QTech Games has signed its latest supplier partnership with global B2B iGaming content developer and provider Air Dice, enabling its platform customers to access the supplier’s expansive slots catalogue.
These popular titles include Alchemy Archive, Diamond Sky, Coco Cash, Coins Of The Divine, and Piggy Shifter. All these games are recognised for their player-retention features and sticky mechanics, and draw from Air Dice’s deeper well bingo, scratch, dice, slot and more traditional table-games content.
Air Dice offers a growing portfolio of games and tools, premised on three world-class slots studios (including Dice Crafter and Probability Jones), a 70+ strong team and multiple regional offices across Europe. However, this breakthrough announcement with QTech now affords the provider unprecedented international reach across more emerging markets.
Erkki Nikunen, Air Dice Partner & CBDO, said: “At Air Dice, we pride ourselves on working with some of the biggest and most commercially astute businesses, and QTech Games has ensured that we maintain that good company on both fronts. They share our passion for Innovation and flexibility, and do all they can to make things work for the client in a collaborative integration process. Their platform is a gateway to global audiences, so we can’t wait to see how our highly engaging games perform across a greenfield landscape of emerging markets.”
As the fastest-growing aggregator over the past few years, QTech offers the most expansive gaming portfolio around, localised for each region, with native mobile apps, powerful reporting and marketing tools, and 24/7 local-language support.
QTech Games CEO, Philip Doftvik, shared “We’re dedicated to constantly launching more first-class content and product innovation that drives revenue for our partners. So, this deal with air Dice extends our impressive sequential pipeline deep in 2026 – and we’ve so much more to come! In today’s marketplace, only premium games of the highest standard separate you from the crowd, so we’re thrilled to incorporate another premium supplier.”
China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, claiming a worsened environment for personal exchanges and a ‘significant risk to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens’.
That’s according to state media outlet China Daily, which indicates that the warning is directly tied to comments by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan.
The publication notes that ‘Beijing is prepared for further countermeasures’, aside from those already set out.
Chinese carriers – including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines – have announced cancellations of flights to Japan, with some 491,000 tickets already cancelled since Saturday, according to the SCMP.
The carriers have announced special measures for eligible passengers traveling before December 31st to change or refund their tickets free of charge.
According to statistics, Japan welcomed some 7.5 million Chinese tourists in the first nine months of this year, with the visitors accounting for roughly 25 percent of tourism numbers.
Macau and Hong Kong have issued similar travel advisories for citizens traveling to Japan, with Macau’s tourism authority stating ‘since the middle of this year, the tendency for attacks against Chinese citizens in Japan has been increasing’.
Beijing retains a strict ‘One China’ policy, which includes Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan as part of its national territory.
While the move to restrict Chinese visitation to Japan won’t affect any casinos in the nation, as the first – MGM Osaka – is only set to open in 2027, it represents the strong control that China has over its citizens’ travel. This was also reflected in the recent talks between Thailand’s PM and China’s leader Xi Jinping, in which an assurance that casino legislation would not be pursued resulted in a guarantee that more Chinese tourists would visit the Southeast Asian nation.
The United States and China are taking parallel steps to combat large-scale online scam operations in Southeast Asia, creating an unusual point of alignment between the two powers despite broader geopolitical tensions.
That is according to analysts cited by the South China Morning Post.
The renewed focus follows Washington’s launch last week of the “Scam Center Strike Force,” a coordinated crackdown on cryptocurrency fraud schemes that US officials say defraud Americans of nearly $10 billion annually.
The initiative targets sophisticated criminal groups operating from compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, where thousands of trafficked workers are allegedly forced to run so-called “pig butchering” scams. The US Justice Department has described these sites as hubs where victims of human trafficking are held against their will and instructed to target foreign nationals, with proceeds laundered through US-based platforms before being moved offshore.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that at least 100,000 people have been trafficked into scam compounds across the region, many of which expanded rapidly after the pandemic. These operations are often co-located with legal businesses, including online gambling, and have evolved into “industrial-scale cybercrime” driven by transnational criminal groups.
Recent international enforcement actions have intensified scrutiny. US investigators have seized roughly $15 billion in alleged criminal proceeds linked to Bitcoin transactions, while authorities in the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong have frozen millions of dollars’ worth of assets. Cambodian conglomerate Prince Holding Group was the latest to draw attention, following asset seizures and allegations that its founder’s wealth was tied to internet-based fraud.
While Washington’s strike force could serve as a framework for broader coordination, analysts quoted by the publication warned against framing the issue as a confrontation with China. The US Justice Department has attributed many operations to “Chinese transnational criminal organizations,” yet both Washington and Beijing have urged Southeast Asian governments to crack down on scam networks. China has also stepped up its own enforcement, including receiving the extradited Chinese-Cambodian gambling figure She Zhijiang from Thailand last week.
