Octoplay has secured conditional licence approval from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission (AGLC), allowing the supplier to begin the process of offering its games catalogue to operators in Alberta.

The company said the approval positions it to launch in Canada’s newest regulated iGaming market when it opens in July. Octoplay is already live in Ontario with BetMGM and PokerStars, and has also entered the US through New Jersey and Michigan, according to the company.

“Alberta is one of the most strategic market openings on our 2026 roadmap. Entering it with the performance data we’ve built in Ontario, New Jersey, and Michigan gives us a strong foundation to be one of the first suppliers to partner with local tier-one operators as soon as the market opens,” says Ralitsa Georgieva, CEO at Octoplay.

“We’ve worked closely with the AGLC throughout the licensing process, and clearing the conditional stage reflects the strength of our compliance infrastructure,” says Martina Borg Stevens, Chief Legal Officer at Octoplay. “Our team has built a process that allows us to enter new regulated jurisdictions efficiently without compromising on the technical standards each regulator requires.”

Octoplay said Alberta adds to its regulated footprint, which it stated includes 17 operational markets: the United Kingdom, New Jersey, Michigan, Ontario, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Greece, Romania, Malta, Slovakia, Finland, Brazil, and Georgia.

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THNDR has appointed gaming industry veteran Nancy MacIntyre, former CEO of WorldWinner, as a strategic advisor, the company said. MacIntyre will advise THNDR’s leadership team as it works to bring more operators onto its player-vs-player (PvP) skill games network.

MacIntyre has more than 25 years in gaming and digital entertainment. Most recently, she served as CEO of WorldWinner, a competitive skill-gaming platform that developed FanDuel’s skill gaming app, FaceOff. She has also held senior roles at LeapFrog, LucasArts, Atari, and Hasbro.

THNDR positions itself as a white-label skill games layer that operators including sportsbooks, DFS platforms, and lottery apps can integrate to drive engagement and earn revenue per game. The company said it has recorded 160m+ games played, a 99.99% fill rate, and 25+ partners live.

“Nancy didn’t just predict the rise of skill gaming, she led it. At WorldWinner she led efforts to take FanDuel FaceOff mainstream and proved this category works at scale,” said Desiree Dickerson, CEO of THNDR. “As we bring more Tier 1 operators onto our network, that is exactly the expertise we need. Having her in our corner makes everything we build sharper.”

“I have built games on almost every platform that mattered over the last 25 years, and PvP skill gaming is one of the most exciting categories in the market right now,” said Nancy MacIntyre. “THNDR has the team, the technology, and the lead. I am excited to help them turn that into mainstream, must-play games.” THNDR said it plans to share more on its competitive gaming roadmap in the coming months.”

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At iGaming, dozens of solutions are behind the high conversion, retention, and LTV rates of the product: from UX and payment infrastructure to personalisation and constant hypothesis testing.

Behind the Game is a series of expert materials where N1 Partners team explains how successful iGaming products work from the inside.

In this issue, N1 Partners’ Product Line Manager will tell you how to identify a promising brand at the start, what distinguishes a strong product from an average one, and how to choose offers with maximum potential.

What distinguishes a strong iGaming product from dozens of similar offers in the market today?

Today, many products are focused on the rapid monetisation of the player. A strong product has a different approach: it is built around long-term value, player loyalty, and audience retention. 

Personalisation, usability, and the ability of a product to adapt to the interests of a particular user play a key role. 

Modern analytics and AI tools allow you to predict user behaviour more accurately, offer relevant mechanics, and create a more personalised gaming experience.

UX is equally important. In Tier-1 GEOs, even minor inconveniences can cost a player. If the user has to perform unnecessary actions or encounter an inconvenient interface, the probability that he’ll leave increases significantly.

What early signs show that a product has the potential to become a strong brand?

From the product’s point of view, two metrics are crucial: conversion and retention.

If a product consistently shows good player engagement rates and at the same time keeps the audience at or above market benchmarks, this is a strong signal of its potential.

An additional indicator is the team’s ability to regularly test new hypotheses and implement mechanics that expand the possibilities of interaction with the audience.

Practical criteria are also important for partners: the availability of in-demand payment methods for a specific GEO, high-quality localisation, a strong game library and a convenient user path.

A separate recommendation for affiliate teams is to independently walk the player’s path before launching traffic. This allows you to quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of the product before scaling.

What is more important for long-term growth: constantly attracting new players or working with the existing base?

