Industry News
QTech Games seeds Thunderkick players in its latest Tournament rollout
Leading distributor for emerging markets teams up with Swedish developer for latest tournament campaign
QTech Games, Asia’s number-one games distributor, has announced the rollout of its next tournament partnership with leading Stockholm-based games supplier, Thunderkick.
Thunderkick’s strong pipeline of innovative games, featuring immersive graphics and unique gameplay features, has already captured players’ imaginations with classics, such as Pink Elephants and Carnival Queen, now sitting alongside exciting new releases like Divine Lotus and Sword Of Khans. All of these titles, and many more besides, will now be available to QTech partners over the upcoming tournament which runs from 6th-26th February in exclusive association with Thunderkick.
The QT Thunderkick Championship is free to join by simply playing any Thunderkick game in real mode, with the top 20 players every day receiving cash prizes, having qualified by fulfilling clear and responsible bet conditions within participating games. The top 20 players in the overall tournament championship will then also win additional rewards.
QTech’s series of successful tournaments offers players the chance to turn their loyal spins into prizes during competitions on across their favourite titles. Players accumulate points in a variety of ways, such as consecutive wins, successive losses, or large multiplier wins. A unique gamification layer also features live leaderboards for each game, which update in real-time, permitting players to track their progress throughout the tournament, promoting engagement and improved dwell-time.
February’s tournament prize pool is an eye-catching $15,000, while operator results from QTech’s previous tournaments’ history are already acting as reliable retention-drivers, with unique-player numbers escalating by an average of 40% across the campaign period.
QTech Games CEO, Markus Nasholm, said: “At QTech, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of pressing player trends, which is why we launched QT Tournament last year. This industry-first campaign rewards tool allows any operator to create their own tournaments across the entire QTech portfolio of products, or they can simply select the specific games or studios which they want to promote. Operator demand is surpassing projections, and this exciting Thunderkick partnership provides another eloquent case in point. It’s an exciting time to be showcasing their standout games.
“QTech’s tournament campaigns frame the perfect opportunity for providers to boost their games by delivering extra exposure and sustainability. On the other hand, it’s also an influential marketing tool for operators when it comes to raising acquisition and retention rates by offering players a life-enhancing win off low stakes.”
QTech Games boasts the broadest gaming portfolio around, localized for each Asian region, with native mobile apps, powerful reporting and marketing tools, and 24/7 local-language support. What’s more, it’s all accessible to operators via the quickest integration on the market.
Industry News
Dutch Mental Health Care Calls for Total Ban on Online Gambling Advertising
The Dutch mental health service is calling for a total ban on online gambling advertisements in the Netherlands.
Although a ban on untargeted gambling advertisements and a ban on the use of role models has been in effect since 2023, a recent research by KRO-NCRV’s Pointer shows that (illegal) gambling companies and sports tipster platforms are still enticing young people via social media such as TikTok and Snapchat.
By using influencers and terms like “free money”, they try to attract a young audience and thus lower the threshold to start gambling. This concerns both legal online casinos and online casinos that do not have a license in the Netherlands. The Gaming Authority has started an investigation based on Pointer’s findings.
Pointer’s research shows that part of the gambling industry deliberately targets young people who are often susceptible to promises such as “fast money” and the influence of role models. Ruth Peetoom, chair of the Dutch mental health service, compares this approach to that of the tobacco industry, where similar marketing strategies were used to get young people to smoke.
Despite the existing advertising ban, gambling companies continue to explore the boundaries of the law, according to Peetoom. The Dutch mental health and addiction care associations in the Netherlands therefore push for a total ban on online gambling advertising and stricter rules for the duty of care of gambling providers.
With the call for a total ban, the Dutch mental health care sector hopes to prevent further normalisation of gambling behaviour among young people and to protect them from the temptation and consequences of online gambling.
Compliance Updates
UKGC: Market impact data on gambling behaviour – operator data to Oct 2024
The Gambling Commission has published further data on the gambling industry in Great Britain.
This data, sourced from operators, reflects the period between March 2020 and September 2024, inclusive, and covers online and in-person gambling covering Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs) found on Britain’s high streets.
Comparison should not be made with the industry statistics dataset, as this dataset may include free bets and bonuses and does not include data from all operators.
This release compares Quarter 2 (Q2) of financial year 2024 to 2025, with Q2 of 2023 to 2024, looking at how the market has changed in comparative periods over a year.
The latest operator data shows:
- online total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) in Q2 (July to September) was £1.32 billion, an increase of 11 percent from Q2 the previous year. The overall number of total bets and/or spins increased 12 percent Year-on-Year (YoY), reaching a new peak for the third consecutive quarter of 25.2 billion, whilst the average monthly active accounts2 in the quarter increased 8 percent
- real event betting GGY increased by 6 percent YoY to £453 million. The number of bets decreased 10 percent, while the average monthly active accounts in Q2 increased 9 percent
- slots GGY increased 16 percent to £680 million YoY. The number of spins increased 13 percent to 23.3 billion while the average monthly active accounts in Q2 increased 16 percent to 4.4 million per month. Although this is a new peak for GGY in this dataset for the slots vertical, it should be noted that one operator has re-classified some of its products into the slot vertical this quarter, which has had an impact on the vertical data
- the number of online slots sessions lasting longer than an hour increased by 9 percent YoY to 10 million. The average session length remained at 17 minutes. Approximately 6.1 percent of all sessions lasted more than one hour compared to 6.6 percent in Q2 the previous year. The number of spins per session has fallen from 147 to 142 YOY, whilst the GGY per session has fallen from £4.20 to £4.13 in the equivalent timeframe
- LBO GGY decreased by 1 percent to £533 million in Q2 2024 to 2025, compared to the same quarter last year, while the number of total bets and spins decreased by 0.1 percent to 3.1 billion.
Industry News
Petra Maria Poola Joins Xace as Group Commercial Director
Xace has announced that Petra Maria Poola has joined the company as Group Commercial Director.
Petra brings a wealth of experience from the iGaming industry having formerly held roles at several iGaming companies such as Yolo, Relax Gaming and SiGMA. She will lead the commercial growth of Xace and its group companies, including crypto and iGaming focused xda.io, helping to drive strategic initiatives across banking, fintech and iGaming solutions.
In her new role, she will mainly oversee the growth of the group’s sales, marketing and account management functions, ensuring a cohesive strategy that supports Xace’s ambitious expansion plans.
“I am incredibly excited to start this new chapter with Xace, and work alongside such a talented team and management. Transitioning into the fintech space, while still connected to iGaming, presents an exciting opportunity for growth and learning. I’m looking forward to applying my expertise to help Xace and its group companies achieve new heights commercially, while gaining deeper insights into the fast-evolving world of fintech,” said Petra Maria Poola.
Reuben Abel, CEO of Xace, said: “Petra’s extensive background in the iGaming sector, combined with her commercial acumen, makes her a valuable addition to the Xace team. She will play a crucial role in expanding Xace’s market presence and enhancing its suite of services tailored to the specific needs of the iGaming and fintech industries.”
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