Industry News
Nektan enhances in-house games offering with Rocksalt partnership
Games designer to produce bespoke content for Nektan-branded titles
Nektan plc, the fast-growing international gaming technology platform and services provider, has partnered with games designer Rocksalt Interactive in a move which will further diversify the platform provider’s in-house games offering.
As part of the deal, Rocksalt will lean on its expertise to design Nektan-branded HTML5 games, which will be made available across Nektan’s Evolve and E-Lite platforms.
Rocksalt will be responsible for all the front-end functionality of the new releases, including illustrations, features and game assets, with Nektan handling the games engine.
The first Nektan-branded game produced by Rocksalt to go live will be Plucky Pirates: Devil’s Triangle. The pirate-themed slot game features highly-engaging gameplay along with state-of-the-art graphics.
The new partnership will see a minimum of twelve new games produced and distributed to Nektan’s network of commercial operators and white-label casinos.
Jane Ryan, Chief Commercial Officer of B2B at Nektan said: “Rocksalt Interactive is a highly-regarded global games designer. We are thrilled to be working alongside a great team that can boost the diversity of games that we offer. The company develops a number of popular global free-to-play games, and we are sure that its team of quality designers will produce new and exciting content that will appeal to a wide audience.”
Utkarsh Veer, Director / CEO at Rocksalt said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for us. Together, we are producing fresh and entertaining games that incorporate our expertise in games design and Nektan’s knowledge of player preferences and the casino market as a whole. We look forward developing the partnership while delivering quality games to Nektan’s growing network of casino sites.”
About Nektan:
Nektan is an international B2B and white label gaming software and services provider, operating in the regulated, interactive real money gaming space (RMG), delivering original and innovative solutions to commercial organisations that have established online audiences.
Nektan’s full end-to-end technology platform, Evolve, simplifies and supports the route to mobile and desktop gaming revenues, managing the full customer experience and back-office operations, allowing commercial partners to focus on marketing the product to their consumers.
Nektan’s US operating subsidiary, provides US land-based casinos with in-venue mobile gaming solutions which allow operators to add mobile technology and content to their existing offerings, with products accessible to players across both cabinets and mobile devices inside the casinos. Respin has a strong intellectual property portfolio including game patents for Rapid Games™ (on-property mobile entertainment), and other captivating concepts and brands.
Nektan is headquartered in Gibraltar, regulated by the Gibraltar Licensing Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, as well as in the Irish market and maintains sales and customer support operations in its two primary geographical targets, Europe and North America. The proprietary Evolve technology is developed and maintained by a talented and experienced team of employees from Nektan’s Indian office.
Nektan plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in November 2014.
For more information, head to www.nektan.com.
Industry News
SKS365 keeps investing in people: GROW People Management Program took the next level
11 experienced people managers from the SKS365 group’s 4 locations gathered last week in Belgrade for the new GROW People Management Program. From 15 th to 19 th of April, through trainings, discussions, and social connections, people had the opportunity to further grow individually and as a team, while enjoying Belgrade’s city center and rivers.
Created in 2023 with the purpose of building foundation people management skills across the organization, GROW initiative evolved this year by including a new, advanced program for experienced people managers to further consolidate their skills and prepare for future opportunities.
Building and fostering connections, sharing experiences, and enjoying team building experiences – all these activities have been part of the GROWpmp agenda for the 11 people managers coming from Commercial, Product and Development, Finance, and Sportsbook departments of the group’s 4 locations – Malta, Italy, Austria, Serbia.
GROWpmp included a variety of topics that people managers in SKS365 recognized as the key areas for management development. Topics such as influence through communication, team effectiveness, DEI, through to presentation skills and business topics like understanding finance and management reporting, were delivered with the support of external professionals and internal experts, while designed and organized by the SKS365 People & Culture team.