One cannot exist without the other.

Attracting new players remains a prerequisite for growth, but without strong retention and working with a loyal base, the product will not be able to show stable results over the long run. That is why the N1 Partners products have a high retention and players’ LTV, those are really crucial metrics to pay attention to.

A high churn leads to a situation where the operator constantly compensates for losses due to new traffic. This model becomes unprofitable both for the product itself and for partners working on RevShare.

That’s why long-term growth is built around retaining players and building a loyal audience that keeps coming back to the product.

What mistakes do new casino projects most often make in the early years of their work?

Many new projects begin to actively increase traffic even before they are convinced of the product effectiveness on test volumes.

Before opening large amounts of traffic, it is important to make sure that all key processes are working correctly: funnels, retention mechanics, payment infrastructure and user path.

Many problems arise due to flaws from the product’s side itself. Errors in payments, incorrect localisation, problems with the availability of functions or an inconvenient interface quickly affect conversion and retention.

For the player, such shortcomings become the reason for leaving even before he has time to get acquainted with the product.

How do you know that a player is returning because of the product itself and not just bonuses or individual games?

One of the key factors is emotional attachment to the product and the level of personalisation.

Bonuses can attract attention, but long-term loyalty is shaped by familiar mechanics, individualised interaction and high-quality communication with the user. This is especially noticeable in the VIP segment, where personal support, attention to the player and long-term relationships are of great importance.

A strong product is always based on treating players as people, not as a set of numbers in reports.

What metrics best show that a product will be successful at a distance?

Among the main indicators:

• repeated deposits;
• deposit funnel depth;
• Retention Rate;
• Churn Rate;
• technical stability of the product;
• key scenarios’ speed.

Special attention is paid to the transitions between deposits and the product’s ability to return players a week, a month or more after the first deposit.

How are the expectations of the players changing in 2026, and what is already considered a mandatory brand standard today?

A mandatory standard is perfect GEO localization, the most user-friendly interface, as well as brand reputation.

Another underestimated factor is the brand’s reputation. Products need to actively work with ORM (Online Reputation Management): monitor the brand’s reputation on feedback (for example, Trustpilot) and third-party sites and respond to comments and questions from players, forming loyalty. 

N1 Partners pays special attention to this: the company systematically works with feedback from partners and players, maintaining the brand’s reputation on thematic websites.

What helps N1 Partners products stay competitive in Tier-1 GEOs?

Constant testing of new mechanics and flexibility in product development remains one of the factors.

N1 Partners team adheres to an approach in which new solutions are first tested under controlled conditions and only implemented on a larger scale after effectiveness confirmation.

Among the mechanics that have shown a good effect are Lucky Spin/LuckyBox, Puzzle Hunt and a number of other gamification solutions aimed at increasing player engagement and retention.

Deep audience segmentation and the development of specialised retention areas for different groups of players also play an important role.

If you had to choose a product for RevShare, which indicators would you look at first?

First of all, it is worth paying attention to:

• player retention;
• user path quality;
• the presence of errors and technical problems;
• payment infrastructure;
• the range of games;
• indicators of repeated deposits.

In the RevShare model, the key is how long a player remains active and how often they return to deposits.

What do partners most often underestimate when choosing a product to drive traffic?

Partners often start scaling a new product too early.

Even with a strong offer and good terms of cooperation, it is crucial to first check the actual performance of the product and only then proceed to scaling.

Another underestimated factor is the brand’s reputation. Before driving traffic to an offer, it is important to check player reviews, ratings on relevant sites, and the general perception of the product on the market.

If you had to launch a new brand from scratch today, which three things would you focus on first?

First of all, attention should be paid to three fundamental elements:

• a strong payment infrastructure for chosen GEO;
• a high-quality set of gaming providers and content;
• technical stability of the product and an optimized user path.

Even minor problems with download speed, payments, or registration can significantly reduce conversion and affect the further growth of the product.

The effectiveness of all subsequent marketing and product initiatives directly depends on the quality of these components.

To summarise, a strong iGaming product begins where the pursuit of short-term results ends. Attention to user experience, audience retention, localisation, and continuous product improvements allows brands to grow from a distance and turn the attracted traffic into long-term value.

If you are looking for brands with high LTV and Reg2Dep, join N1 Partners, a multi-brand affiliate program with 14+ casinos and betting brands in Tier-1 GEO with payouts up to €700 CPA and RevShare up to 55%.

Be number one with N1!

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