Popular iGaming content provider BGaming is taking fearless players to the depths of the Grand Patron criminal empire. This feature-packed release includes two additional reels, a trio of modifiers, multipliers, three types of Free Spins modes, and a Wild symbol.

The cinematic video slot sees players step into the shoes of a cartel boss as two extra horizontal reels dictate their fate. They both reveal one random symbol during each spin in the main game, with the power to unlock one by one during the Free Spins mode.

Unpredictable gameplay is the main appeal of Grand Patron, with Spawner, Prison and Bombastic modifiers shaping its direction. Spawner sees a Wild or any regular symbol appear on both additional reels, leading to three of these symbols being added to the main game field. Prison features a question mark symbol landing on one of the additional reels, while the other sees a paytable symbol drop. The paytable character on the main reels will then be locked for a respin. If the Prison symbol lands on both extra reels, all symbols are locked and the screen is filled with one random paytable symbol, resulting in a win across all 20 paylines.

The Bombastic modifier occurs when a bomb symbol appears on one additional reel and any regular symbol on the other. The corresponding regular symbol on the main reels then explodes at the end of the spin. Random symbols fill the spaces, with the potential for future wins. Two bombs on additional reels clear the reels and trigger respins.

Free Spins mode is granted when two Scatters appear on the extra reels during the main game, with an initial 12 spins triggered. If a Prison symbol lands at the start of the round, three extra free spins are awarded. Additionally, players can purchase one of three Free Spins modes for between x100, x250 or x1,000 of their bet amount.

The Wild has the power to substitute all paying symbols in Grand Patron, while the Multiplier can greatly increase wins.

Aliaksej Baliukonis, Game Designers Team Lead at BGaming, said: “Just like a life of crime depicted in cartel movies, Grand Patron has twists and turns at every spin. Players who like unpredictable, high-volatility games will enjoy this release, which is one of our most feature-rich titles to date.”

EveryMatrix has acquired FSB Technology, a leading global full turnkey and specialist sportsbook technology provider in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition will further bolster OddsMatrix, EveryMatrix’s tier-1 sportsbook platform and odds feeds division, generating immediate additional revenues, cross-company synergies and firmly establishes a presence in the UK, Ireland and Africa where FSB has developed strong market share.

Founded in 2007 by Sam Lawrence and David McDowell, FSB is a leading B2B sportsbook technology supplier based in London, offering full end-to-end turnkey solutions including Player Account Management (PAM), sports betting and casino platform solutions.

EveryMatrix will incorporate key FSB features into its offering, including what has been recognised as one of the strongest horse racing products among sportsbook providers.

Customers will further benefit from EveryMatrix’s superior modular products including casino, games and aggregation, payments, player account management, managed services or affiliate management and data tracking.

Once migrated to OddsMatrix, they will gain access to proven, tier-1 sportsbook and odds feeds products, as well as EveryMatrix’s technology, development and resource pipeline, decades of industry expertise within its 1,000 employee strong workforce across 13 locations worldwide and a global network of partners.

OddsMatrix has gone from strength-to-strength launching several large-scale digital projects for tier-1 brands across Europe including Bet-at-home and the Hungarian national lottery company’s (SZRT) online brand TippmixPro.

OddsMatrix achieved its best year in 2023, setting record growth, profitability and a record number of bets for tier-1 customers. It experienced a 75% Year-on-Year (YoY) rise in total bets, skyrocketing profitability up 90% while also driving live events up by a third (31%) to more than 1.8 million events for the year. With the FSB deal, this strong growth is set to continue.

Ebbe Groes, Group CEO of EveryMatrix, said: “I’m delighted to announce our purchase of FSB Technology and I’m proud of the EveryMatrix team that has been involved in making this deal happen so effortlessly.

“This is our most ambitious acquisition to date, by value, size, and complexity. There was a huge amount of internal teamwork behind the scenes to ensure this process was managed efficiently which is a great credit to everyone. Our ability to quickly transact and get this over the line so smoothly has been very impressive.

“This transaction facilitates our long-term growth strategy of entering and growing within a greater number of regulated markets, including the UK, Ireland and Africa, where many FSB clients operate. It also allows us to accelerate this process, diversify our customer and revenue profiles, while simultaneously migrating customers to a stronger, high performing product proven to deliver exceptional results.”

Adam Smith, CEO of FSB Technology, said: “FSB has achieved a lot over the last 18-20 months including expansion into new markets and launching innovative propositions. Joining together with EveryMatrix represents another major milestone for FSB. We are delighted and excited by the new opportunities this deal could create, through the sharing of our unique capabilities as well as accelerating the growth of FSB’s existing partners.”

Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gaming authority, has stated that it will utilise investigative findings to improve the duty of care at gaming halls across the Netherlands.

Throughout December 2023 and January 2024, KSA inspectors visited 20 gaming facilities across the country to investigate how duty of care was being implemented.

Sharing its findings, the gaming authority noted that the majority of gaming halls paid attention to duty of care, but added that its implementation could be improved upon in certain areas.

The KSA stated that gaming halls have taken steps to meet the duty of care requirements in the KOA Act, including preventing and limiting gambling addiction as much as possible, but the “practice is not always sufficiently in line with the expressed good intentions and what is included in the policy”.

“It is striking that the personal circumstances and playing behaviour of regular players are (more or less) known. But there is sometimes a lack of actually addressing players, registering signals and interventions and intervening in the arcades examined,” said the authority.

Long playing times were regarded by all gaming halls as a “worrying signal”, but monitoring methods were not always elaborated and not a single venue investigated applied a maximum playing time, which the KSA stated was “particularly important at arcades that are open 24 hours, because there is no natural “stopping moment” for players”.

The KSA revealed that playing on multiple machines and reserving slot machines was allowed at all gaming halls visited, which while not prohibited, can be a factor in excessive gaming behaviour.

Other excessive gaming behaviour – visiting for a long time and/or with great regularity and a high number of debit card transactions per visit – was not sufficiently monitored by several venues.

Letters were sent by the KSA to the gaming halls following inspections, citing specific improvement points for each location.

The authority concluded: “Guidance will follow later this year for all permit holders, containing an elaboration of the points identified and more specific attention to the duty of care of arcades. The KSA will then monitor compliance with this more strictly.”