Industry media professional Evans joins as Head of B2B to accelerate London agency’s expansion including opening of new Manchester office

Press Box PR has bolstered its betting and gaming industry B2B division with the appointment of Jake Evans (pictured), who joins as the agency’s new Head of B2B.

An experienced betting and gaming industry journalist, Evans arrives at Press Box PR from NEXT.io, where he oversaw the successful creation of the company’s leading online news product in his role as Managing Editor.

He previously served as News Editor for EGR and also worked as a data editor for Stats Perform.

Evans’ move will see the London-based agency open its first office outside of the capital as the PR firm launches in Manchester.

In his new role, Evans will work with clients, publications and events to create expert industry-specific content, in turn driving commercial growth for all parties.

Press Box PR has expanded rapidly in recent times, increasing headcount from 20 to more than 40 in the last year, having been launched by Alex Donohue in early 2020.

The business counts affiliate QiH Group, law firm Poppleston Allen and technology companies Pythia Sports and 20SHOTS amongst its impressive roster of B2B clients.

Evans joins the current B2B team including Account Director Charlotte Kerr and Account Manager Sarah Williams and will work alongside Director and Head of Sport Jack Mansell, Head of Consumer Katie Storey and Head of Talent Lynn Caratt.

“Press Box PR’s growth has been driven by the best journalistic minds thriving in a PR role, which is underpinned by unrivaled sector and editorial insight,” the founder and Managing Director for Press Box PR, Alex Donohue, said. “Appointing talent of Jake’s calibre underlines the scale of the opportunity within B2B PR and marketing communications. I look forward to working with him to usher in the next phase of growth as a byproduct of creating even better content for our media and client partners.

“The United Kingdom remains a thriving hub of talent, with publishers and firms now operating on a global basis. Expanding our footprint beyond our London base to Manchester signifies our commitment to invest in a growing sector.”

“I’m looking forward to bringing my experience in editorial, video and content creation to Press Box PR’s growing list of media and commercial partners,” Evans said. “Its USP of taking an editorial approach to marketing and PR – combined with journalistic expertise and industry insight – really appealed to me. I am looking forward to working with the current team and partners to grow the B2B division.”

The globally operating software company 4Players GmbH announces its partnership with MADFINGER Games, the developer behind the highly anticipated tactical first-person shooter Gray Zone Warfare. The collaboration aims to level up in-game communication by integrating 4Players’ next generation Voice Chat SDK, ODIN, into MADFINGER Games’ upcoming title.

MADFINGER Games’ goal is to create a complex and realistic gaming experience that allows players to embark on an adventure alone or in a team. To ensure excellent communication during tactical approaches, ODIN was the best choice for MADFINGER Games’ Technical Director Johanny Clerc-Renaud:

“Selecting ODIN as the voice chat in our upcoming title, Gray Zone Warfare, was a pivotal decision driven by both technical and business considerations. Technically, ODIN ticks a lot of our criteria with its support for spatial audio, a ready-to-deploy Unreal Engine 5 plugin and the ability to meet any player load thanks to their cloud hosting.

From a business perspective, the agility and openness of partnering with a company like 4Players meant we could work hand-in-hand to tailor the solution to our specific needs. This includes a seamless integration with Wwise, allowing us to modulate voice data for a more immersive and engaging player experience. Together, these factors made ODIN the undeniable choice for Gray Zone Warfare, enabling us to make our game even more memorable.”

By natively integrating ODIN Voice Chat into Unreal Engine 5, MADFINGER Games’ developers could focus on creating ultra-realistic game content instead of managing complex data sets. By leveraging ODIN’s scalable cloud hosting, MADFINGER Games can also ensure seamless service delivery to players worldwide, improving accessibility and the gaming experience.

With features such as real-time 3D spatial audio – including audio occlusion and ambient effects – for the global voice chat as well as full-volume radio communication, ODIN sets a new standard for multiplayer engagement and promotes immersive and crystal-clear interactions between players. This level of immersive communication not only enhances gameplay, but also strengthens the social fabric in the gaming community.

“ODIN represents the future of in-game communication. We combine cutting-edge technology with decades of expertise in the gaming industry to create a product that is fun and designed to improve gamers’ communication,” says Phillip Schuster, CEO at 4Players GmbH. “We are excited to be working with MADFINGER Games to further optimize the immersion of Gray Zone Warfare. The partnership highlights our shared goal of driving social interaction and creating a unique gaming experience.”With the release of Gray Zone Warfare for Early Access on 30th April 2024, players will experience unparalleled realistic gaming communication with ODIN.

Scientific Games and Loterija Slovenije, the national lottery of Slovenia, are moving to strengthen their instant game partnership and position the Lottery for more growth through a new, exclusive five-year contract. The new contract follows 26% growth in Loterija Slovenije’s instant game sales over the past four years. The agreement may be renewed for an additional two years.

2024-SGSocials-Slovenia-1200×1200.png“The move to this new partnership with Scientific Games heralds further progress for our Srečka games portfolio,” said Loterija Slovenije CEO and President Romana Girandon. “The enhanced partnership aligns our goals to responsibly grow these products and ultimately, grow proceeds to our good cause programs.”

Loterija Slovenije’s new partnership closely aligns the strategic interests of both companies using Scientific Games’ world-leading instant game design and portfolio management services, as well as data-driven analytics and insights, game manufacturing, retailer analysis, marketing, sales support and licensed brand services.

Scientific Games began working with Loterija Slovenije six years ago as the Lottery’s primary instant games provider and most recently collaborated on successful higher price point game launches featuring an Advent calendar and a €10 extended play game.

“We’re proud to move to an enhanced partnership with Loterija Slovenija so that we can fully maximize the potential of its Srečka games,” said Kevin Anderson, VP of Global Strategic Accounts for Scientific Games. “Our expertise with data analytics and portfolio management will help drive sales performance for the games and provide entertaining experiences for Slovenian players.”

With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world (La Fleur’s 2024 World Lottery Almanac).