BetConstruct is thrilled to announce that the B.F.T.H. Arena Awards’24, in collaboration with Ortak, is poised to set a new standard in the iGaming industry. This prestigious event will showcase innovative gaming solutions and welcome leading names in the industry, including Platin Gaming, Evoplay, Espresso Gaming, ensuring an exciting lineup of new games and significant developments. The event also marks the approach of the submission deadline on May 31, setting the stage for a competitive and vibrant showcase.

Integration with Ortak

This year, every game submitted to the B.F.T.H. Arena Awards automatically becomes part of the Ortak platform. Ortak represents a groundbreaking shift in the iGaming market, offering an innovative investment product that allows game creators to sell shares of their games as NFT-slots. These shares can be freely traded in self-determined quantities and prices, similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for games.

How Ortak Works

Casino game developers can now list their games on the Ortak platform, making NFT-slots available for public purchase. This allows investors to buy shares, NFT-slots registered on the Bahamut blockchain, and become stakeholders in their favourite games. This model not only provides a new revenue stream for developers but also opens up unique investment opportunities for the gaming community.

Ortak serves both established game providers and emerging stars in the industry. For veteran developers, it offers a platform to reach new audiences and enhance player engagement. For newcomers, it presents a viable financial strategy to fund major marketing campaigns and operations, helping them gain traction and scale quickly.

What to Expect at the B.F.T.H. Arena Awards’24

Scheduled from July 1st to July 4th, the B.F.T.H. Arena Awards’24 will feature an expanded lineup of categories and a substantial prize pool of over 3,333,000 FTN, aimed at showcasing the best games of 2024. With major operators participating, this year’s event promises to be a dynamic showcase of creativity and innovation, introducing groundbreaking new games from some of the industry’s most influential developers.

Building on last year’s success, which saw over 50 game developers participate, the awards will continue during the Harmony Meetup 4.0, drawing over 500 industry representatives to highlight and celebrate the winners.

This year’s competition includes a wider range of categories, including the new ones: Best Online Casino Game, Best Game Design, Best FTN Casino Game, Best Game Storytelling, Best Bahamut Game, Best DECA Game, Best Arcade Game, Best Game Achievement. Additionally, any game with an available demo will be eligible for public voting in the Players’ Game of Choice category.

This year, BetConstruct is dedicated to enhancing this legacy by increasing the prize pool, expanding the award categories, and hosting a grand ceremony to celebrate innovation and achievement within the gaming community.

Promoting Winning Games

Winning titles at the B.F.T.H. Arena Awards’24 receive comprehensive promotional support, utilising advanced CRM tools such as the Wonder Wheel and tailored promotions. Supported by a global network of influencers from Latin America to Asia, this strategic marketing effort is crafted to significantly enhance the games’ visibility and, in turn, increase their revenue. By tapping into diverse markets and connecting with a broad audience, we ensure that each winning game attains maximum exposure and impact.

Looking Forward

More innovative updates are set to be released in June, enhancing the Ortak platform and providing further opportunities for engagement and investment in the iGaming sector.

The core of this year’s B.F.T.H. Arena Awards is the belief that innovation drives excellence. BetConstruct is dedicated to consistently expanding the limits of the iGaming industry. Through the B.F.T.H. Arena Awards and the Ortak initiative, the company is creating an environment where barriers are overcome, paving the way for significant advances and showcasing a future shaped by every innovation.

BetConstruct warmly invites game developers and investors to be part of this exciting new chapter in gaming history.

Join the B.F.T.H. Arena Awards’24 and experience the future of iGaming firsthand.

Would you tell us about the idea behind the Xprizo fintech platform?

It’s a story that started several years ago when the founder was conducting business on the ground in several emerging markets. Xprizo was founded to respond to the needs of emerging market consumers and merchants, whilst also addressing the limitations of Western banking systems.

This full-service payments platform combines all functionality needed by merchants, with a product tailored to unbanked consumers, bringing this market together in one, seamless ecosystem. What’s more, we drive adoption and consumer education through a network of agents, supporting cash deposit and withdrawal in a way that our target audience is accustomed to.

Xprizo’s mission statement is to ‘revolutionise the future of fintech’. What gaps in the market is Xprizo working to find solutions for and improve in the fintech space?

We are primarily targeting countries which have substantially large communities which are under served when it comes to fintech or banking. Therefore, we are operating in a challenging environment where we truly believe we can have a life changing impact connecting these people to several national and international services. We are delivering a comprehensive financial service where our clients are usually just served with either mobile money or cash and with the introduction of Xprizo our customers can benefit from p2p payments, card processing and full integration to the local mobile money ecosystem, debit cards, crypto and much much more.

