Industry News
Kalamba Games: a year of milestones and evolution
As 2021 draws to a close, a look back over the last 12 months reveals a period of success for Kalamba Games, and also one of great change. Kalamba CEO and Co-Founder, Steve Cutler runs us through his highlights and what he expects for 2022.
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that the team at Kalamba Games was celebrating our first anniversary, but since then, and approaching our fifth birthday in December, we’ve gone from a start-up to a recognised provider of quality products to the igaming industry. Despite 2021 still suffering from the effects of the global pandemic, it has witnessed one of the greatest years of growth for us.
Such successes don’t come easily, or without a solid product to back yourself with and we’ve been fortunate enough to have an amazing team in place that has been able to produce just that. Our line-up of games this year has been one of our strongest and most diverse ever – from the eerie fairground of Ducks Till Dawn to the spiritual sequel to one of our best performing games ever, Blazing Bull 2 – a game on which we registered the billionth spin ever made on a Kalamba game!
It’s difficult to choose the best among such a list, but the highlight was probably the eighth in our successful Joker series, Joker Times. Its classic Vegas-style reels with a twist proved a hit among players and it has even been updated for a festive outing this December with Joker Times Xmas Edition.
Launching before that, however, was Age of Huracan, which enjoyed the honour of being our 50th game release. A lot has changed since the early days of our first-ever title, and we’ve come a long way as a company, which is evident in this landmark title.
It wasn’t the only half-century we clocked up either, as our ever-growing team of tenacious innovators welcomed its 50th member. One of the great things about a company like ours is seeing how people come in and strengthen a group of hard-working colleagues that continues to support our growth ambitions and the partners we enjoy working with every day.
Our expanding portfolio of games and tools has made the job of collaborating with new clients in new jurisdictions and regions incredibly easier too. Since the turn of the year, we’ve taken our games into Italy, Spain, Greece, Colombia, Portugal, Netherlands and Sweden and these markets are set to be followed by a host of others as we move into 2022.
Perhaps the crowning glory of our recent commercial success is the award of our MGA licence, which, on top of local certifications in Sweden, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands; will allow us to push even further into regulated markets. It’s also been a busy year for awards, with numerous nominations and short list, particularly being nominated for Innovator of the Year at the iGaming Idol Awards, and winning silver for Best Game Soundtrack at the SBC Awards.
It’s unfortunately been another difficult year for Trade Shows, but we did manage to attend a few, with the latter half of the year culminating in a truly excellent SiGMA event which finally saw us catch up in person with so many of our past, present and now future partners.
One of the biggest shifts we’ve undertaken since our founding has been evolving into a future proof technology provider, as well as a leading games studio. The launch of our Bullseye brand, which incorporates our proprietary remote gaming server (RGS) and promotional tools product offerings is integral to our plans.
These tools began rolling out in 2020, but this year has seen a host of improvements, and 2022 will see many more that will make Bullseye an even stronger proposition for operators. Its player engagement credentials include tournaments, leaderboards, metagames with standard progressive and mystery jackpots, plus a new AI-driven predictive CRM platform, StarGazer, which is set to lead us into the new year with renewed purpose and will open up a whole new avenue for our and our partners growth roadmaps.
Bullseye, with a laser focus on an expanding games portfolio serving regulated markets, represents the next stage in the core strategy and vision we established back in 2016. Naturally, we look forward to building further on our games library but making titles interconnected via meta-features and layers will ensure we build a player driven and market-leading slots experience, not just for 2022 but for many years to come. Onwards and upwards!
Evoke, one of the world’s leading betting and gaming companies with internationally renowned brands including William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, announced the establishment of a new Technology Committee of the Board effective immediately.
The Committee will be chaired by Independent Non-Executive Director Susan Standiford. Non-executive Directors Limor Ganot and Ori Shaked will also be members of the Committee.
The Committee will provide Board-level oversight of evoke’s major technology investments and initiatives, ensuring alignment with business strategy, risk management and operational effectiveness.
Jon Mendelsohn, Chairman of evoke, said: “In a world where technology is evolving at break-neck speed and in an industry where technology leadership is a core driver of sustainable success, our Technology Committee will play an important role in strengthening the Board’s governance and long-term strategy development. The Committee will focus on providing transparency and insight across our product, technology, data and operational initiatives as well as informing the Board and executive leadership on technology trends with the potential to shape the Group’s long-term competitive advantages.”
