ICONIC21 has launched iDealer Blackjack, a seven-seat RNG blackjack game that adds a “fully live, AI-powered dealer” to the traditional virtual table experience.

The iGaming content provider said the title was developed in collaboration with RAVATAR using its real-time interactive AI avatar technology, positioning the product as a response to demand for more interaction in RNG table games.

According to the companies, the dealer is real-time rather than pre-recorded or scripted, can welcome players by nickname, and can maintain conversation during play. ICONIC21 also said the dealer “remembers players and their past interactions,” while understanding players “in any language” and responding in English with localized touches.

The game’s background uses a live stream from one of ICONIC21’s studios, which the company said is designed to ground the AI dealer in a real-world environment.

Edvardas Sadovskis, Chief Product Officer at ICONIC21, said: “iDealer Blackjack is a natural progression for RNG tables. It’s important to highlight that this product is not a challenge to live casino as we know it. The AI-powered dealer is not trying to be human. It is exactly what it is: an expressive, well-built companion that makes the game more engaging.

One of the most interesting things we’ve already noticed is how players interact with it. Because they understand they are speaking to artificial intelligence, conversations go far beyond standard live casino chat. Players are asking about history, world facts, random trivia, jokes, and all kinds of unexpected topics during gameplay. This creates a completely different level of engagement around the table.

Also, the customisation roadmap is active and expanding. iDealer Blackjack is a strong foundation with a great deal still to be built on top of it.”

Ruslan Synytsky, CEO at RAVATAR, said: “The next decade of iGaming will be defined by AI-powered presence, personality, and interaction, not just better graphics or faster gameplay. ICONIC21 came to us with a strong sense of what their product needed to feel like for players.

iDealer Blackjack, built on our AI avatar platform, is the first step into that future and sets the direction for what RNG gaming can become.”

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The studio frames the 3 June showing as an early prototype and engagement experiment, not a full launch.

Slotmatic will stage a live preview of its new slot universe, Pidiots, on 3 June in London during EGR Awards week, alongside what it says will be the first tournament built around the title. The company positions the activation as a public test of how it wants to launch and iterate slots, rather than a conventional release.

Slotmatic says the EGR-week build is intentionally an early preview and that the “full Pidiots experience” is expected to evolve over the coming months. The studio describes a roadmap built around recurring characters, evolving mechanics, adaptive feature systems, tournaments and creator-oriented interactions. It characterises the London showing as “a prototype, a public laboratory, and a live engagement test.”

The press release ties the title’s design to social and creator behaviour, with a cast Slotmatic calls “The Gang of Five” and visuals it says reference meme culture, streaming and internet-native aesthetics. The stated aim is to create characters that can live beyond the base game across tournaments and social content, framing the IP as a broader “slot saga” rather than a standalone title.

Alongside the content layer, Slotmatic pitches what it calls a shift toward a “Slot Intelligence Layer” spanning creation, behavioural analysis, feature testing, deployment and live evolution. CTO Domenico Vacchiano argues feature architecture will drive differentiation, saying: “A feature is not decoration. It is engineered attention.” He also claims the company is exploring predictive modelling to simulate engagement outcomes before launch, adding: “True innovation is not predicting the future. It is reducing the cost of uncertainty.”

Slotmatic says its proprietary AI engine, AGENTIX, is built for slot modelling, feature logic and behavioural simulation, and that it is progressing through RNG certification, RGS certification, game certification and security testing, with “ISO 27001-oriented security infrastructure development for UK and Italian regulated markets.” The company also claims an engineering ecosystem of around 100 professionals contributing across AI systems, game development, predictive systems and infrastructure.

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The Isle of Man’s Data Asset Foundations legislation has received Royal Assent, bringing into law what the government and partners describe as the world’s first statutory framework for recognising and managing governed data assets.

With Royal Assent granted, the programme moves into implementation. Digital Isle of Man said the next phase includes developing a Data Asset Register, drafting supporting regulations, and building the operational systems needed to run the framework.

A central element is a statutory Data Asset Register intended to record, classify and oversee recognised data assets. Digital Isle of Man said consultation on the register and registrar model has already taken place and industry feedback is being used to shape regulations and operational guidance.

Tim Johnston MHK, Minister for Enterprise, said:

‘Receiving Royal Assent marks a proud and historic moment for the Isle of Man and reflects years of dedicated work to develop a concept that did not previously exist anywhere in the world and bring it fully into law.

‘As the first jurisdiction in the world to fully establish a framework of this kind, the Isle of Man is demonstrating what becomes possible when innovation, collaboration and regulatory agility come together with clear long-term ambition.’

Aga Strandskov, Head of Data Strategy at Digital Isle of Man, said:

‘Many organisations already recognise data as a major business asset but have lacked the legal certainty needed to use it with confidence. That’s exactly what this new legislation enables.

‘The focus now turns to building the wider ecosystem, operational capability and practical implementation needed to support the next phase of the programme. The Register, supporting regulations and operational infrastructure are all active workstreams already progressing at pace.

‘For businesses, this creates real commercial opportunities that have previously been difficult to support within existing legal and operational models, from governed AI training datasets and trusted cross-organisational collaboration through to new approaches around data-sharing, financing and value creation.’

John Bottega, President at EDM Association, said:

‘Globally, organisations are increasingly looking for clearer structures around how valuable data can be governed, shared and used responsibly.

‘The Isle of Man taking this step reflects a growing shift towards more mature and scalable approaches to trusted data governance that support both innovation and accountability.’

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