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£10,000 crane toy fundraiser launched by Bacta, Rays of Sunshine and Whitehouse Leisure

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Trade body bacta, wish granting charity Rays of Sunshine and manufacturer Whitehouse Leisure have teamed up to launch a new fundraising drive to help brighten the lives of seriously ill children across the UK.

The organisations are aiming to raise £10,000 from the initiative, which will see Whitehouse Leisure sell their brand new ‘Cute Eco Animal’ plush products from its award-winning environmentally friendly Eco Earth range of plush toys to amusement operators.

The price of the toys will include a 25p donation which is being matched with a further 25p from Whitehouse Leisure.

These donations will be donated via the Bacta Charitable Trust (BCT) to Rays of Sunshine, a charity that brightens the lives of seriously ill children across the UK by granting wishes and providing ongoing support in hospitals, at the end of the summer season (30th September).

In addition to matching what is raised through the Cute Eco Earth Animal plush fundraiser, Whitehouse Leisure will also produce a range of eye-catching promotional material for use in the crane machines to promote the Rays of Sunshine initiative.

Details of the work that Rays of Sunshine does will feature on the swing-tags affixed to each toy to help spread the message.

News of the initiative comes after the BCT renewed its partnership with Rays of Sunshine at the end of last year, donating £20,000 to the charity.

The BCT and Rays of Sunshine are hoping to raise £100,000 together over the next two years. Some £30,000 has already been raised.

The amusement machine industry has raised £500,000 for Rays of Sunshine through the BCT over the past decade.

Bacta CEO John White said: “This is a fantastic and innovative initiative from Whitehouse, Rays of Sunshine and BCT. It is also great to see that all the toys sold will be eco-friendly. We are a long-standing supporter of Rays of Sunshine and we are extremely proud of helping brighten the lives of more than 80,000 seriously ill children and their families over the years.”

Chairman of bacta Charitable Trust, Steve Hawkins, said: “We are excited to be working with Whitehouse Leisure on this new fundraising initiative with Rays of Sunshine. I am sure we will see a great response from the wider industry as Whitehouse has generously pledged to match all funds raise through the crane toy programme.”

Cheryl Tissot, Interim CEO at Rays of Sunshine, said: “The Cute Eco Range is such a fun initiative that will have a big impact for seriously ill children across the UK. We’re delighted to be partnered with the bacta Charitable Trust, creatively raising funds to help us grant even more magical wishes. We want to thank all the partners involved and hope that everyone enjoys the range, donating and having fun in the process.”

Phil Setter, Managing Director of Whitehouse Leisure said: “We are delighted to partner with Bacta on the crane toy fundraiser and to help raise invaluable donations for such a fantastic charity like Rays of Sunshine. We see the smiles that our products bring to children every day and to help raise money for Rays of Sunshine through the sales of our Cute Eco Earth plush toys is something we are extremely excited to be a part of.”

 

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Scientific Games Appoints Ovie Doro as SVP of Data, Analytics & AI

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Scientific Games today named Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI, a strategic hire that accelerates the company’s investment in data science, machine learning and AI-driven insights for its global lottery business. Doro will lead the expansion of SG Analytics, Scientific Games’ enterprise analytics group, to deliver stronger product performance, personalized player experiences and measurable ROI for lottery customers across retail and digital channels.

Driving analytics-led growth for lotteries

Scientific Games says the appointment marks a step-change in how it uses data and AI to inform lottery game development, optimize player engagement and support lottery beneficiaries. As head of SG Analytics, Doro will focus on turning large volumes of market and player data into actionable intelligence for product, sales and operations teams.

“Advanced analytics is critical to how Scientific Games supports our lottery customers and drives innovation and performance for sustainable growth,” said Pat McHugh, CEO of Scientific Games. “Doro brings deep experience understanding consumer behavior and building scalable analytics and data science capabilities at global organizations, and we’re excited to have him lead this mission-critical work.”

What Doro will lead at SG Analytics

Doro’s remit will include expanding capabilities in:

  • Market and channel intelligence to identify growth opportunities across regions and channels

  • ROI and growth modeling to quantify the value of product and marketing investments

  • Data engineering and standardized reporting to speed insights to decision-makers

  • Data science, machine learning and experimentation for personalization and cross-channel optimization

  • Visualization and business intelligence to make analytics accessible to commercial teams

These priorities are designed to better connect retail and digital play, enable experimentation-driven product improvements, and provide lotteries with measurable results that support their beneficiary missions.

Proven leader in enterprise analytics and ML

Doro brings more than a decade of experience building enterprise analytics and machine learning platforms for major consumer and e-commerce companies. Most recently he served as Senior Global Director of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering at AB InBev, where he led the AI strategy for the company’s global B2B e-commerce platform. His prior leadership roles at Walmart and Jet.com focused on customer analytics, personalization, experimentation platforms and lifecycle modeling—translating applied research into production-grade analytics systems that drive growth and retention.

