Industry News
Soft2Bet Shares 2023 Results and Predicts Biggest iGaming Trends for 2024
Soft2Bet has experienced significant growth in 2023 and as the year draws to a close, we look into the trends that are likely to dominate the iGaming sector in 2024.
Gamification will expand further in 2024 and become hyper-localized
Gamification features will keep expanding in 2024 and Soft2Bet will continue to customize them to players’ preferences in their individual markets. Gamification will also grow in popularity as it becomes even more localized and captures more of consumers’ attention and screen time.
Why gamification is important in iGaming
Gamification is a term that is and continues to be widely used in the online gaming and betting industry. There are a number of reasons for this, but going back to the social casino craze of 2012-2013, it is strongly linked with social and casual gaming and the ability to extend player values through engagement and gameplay.
The social gaming craze may have calmed down from those heady days, but the companies active in that sector continue to generate substantial revenues through micro-transactions, in-game advertising or secondary marketplaces. Gamification, in other words.
How does this apply to iGaming and how does Soft2Bet harness gamification?
The short answer to that question is that we have integrated social engagement and gameplay features, localized them to specific countries and regions into our real-money gaming products to create the Soft2Bet Motivational Engineering Gaming Application (MEGA), our gamification engine.
Global gamification continues significantly growing, while MEGA features have generated very strong financial and product-performance results, it’s also important to remember the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make this happen.
As Yoel Zuckerberg, Chief Product Officer at Soft2Bet, explains: “In practice this translates into our tech, development, marketing or CRM teams spending many man-hours integrating all those elements into our products’ gameplay.”
“This has meant hours of painstaking technical work developing a fully integrated solution that is seamless, secure, tailored and geo-targeted to players’ habits and preferences. This work is paying off and has enabled Soft2Bet to grow faster than ever in 2023.”
iGaming trends 2024
The Era of Mobile Gaming.
The mobile gambling market is expected to reach over $150 Billion by 2030, and around 70% of online betting revenue comes from mobile gambling. With the addition of new innovations in personalization and gamification on mobile apps, mobile gaming will only accelerate its growth in 2024. iGaming brands must be focused on staying ahead of the curve, bringing the most exciting and engaging mobile gaming offerings to players in its new and existing markets around the world.
AI will become even more integrated and inform new features.
As AI continues to progress and advance, companies such as Soft2Bet will prioritize discovering innovative ways to harness this technology. By effectively employing AI to analyze data, it becomes capable of pinpointing crucial trends and detecting shifts in player preferences. These insights can be directly applied to enhance the platform’s features and elevate the overall user experience.
UI, UX enhancements combined with player behavior analytics will be key drivers.
Player behavior analytics will play a key role, and being up-to-date with the latest technologies and innovations will be crucial for iGaming companies hoping to see success in 2024.
Responsible gaming initiatives will take center stage

Soft2Bet has always been committed to responsible gaming and predicts that other companies will continue to increase investment in this field, especially as they enter new jurisdictions with new regulations. The industry will introduce more innovative, proactive, and user-friendly responsible gaming tools and solutions in 2024.
MEGA drives Soft2Bet
Motivational Engineering has been key to Soft2Bet’s success in 2023 because it enables us to deliver quality products that are highly personalized and localized to the markets we operate in. This trend will continue in 2024 and we will keep providing tailored offerings to our casino players and sports betting customers: City Builder features for our casino-focused players, while sports bettors can engage with our Sports Stadiums.
Uri Poliavich, founder and CEO of Soft2Bet added: “As we move into 2024, the key to succeeding in our industry lies in adapting to evolving player preferences, harnessing cutting-edge AI, advanced motivational engineering techniques, and ensuring a seamless user experience. At Soft2Bet, we are fully equipped and committed to meeting these challenges head-on. With our innovative and hyper-localized MEGA solutions, advanced analytics, and a strong emphasis on responsible gaming, we’re poised to not only adapt to the changing landscape but to lead and define it.”
Soft2Bet’s EBITDA grew by more than 300% in 2023, driven by Motivational Engineering Gaming Application (MEGA), our unique gamification technology. The company also obtained 10 new licenses in seven different countries, including Sweden, Italy and other major markets.
The effectiveness of our MEGA technology was also demonstrated by the growth of our Betinia brand in Denmark and Sweden, the two leading Scandinavian markets, where GGR increased by more than 65% and by more than 50% of the playerbase engaged with gamification. In addition, deposit amounts were 50% larger and 30% more frequent and average revenue per user (ARPU) grew by more than 70%. These achievements have been recognised by our peers and we were delighted to be shortlisted in the following five categories of the EGR Nordics Awards.
Martin Collins, CBDO at Soft2Bet, commented: “For 2024, we look forward to furthering our innovation and motivational engineering offerings while expanding our reach across the globe. The next year will be a pivotal one both for our company and the iGaming industry more broadly. We focused on driving these exciting new trends as we continue to disrupt and drive the industry forward.”
