Central Europe

Hungarian Lottery goes live with OddsMatrix sportsbook & platform services

Published

11 months ago

November 2, 2023

Hungarian Lottery goes live with OddsMatrix sportsbook & platform services

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Hungarian national lottery company, Szerencsejáték Privately Held Company Limited (SZRT), has gone live with OddsMatrix-powered sportsbook and platform services enabling the country’s residents to safely and responsibly enjoy 21^st century digital betting experiences.

EveryMatrix was awarded the public tender in January 2023 to provide the Hungarian state-owned gaming and lottery operator with an end-to-end suite of advanced digital sports betting software solutions and services for its online brand TippmixPro.

Designed to create the ultimate online sports betting experience in the newly regulated market, the multi-year agreement was awarded to EveryMatrix after a 15-month competitive procurement process with more than 25 bidders.

SZRT is a member of the World Lottery Association (WLA) and the sports betting market leader in Hungary. Its new OddsMatrix-powered sportsbook will drive the brand to new levels, giving both new and existing customers the opportunity to experience features including Cash Out and Bet Builder, alongside promotions such as Stake-Back Special, for the first time.

This was one of the company’s most complex integrations to date involving multiple teams including GamMatrix, EveryMatrix’s platform unit. GamMatrix purpose-built a range of project-critical operational and safer gambling features including rapid, multi-step registration and a comprehensive array of self-exclusion functionality in line with specific SZRT and regulatory requirements.

SZRT will benefit from decades of experience within EveryMatrix’s trading, product, and account management teams as well as harness the power of its PartnerMatrix affiliate system.

At the core of the new sportsbook lies the highest standards of responsible gambling. Accessible through desktop and mobile web browsers, in addition to native Android and iOS apps, it features proprietary models that generate industry-leading market uptime, an AI-driven content concierge that curates and serves tailored recommendations, and a revolutionary promotions engine designed to enhance player retention and reactivation.

In September 2023 EveryMatrix became the first iGaming supplier to receive WLA Safer Gambling Certification.

Ebbe Groes, CEO, EveryMatrix, said: “We are delighted to have gone live in Hungary with our valued partners SZRT. This is just the beginning of a relationship filled with endless possibilities with both sets of dedicated teams sharing a vision that extends far beyond a single milestone.

“Our mission is to craft not just a sportsbook, but a never-ending story of innovation. Just as athletes persistently train to refine their abilities, we are equally determined to create new plays, redefine the game, and develop groundbreaking products that propels SZRT as the benchmark for sports betting excellence.”

“Winning SZRT earlier this year and now going live with a complex and comprehensive offering in such an exciting, newly regulated market underlines the quality of our solutions, services, and expertise across multiple disciplines and we look forward to delivering exceptional results and driving consistent growth in the months and years ahead.”

Andrea Mager, President & CEO, Szerencsejáték Privately Held Company Limited, said: “We launched our online sports betting platform 10 years ago and have always strived to offer the best to our customers. The relaunch of tippmixpro.hu is a milestone for the company and our players. The new site offers a much broader range of world-class sports betting opportunities without losing sight of our responsible gaming principles. In addition to new features that improve the player experience, we also offer betting opportunities and markets that players can only legally access on tippmixpro.hu.

“We were delighted to partner with an international supplier such as EveryMatrix in January. During the following months of development, it became clear to us that beyond the business partnership the company offers professional knowledge that ensures the long-term development of TippmixPro, providing our players with a world-class online sports betting platform.”

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Central Europe

Buying Games as Downloads is More Popular Than Ever in Germany

Published

1 month ago

August 2, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The share of PC and console games purchased as downloads in Germany climbed to 60% for the first time in 2023, meaning that download purchases have remained at the same high level they reached during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Back then, the share of downloads jumped from 45 to 58%. These figures were published by game – The German Games Industry Association, in cooperation with market research company CPS GfK. A closer look at the individual gaming platforms, though, shows there are huge differences between them. Download purchases are most popular among PC players; these days, they buy nearly all of their games – 98% – as downloads. Last year, that figure was already 97%. Consoles are a different story, though. Most console players prefer to buy games on physical media. The majority of console games – 60% – are still purchased as physical media, even though that figure has dropped by 3% points compared to last year.

The way in which video game players purchase games is also a question of age. The younger generation of players in Germany overwhelmingly opt for downloads. And this trend is particularly strong among players between the ages of 20 and 29: they buy more than 7 out of 10 PC or console games (71%) in this format. But these days, growing numbers of older players are starting to prefer downloads, as well. Among 50- to 59-year-olds, approximately 6 out of 10 games (59%) are purchased as downloads; last year, this group bought about 53% of their games on physical media. Physical copies are most popular among the over-60s. In 2023, they bought more than half their games (53%) on physical media. However, this figure also represented a decline of 12% points in sales of physical media among this group.

