Latest News

Entain and McLaren F1 Team open the doors for women to return to work

Published

3 years ago

January 18, 2023

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The companies are launching a joint Returnship programme for women to return to careers in the world’s most exciting industries

Entain, the global sports betting, gaming and interactive entertainment group, and the McLaren F1 Team, are launching applications for their joint Returnship programme, to help reignite the careers of women returning to roles in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

While the representation of women in STEM is steadily increasing 1, there remains a significant gender imbalance – in the UK, just 26% of STEM graduates are women, and only 24% of the STEM workforce are women2. There is an urgent need to change the perceptions of careers in STEM, open more opportunities for women to pursue careers in the field, and help both women and men thrive equally in STEM.

As 26% of sports bettors globally are now female3, and F1 continues to experience a rise in female fans, with approximately 40% of fans now female4, it has become even more important for both companies to reflect the customer experience by having a diverse workforce. The Returnship programme is another step in the right direction to making this change.

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Entain CEO, said: “The fusion of technology, sport and entertainment, and desire to support talented women re-entering the workforce meant that launching this brand-new programme with our partner, McLaren, is an obvious step. We share a passion and commitment for giving women a platform to reignite their careers in STEM and hope that through this programme, we not only support a generation of ambitious women now but inspire future generations of girls to land their dream STEM role.”

As part of the programme, an initial cohort of ten Returnship places will be created, offering unique opportunities and experience at either Entain or the McLaren F1 Team over a six-month period. The programme is designed to suit different women at different stages in their career, with successful candidates being supported by a 1-1 transitional coach specialising in returning to work, flexible working, networking with senior executives, and an opportunity to discuss permanent role opportunities after the six-month programme. Example placement roles span from software engineers and back-end developers to data scientists and design engineers, with the full list available on the programme’s website.

Candidates who meet the following minimum criteria are being sought:

At least 3 months unemployed, underemployed or reskilling
At least 2 years prior professional experience
STEM focused qualifications or experience or a personal and evidencable passion for technology / data / engineering

Entain is committed to embedding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into all corners of its business, and has launched a number of programmes to support this commitment, under its EnTrain programme, which is designed to increase access to education and training in technology and improve diversity. With EnTrain, Entain has set the objective to positively impact the lives of over 1,000,000 people around the world, either directly or through their families and dependents, by 2030.

The Entain x McLaren F1 Team Returnship programme also complements Entain’s existing Reboot@Ivy initiative, which helps women return to their technology careers at its locations in Hyderabad and Manila.

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, commented: “We are excited to be launching the first returnship of its kind within F1 in partnership with Entain. This is an opportunity to drive real change within the Engineering and Technology industries and is part of our overall commitment to making STEM careers more accessible to all, and to having 40% of our employees from under-represented backgrounds by 2030.”

In December 2022, Formula 1 announced teams for its F1 Academy: an all-female racing series for younger drivers, set for 2023. Likewise, Extreme E has elevated women in motorsport with its gender-equal motorsport series. These moves demonstrate the eagerness to propel women drivers into the upper echelons of the sport, and mirror what Entain and the McLaren F1 Team are hoping to achieve through the Returnship programme.

Latest News

VeliTech returns to SiGMA Africa 2026 with a new focus

Published

57 minutes ago

February 24, 2026

Wladimir P.

velitech-returns-to-sigma-africa-2026-with-a-new-focus

VeliTech is heading to Cape Town for SiGMA Africa 2026, bringing immersive casino content and its proven product ecosystem to the show floor. From 3–5 March, visitors can meet the team at Stand 096 to explore games and technology designed to help operators compete in Africa’s rapidly evolving iGaming market.

Building on last year’s success — including winning Best Casino Provider at the SiGMA Africa Awards — the company has been shortlisted across multiple categories at this year’s ceremony, highlighting the strength of both its platform and content portfolio.

This includes:

Best Platform (VeliTech)
Industry Rising Star (VeliGames)
Marketing Campaign (The Dare Society, VeliPlay)
Women in Gaming (Yevheniia Bocharova, CEO at VeliPlay)

These nominations recognise VeliTech not only as a platform provider but also for its growing influence in the casino content space.

VeliGames, in particular, is an aggregation platform purpose-built for the African market, designed to address challenges such as network variability, device diversity, and data sensitivity. The solution delivers a performance-focused aggregation layer engineered to remain fast, lightweight, and reliably playable in environments where high-bandwidth European models often fall short.