The post Evoke Announces the Establishment of a New Technology Committee appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa has been named the luckiest casino in the US according to a recent study conducted by Casinos.com. The resort claimed the top spot based on an in-depth analysis of Tripadvisor reviews, measuring the frequency of luck-related keyword mentions. With a 25.49% luck rate, Seminole Hard Rock Tampa topped the list thanks to glowing guest feedback, including frequent mentions of jackpots, hand pays and bonus wins. 50 reviews mentioned the word “jackpot,” and 19 even referenced a “hand pay.” Casinos.com tracked keywords such as lucky, luck, won, winning, success, jackpot, hand pay, winner, bonus, profit to determine which U.S. casinos inspired the most winning moments among visitors.
The Missouri Gaming Commission has announced that it has officially begun accepting applications for sports betting license. The Commission made the announcement following the unanimous approval of a resolution drafted Tuesday that approved the licensing process. The resolution passed after Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office reviewed it. The licensing period opens roughly six months after Missouri voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment legalising sports betting. The measure passed by less than half a percentage point, with a margin of less than 7500 votes.
Underdog Fantasy has relaunched its draft-style daily fantasy sports (DFS) games in New York, nearly two months after it withdrew all of its DFS competitions from the Empire State. The decision to withdraw all DFS contests from New York in March came after a ruling from the New York State Gaming Commission in which the commission determined Underdog was not in line with the state’s current DFS law. An Underdog Fantasy spokesperson confirmed the company is still working under a temporary license. The New York State Gaming Commission agreed to allow the company to offer its draft DFS games with the temporary license. Most DFS companies in New York operate with a temporary license.
New Partnerships
Pollard Banknote Limited has congratulated the West Virginia Lottery on the successful launch of Royal Court Riches, its first eInstant game from the Pollard Digital Games Studio. Royal Court Riches has already demonstrated strong performance in multiple markets—in its first international launch, it achieved that jurisdiction’s highest tickets sold, total sales and gross gaming revenue within its first 30 days of release. Royal Court Riches is the first in a series of games from the Pollard Digital Games Studio slated to launch in West Virginia this year.
SYNOT Games has announced a new partnership with Caliente, one of Mexico’s top gaming platforms. This collaboration marks an exciting expansion for SYNOT Games, as it brings its acclaimed portfolio of gaming content to the Mexican market. It enhances Caliente’s offerings with an extensive array of high-quality slot games such as Respin Joker, Book of Secrets, Realm of Lions and Forest Maiden, designed to captivate players and boost engagement. Caliente with its strong presence in Latin America, is the perfect partner for SYNOT Games’ expansion into the region. The partnership aims to deliver an exceptional gaming experience, combining SYNOT’s visually rich, innovative games with Caliente’s extensive reach and reputation.
The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 19-25 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry Awards
Betsson Group Nominated in 14 Categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards 2025
Betsson Group has been nominated in 14 categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity & Employee Wellbeing Awards 2025, hosted by Clever Duck Media. These include five company-wide nominations and nine individual nominations for eight of its employees.
These annual awards celebrate excellence in equality, diversity, inclusion and employee wellbeing across the global gaming industry. Since its launch in 2010, the event has solidified its position as one of the global gaming industry’s most respected diversity accolades.
The categories in which Betsson Group and its employees have been shortlisted include:
Company Category Nominations:
Best Diverse Place to Work
Community Engagement
Company of the Year (Operator)
Diversity & Inclusion
Great Place to Work Award
Individual Category Nominations:
Affiliate Leader – Shakyra Jonsson
Employee of the Year (Operator) – Lisa Mifsud
Excellence in Customer Service – Gabriella Larsson
HR Champion (Operator) – Tamara Klibadze
Innovator – Lena Nordin
Inspiration of the Year (Operator) – Lena Nordin
Positive Role Model of the Year (Operator) – Lara Lombardi
Star of the Future (Operator) – Jessica Carrillo Miranda
Young Leader of the Year (Operator) – Chellyanne Cassar
These nominations reflect the company’s ongoing dedication to creating a workplace where employees feel valued, respected and empowered to succeed. At Betsson Group, diversity, equity and inclusion are more than buzzwords; they are embedded in the company’s culture, values and daily actions. In previous years, Betsson has been recognised at the WiG Diversity Awards for Best Diverse Place to Work (2022 and 2024), Company of the Year (2019 and 2022) and for Diversity & Inclusion (2021). For the individual categories, Betsson employees have previously won Excellence in Customer Service, Star of the Future and Young Leader of the Year.
The post Betsson Group Nominated in 14 Categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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