Slot integrates re-spin features with race-themed gameplay in anticipation of the Cheltenham festival.

Habanero, a prominent provider of online slots and table games, has launched Racing Royalty, a dynamic slot featuring Hold and Ride mechanics with a symbol locking maximum win potential reaching up to 1,324x.

Set on a 5×4 grid with 25 paylines, Racing Royalty infuses the excitement of the racetrack into the reels with its captivating gameplay. Double horse icons show up consistently in the base game, charging across the reels and counting as two symbols for winning combinations, thereby doubling any potential payout.

Once the Hold and Ride option is enabled, symbols remain fixed and re-spinning starts. Fresh symbols that secure the position and reset the spins, enabling the feature to persist and gain momentum, while Wilds can also stabilize to maintain the re-spins in action.

Free Games activate when three Scatter symbols appear on reels 1, 3, and 5, while the Hold and Ride feature remains in effect during the entire round.

Racing Royalty features Habanero’s proven engagement tools, such as the Jackpot Race and Buy Feature, catering to various regulated markets.

The title broadens Habanero’s collection of high-performing slots, emphasizing the studio’s commitment to straightforward mechanics, familiar themes, and reliable gameplay on various devices.

Toni Karapetrov, Head of Corporate Communications at Habanero, said: “Racing Royalty is designed to deliver straightforward, momentum-led gameplay. The Hold and Ride mechanic provides a clear focal point, while the locked Wilds and Free Games structure allow the experience to build.

“As with all our releases, the aim is to create a slot that balances strong thematic presentation with reliable performance for our operator partners.”

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InnovaPlay and Xtremepush Close Deal to Strengthen Player Engagement Across Operators’ Network

InnovaPlay operators will gain access to a fully integrated CRM and customer engagement suite following the company’s second partnership agreement of the year with Xtremepush.

The collaboration enables brands using InnovaPlay to plan, launch, and measure campaigns across multiple channels — including mobile notifications, email, in-app messaging, and SMS — from a single environment.

The integration is designed to help operators respond faster to player behaviour, deliver more targeted campaigns without increasing internal workload, and optimise onboarding flows. It is also expected to reduce the time required to reactivate inactive players and streamline real-time reward delivery, while giving marketing and CRM teams clearer visibility into how players interact across channels, devices, and products over time.

Commenting on the partnership, Shaun Grech, Technical Director at InnovaPlay, said the integration is a direct response to operator demand in recent months: “It makes it easier for our partners to reach the right players at the right moment, using the channels their audiences already rely on”.

Xtremepush’s Director of Partnerships, Robbie Sexton, highlighted the advantages of working with a platform that collaborates with a broad network of operators across multiple regions: “This integration with InnovaPlay means less work and better results for more operators. Through this collaboration, operators can now use our category-leading CRM engine directly without resource-heavy development work, allowing them to design more relevant journeys for individual players in a unified manner”.

Both companies describe the partnership as part of a broader strategy to provide operators with tools that are ready to deploy while remaining adaptable to individual brand needs. Practical use cases are expected to include welcome journeys for new sign-ups, reminders for inactive players, and tailored messaging around key campaigns.

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The UK Government is consulting on a proposed ban that would prevent unlicensed gambling companies from sponsoring UK sports teams, a move designed to protect consumers from unregulated operators.

The ministers are deeply concerned about the dangers posed by the unlicensed gambling market, which has been linked to organised crime. Unlicensed operators do not adhere to laws and guidelines designed to protect customers, including mandatory financial vulnerability checks, responsible advertising and fair terms. They often lack data protections, leaving customers vulnerable to fraud and identity theft.

The government’s new consultation on sports sponsorship, to be launched this Spring, will mitigate the risks associated with the illegal market, and help eliminate unfair competition for properly regulated firms.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “When placing a bet on the big match, fans deserve to know the sites they’re using are properly regulated, with the right protections in place.

“It’s not right that unlicensed gambling operators can sponsor some of our biggest football clubs, raising their profile and potentially drawing fans towards sites that don’t meet our regulatory standards.”

The new measures would mean gambling companies without a UK licence would be restricted from entering into any sponsorship arrangements with sports clubs, including in the Premier League, where a number of clubs currently carry sponsorship from operators not licensed in Great Britain.

Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross said: “We know the real harm that unregulated gambling can cause, exploiting vulnerable people and leaving consumers without the protections they deserve.

“This consultation, alongside the work of our Illegal Gambling Taskforce, shows how seriously this government is taking the issue. We will not hesitate to act where we see people being put at risk.”

This consultation forms part of the government’s separate, wider work to address concerns around gambling. Last month, the government launched an Illegal Gambling Taskforce, bringing together major companies including Google, Mastercard, TikTok and Visa alongside law enforcement and gambling bodies to tackle illegal gambling.

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