Also featured are two standout game providers from the VeliTech group. VeliPlay offers dynamic crash and fast games built for pace, immersion, and repeat engagement, while Heaven of 7 delivers high-energy slot titles designed to keep player sessions lively and engaging.

Visitors to the VeliTech stand will be able to experience this content first-hand, with both providers hosting live demonstrations of their latest releases — expected to be among the major attractions at the event.

“Following our first appearance at SiGMA Africa last year – where VeliTech was recognised as Best Casino Provider – we’re returning to Cape Town with a clear shift in focus. This year, we’re putting content front and centre, showcasing high-impact slot and crash games the African market hasn’t seen before, delivered through a powerful game aggregation ecosystem designed to help operators unlock real growth across emerging markets.” Giorgi Aleksidze, CEO at VeliTech.

The post VeliTech returns to SiGMA Africa 2026 with a new focus appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Habanero

Racing Royalty — Habanero’s High-Speed Hold-and-Ride Thrill

Published

57 minutes ago

February 24, 2026

Wladimir P.

racing-royalty-—-habanero’s-high-speed-hold-and-ride-thrill

Slot integrates re-spin features with race-themed gameplay in anticipation of the Cheltenham festival.

Habanero, a prominent provider of online slots and table games, has launched Racing Royalty, a dynamic slot featuring Hold and Ride mechanics with a symbol locking maximum win potential reaching up to 1,324x.

Set on a 5×4 grid with 25 paylines, Racing Royalty infuses the excitement of the racetrack into the reels with its captivating gameplay. Double horse icons show up consistently in the base game, charging across the reels and counting as two symbols for winning combinations, thereby doubling any potential payout.

Once the Hold and Ride option is enabled, symbols remain fixed and re-spinning starts. Fresh symbols that secure the position and reset the spins, enabling the feature to persist and gain momentum, while Wilds can also stabilize to maintain the re-spins in action.

Free Games activate when three Scatter symbols appear on reels 1, 3, and 5, while the Hold and Ride feature remains in effect during the entire round.

Racing Royalty features Habanero’s proven engagement tools, such as the Jackpot Race and Buy Feature, catering to various regulated markets.

The title broadens Habanero’s collection of high-performing slots, emphasizing the studio’s commitment to straightforward mechanics, familiar themes, and reliable gameplay on various devices.

Toni Karapetrov, Head of Corporate Communications at Habanero, said: “Racing Royalty is designed to deliver straightforward, momentum-led gameplay. The Hold and Ride mechanic provides a clear focal point, while the locked Wilds and Free Games structure allow the experience to build.

“As with all our releases, the aim is to create a slot that balances strong thematic presentation with reliable performance for our operator partners.”

The post Racing Royalty — Habanero’s High-Speed Hold-and-Ride Thrill appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

InnovaPlay

InnovaPlay and Xtremepush Close Deal to Strengthen Player Engagement Across Operators’ Network

Published

57 minutes ago

February 24, 2026

Wladimir P.

InnovaPlay and Xtremepush Close Deal to Strengthen Player Engagement Across Operators’ Network

InnovaPlay operators will gain access to a fully integrated CRM and customer engagement suite following the company’s second partnership agreement of the year with Xtremepush.

The collaboration enables brands using InnovaPlay to plan, launch, and measure campaigns across multiple channels — including mobile notifications, email, in-app messaging, and SMS — from a single environment.

The integration is designed to help operators respond faster to player behaviour, deliver more targeted campaigns without increasing internal workload, and optimise onboarding flows. It is also expected to reduce the time required to reactivate inactive players and streamline real-time reward delivery, while giving marketing and CRM teams clearer visibility into how players interact across channels, devices, and products over time.

Commenting on the partnership, Shaun Grech, Technical Director at InnovaPlay, said the integration is a direct response to operator demand in recent months: “It makes it easier for our partners to reach the right players at the right moment, using the channels their audiences already rely on”.

Xtremepush’s Director of Partnerships, Robbie Sexton, highlighted the advantages of working with a platform that collaborates with a broad network of operators across multiple regions: “This integration with InnovaPlay means less work and better results for more operators. Through this collaboration, operators can now use our category-leading CRM engine directly without resource-heavy development work, allowing them to design more relevant journeys for individual players in a unified manner”.

Both companies describe the partnership as part of a broader strategy to provide operators with tools that are ready to deploy while remaining adaptable to individual brand needs. Practical use cases are expected to include welcome journeys for new sign-ups, reminders for inactive players, and tailored messaging around key campaigns.

The post InnovaPlay and Xtremepush Close Deal to Strengthen Player Engagement Across Operators’ Network appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.