Study Provides New Insights Into How Brands Can Authentically Engage With Gamers to Help Them Express Their Best Selves Off-Screen.

KEY FINDINGS

Gaming has exploded over the past decade, becoming one of the most dynamic and expansive industries across the globe. Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform, dives into the heart of the gaming community to uncover the evolving motivations behind why people game in its 4th annual Inside Gaming report. The 2024 Inside Gaming report – a proprietary study coupled with Fandom’s first-party data from its 350 million monthly unique visitors, 45 million pages of content and 250k fan-powered wikis – captures a notable shift: gaming is increasingly seen as a means for personal expression, exploring one’s identity and providing empowerment and confidence in one’s real life.

Dominant Gaming Motivations

• While stress relief remains the top reason people turn to games, a striking 46% of gamers list creation, imagination, and self-expression as their main motivations for gaming, up 10% from last year.

Influence on Gaming Habits

• People who are gaming for self-expression, creation & imagination are 30% more likely to increase their gaming time, feeling more drawn to the gaming world than ever before.

Games Driving Self-Expression

• 60% of gamers claim that self-expression through gameplay is more important to them than ever before. Titles like Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox lead in enabling personal expression through extensive customization options, open-world exploration, and other game updates

Exploring Gamer Identity

• The report also highlights a significant gap between players’ in-game identities versus their real-life personas, with 80% of respondents feeling their gaming identity differs from their real-life identity.
• However, half of respondents claim they’d prefer to be more like their in-game personality IRL and 72% would feel more favorably towards brands that help them achieve this.
• This is especially true of 18-34 year olds, multicultural (specifically African American & Hispanic) audiences as well as women and non-binary audiences.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARKETERS

Emphasize Self-Expression:

• Self-expression is a key driver for gaming engagement. In fact, 32% of gamers want their physical appearance to be more like their in-game appearance.
• Brands that align with this motivation can enhance their connection with gamers. For example, this represents an opportunity for fashion & beauty brands to explore dedicated product extensions for gamers looking to explore this self-expression.

Create Brand Safe Spaces:

• 64% believe that gaming communities are vital safe spaces where they can truly be themselves, presenting opportunities for brands to foster and cater to these communities.

Align with Gamers’ IRL Aspirations

• Many gamers wish to integrate their gaming and real-life personas. Brands that help facilitate this integration can achieve deeper consumer relationships.
• The study found that 48% of gamers want their IRL skills to be as strong as their gaming skills, opening up an opportunity for brands to explore how they can create ways to provide gamers with products that enhance IRL skills and provide a sense of accomplishment & achievement they get while playing.

“From character customization to cosplay and content creation, video games have empowered gamers to explore, express and enhance their identity – nearly two thirds of gamers claim it’s easier to be themselves with a controller in their hands,” said Stephanie Fried, CMO of Fandom. “With the growing significance of gaming as a means for self-expression and personal evolution, it’s crucial for brands to connect to these motivators to help players bring their gaming personas to life in the real world.”

For an interview with a Fandom executive to discuss the study in more detail, please contact Rachelle Savoia at [email protected].

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Methodology:

Fandom surveyed 5,000 entertainment and gaming fans globally to understand the ever changing entertainment landscape. The insights from the study were joined with proprietary insights from Fandom’s first-party platform data of over 350MM users, 45MM content pages across 250K wikis.

Gambling.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: GAMB) (“Gambling.com Group” or the “Company”), a fast-growing provider of digital marketing services for the global online gambling industry, today announced that senior management will participate in four upcoming institutional investor conferences:

B. Riley Securities 24^th Annual Institutional Investor Conference

• Location: Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel – Beverly Hills, CA
• Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2024 and Thursday, May 23, 2024
• Format: Meetings with Institutional Investors
• Attending: Peter McGough, Sr. V.P. Investor Relations & Capital Markets

Please contact your B. Riley sales representative to register for the conference and to request a meeting with Gambling.com Group.

