Studio introduces new ante bet options for enhanced gameplay control

 Independent slots studio Thunderkick has released The Golden Pot & Pints, the latest introduction to its diverse festive-themed portfolio centred around the iconic Irish holiday, St. Patrick’s Day.

Set in an Irish tavern, four lucky leprechauns reside on the reels of this 7×7 cluster pays slot, accompanied by tankards, top hats, and shamrocks.

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Thunderkick’s familiar Avalanche mechanic features at the heart of the action, with every winning cluster leaving behind a wild carrying a random multiplier from 2x up to 100x.

Landing three bell scatters triggers the bonus round with 10 initial spins, with every additional scatter adding two spins to the tally. During free spins, the value of all wild multipliers is accumulated by the total feature multiplier, which continuously grows throughout the round and is applied to all wins.

As well as a bonus buy option, Thunderkick’s new title includes four ante bets, granting players greater control over gameplay.

Bonus Boost and Bonus Boost Plus increase the chance of triggering free spins by two and five times, Wild Mode guarantees a win with a wild and triples the chance of entering the feature, and Bonus Boost Extreme activates the feature once every 10 spins on average.

The Golden Pot & Pints, developed specifically at the request of Thunderkick’s operator partners, reflects the studio’s signature design style and highlights its commitment to producing high-quality content tailored to its customers’ needs.

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Johannes Polbring, Game Product Owner at Thunderkick, said: “There are plenty of Irish-themed products out there, but The Golden Pot & Pints offers a unique player experience. Random multipliers up to 100x ensure every spin is filled with anticipation and potential, while a range of integrated ante bet options cater to individual play styles.

“Thunderkick’s goal in 2025 is to go deeper, not wider, and we have championed this ethos to kickstart the year, creating content in alignment with customer demands.”

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has dismantled several illegal poker tournaments during the autumn 2024. Tens of thousands of euros in cash were found. The Authority also recently imposed a penalty payment order of up to €110,000 on an organiser of poker without a license.

Illegal poker tournaments are often part of undermining crime, where criminals use legal businesses (such as catering establishments) or citizens for criminal activities. In addition, poker players are at risk of gambling addiction, especially when playing in an uncontrolled environment with high stakes.

The KSA combats illegal gambling, including illegal poker. In the last quarter of 2024, KSA inspectors dismantled illegal poker tournaments in six operations, often in collaboration with the police and municipalities, in Amsterdam, Asten, The Hague, Rotterdam and Tilburg. Large amounts of cash were often found at the locations in question; in one case even 40,000 euros. In one of the operations, the catering establishment in question was permanently closed by order of the municipality.

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Organising poker tournaments on location where money can be won is only allowed by one party in the Netherlands. Since 1975, that has been Holland Casino. Outside of that, tournaments for prizes or bonuses (money or something that can be exchanged for money) are prohibited, unless in a closed circle (an existing group of people who know each other such as a family, relatives, nursing home, a company or members of an association) is being played.

Altenar has strengthened the virtual sports offering through a new partnership with Inspired Entertainment, a leading B2B provider of gaming content, technology, hardware and services.

This collaboration will integrate Inspired’s products into Altenar’s sportsbook platform, making diverse Inspired virtual sports content available for the first time to Altenar’s customers.

Virtual sports content replicates real sports events, allowing customers to bet on many of the same markets as they would for a real event but at a time that suits the user. This allows operators to provide 24/7 betting content to enhance the user experience and generate increased revenue.

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Antonis Karakousis, Altenar’s Director of Operations, said: “Altenar is excited to join forces with Inspired to bring their award-winning virtual sports products to the Altenar sportsbook platform. This partnership showcases the versatility of the Altenar platform. We are thrilled to launch Inspired’s virtual sports products with our partners, enhancing our sportsbook offering with the very best in virtual sports technology.”

Brooks Pierce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Inspired, said: “We are excited to launch our virtual sports with Altenar. Their global sportsbook platform enables us to seamlessly integrate our virtual sports offering with their sports betting technology. We are confident that this partnership will enhance Altenar’s sportsbook services and diversify their offerings in new and exciting ways, leveraging Inspired’s exciting collaborations with major sporting leagues within our virtual sports division. Together, we are opening new revenue streams for operators with Inspired’s virtual sports.”