How was the development process in building the platform? Were there particular challenges along the way and how long did it take to get the platform ready for market?

We wanted to build the platform from the ground up using local knowledge and tenants so we are working with people coming from Africa, India, Southeast Asia and also Latin America. To arrive at where we are it took several years actually and it is always developing. Having said that in the last 12 months the platform and the wallet took the shape it has today and we covered a lot of ground. Main challenges were the territory we operate in since we needed to make sure the platform can run smoothly with less than ideal infrastructure. One has to keep in mind that we are operating in a space where lack of electricity is the norm, interrupted internet is an everyday occurrence, regulatory matters are still very complex and more.

How does the Xprizo platform set itself apart from other fintech offerings? What can the service provide that others can’t?

As explained earlier, we build the platform from the people to the people. Most other offerings are a one-size fits all where they are adapted versions of what is available in the western world. Moreover, we are offering a truly comprehensive payment orchestration for users and merchants. One just needs to get on our platform and doesn’t need anything further. You can get the local payment methods, our own p2p, cards, etc.. No other service out there has such a complete  offering.

Xprizo’s platform features a number of payment service providers such as M-Pesa, what benefits does this bring customers?

The idea is that our clients don’t need to use several systems to make their life or business. Using or integrating to Xprizo gives you a number of payment methods in one place where for the business side you would integrate one API and you can pick and choose what you wish to use.

How is 2024 shaping up for the business and what plans are in place to continue to develop the platform?

2024 is proving to be an incredible year for Xprizo. We are very happy to be overwhelmed with businesses that are recognising the benefits of using our system and we are having internal discussions to be integrated with very well known businesses and also by Tier 1 banks. Our ground reach though the agent network will also keep expanding month on month and the product offering will keep being a one of a kind setting the standard for other Fintech companies to keep up to.

2024 will also see us expand our reach in Africa launching several other countries and more importantly we will be launching our first operations in South East Asia. We will be beginning with the Philippines in June with the goal of expanding our reach across the following months.

Euro Games Technology continues its fruitful collaboration with Gaming IQ in Africa. After the large-scale installation in Grand Palace Casino in Cameroon several months ago, the Bulgarian manufacturer of gaming equipment recently made another big delivery of more than 60 cabinets in the reputable Grand Leone Casino in Sierra Leone, the operator’s biggest establishment in Free Town. Thus, EGT became the main supplier of the casino, which currently has a total of 80 machines.

Its guests now have the chance to enjoy some of the most popular products in EGT’s portfolio. Among them are the top performers from Vega Vision Series, as well as the Premier Series bestsellers P 24-24 Up, P 27-27 St Slim and P 42V St Curved, which are among the most successful slot cabinets in the African markets. Super Premier also made its debut in the country, having demonstrated the same excellent performance as the other models. All machines are equipped with the well-known Collection Series multigames: Gold, Purple, Union, Orange, Green and Fruits Collection, featuring some of EGT’s most popular titles on a global level. The players’ experience is complemented by the opportunity to try their luck with the well-established in the local markets Lady’s Cards and Premium Link jackpots. At their disposal are also several S-line terminals connected to a live and an automated roulette wheel and offering the latest multiplayer software of the company: King 3 and 4, Multiplay and Royal multigame mixes.

EGT’s casino management system Spider has been installed in Sierra Leone for the first time. After the impressive results it showed at Grand Palace Casino in Cameroon, the operator decided to implement it here and it is already successfully assisting for the easy and efficient management of the daily activities in Grand Leone Casino as well.

“With this installation, EGT became the leader in Sierra Leone with 60% market share,” commented Lilia Georgieva, CEO of EGT Tanzania. “We would like to thank our valued partners from Gaming IQ, who once again chose to provide one of their top gaming locations with our products. I highly appreciate that they place their trust in us and I believe that we will fully meet the high expectations they have for us.”

Delcho Petrov from Gaming IQ also shared his positive feedback regarding the new collaboration with EGT: “We are extremely happy and grateful for achieving this project at the beautiful and reputable property of Grand Leone Casino. The property now offers two VIP Slot Areas and various gaming spaces to accommodate each type of customer and has the highest footprint of slot machines in Sierra Leone. Our Collaboration with EGT has proven again a successful product delivery.  We continue to strive for delivering quality and modern products and to develop the African casino market. We look forward to our upcoming projects in different countries and expanding our footprint.”