Experts say this convergence of interests could open the door to more structured cooperation. Analysts note that Southeast Asian countries endorsed the ASEAN Declaration on Combating Cybercrime and Online Scams in September, committing to stronger law-enforcement coordination and information-sharing mechanisms. They highlight that the US initiative could reinforce these efforts, provided the issue is not politicized.
However, meaningful progress will require addressing governance vulnerabilities in the region. Observers caution that scam operations flourish in places with weak oversight and systems that can be easily manipulated. Without tackling these conditions, they say, Southeast Asia will remain vulnerable to criminal networks that exploit human trafficking and cross-border financial flows.
Hong Kong’s Far East Consortium (FEC) has released further details on its series of transactions with Australia’s The Star Group, outlining funding arrangements, asset transfers and loan structures linked to their Queensland casino and property joint ventures.
According to a supplemental filing on Monday, Far East Consortium said it had completed the transfer of its stake in Destination Gold Coast Consortium (DGCC) to Star, leaving the Australian operator with full ownership of the project and ending FEC’s equity participation.
The Hong Kong-listed developer added that its shareholding in the Charlotte Street joint venture would remain unchanged at 50 percent following the related asset transfers.
The filing also disclosed that the joint venture partners — FEC, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Star — had earlier provided AU$53 million ($35.3 million) to support Star’s liquidity amid what FEC described as ‘depressed trading conditions.’
Of that amount, AU$35 million ($23.3 million) was structured as an interest-free loan to a DGCC trust vehicle, which immediately prepaid the funds to Star as a forward distribution from apartment sales at Tower 2 of the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane (Andaz) project.
Repayment of the AU$35 million ($23.3 million) loan will hinge on the completion of apartment sales and the drawdown of a hotel operating loan, with the proceeds of Tower 2 sales expected to fully cover the amount, the company said.
The remaining AU$18 million ($12 million) of the AU$53 million ($35.3 million) package forms the cash consideration payable by the joint venture partners under an implementation deed.
The Far East Consortium group stated that AU$10 million ($6.7 million) has been paid, with the balance due to be offset against an equivalent reimbursement owed by Star.
The group also reiterated the structure of an earn-out mechanism tied to the future financial performance of Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC), operator of the Queen’s Wharf casino, which opened in August 2024. The earn-out will be calculated for FY2030 based on DBC’s EBITDA and net debt, subject to a cap negotiated between the partners.
At the same time, Far East warned that it may require ‘at least five years’ for the operations of the casino to ramp up and ‘demonstrate their full value’.
In the filing, the group noted that ‘as the Casino only commenced operations on 29th August 2024, and The Star will continue to operate it until a new operator is engaged, the parties recognize that the true value of the DBC- related assets may not yet be fully reflected at this stage’.
The group furthered that ‘the Joint Venture Partners have agreed to pay an earn-out to The Star, the amount of which will be contingent upon the future financial performance of DBC’.
Star is additionally required to reimburse AU$20 million ($13.3 million) in relation to a bank guarantee for the construction of a pedestrian footbridge at the Gold Coast site, to be paid in two tranches — AU$8 million ($5.3 million) on the Final Payment Date set for November 28th and AU$12 million ($8 million) a year later.
The company argued the overall consideration was ‘fair and reasonable’, citing Star’s financial distress, market conditions and the long-term strategic benefits for FEC, which is seeking to expand its presence in Australia’s integrated resort sector.
Regulatory risks warning
The statement also set out regulatory risks tied to casino operations at Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, including compliance with the Casino Control Act, licensing requirements, anti-money laundering rules, and the potential impact of economic downturns and competition from other gaming venues.
FEC warned that any breach of casino agreements or local gaming laws could trigger regulatory actions, including possible suspension of its Hong Kong listing should the operations be deemed unsuitable under local exchange rules.
The supplemental announcement follows earlier disclosures made in August concerning the restructuring of the partnership with Star Group.
In August, The Star secured another financial lifeline after agreeing to offload one of its businesses to East Asian partners. The company signed deals with Hong Kong-based FEC and its subsidiaries, along with Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) — collectively the JV Partners — which will purchase one of its four resorts.
Once conditions are met, these agreements will allow The Star to exit its 50 percent ownership and management role in the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane integrated resort, a AU$3.6 billion ($2.4 billion) multipurpose residential and entertainment precinct that began redevelopment in 2015 and only started opening in stages in 2024.
The August deal also included the JV Partners acquiring The Star’s 100 percent stakes in the Treasury Hotel and Treasury Car Park, plus its 50 percent interest in the Charlotte Street Car Park — assets described as ‘strategically critical’ for guest experience.
In return, The Star took over the JV Partners’ combined 66.67 percent interest in the Destination Gold Coast Consortium (DGCC), comprising the Dorsett and Andaz towers in Broadbeach.
