Industry News
Understanding the different types of online gaming bonuses
Online gaming bonuses have not existed at the beginning of the online casino industry era. The reason might be the fact that there was just two online casinos and so there was not much competition. Nevertheless, the nowadays are part of the whole industry.
We are going to address some of the most popular types of online gaming bonuses and those come in the form of:
- Sign Up Bonus
- Free Spins
- Reload Bonus
- Loyalty/VIP Scheme
While most gambling sites have their own unique way of providing an extra value to their customers or new players, their offer can vary quite significantly from one site to the next. And these especially vary the most when it comes to the Sign Up Bonus.
The industry has seen a rapid progress and in just a few short years after its inception, many new online casinos entered the market thus increasing competition and facilitating the need for casinos to differentiate themselves from one another. While there were not that many suppliers to choose from back then, the sign-up bonus or often titled as the welcome bonus was first introduced to do just that.
The bonus also served to reduce the perceived risk of trying something “new”. In their initial forms back in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, online casino bonuses were much more generous than today but also had far less associated terms and conditions – imagine having to just read through a handful of terms instead of the pages that are now in place!
The basic principles of sign up bonuses have remained the same through time and their true meaning is that a player deposits a small sum of money initially and is compensated with a bonus, generally equivalent to or greater than their deposited amount. Today the rules have become more complex due to increased competition, number of casino players, as well as increased bonus abuse. We must also add the legislation and regulation of governing online casinos in the mix and the huge pressure to comply with them making the simple bonuses a complicated scheme.
While sign up bonuses are a great way to start playing in an online casino with some extra cash, we must not ignore the Free Spins Bonus.
The free spins bonus has been especially created for players to test drive online and mobile slots games or casinos with little risk.
We would like to reflect on the test driven online and mobile slots games, because they are the most popular games and come in many themes. We are covering the launch of new slots games weekly and we can say for certain, that you would first need to test drive the one that looks interesting to you before spending more time playing them and eventually calling them your favorite. You can browse the latest slots games release from last week to get the feel about what is new in the slots industry.
A free spin is one spin of a reel where you don’t have to pay to spin. If the casino gives you a 10 free spins bonus, you are allowed to spin ten times on a specific slot machine without paying and anything you win goes into your bankroll / play money. Which is pretty awesome, given that some casinos offer no deposit bonuses which come in the form of free spins.
Any winnings you do get from free spins bonuses tend to have wagering requirements however. So the money has to be played a certain amount of times before you can claim it.
As in the case of sign up bonuses, the terms and conditions have become complex and you need to read them carefully in order to fully understand how they work.
When it comes finding these offers, it might be tricky if you are the citizen of certain countries. For instance, in Belgium, advertising for cashback bonuses, and cashbacks themselves must disappear completely. Casinos can still offer welcome bonuses and free spins, but are limited to advertising them on their own website only.
Jumping ahead to already registered players…
Online casinos are not all about attracting new players, there is also a retention part and the most effective way of letting you that you are an important customer is to receive rewards. The reward for already registered depositing players usually come in the form of Reload Bonuses or Loyalty/VIP Schemes.
Reload bonuses are very popular, and these are offered on subsequent deposits that you make. Some sites make reloads available to all customers on their first deposit of the month or week, while others only offer them based on certain criteria.
Most of the sites also offer a loyalty scheme or VIP program. These work by rewarding you based on your gambling activity. In simple terms, the more you play the more you’ll receive. Rewards may be simply in the form of cash credited to your account, or you may be able to earn things like exclusive hospitality at sporting events, tickets to concerts or electronic items.
We hope that this article has answered some of your questions when it comes to bonuses and make sure to play responsibly and always read the bonuses terms and conditions carefully in order to fully understand its payout.
Affiliate Industry
The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024
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.
Industry News
IGT Announces Executive and Board Leadership Changes
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.
Industry News
Bidstack Executive Team Acquires Bidstack Limited and all its Subsidiaries
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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