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Monica Shafaq, former CEO of mental health charity The Kaleidoscope Plus Group, joins gambling addiction charity Gordon Moody as new CEO
Gordon Moody, the UK’s leading charity dedicated to providing support and treatment for those suffering from severe gambling harm, is delighted to announce the appointment of Monica Shafaq as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Following an extensive and thorough recruitment process conducted by our board of trustees over recent months, Monica Shafaq will take the helm from January 2024.
Monica brings 13 years’ experience in the charity sector and joins Gordon Moody from The Kaleidoscope Plus Group, a leading charitable organisation focused on mental health and wellbeing, where she has served as CEO since 2010.
Her wealth of experience and dedication to the betterment of individuals’ lives align perfectly with Gordon Moody’s mission. During her time in her previous role, Monica implemented the charity’s rebrand from Sandwell Mind into The Kaleidoscope Plus Group and retained a place on the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work for every year since 2015.
Monica will succeed interim CEO Matthew Hickey, who will continue to support the leadership team at Gordon Moody until the end of the year, ensuring a seamless transition until Monica officially assumes her role in early 2024.
During Matthew’s tenure, Gordon Moody has grown its treatment capacity from 120 to 270 a year; increasing the visibility of the organisation at a national level. He oversaw the opening of the UK’s first women-only residential treatment centre in 2021 and has paved the way for a new West Midlands-based treatment facility due to open in 2024, which will increase the number of bed spaces to 350.
Gordon Moody figures* reveal that applications for their treatment were up 43% last year (from 619 to 885), showing a positive narrative in people seeking help. But there’s still a long way to go as GambleAware has recently identified the true figure for those at risk of gambling harm as significantly more than the industry has previously suggested, and may be as high as 1.5 million.
Commenting on her appointment, Monica said: “It is a huge privilege to have been appointed the new CEO of Gordon Moody. It’s an honour to lead an organisation that is committed to making a positive impact to the lives of those affected by gambling harm and to work with the remarkable team of passionate individuals. Together, we will work tirelessly to raise awareness, provide support, and a path to recovery. I am excited to collaborate with existing partners and stakeholders as well as forging new relationships to drive meaningful change.
“I am leaving The Kaleidoscope Plus Group with a heavy heart but filled with pride for what the team has achieved over the past 13 years. We have done some extraordinary work together fighting for mental health equality and I know that we will remain strong allies going forward.”
Gordon Moody trustee, Claire Arnold, said: “We are delighted to welcome Monica to the Gordon Moody team as our new Chief Executive Officer and we would also like to express our sincere thanks to our departing CEO, Matthew Hickey, who has worked tirelessly to advance our cause over the past four years.
“Monica brings a wealth of experience from her work in the charity sector, most recently from The Kaleidoscope Plus Group and her energy for achieving social change will be a huge asset to Gordon Moody.
“We look forward to the new era of leadership under Monica Shafaq’s guidance and are confident that her expertise will contribute significantly to our mission of addressing gambling harm and its profound impact on individuals and families.”
Clarion Gaming will be providing operators and suppliers active in the Spanish industry with an insight to its objectives and vision for ICE Barcelona as part of its co-sponsorship of the 12th Expo and Congress which runs across 18th and 19th September at the Torremolinos Congress and Exhibition Centre.
Based in the capital of the Costa del Sol and organised by ANDESA, ACODISA and ANMARE, the event will host the Secretary General of the Treasury of the Junta de Andalucía, Mr Manuel Vázquez Martín, who will be accompanied by eight regional regulators with responsibilities in gaming.
Stuart Hunter, Managing Director of Clarion Gaming is delighted at the opportunity for members of the ICE leadership team to network with members of the Spanish industry and outline the plans which are in place to make the 2025 edition of ICE Barcelona one of the most significant in the history of the show.
He stated: “We are committed to partnering with all members of the Spanish industry to ensure that ICE meets the demands of the sector and is sensitive to the needs and requirements of operators, suppliers, trade bodies and regulators.
“The ability to network, to outline our vision for ICE Barcelona and to listen to the market in such an environment is invaluable. Senior members of the Clarion team will be present at the 12th Expo and Congress and all of the feedback that we receive will be fed back into the show development process.
He added: “The ICE success story has been built on a steadfast commitment to work with our stakeholders and we very much look forward to engaging with delegates of the Expo Congress.”
