Silicon Valley-based tech company PlayEngine has announced Dr. Laila Mintas as Co-founder and CEO. Dr. Mintas is known in the industry as a serial entrepreneur. She was previously leading Sportradar´s US business up to Sportradar´s valuation of $2.4 billion USD and then moved on to invest in different tech start-ups across the industry including B-to-B Sports Betting platform Betworks (sold to Bally’s Corporation in 2021) and B-to-C Sports Betting company PlayUp which is set to do a $350 million SPAC (Special-purpose acquisition company) in Q1, 2023.

PlayEngine is a disruptive and innovative B to B Sportsbetting and iGaming platform. It is a proprietary and cutting-edge tech platform that was built from scratch in-house. The platform architecture is microservices-based which makes it highly agile and allows PlayEngine to provide its customers with a tailor-made, individual solution that is reliable, scalable, fast, and secure.

The PlayEngine platform went initially through the prestigious Berkeley Skydeck incubator program and is Sportradar certified.

PlayEngine’s platform provides a full turnkey solution which means it has the capabilities to provide all of the underlying technology that operators need to operate a Sportsbook brand, including for example Risk Management, Trading, Player Account Management (PAM), Content Management, and Customer Relationship Management.

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Other differentiators are that the proprietary platform is highly automated which lowers the operational overhead and increases revenue margins for the sportsbook operator and makes the PlayEngine platform more scalable.

PlayEngine’s B-to-B platform is crypto-capable. Its Sportsbooks clients are able to offer their customers both, fiat money and crypto betting through its seamless multi-wallet experience. The PlayEngine platform will also enable the end-customer an interstate “traveling wallet” meaning the customer only has to download the app one time and is able to use it across different jurisdictions and products which offers the best possible user experience.

On her new venture, Dr. Mintas commented: “I am very excited about being a Co-Founder and the CEO of PlayEngine. The Sports Betting and iGaming market is just too competitive to work off legacy tech. There is a huge need for agile and modern technology and I truly believe that we have the most automated and data-driven product in the market, which will enable the Sportsbetting and iGaming operators to offer an innovative, robust and profitable product to their end-customers.

PlayEngine co-founder Aram Cherkezyan said: “Dr. Mintas has a proven track record of building high-growth companies successfully and is a well-established and respected leader in the Sports Betting and iGaming world and we are very happy to be working together with her.”

PlayUp has announced that it has secured market access for iGaming in Iowa through a partnership with Wild Rose Entertainment.

The deal comes on the heels of PlayUp’s announcement last week of market access for sports betting in Iowa and Indiana along with iGaming for New Jersey.

The deal adds a second iGaming jurisdiction for PlayUp. Pending both legislative and regulatory approval in Iowa the burgeoning iGaming sector is a key indicator for PlayUp’s diverse product portfolio expansion beyond its core sports betting product.

If officials in Iowa should move forward with iGaming, PlayUp will be poised to increase its operating footprint in the US where it is a licensed operator in Colorado and is expected to gain regulatory approval in New Jersey soon.

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“At our core we are a daily fantasy sports operator. We are proud of these roots and that we are Australia’s number one DFS operator and offer some of the world’s largest DFS prizes. We also view a diverse product portfolio as key to our long term growth and stability. iGaming is central in that diversification and we are aggressively getting market access in all states that are offering it, or will be offering it in the future,” Dr Laila Mintas, CEO of PlayUp USA, said.

Earlier this year, investment bank Goldman Sachs projected the iGaming market in the US to reach $39 billion in 2033. Officials with Wild Rose look forward to adding iGaming to its expanding gaming market, should regulations pass to allow it.

“The gaming market and consumer demands are always changing. We are proud to have a great partner like PlayUp in our corner to maximize our potential with iGaming should it come to Iowa,” Tom Timmons, President and COO of Wild Rose Entertainment, said.

PlayUp has already begun the regulatory process to gain licensure in Iowa for sports betting and once the regulatory framework is in place for iGaming will do the same, according to Dr Mintas.

She said the company will take an active role in helping to shape the regulations and provide input to state legislators and regulators if the opportunity presents itself.

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The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has granted Las Vegas-based PlayUp an operational license as an online sports betting operator.

Laila Mintas, CEO of PlayUp USA, said: “This is a huge milestone for our business. New Jersey doesn’t just represent the largest market in terms of revenue for any operator, but it also is an indicator showing the market.

“Both consumers and investors that we have, have cleared the most stringent regulatory standards in the world. We have aggressive growth plans for our jurisdictional footprint in 2022, and going into other states with New Jersey approval in our back pocket is a positive sign for other regulators.

“PlayUp is already working on adding an iGaming product offering in New Jersey and hopes to have regulatory approval in the future.”

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