The UK Esports Team Committee (UKETC), a collective of UK based esports teams, formed in 2021 as a committee of like-minded individuals, with the aim of progressing and growing the UK esports industry, and representing the voice of teams within wider industry discussions, has announced a change of leadership with immediate effect.

Daniel Chung (COO and co-founder of MNM Gaming) and Jeff Simpkins (COO of Resolve Esports) have been voted by the Committee to the roles of Chair and Vice Chair respectively, for 2023.

Daniel and Jeff are both founding members of the UKETC, and their experience with their respective organisations as well as seeing the development and growth of the UKETC since its creation will be beneficial going forward.

Oliver Weingarten and Stuart Brown have now stepped down from their roles as Chair and Vice Chair respectively. However, they will both remain members of the Committee.

“It was a privilege to be initially elected to Chair by my peers, and I feel in a short space of time we have shown that the teams can work together for a common goal – to improve the infrastructure of esports. There is a lot more work still required, many issues to be tackled, but the foundations are in place and I know that Dan and Jeff are well placed to continue to make strides, and will have the full support of all the members,” said Oliver Weingarten.

“It’s an honour to be elected by my peers to represent the UKETC as the Chairman. Olly and Stu have done a fantastic job moving the UKETC’s forwards to reach our goals. With Jeff taking on the role of Vice Chair, we will continue to build on the UKETC and improve esports for UK teams,” Daniel Chung said.

Pragmatic Play, a leading content provider to the iGaming industry, has further expanded in Brazil after signing a multi-product deal with Aposta Certa.

The deal will see customers of the Brazilian operator gain access to Pragmatic Play’s multi-award-winning slot collection, including the acclaimed Sugar Rush and Gates of Olympus titles, as well as the popular Big Bass Bonanza series.

In addition, the operator will gain access to its Live Casino and Virtual Sport product ranges, headlined by gameshow titles such as Sweet Bonanza CandyLand and Boom City, as well as classics such as roulette and blackjack. Pragmatic Play’s Virtual Sports range encompasses traditional sports as well as thrilling shortened forms, such as Penalty Shootout.

The deal sees Pragmatic Play maintain its commercial momentum in Latin America, and Brazil specifically, with a lot of operators take the award-winning provider’s content.

Victor Arias, VP of LatAm operations at Pragmatic Play, said: “We have signed a plethora of multi-product deals and are delighted with another exciting commercial agreement in Brazil.

“The strength of our multi-vertical offering is clear, and we can’t wait for our games to go live with Aposta Certa in the near future.”

Aposta Certa Representative said: “Pragmatic Play combines immersive games with high-quality, proven concepts and its global status speaks for itself.

“We’re delighted to partner with them, and look forward to seeing our players engage with its content as we continue to grow together.”

Leading LatAm content and software services provider integrates content portfolio to Groove network to access multiple regulated markets

Vibra Gaming, the go-to games, and platform developer for the LatAm region, has partnered with aggregation and platform specialists Groove to further its global reach across a multitude of regulated markets.

Vibra’s best performing bingo and table games, slots and branded casino slots, classics and content compatible with lottery providers will be added to an extensive library of games curated on Groove’s GroovePlay platform. This includes Vibra’s portfolio of highly successful localised games including Piggy Cash, Mystic Joker, Wild Gems, Quake, Patagonia Wild, Fruity 7, Condorito and Popeye, among others.

Groove’s twin pillars of turnkey (GrooveOn) and aggregation (GroovePlay) are supported by one of the best technical teams in the industry.

GroovePlay adds more than 100 new games every month thanks to a diverse group of carefully selected game partners such as Vibra Gaming. Due to its attractive value proposition, Groove has been able to establish itself as a benchmark for an operator cluster that includes tier one operators and beyond.

Earlier this month Vibra Gaming claimed the Silver award at SBC Latinoamerica Awards 2022 adding to last year’s SBC LatAm Rising Star in Sports Betting & Casino award.

The Silver prize was awarded for its unique ‘Scratch-a-lot’ product based on instant lottery mechanics. This enables players to experience the adrenaline of the ‘scratch and win’ concept while also enjoying the entertainment of slots in jurisdictions that allow lottery products.

Vibra Gaming has emerged as one of the industry’s most exciting and innovative content studios and aligns with Groove’s mission to help player-focused iGaming operators ‘find their groove’ by accessing trailblazing end-to-end platforms, expertise, and personalised support to create engaging and valuable user experiences.

This year, Groove marks six years of providing operators with its leading turnkey and aggregation services and continues to strengthen partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders, including payment processors, automated KYC, affiliate networks, AI, and the finest game developers in the world.

Ramiro Atucha, CEO, Vibra Gaming, said: “We are thrilled to work with Groove. This is a fantastic opportunity for Vibra Gaming to further increase our potential across a multitude of mature, developing, and emerging markets via a dynamic ecosystem of operators and casino brands clustered around Groove.”

Yahale Meltzer, COO and co-founder at Groove, added: “The iGaming industry in LatAm is rapidly expanding and, as one of the industry’s pioneers, we are dedicated to providing our operator cluster with the widest possible selection of proven, best performing games. We are delighted to integrate Vibra’s portfolio and make it available to our customers for the first time. Vibra’s leading position in LatAm is a positive strategic component that will drive further growth across this growing region.”