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The (Possible) Future of Online Slots

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The (Possible) Future of Online Slots
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In online slots are about anything they are about technology. At every stage of the development of slot machines – from the earliest mechanical machines, through video slots and on to online provision – slots have taken the latest technological advances and used them to deliver an enhanced player experience. While it’s always difficult to predict what’s going to happen in the future of online slots – developers are keen to keep their best ideas under wraps – one safe bet is that the most exciting developments of 2020 will revolve around the latest technology being harnessed to change when, where and, most importantly, how players experience online slots.

Skill Based Slots

The line between game playing and slots has been blurring for some time. Slots like Jungle Jim: El Dorado and Immortal Romance have made use of the kind of characters, storylines, luscious graphics and different levels that are more familiar from console games than traditional slot machines. The key to these slots is still the spin of the wheels, perhaps, but there’s much more going on.

The next step in this evolution – and the point at which slots and games begin to merge – is likely to be the introduction of slots with skill based features. The appeal of this will be two fold; gamers who spend much of their leisure time exploring detailed 3D worlds via the latest generation of consoles will feel right at home with the slots, and the appeal will extend to players who a value a test of skill over a purely random spin of the wheels.

Female Friendly Slots

For many years gambling had a fairly masculine image. It was assumed that the people visiting casinos were mainly men, and the same was thought to apply to online casinos. The advertising for online gambling apps has often reflected this balance, both in terms of its’ content and how it has been targeted. More recently, however, this perception has shifted. A survey carried out by 888.com found that the divide in online gambling now fell at 56.2% men and 43.8% women. The developers of online slots will be aware of this shift, and it is likely to be reflected in the kind of imagery which slots are based around. Bikini clad babes and bunny girls are going to make way for figures of female empowerment like Wonder Woman or simply non-specific images which aren’t designed primarily to catch the eye of a passing man. The rise of access through social media like Facebook will also feed into this trend, with women known to value the social aspect of online gambling more highly than their male counterparts.

Welcome Bonuses

Virtually every online casino worth its’ salt now offers a dazzling range of welcome bonuses. The reason for this is that they mark a key way of casino being able to differentiate themselves. In a competitive market dominated by a relatively small number of developers, innovative, attractive and generous welcome bonuses are a relatively simple way for an online casino to set itself apart. Once a player has selected a specific casino – drawn by a generous bonus – they are likely to stay with that casino in the longer term. In 2020 we can expect welcome bonuses to become more generous and, in many cases, to be tied to specific games. These are often games like Mega Moolah which offer the chance to land a huge progressive jackpot, setting up the tantalising prospect of becoming a millionaire on the back of free spins.

Crypto Currency

Crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum often make the headlines on the back of lurid tales of people making or losing millions, or speculation on the degree to which they will eventually replace ‘conventional’ currencies. In the world of online gambling, the use of crypto currencies has been fairly slow to take off, but the obvious advantages they offer mean that this situation is likely to change in the future.

The advantages for crypto currencies when online gambling include the following:

  • Withdrawals are faster – because the funds don’t have to be processed by a bank – something which can sometimes take several days – crypto currency withdrawal are often virtually instant.
  • Anonymity – when you use a crypto currency to gamble the only information the casino has is your key number and how much you have deposited. Because you don’t have to leave details such as a payment card and your name and address you can play with complete discretion and relax in the knowledge that you’re not at risk from a data leak or malicious hacking.

Wearable Technology

The switch from desk based provision to mobile gaming was one of the biggest changes to hit online casinos in the last 5 years. Suddenly, people could play their favourite slots on the train while commuting, sitting at the kitchen table or even (if they were willing to risk their smart phone) in the bath. This switch meant that developers had to rise to the challenge of creating slots that worked equally well on hand held devices, and the next leap forward seems set to be a shift to wearable technology.

According to Statista, the market for smartwatches is set to boom in the next couple of years. The prediction is that, by 2022, 37 million smartwatches worldwide will be running the operating systems Wear OS and Android, while 34.5 million will be running the Apple Watch OS. In a world in which players can access their favourite slots without even having to take their phone out of their pocket, developers will be keen to create titles offering instant thrills, bold graphics that work well on a small scale and no-fuss playability.

Augmented Reality

Remember Pokemon Go? That was the moment that the technology of augmented reality crossed the line from being a tool that was useful if you wanted to see what a chair would look like in your lounge, to being part of the world of mas entertainment/gaming. In simple terms, augmented reality allows users to impose video graphics onto real world solutions, via a device like a smart phone or a tablet. Augmented reality slots will bring the sights and sounds of a real world slot machine into the environment in which the player is located, including special effects like fireworks and raining coins to celebrate a big jackpot win.

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The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024

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The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024
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The Nomination Committee of Catena Media proposed re-election of the following members of the Board of Directors:

Øystein Engebretsen

Theodore Bergquist

Adam Krejcik

Sean Hurley

The Nomination Committee proposed that Erik Flinck and Dan Castillo be elected as new members of the Board of Directors.

Göran Blomberg, Esther Teixeira-Boucher and Austin Malcomb have declined re-election as board members.

The Nomination Committee proposed that there will be six (6) members of the Board of Directors, changed from seven (7).

The Nomination Committee also proposed Erik Flinck to be elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Erik Flinck, born in 1980, currently provides high end business consulting combined with serving as Chairman for the digital health startup, dr HUD. Mr Flinck previously served as Head of BCG Sweden and has extensive experience from corporate management, growth and turnarounds from nearly 20 years of Management Consulting and serving as Head of Group Strategy and M&A at Sandvik AB. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering (Software development and Financial Mathematics) from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Masters Degree in Business and Administration from Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Business.

