A new fully EveryMatrix-funded project aimed at helping veterans of the war in Ukraine transition to develop new careers in technology has launched in Lviv.

The NGO, entitled ‘Academy for Heroes’, is spearheaded by EveryMatrix and was inspired by its 300+ employees, based in Lviv in Ukraine, some of whom are fighting in the war.

There are hundreds of thousands of combatants in Ukraine, a number that is rising every day. Following their return from war, sometimes with serious injuries, many need social adaptation and work that can provide a more certain future.

Advertisement

The Academy will organise courses designed by leading experts in the IT industry, enabling former military personnel to gain the knowledge and skills needed for successful IT careers.

Beyond its primary goal of equipping veterans with IT skills, it also aims to help them successfully integrate into today’s labour market. EveryMatrix and several other local IT companies will be involved in the employment of veterans after they have completed courses.

Ebbe Groes, Group CEO and Co-Founder, EveryMatrix, said: “Our Lviv office is central to our continued success and growth. Ever since the country has experienced conflict we have supported our friends and colleagues, as well as charities, with much needed funds committing more than €2 million to date, and we will continue to help them.

“Now, we’re taking that one step further by setting up our second company NGO to ensure veterans receive the training and skills they need to return to work and develop successful careers in technology.

“The IT industry is one of the strongest parts of the Ukrainian economy, renowned worldwide for technical skills. I hope many will either join us or go on to join other IT companies, giving them hope and a more certain future for themselves and their families.”

Advertisement

Professor Oleksiy Druhov, CEO, Academy for Heroes, said: “This is the only continuously operating project of its kind in Ukraine for military veterans. Our goal is to teach four groups of veterans every year.

“Each group will have its own specialisation such as Project Management, Quality Assurance and Full stack to name just a few areas. We carefully monitor the Ukrainian IT market and only train the specialisms required.

“All participants will undergo internships at EveryMatrix and other leading Ukrainian IT companies during their studies and they will have the best teachers from the IT Industry. We are also planning to open a specialised, inclusive-friendly training centre at the end of 2024.”

This is the second fully funded NGO that EveryMatrix has initiated. In 2015 the iGaming technology provider established TeachStream supplying much needed funds and resources to disadvantaged children in Romania who might otherwise never have the opportunity to develop IT, computer science, mathematics and English skills.

EveryMatrix’s flagship casino product, CasinoEngine, has smashed the 6 billion monthly game rounds mark and exceeded €6 billion monthly turnover – just months after hitting 4 billion and €4bn respectively.

CasinoEngine, the group’s casino productivity platform, surpassed both 6 billion milestones in June 2024 showing exceptional growth in the last three years and setting record profits and generating record customer revenues during that time.

This accelerated growth has been generated by a combination of significantly increasing existing customer revenues, adding new vendors and going live with new operators. This includes Veikkaus, DraftKings, Golden Nugget, Bet MGM and Rush Street with several other global and local brands due to go live in the coming months.

Advertisement

New innovations, such as SlotMatrix Boosters, a series of gamification tools that include customisable jackpots, tournaments, challenges and free spins have also driven game rounds and turnover.

SlotMatrix Boosters add multiple layers of additional excitement, user experience and operator revenue to every one of the 29,000+ games integrated into CasinoEngine and its aggregation product SlotMatrix.

EveryMatrix’s casino growth has risen significantly in the last three years. It took the business unit four years to go from one to two billion rounds between 2018 to July 2022 but just 11 months to go from two to four billion game rounds from July 2022 to May 2023 and just 12 months to go from four to more than six billion in June 2024.

Stian Enger Pettersen, Head of Casino, EveryMatrix, said: “The EveryMatrix effect is undeniable! We continue to smash records month on month and year after year, accelerating our customer growth faster than ever before.

“Not only do we continually showcase our expertise, knowledge, strength and leading presence in casino, but also continually look to improve our customers offerings with innovation such as SlotMatrix Boosters. This adds both multiple layers of experiences and excitement for players and creates even more opportunities for our customers.”

Advertisement

EveryMatrix has acquired FSB Technology, a leading global full turnkey and specialist sportsbook technology provider in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition will further bolster OddsMatrix, EveryMatrix’s tier-1 sportsbook platform and odds feeds division, generating immediate additional revenues, cross-company synergies and firmly establishes a presence in the UK, Ireland and Africa where FSB has developed strong market share.

Founded in 2007 by Sam Lawrence and David McDowell, FSB is a leading B2B sportsbook technology supplier based in London, offering full end-to-end turnkey solutions including Player Account Management (PAM), sports betting and casino platform solutions.

Advertisement

EveryMatrix will incorporate key FSB features into its offering, including what has been recognised as one of the strongest horse racing products among sportsbook providers.

Customers will further benefit from EveryMatrix’s superior modular products including casino, games and aggregation, payments, player account management, managed services or affiliate management and data tracking.

Once migrated to OddsMatrix, they will gain access to proven, tier-1 sportsbook and odds feeds products, as well as EveryMatrix’s technology, development and resource pipeline, decades of industry expertise within its 1,000 employee strong workforce across 13 locations worldwide and a global network of partners.

OddsMatrix has gone from strength-to-strength launching several large-scale digital projects for tier-1 brands across Europe including Bet-at-home and the Hungarian national lottery company’s (SZRT) online brand TippmixPro.

OddsMatrix achieved its best year in 2023, setting record growth, profitability and a record number of bets for tier-1 customers. It experienced a 75% Year-on-Year (YoY) rise in total bets, skyrocketing profitability up 90% while also driving live events up by a third (31%) to more than 1.8 million events for the year. With the FSB deal, this strong growth is set to continue.

Advertisement

Ebbe Groes, Group CEO of EveryMatrix, said: “I’m delighted to announce our purchase of FSB Technology and I’m proud of the EveryMatrix team that has been involved in making this deal happen so effortlessly.

“This is our most ambitious acquisition to date, by value, size, and complexity. There was a huge amount of internal teamwork behind the scenes to ensure this process was managed efficiently which is a great credit to everyone. Our ability to quickly transact and get this over the line so smoothly has been very impressive.

“This transaction facilitates our long-term growth strategy of entering and growing within a greater number of regulated markets, including the UK, Ireland and Africa, where many FSB clients operate. It also allows us to accelerate this process, diversify our customer and revenue profiles, while simultaneously migrating customers to a stronger, high performing product proven to deliver exceptional results.”

Adam Smith, CEO of FSB Technology, said: “FSB has achieved a lot over the last 18-20 months including expansion into new markets and launching innovative propositions. Joining together with EveryMatrix represents another major milestone for FSB. We are delighted and excited by the new opportunities this deal could create, through the sharing of our unique capabilities as well as accelerating the growth of FSB’s existing partners.”