Industry News
Zendesk’s 2020 Messaging Report reveals focus on mobile and LatAm growth
The international CRM giant Zendesk released its Annual State of Messaging Report 2020 last month providing key data and insights on the most important conversational business and messaging trends ahead. The coming months will see core expansion in the global messaging landscape with strong advances ahead for the industry in mobile, integrated resorts and Latin American expansion, as messaging finally moves beyond boundaries according to Zendesk’s VP of Conversational Business, Warren Levitan.
In 2019, the number of messages exchanged between businesses and customers on Zendesk’s Sunshine Conversations platform increased 500%, and if the data revealed in the company’s third annual State of Messaging report is anything to go by, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the year ahead. “2020 will be the year of connecting conversations in the enterprise,” explained Warren Levitan. “We are seeing businesses embrace messaging as a shared platform for customer engagement, allowing them to truly unify sales, marketing and service interactions for the first time. This is a massive step toward putting customers at the centre of our businesses.”
Zendesk’s 2020 report combines interviews with more than two dozen customer experience product, sales, and marketing leaders from companies such as Google, Twitter, Hootsuite, Birchbox, and more, providing a measured analysis on the future of messaging across online, mobile and social platforms. Featuring expert commentary and in-depth analysis alongside original Zendesk research and third-party data, the report provides key insights into how messaging is changing the face of business with some notable parallels with the gaming industry in the coming decade.
As the international gaming industry continues to expand into emerging markets such as Brazil and Argentina, one significant area of focus within the report is that the LatAm region is leading the way. “Latin America – where WhatsApp is queen – is embracing conversational business faster than other regions, with Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa following closely,” states Levitan. “In many developing countries, messaging has leapfrogged web, email, and mobile apps to become the digital commerce channel.”
The companies dominating the messaging landscape and the vast differences between countries and continents when it comes to who is winning the messaging race is just one aspect of the research. 2020 will also see evolving and emerging conversational business trends such as AI, machine learning and in-chat payments unlocking huge opportunities for online brands across all sectors. Facebook has revealed that 150m people on Instagram have a conversation with a business every month and so for gaming brands the focus on in-chat payments is essential going forward.
“In-chat payments may be the key to unlocking conversational commerce at scale in the west,” Levitan added. “Apple Business Chat has Apple Pay built in and Facebook has several projects in the works with WhatsApp Pay, Facebook Pay and, most controversially, Libra — its planned cryptocurrency. Kakao, Line, and Telegram also boast their own crypto coins in various stages of development. Buying stuff is a crucial part of the conversational customer journey and it’s about to get a whole lot easier.”
Over the past decade, messaging has fundamentally changed the way people interact with friends, family, colleagues, and companies. According to Business Insider, messaging apps have surpassed social media in global monthly active users. Since 2018, nearly every major messaging channel, including WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Google’s RCS, and Apple’s iMessage, has extended beyond the consumer to businesses. At the same time, businesses of all sizes in every industry have embedded modern messaging experiences into their own apps and websites.
Speaking as part of Zendesk’s 2020 report, Rob Lawson, Global Partnerships, Google, explained: “We’ll start to see the pendulum swing from customer care being the primary driver for business messages towards marketing, lead generation and sales. To date we’ve seen businesses primarily motivated by reducing call centre costs and frustrations for existing customers. In 2020 we’ll see increasing activity from brands deploying conversational techniques to engage new customers and drive incremental business value.”
Bringing the report’s focus back to gaming and integrated resorts, recent data from global research and advisory firm Gartner predicts that by 2022, 70% of all customer interactions will involve emerging tools like chatbots, machine learning, and mobile messaging, up from 15% in 2018. The impact of this for the land-based sector will be keenly felt as Zendesk’s report highlights how live chat remains an effective channel for real-time conversations and a growing number of hotels, resorts and other customer-centric brands are creating bespoke messaging experiences within their mobile apps and websites.