Born in 1980, Dan Castillo has accumulated over 20 years of experience across startups, growth companies and turnarounds. Since 2015, Castillo has invested in Catena Media, maintaining a close watch on its progression, especially after its IPO in 2016. He has previous experience of listed board work in Kotipizza which Orkla acquired in 2018. He currently serves on the boards of five companies in different sectors, including Quartr.com in Fintech and Hope Studios in movie production. His academic background includes studies in Finance and Economics at Linköping University.

The Nomination Committee of Catena Media consists of:

Nicklas Paulson, representing Investment AB Öresund (chair of the nomination committee)

Marianne Stenberg, representing Second Swedish National Pension Fund

Martin Zetterlund, representing Niklas Karlsson

Göran Blomberg, chairman of the board of Catena Media.

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IGT Announces Executive and Board Leadership Changes

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IGT Announces Executive and Board Leadership Changes
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International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that on March 21, 2024, its Board of Directors implemented changes to the Company’s Board and executive team.

Marco Drago announced that he will step down from his role as a non-executive director of the IGT Board of Directors. He will carry out his remaining term and depart from the Board at the conclusion of the Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 14, 2024.

Enrico Drago has been appointed by the IGT Board of Directors as a non-executive director of the IGT Board. In addition, Enrico Drago will resign from his current role of CEO of IGT PlayDigital, and Gil Rotem, who is currently IGT PlayDigital President of iGaming, will expand his role to become IGT PlayDigital President and report directly to Vince Sadusky, CEO of IGT. These changes will be effective April 1, 2024. Enrico Drago will continue in his role as vice chairman of De Agostini S.p.A.

“As Marco Drago prepares to step down from his position on the IGT Board of Directors, I’d like to thank him for his many years of service and his unwavering commitment to driving results and creating value for all IGT stakeholders. Enrico Drago joining the Board and leaving his executive leadership position at IGT is a natural evolution that supports the Company’s vision for its next era of growth and transformation. Enrico’s value-creation mindset and understanding of global growth opportunities will enhance the Board and align with IGT’s strategic priorities,” said Marco Sala, IGT Executive Chair of the Board.

“Watching and guiding IGT through its evolution from a collection of companies that started with Lottomatica and GTECH grow into a unified global gaming leader has been very gratifying. We have been fortunate to have a great group of board members and business unit leaders that have helped drive IGT’s growth during this time. I thank them for their contributions and am certain that IGT is positioned for continued growth as we go forward with the bold initiatives we have undertaken,” said Marco Drago, IGT Non-Executive Director.

“Over the last five-plus years, IGT PlayDigital has established leadership positions in the global iGaming and North American sports betting sectors that will be foundational to the Company’s future successes. I thank the entire IGT PlayDigital team for all that we have accomplished in this time, and I look forward to supporting IGT in a new capacity and further helping the Company define its vision and strategy,” said Enrico Drago, CEO of IGT PlayDigital.

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Bidstack Executive Team Acquires Bidstack Limited and all its Subsidiaries

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Bidstack Executive Team Acquires Bidstack Limited and all its Subsidiaries
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The executive team of Bidstack has acquired Bidstack Limited and all the operating entities of the Group, from the administrators of Bidstack Group PLC. The deal sees James Draper, Founder & CEO, and the executive team of Bidstack Ltd become significant majority shareholders.

All contracts and client relationships will continue within the new ownership structure – safeguarding jobs for the UK and European-based staff.

Bidstack, the multi award-winning in-game middleware technology provider that initially set about bringing programmatic advertising revenue to the most renowned sports gaming franchises in the world, has diversified into a broader offering, taking advantage of the most advanced off-engine content management system in gaming.

Following the announcement of a partnership with the Washington Commanders, where the NFL franchise became the first-ever sports team to utilise a platform to control advertising within their virtual stadium, across official NFL games, from multiple studios and developers, the management team has been focusing on sports rights holders as a key customer type.

The executive team has the support of the world’s leading rights-holder professionals in the sports industry. It will continue to execute from its position as the leading technology for the sports industry, for fan engagement and brand activations, in video games.

The executive management consists of James Draper continuing as Chief Executive Officer, with Lisa Hau stepping up to Chief Financial Officer, Dave Garvey continuing as Chief Legal Officer, Will Stewart moving to Chief Product Officer and Daniel Barrigas to Chief Technology Officer.

James Draper, Bidstack’s Founder & CEO, said: “The acquisition is a pivotal moment for the next phase of growth for the business. Our technology is at the forefront of sports technology, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am proud that we are able to reward our ambitious and industry-pioneering team and have them as shareholders alongside myself.”

“I want to thank the staff and customers for standing by us during this strategic review, which has obviously been an uncertain period. For all of our customers to have stood strong alongside us is testament to the relationships we’ve built over the years, as well as the incredible staff we have here who have fostered those connections.

“The company can now focus on the enormous potential we have, to enable sports teams to get closer to their fans and improve the player experience by bringing their virtual IP to life, with real-time messaging, rewards and engagements.

“Thank you to the management team who have invested to protect the incredible work our talented group has produced. It’s extremely motivating to see the unwavering belief we collectively have in our vision and product. Sadly, the public market is an uncertain place currently, and it’s a challenging environment for growth businesses such as ours.

“The interest and support we’ve had from some of the leading players in the sports industry has given our team great confidence and motivation as we work with some of the world’s largest sporting franchises and leagues.

“Thank you to everyone’s support and to our Board of Directors, who have assisted myself and management throughout.”

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