Clarion Gaming will be showing a specially commissioned ICE Barcelona video prior to the Regulators’ Roundtable in order to share some of the exciting initiatives that are in development to mark the historic first edition of ICE to take place in Barcelona.
The post ICE Barcelona is co-sponsoring 12th Expo and Congress in Torremolinos appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
21VIRAL, the game aggregation provider focusing on Latin America today, confirmed it is committed to raising the industry standards by introducing next-generation AI technology via its GameConnector platform. This AI technology is designed to ‘speed up’ integration between operators and game content studios, reducing the time from months to weeks.
21VIRAL was founded by industry entrepreneurs with 20+ years of successful experience building and streamlining high-tech supply chain platform technology solutions and enhancing commercial benefits to stakeholders.
Christoph Härtel, CEO of 21VIRAL, emphasized the company’s customer-first approach. He stated, “Our goal is to build a product and solution experience that truly meets the needs of our customers. This is why we decided to specialize in the Latin American market, given its current and expected growth rates.”
“We looked at market-product fit and listened to operators seeking unique game content for their local market in weeks rather than months. So, we launched GameConnector, which will be debuted at the SBC Summit in Lisbon.
The 21VIRAL GameConnector is the equivalent of an engineering hub. It reduces integration headaches for operators and game providers, increases speed to market by using AI, and includes transparent game pricing and commission reporting, which is also a headache for operators in terms of figuring out which games make them money.
We have onboarded several industry-established operators and game providers in record time using AI to facilitate faster and more streamlined workflows. However, one of the limiting factors of scale-up businesses, especially if you are an operator or game provider, is the technical integration expertise and market access within the supply chain.
Part of the solution to these problems is commercial pricing transparency and integration support, so we have created more accessibility for onboarding operators and game providers. GameConnector will be the enabler for all the technical integration, heavy lifting, and onboarding. We will also offer reverse integration, a process where we integrate our GameConnector Platform into their systems, thereby reducing their work effort. Therefore, the operators have little to zero work effort – it’s a win-win for all parties involved.”
Emerging-markets leader expands its content portfolio with new games from rising star supplier
QTech Games, the leading game distributor for emerging markets, has continued to build the strong momentum in its premium pipeline, thanks to its latest deal with rising-star supplier, Naga Games.
Integrating content from one of the most innovative and creative online slots providers adds yet more creative muscle to QTech Games’ burgeoning platform, which is taking the widest range of online games to emerging territories with established names, such as Evolution and Yggdrasil, sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers.
Among the games made available to its partners via the deal are Naga Games’ latest releases, Super Phoenix and Chasin’ Leprechaun Coins, which ride on the back of unique maths modelling that powers the volatility spectrum, and helps foster some truly engaging gameplay.
Naga Games’ gaming suite has been optimised for mobile, a cornerstone of QTech’s RNG model, which is founded on its fully-owned and customised technical platform, affording games providers and operators the fastest integration available. Through this leading platform, which has sealed its definitive status as a global gaming one-stop shop, clients enjoy the best performance and customer support available, localised to every region across both developing and more mature markets.
The deal organically broadens Naga Games’ international footprint, unlocking untapped jurisdictions from Asia to Eastern Europe and Latin America for diversified growth.
Philip Doftvik, CEO at QTech Games, said: “We’re committed to rolling out high-quality content that drives revenue for our partners. So, this deal with Naga Games extends our impressive sequential pipeline for 2024. In today’s marketplace, only premium games of the highest standard separate you from the crowd, so we’re delighted to see how Naga Games has fulfilled this demand. That means stunning graphics, coupled to the latest maths models for improved gameplay and high-variance volatility where desired.”
Naga Games added: “We’re reinvigorating the slots space with more immersive gaming experiences. Teaming up with QTech represents a fantastic opportunity to strengthen our product distribution across emerging territories and deliver our great games to a range of top-tier partners. They remain the pre-eminent player in these exciting and diverse margin markets. We can’t wait to see how our games connect with new audiences, and we will look to expand this partnership over the year ahead.
“In an era of customisation, QTech Games is really embracing their brand promise of tailoring top-class content for varied cultures. It’s what keeps them at the cutting edge of relevance for all kinds of players in the creative crucible of emerging markets where no-one can afford to stand still.
The post QTech Games strengthens its premium platform with Naga Games appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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