Industry News
MuchBetter reveals winner of the 2019 MuchBetter MegaDraw
MuchBetter has announced Leslie D, from Port Hardy, Canada as the winner of its MegaDraw promotion, who will receive an all-expenses paid, VIP trip of a lifetime to Las Vegas. The draw was held today and marks an exciting start to the new year for MuchBetter, following a record breaking 2019 in which MuchBetter welcomed more than 200,000 active users, launched in several new regions and won a string of prestigious iGaming and payments awards.
Leslie D. will receive the following as part of their winner’s package:
- Two return flights to Las Vegas
- Six nights at a 5-star hotel for two on the world-famous Las Vegas strip
- $20,000 spending money
- Two VIP tickets to an iconic Vegas show
- Dinner for two at one of the best restaurant’s in Las Vegas
“I can’t imagine a better way to start 2020 than a VIP trip to Las Vegas,” said winner, Leslie. “To enter the MegaDraw, I simply had to use the MuchBetter app for some of my day to day spending and iGaming activities. I found it to be one of the easiest and most quickest payment apps I’ve ever used, so I plan to use it for the foreseeable future too.”
“We have always made it our mission to create the most rewarding payments experience possible for our users,” said Paul Gent, MuchBetter CMO. “I think that the MegaDraw prize is probably our most powerful demonstration of this mission to date and it’s great to crown our first winner today from our ever-growing list of active users, which now stands at more than 500,000. We hope to take the momentum from a wildly successful 2019 into 2020 and will be launching a new MegaDraw campaign shortly.”
2019 highlights include:
MuchBetter award wins: MuchBetter won at the highly prestigious MPE Awards (Best Start-up Innovation Award), The Card & Payments Awards (Best Alternative or Digital Payments Programme), EPA Awards (Most Innovative Mobile or Financial Service Payments Solution), and SBC Awards (Mobile Payment Solution of the Year).
Summer Series Tournament: MuchBetter sponsored the first social online poker tournament of its kind, giving poker fans a chance to play against top poker pros, including Lex Veldhuis, as well as sponsoring 4 amateur players to compete at 2019 European Poker Tour in Barcelona in August. Fans also got a chance to play at the new tournament series, Lex Live 2 in London.
West Ham sponsorship: MuchBetter is proud to be West Ham United’s Official Online and Digital Payments Wallet Partner, a new partnership for 2019
About MuchBetter:
MuchBetter, operated by MIR Limited UK Ltd, an FCA-licensed and regulated e-money issuer, is the new payments application for iGaming. Available on Android and iOS, MuchBetter make effortless online, offline and contactless payments throughout EMEA. Funds can be transferred and received in real-time and MuchBetter’s unique commercial model increases operator revenues while its anti-fraud features and use of best in class technology reduces risk.
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.
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