“We’re seeing a clear trend: downloads are becoming an established way of buying games, and their share of the games market is continually increasing, even though that growth has slowed a bit since the pandemic. For many people, downloads are a quick and convenient way to buy games. Last year, a number of big blockbuster games, like ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ and ‘Alan Wake II’, were initially released as digital exclusives. Plenty of successful indie games have been download-only for ages, as well. All these factors have given the popularity of downloads a massive boost. But how games are purchased still varies according to the age of the player and the type of platform. Video game players primarily buy their console games on physical media, to get the limited editions and fan merchandise that come with them, or to ensure that they always have a copy of the game in their collection,” Felix Falk, Managing Director of game, said.

Central Europe

Slower workforce growth and fewer new companies: the upward trend in the German games industry is weakening

Published

1 month ago

July 31, 2024

George Miller

Slower workforce growth and fewer new companies - the upward trend in the German games industry is weakening

Reading Time: 2 minutes

• Number of German game companies grows by 4 per cent in twelve months
• Slowed growth pace: employment figures at developers and publishers up 3.5 per cent
• German games industry plus extended game labour market provides more than 30,000 jobs

The strong upward trend seen in the German games industry in recent years is now weakening significantly. After registering 15 per cent growth a year ago, the number of game companies increased by just 4 per cent in the past twelve months, to a total of 948 companies developing and publishing computer and video games in Germany. This was announced today by game – The German Games Industry Association on the basis of data from gamesmap.de in cooperation with Goldmedia. In particular, the number of companies that exclusively develop games is rising, with 6 per cent growth in the past year bringing the figure to 477 currently. A further 52 companies in Germany specialise exclusively in publishing video games and 419 are active in both game development and publishing. This amounts to a 52 per cent overall increase in the number of game companies in Germany since 2020.

Employee numbers at German game companies showed continued growth, but at only half the pace of the previous year. The number of employees at game development studios and publishers rose to 12,408 over the past twelve months, up around 3.5 per cent from last year’s figure of 11,992. This compares with 7 per cent growth recorded from 2022 to 2023. At first glance, the weakened yet still positive trend appears contradictory against the backdrop of the current overall decline in investment momentum and major waves of consolidation in the international games industry. While the current consolidation wave has indeed affected German game companies, its impact here has been less pronounced than in general internationally. One reason for this is that many game companies in Germany are currently still in the midst of projects made possible by federal games funding, which has served as a stabilising factor for the industry as a whole. In addition to the workforce in publishing and development, an estimated further 20,000 people are employed in the area of games. The games industry thus provides jobs for over 30,000 people in Germany, including skilled professionals in educational institutions, the media and the public and commercial sectors.

‘Games funding plays a decisive role in this. Although the on-going application freeze for the federal games funding has hampered the development of new projects for over a year now, the fact that many German studios were still in the middle of federally funded projects gave them stability. However, if the German government doesn’t ensure funding budgets at an internationally comparable level soon, the prospects for game companies will be all the more unclear. Along with the consolidation wave,’ he continues, ‘the current unpredictable and non-competitive framework conditions in Germany have now slowed the strong growth of recent years. The German government must finally make the promised funds available and return to the path of an ambitious policy of single-source game funding, as it announced in its latest growth initiative.’

About the data:
The data is drawn from a survey carried out by Goldmedia on the basis of entries on gamesmap.de. It was conducted on behalf of game – The German Games Industry Association for the period ending on 14 June 2024.

Central Europe

MightyTips announces collaboration agreement with Merkur Bets

Published

2 months ago

July 24, 2024

George Miller

MightyTips announces collaboration agreement with Merkur Bets

Reading Time: 2 minutes

MightyTips has announced a brand-new partnership with Merkur Bets targeting German-speaking bettors across Germany.

The move aims to expand the customer base for Merkur Bets, which is striving to build its position as a leading player in several Central European countries.

The exclusive partnership with the MightyTips platform – a tips and predictions hub – is hoped to boost acquisition rates in the region ahead of what is likely to be a busy conclusion to the summer.

The Olympics, the new Bundesliga and Premier League season, and other major sporting events are to take centre stage, with more people than ever engaging with sports betting.

After ten years of operating as XTiP, a recent rebranding means it is now known as Merkur Bets. The sports betting experience has been modernised, as the website now provides an updated design, faster loading times, and enhanced user-friendly navigation.

The change was announced by operators Merkur Group earlier in the year and included a fresh logo and redesigned aesthetics across both its online and physical outlets.

Stefan Bruns, CEO of Online Gambling and Sports Betting at Merkur Group, cited it as a new beginning for the company: “The renaming of XTiP to Merkur Bets is not only a new beginning, it also offers the opportunity to establish a completely renewed approach to sports betting within the Merkur Group.”

Since 2013, Merkur Group has been one of the leading operators in Germany. Its origins stretch back to 1957, when it was founded as a family-owned business by Paul Gauselmann.

Eugene Ravdin, MightyTips Communications and Marketing Manager said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Merkur Bets. They are one of the biggest betting companies in Europe and our services can further solidify their reputation as a leading player in this sector.”

Martin Collins, Head of Affiliates at Merkur Group added: “We are very pleased to continue our work with the MightyTips team. Both sides bring great knowledge to the table for our core markets, and we look forward to a long-term beneficial partnership.”