Craig-Hallum 21^st Annual Institutional Investor Conference

• Location: Depot Renaissance Hotel – Minneapolis, MN
• Date: Wednesday, May 29, 2024
• Format: Meetings with Institutional Investors
• Attending: Elias Mark, Chief Financial Officer, and Peter McGough, Sr. V.P. Investor Relations & Capital Markets

Please contact your Craig-Hallum sales representative to register for the conference and to request a meeting with Gambling.com Group.

Stifel 2024 Cross Sector Insight Conference

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• Location: The InterContinental Boston – Boston, MA
• Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2024
• Format: Fireside Chat Presentation at 10:55 a.m. ET and Meetings with Institutional Investors
• Attending: Charles Gillespie, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, and Peter McGough, Sr. V.P. Investor Relations & Capital Markets

Please contact your Stifel sales representative to register for the conference and to request a meeting with Gambling.com Group.

Jefferies 14^th Annual Consumer Conference

• Location: White Elephant Hotel – Nantucket, MA
• Date: Monday, June 17, 2024 and Tuesday, June 18, 2024
• Format: Meetings with Institutional Investors
• Attending: Peter McGough, Sr. V.P. Investor Relations & Capital Markets

Please contact your Jefferies sales representative to register for the conference and to request a meeting with Gambling.com Group.

Thousands of people gathered Saturday morning for the grand opening of the award-winning and wildly popular Pinkbox Doughnuts ® at the Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino, located at 681 Hwy. 160.

The grand opening event started with an official ribbon-cutting with numerous local dignitaries including:

• Justice of the Peace for Nye County Michele Fiore,
• Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill, and Jenney Sartin,
• CEO of the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce.

At the event, Pinkbox Doughnuts also made donations via large check presentations to the Pahrump Valley High School and Pat Leming of Never Forgotten Animal Society. Pinkbox’s signature grand opening festival-style celebration followed with performances by the Pahrump Valley High School Dance Team and numerous family friendly activities such as balloon art, face painting, and games. Records were broken in doughnut eating contests, and winners received a Pinkbox Doughnuts gift card. In addition, three lucky customers who found a “Pink Ticket” in their doughnut won free doughnuts for a year.

Located by the hotel entrance, across from the registration desk, the new Pinkbox Doughnuts shop welcomes guests with its fun design elements and trademark décor, including pink drips, a graffiti wall, and an over-sized Pinky statue that is a perfect companion for photos.

An illuminated oversized doughnut display case showcases Pinkbox Doughnuts’ full line of more than 70 creatively designed, delicious doughnuts that will be sold seven days a week. The shop also features Pinkbox Doughnuts’ full coffee program including premium roast coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, nitro cold brew and more.

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“The fantastic community of Pahrump has been eagerly requesting Pinkbox Doughnuts, and as the saying goes: ask and you shall receive,” stated Judith Perez Siegel, executive vice president of Pinkbox Doughnuts. “No need to journey to Las Vegas anymore; we’ve brought our fun, unique, and one-of-a-kind doughnuts directly to you. We’re ecstatic to join this wonderful community and share our doughnuts, guaranteed to bring smiles to everyone.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Pinkbox Doughnuts to Pahrump, where our community will not only enjoy their amazing doughnuts, but also a fun, whimsical experience of their playful shop,” said Eliot Ripoll, vice president and general manager of Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino. “The addition of Pinkbox Doughnuts to the property furthers our commitment to enhancing the Pahrump Nugget guest experience.”

The Pinkbox Doughnuts shop in Pahrump created more than two dozen jobs. The Pahrump shop is the twelfth location for the fast-growing Vegas-born doughnut brand, which currently boasts eight locations across the metropolitan Las Vegas Valley in addition to a shop at the Arizona/Nevada border in Laughlin, at the California/Nevada border in Primm, Nevada and in St. George, Utah.

For more information on Pinkbox Doughnuts, shop locations, hours, and doughnut varieties, please visit pinkboxdoughnuts.com.

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