AI
Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket
Tugi Tark has released a 2026 whitepaper, The economics of AI-powered iGaming customer support, arguing that AI changes the unit economics of player support and can reduce costs compared with human-led operations.
The report cites “verified pricing” of EUR 0.15 per AI-handled ticket. It compares that with fully loaded employer costs for human support in Romania and Bulgaria of EUR 1.73 to EUR 1.88 per ticket. At a “realistic” 70% AI containment rate, the whitepaper claims a blended cost of about EUR 0.67 per ticket, which it describes as roughly a 64% reduction versus a human-only baseline of EUR 1.88.
Tugi Tark says its analysis draws on Eurostat 2024 labour cost data, published research on AI chatbot benchmarks, independent iGaming player behaviour research, and operational data from its own deployments. The company estimates operators can achieve a 55% to 75% reduction in total support expenditure, and argues AI can absorb volume spikes—such as during major sporting events—without additional hiring or training lag.
Harpo Lilja, founder and CEO of TUgi Tark, said: “In 2026, the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI is costing operators millions in unnecessary overhead. We aren’t just talking about chatbots; we’re talking about a fundamental shift in the unit economics of player retention.”
The whitepaper also frames customer support as a retention lever, stating that payment issues account for 52% of ticket volume and that slower response times drive churn. It claims a 0.5 percentage point churn reduction could retain an additional 500 players per month for a mid-sized operator, translating to €200,000 in annual revenue based on an assumed €400 Player Lifetime Value. Tugi Tark also claims AI agents average ~7 seconds for first response versus ~60 seconds for human agents, and outlines use cases across Responsible Gambling escalation, KYC/AML workflows, and GDPR-aligned data sovereignty.
The post Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Game Development
Games Global outlines May slot roadmap with Snowborn, AreaVegas and Just For The Win
Games Global has published its May content roadmap, highlighting new slot releases from Snowborn Games, AreaVegas Games and Just For The Win, and a continued push to reuse established mechanics across its studio network.
The supplier said Area Link
and Power Combo
will feature prominently in May’s launches. AreaVegas Games’ Area Link
Chilli uses six chilli symbols above the reels tied to bonus modifiers that can trigger individually or together, including cash prizes and fixed jackpots, multipliers, instant collectors and value boosters.
Games Global also pointed to Just For The Win’s Bison Ridge Power Combo
, where Link&Win
is combined with Power Combo
to create what it described as a more varied bonus structure.
Snowborn Games’ Volcanic Fortune
is positioned around bonus modifiers such as collectors and multipliers, plus a Treasure Chest meter designed to build towards higher-value bonus outcomes.
David Reynolds, Director of Games Strategy and Partner Management at Games Global, said: “Our studios bring the craft, and May’s roadmap puts that on full display. It’s built around extending global franchises into new titles across our network, which is how we deliver breadth without compromising quality. The result is a pipeline that gives operators choice and players variety.”
The post Games Global outlines May slot roadmap with Snowborn, AreaVegas and Just For The Win appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
charity-lotteries
ZEAL posts 6% Q1 2026 revenue growth as EBITDA dips on investment spend
ZEAL Network SE reported higher first-quarter 2026 revenue despite what it described as a weak jackpot environment, while profitability softened as the company increased investment. Revenue rose 6% year-on-year to €54.3 million (2025: €51.1 million). EBITDA fell to €15.5 million from €17.7 million.
“The first quarter of 2026 shows that we are consistently executing our strategy even in a weak jackpot environment: our core business is growing, and we have continued to invest in diversifying our business model,” says Andrea Behrendt, CFO of ZEAL. “Through targeted investments in new charity lotteries such as the Dream Car Raffle, we are laying the foundation for sustainable growth that is less dependent on jackpot cycles. The slightly lower EBITDA compared to the previous year is primarily a reflection of these measures.”
In the core lottery segment, ZEAL said average monthly active users increased 5% to 1,575 thousand (2025: 1,507 thousand), while new registrations climbed 11% to 274 thousand (2025: 247 thousand). Lottery billings edged up 1% to €268.0 million (2025: €264.7 million). The lottery gross margin improved to 17.8% (2025: 17.1%), with lottery revenue up 5% to €48.7 million (2025: €46.3 million).
ZEAL also used Q1 to prepare a new in-house charity lottery product. The company said it launched the Traumautoverlosung (English name: Dream Car Raffle) on 14 April 2026, its third charity lottery in Germany after freiheit+ and the Dream House Raffle.
In Games, ZEAL reported revenue up 14% to €3.9 million (2025: €3.4 million) after expanding its B2C portfolio to more than 740 titles. ZEAL said higher marketing costs (+13%) and personnel expenses (+21%) reflected continued investment in scaling charity lotteries and Games alongside the core lottery business.
The post ZEAL posts 6% Q1 2026 revenue growth as EBITDA dips on investment spend appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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