Industry News
Kindred’s Share of Revenue from High-risk Players Shows Slight Increase
Kindred Group plc’s (Kindred) share of revenue from high-risk players showed a slight increase to 3.2% (Q4 2023 3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the high-risk revenue share decreased marginally. The percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions came in at 87.1% (compared to 87.4% in Q4 2023 and 83.0% in Q1 2023). This sustained trajectory in the improvement effect after interventions, observed over an extended period, serves as a testament to the strong dedication and collective efforts throughout the company. It reflects Kindred’s ongoing commitment to fostering positive change within the industry.
“We continue to see our share of revenue from high-risk players fluctuate quarter to quarter, and we are working closely with all teams across the company to support customers towards a more sustainable gambling experience. However, it is encouraging to see that our Journey towards Zero data has steadily decreased since 2020. A similar trend can be seen across the healthier gambling behaviour effect after interventions. This tells us two things: our work is paying off, but we need to continue to push ourselves to propel a sustainable progression,” Alexander Westrell, Director of Communications at Kindred Group, said.
“It was very encouraging to witness the open and transparent discussions at the Sustainable Gambling Conference in London on 20 March, where those with lived experience shared their important stories. Also, it is evident that technology is moving forward, and will provide greater opportunities to detect and intervene in the future. We hope to see more regulators engage with the industry and with experts to secure a more sustainable industry for everyone,” Alexander Westrell added.
Industry News
PENN Entertainment Names Aaron LaBerge as Chief Technology Officer
PENN Entertainment announced that Aaron LaBerge has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective July 1, 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Mr. LaBerge will report directly to PENN CEO & President Jay Snowden.
In his new role, Mr. LaBerge will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for PENN, while leading the multinational team of technologists and serving as the key business leader for the company’s Interactive division.
Mr. LaBerge spent more than 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, in two stints separated by five and a half years as a technology entrepreneur. He was most recently President & Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN where he was responsible for driving all technology and product development in support of The Walt Disney Company’s two media divisions. In that role, he helped set the vision and strategic leadership for how Disney uses technology to enable storytelling and innovation, drive its business, and create unparalleled consumer experiences with entertainment and sports content.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team. Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world, there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future. I know Aaron is looking forward to working with Todd George, our head of operations, and our entire Executive Team to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting, and digital sports media,” Mr. Snowden said.
“I’m excited to join another talented team at PENN Interactive and lead our technology strategy. PENN Entertainment is at the forefront of the fast-changing gaming and sports media industry. I plan to use my experience from Disney and ESPN to help make ESPN BET an essential piece of the sports fan experience. Together, we’ll push the limits and redefine how fans interact with sports and gaming,” Mr. LaBerge said.
Prior to his most recent role at the Walt Disney Company, Mr. LaBerge was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ESPN from 2015 to 2018. At ESPN he played an instrumental role in the growth of ESPN’s consumer-facing digital media products and services – leading many of ESPN’s most ambitious and challenging projects and helping establish ESPN’s position as the leader in digital sports and innovative sports technology development. He was a key architect in the design, development, and engineering of ESPN’s state-of-the-art facilities in Bristol, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; and Austin, TX, as well as data centers and infrastructure that connect those facilities around the world, as well as the technology design and development to support the launch of the multi-platform SEC Network.
Between 2007 and 2012, LaBerge was co-founder and CEO of Fanzter, Inc. – a venture-funded consumer software and digital product development company. At Fanzter, he directed all day-to-day operations and led the development and launch of a variety of consumer-focused internet and mobile products, ground-breaking social and commerce technologies and more.
-
Central Europe6 days ago
Wazdan amplifies Swiss presence with Swiss4Win launch
-
Latest News6 days ago
Evoplay strikes distribution agreement with Light & Wonder
-
Asia7 days ago
Team ATK Oshun excels at 2024 Online Championships held on 13 April 2024
-
Central Europe6 days ago
Aleatrust Signs Up as Supporting Member of the Austrian Sports Betting Association
-
eSports6 days ago
Everything you need to know ahead of ESL Pro League Season 19
-
Latest News6 days ago
Week 16/2024 slot games releases
-
Latest News6 days ago
Casino Guru’s Complaint Resolution Center Leads Industry in 2023
-
Latest News6 days ago
Good 1st quarter of 2024 for FDJ, in line with Group projections