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