“Doro’s appointment strengthens our ability to translate data into action and value for our customers,” said Carrie Galvin, Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer at Scientific Games. “His experience building analytics capabilities that deliver real-world business outcomes will help us better serve lotteries through smarter products and performance insights.”

Background and reporting

Doro holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology. At Scientific Games, he will report to Carrie Galvin and collaborate closely with leaders across product, technology, sales and operations.

With this hire, Scientific Games positions SG Analytics to accelerate AI-driven product development, deepen personalization, and deliver clearer ROI for lotteries worldwide—strengthening the company’s role as a data-first partner to the lottery industry.

© 2026 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The post Scientific Games Appoints Ovie Doro as SVP of Data, Analytics & AI appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Scientific Games Announces Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI

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Scientific Games has named Ovie Doro (“Doro”) as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI, strengthening the company’s investment in advanced analytics, data science and AI-driven insights to support growth and innovation across its global lottery business.

Doro will lead the expansion of the SG Analytics group, Scientific Games’ enterprise analytics practice that combines deep expertise with business intelligence tools, data and insights to support decision-making and increased performance of the company’s lottery products and services. His appointment advances the company’s industry-leading use of data and AI to help guide development of lottery games and technologies, enhance player experiences and deliver measurable, ROI-driven value for lottery customers—helping optimize performance in support of their beneficiary missions—across retail and digital channels.

“Advanced analytics is critical to how Scientific Games supports our lottery customers and drives innovation and performance for sustainable growth,” said Pat McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games. “Doro brings deep experience understanding consumer behavior and building scalable analytics and data science capabilities at global organizations, and we’re excited to have him lead this mission-critical work.”

Doro has more than a decade of experience in architecting and scaling enterprise analytics and machine learning platforms across global consumer and e-commerce organizations. Most recently, he served as Senior Global Director of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering at AB InBev, where he pioneered the AI strategy for the company’s global B2B e-commerce platform, transforming it into an AI-enabled ecosystem that drove revenue growth and partner value across multiple international markets.

Doro has held senior data science leadership roles at Walmart and Jet.com, where he led teams responsible for customer analytics, experimentation platforms, personalization and lifecycle modeling. His work focused on translating applied research into production-grade analytics and machine learning systems that supported growth, retention and omnichannel engagement.

At Scientific Games, Doro will advance SG Analytics by translating data into action across market and channel intelligence, competitive and industry insights, ROI and growth modeling, data engineering, data science and machine learning, supported by standardized reporting and visualization. He will also play a central role in enabling analytics-driven product growth, personalization, experimentation and cross-channel optimization that connects retail and digital play.

Doro will report to Carrie Galvin, Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer of Scientific Games, and will work closely with leaders across product, technology, sales and operations organizations.

“Doro’s appointment strengthens our ability to translate data into action and value for our customers,” said Galvin. “His experience building analytics capabilities that deliver real-world business outcomes will help us better serve lotteries through smarter products and performance insights.”

Doro holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

© 2026 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The post Scientific Games Announces Ovie Doro as Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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Gamblers Connect has officially launched its iHub, a new dedicated page created to be your ultimate connection to the iGaming world

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Gamblers Connect, the award-winning iGaming media and affiliate platform, is proud to announce the official launch of the iHub, a new dedicated page created to be your ultimate connection to the iGaming world.

The iHub exclusively features companies that have an official partnership or verified collaboration with Gamblers Connect, ensuring that every listing meets our editorial, commercial, and quality standards. To achieve this feat, we have successfully organized the complex web of the iGaming industry into a single, centralized location.

The sole purpose of the iHub is to function as a comprehensive database that allows anyone in iGaming, whether it is affiliates, operators, or players, to find the right solutions in one place. Unlike open directories, the iHub is a curated environment, only trusted, officially partnered companies are included, with no self-submissions or automated listings. The iHub, just as the industry itself, is built upon four essential pillars that cover every facet of the iGaming realm, including Affiliates, Game Providers, B2B Providers and Payment Solutions.

Every company featured within the iHub is manually reviewed and onboarded through an official partnership with Gamblers Connect, ensuring accuracy, relevance, and long-term value for the industry.

Gjorgje Ristikj, Founder of Gamblers Connect, said: “The launch of the iHub perfectly reflects our goal to be the most transparent source of information in the iGaming world. It marks a new milestone in our history, as it represents a step forward in our ongoing mission to bring clarity to the industry. By launching the iHub, we unite the four essential pillars in a transparent and centralised manner, giving our community the ultimate resources to navigate the iGaming landscape.”

The post Gamblers Connect has officially launched its iHub, a new dedicated page created to be your ultimate connection to the iGaming world appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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