Warren Levitan, VP Conversational Business, Zendesk, added: “Intent and sentiment engines will be connected to every messaging channel, with businesses intelligently routing each message to the right system and person or bot. Once messaging penetrates the business, we will see that it knows no boundaries.“
To read Zendesk’s full interactive State of Messaging 2020 report, visit: zendesk.com/message/state-of-messaging-2020/
Industry News
CasinoWebScripts Enables Direct Provider Connections and Eliminates the Need for Aggregators

CasinoWebScripts, a leading provider of iGaming software solutions, is drawing attention to a powerful infrastructure model already in use by several clients — one that enables direct integration between online casino operators and game content providers. As the industry evolves, the company is now actively promoting this approach as a smarter alternative to traditional aggregation.
In the conventional model, aggregators act as intermediaries between content providers and casino platforms. While convenient, this structure often limits operators’ control over technical and commercial aspects, introduces latency and adds additional costs. CasinoWebScripts’ model removes the need for an aggregator by enabling operators to connect directly to game providers using a simplified and consistent integration method.
“Our goal is to simplify the way operators work with game studios, regardless of the type of casino they operate — whether it’s real-money, crypto, or social sweepstakes. By providing the tools and infrastructure for direct connections, we empower both sides to negotiate directly, optimize performance, and reduce third-party dependencies,” said Oscar Stevens, Head of Business Development at CasinoWebScripts.
Key Features of the Model Include:
• Direct Integration: Operators connect with game providers through a unified framework, without using an aggregator.
• Faster Load Times and Lower Latency: The streamlined architecture improves game performance and platform responsiveness.
• Independent Commercial Agreements: Operators and providers manage their own contracts, pricing and terms with full autonomy.
• Easy Expansion: The system supports the quick addition of new providers, with minimal integration overhead.
• Technology-Only Role: CasinoWebScripts supplies the infrastructure but does not interfere in commercial relationships.
This infrastructure shift reflects growing demand from operators looking for more autonomy in their business models. It also addresses concerns about transparency and technical bottlenecks that often arise with aggregator-based systems.
“Our platform is designed to serve those who want to scale fast and retain control over their operations. With this model, operators no longer have to compromise on performance or commercial independence,” added Stevens.
The post CasinoWebScripts Enables Direct Provider Connections and Eliminates the Need for Aggregators appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
Exclusive Commentary from Vixio On Their AML Outlook Findings

Your recent AML Outlook report highlights over €36 million in fines issued across Europe in just one year. What recurring weaknesses or compliance gaps are regulators most commonly identifying in payments and e-money firms?
John Gidla (JG): Regulators continue to flag underinvestment in anti-financial crime controls as a key concern for payments and e-money firms. Common themes include weak governance, limited oversight, and fragmented controls, all of which increase vulnerability to financial crime. There’s a growing expectation that firms scale their compliance frameworks in line with their risk exposure and growth trajectory
The report mentions that AML compliance can be costly—yet the reputational and financial risks of non-compliance are even greater. What are the most cost-effective measures firms can implement today to strengthen their AML frameworks without overwhelming their budgets?
JG: While not all firms can afford advanced compliance tools, strong governance remains one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce risk. Practical steps such as training staff on emerging threats, embedding a culture of accountability, and regularly updating frameworks as the business grows can go a long way in strengthening AML resilience without major spend.
With the creation of the EU’s new AMLA authority, do you expect a more consistent and centralized enforcement approach across Europe? How might this change how firms prepare for inspections and adapt their compliance strategies?
JG: AMLA has the potential to bring greater consistency to AML enforcement across the EU, addressing long-standing issues caused by fragmented supervision and uneven implementation by national authorities. Its impact will depend on how much direct oversight it gains, how assertively it acts on cross-border risks, and whether it can close the regulatory gaps that have permitted high-profile scandals. Firms should expect more rigorous and standardised inspections and will need to ensure their compliance programmes are not only locally robust, but scalable across jurisdictions.
Vixio emphasizes the importance of a proactive rather than reactive compliance culture. In your view, what does a ‘proactive’ AML strategy look like in 2025, and what technologies or best practices are leading firms adopting to stay ahead?
JG: A truly proactive AML strategy in 2025 extends beyond technology to encompass a strong compliance culture at every level of the organisation. Leading firms understand that combating financial crime isn’t just the responsibility of the compliance team — it’s integrated into day-to-day operations, with senior leadership driving risk awareness across departments. In terms of technology, firms are increasingly adopting AI, machine learning, and automated monitoring systems to detect suspicious activity early and reduce human error. However, culture plays a critical role; firms that foster a compliance-first mindset and invest in ongoing staff training are better positioned to adapt to emerging threats and ensure that their compliance frameworks evolve in step with business growth and digital transformation. A proactive approach also means constantly reassessing risk and using data to predict and prevent issues, rather than just reacting to them. With regulations in constant flux, and regulators ramping up enforcement, proactive compliance looks like implementing strategies to anticipate regulations, not just react to them. In Vixio’s PC Outlook Report, we found that a clear majority of firms surveyed are using some form of outsourcing for their compliance functionality, turning to firms like Vixio to get ahead of regulatory change.
Thanks to John Gidla, Head of Payments Compliance at Vixio, for his insightful responses.
The post Exclusive Commentary from Vixio On Their AML Outlook Findings appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gambling in the USA
Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – April 28-May 4

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
Bragg Gaming Group announced it has reached an agreement with its lenders, certain entities controlled by Doug Fallon, to repay USD 5 million of its outstanding USD 7 million secured promissory note and to extend the maturity of the remaining USD 2 million until June 6, 2025 (the Note). The company is in the process of securing a new revolving credit facility from a third-party lender. This facility is expected to offer more favourable terms than the existing Note, including lower borrowing costs and improved drawdown flexibility. All other terms of the original Note remain unchanged.
PENN Entertainment Inc announced plans for an expected $180–$200 million project to relocate its Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs (Ameristar) riverboat casino operations to a new, state-of-the-art land-based property to be rebranded as Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs (Hollywood Council Bluffs). The proposal is approved by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in conjunction with a 15-year extension of Ameristar’s partnership with the nonprofit Qualified Sponsoring Organisation (QSO) Iowa West Racing Association. All commercial operators in Iowa are required to have an operating agreement with a QSO licensed to conduct gaming operations. Under the proposed plan, the new Hollywood Council Bluffs is expected to include roughly 125,000 square feet of new development with approximately 58,000 square feet of gaming space.
PENN Entertainment Inc announced that it intends to nominate Johnny Hartnett and Carlos Ruisanchez for election to its Board of Directors following discussions with HG Vora Capital Management LLC (HG Vora). Ron Naples has informed the Board that he will retire from the Board, effective immediately. Barbara Shattuck Kohn and Saul Reibstein have notified the Company that they will not stand for reelection at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The Board now comprises eight directors, seven of whom are independent.
Partnerships
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Genius Sports Limited have announced a significant extension of their long-term partnership, reinforcing their shared commitment to innovation, transparency and the integrity of college athletics. Under the expanded agreement, Genius Sports has been appointed as the exclusive distributor of official NCAA data to licensed sportsbooks for all post-season tournaments, including March Madness, through 2032. This long-term agreement ensures the delivery of fast, accurate and secure data to the regulated sports betting market.
PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, announced that it has been named the Official Daily Fantasy Partner of the San Francisco Giants. The new partnership strengthens the DFS leader’s presence in professional baseball and features digital and in-park activations at Oracle Park. As part of the multi-year partnership, PrizePicks branding will be showcased prominently throughout Oracle Park with rotating signage behind home plate and LED signage on each baseline. PrizePicks logos will be featured across the K-Counter in right field, creating an interactive experience for fans in the ballpark. Fans seated on top of the right field wall near the strikeout counter will have the opportunity to flip over the PrizePicks branded signs, revealing a “K” for each strikeout earned by a Giants pitcher.
The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – April 28-May 4 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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