Negotiations had been turbulent, with an earlier agreement collapsing in August due to disputes over control of the Brisbane casino. That failed deal cost The Star AU$10 million ($6.7 million) in fees, with a further AU$31 million ($20.7 million) payment in September.
Meanwhile, FEC and CTFE retained the option to participate in any new tower at The Star’s Gold Coast premises, though they must pay AU$20 million ($13.3 million) if they decline.
The JV Partners also struck an in-principle deal to refinance Queen’s Wharf’s AU$1.4 billion ($933.3 million) debt due in December 2025, with Bally’s Corporation and the Mathieson family’s Investment Holdings giving unconditional consent.
India’s real-money gaming (RMG) industry has suffered one of its most severe disruptions in years, with more than Rs70 billion ($840 million) written off and over 7,000 jobs eliminated as the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA) remains unnotified nearly 90 days after passage.
According to local media outlet Storyboard18, total revenue losses have exceeded Rs100 billion ($1.2 billion), while the government faces an estimated shortfall of Rs56 billion ($670 million) in GST, TDS and income-tax collections.
The collapse has unfolded even before the law has been brought into force. Executives told Storyboard18 that the downturn is being driven almost entirely by uncertainty and expectations of enforcement, rather than actual regulation. Listed companies alone have written off more than Rs70 billion ($840 million), while nearly 7,000 workers have been laid off across technology, operations and customer support functions.
A GST levy of 40 percent on online money gaming—implemented on September 22nd—has intensified the financial strain. Industry estimates point to Rs100 billion ($1.2 billion) in lost revenue, a Rs36 billion ($430 million) GST shortfall, and a further Rs20 billion ($240 million) decline in TDS and income-tax contributions.
Technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta criticized the government’s prolonged delay in notifying the Act. “It is surprising that the government, which passed the legislation with alacrity—completing the entire process from cabinet approval to presidential assent in less than 96 hours—is now unable to issue a notification appointing a date to bring the law formally into force for the last three months,” he said.
Sayta added that until PROGA is notified, its penalties cannot legally be imposed and banks are not barred from serving gaming businesses. “Once the notification is issued, they would immediately have to cease all operations,” he said.
Heavy financial impact on global and domestic companies
The financial hit is now visible across quarterly disclosures by both Indian and international firms.
Flutter Entertainment booked a $556 million impairment after its India business, Junglee Games, halted all cash-based rummy operations. The write-down contributed to a $789 million net loss for the September quarter, compared with $114 million a year earlier. CEO Peter Jackson described the regulatory shock as “sudden and unexpected.”
Nazara Technologies recorded a Rs9.15 billion ($110 million) write-down on its investment in Moonshine Technologies, parent company of PokerBaazi, reducing the unit’s carrying value to Rs965 million ($11.6 million) after revenue ceased abruptly.
Canadian investor Clairvest reported an unrealized loss of Rs7.6 billion ($92 million) on its stake in Head Digital Works.
Delta Corp wrote down Rs3.8 billion ($46 million) across its holdings in Deltatech, Head Digital Works and OpenPlay Technologies.
Fintech and payment partners also experience strain
The impact has spilled over to the financial-technology ecosystem. Paytm’s net profit fell 98 percent after recording an impairment of Rs1.9 billion ($23 million) tied to First Games Technology.
Mobikwik saw an eightfold rise in losses, reaching Rs286 million ($3.4 million), while operating revenue declined 7 percent year-on-year.
According to NPCI data, UPI transactions linked to gaming plunged from 351 million in July to 270 million in August.
Within days of the bill’s passage major RMG platforms including Dream11, MPL, Zupee, WinZO and Gameskraft suspended all cash-gaming formats. Messaging platform Hike shut down its RMG app Rush entirely.
Thailand’s economy contracted 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, with annual growth slowing to 1.2 percent from 2.8 percent in 2Q25, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said, according to The Nation.
NESDC secretary-general Onfa Vejjajiva said the economy grew 2.4 percent in the first nine months of the year. Unemployment eased to 0.76 percent, while headline inflation stayed negative for a second quarter at –0.7 percent.
Thailand recorded a $2.7-billion current account surplus, foreign reserves of $262.4 billion and public debt at 64.8 percent of GDP, The Nation reported.
Despite the weaker Q3 performance, the agency kept its 2025 GDP growth forecast at 2 percent, with average inflation seen at –0.2 percent and a current account surplus equal to 2.8 percent of GDP.
Onfa said global growth assumptions were revised higher but warned world trade could slow next year due to US tariff increases.
Thailand has seen a drop in visitation from China recently, amongst safety concerns and the debate over the possible legalization of casinos in the country. Tourism from China – one of Thailand’s main source markets in previous years – is expected to increase, after the nation’s Prime Minister met with Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping and assured the leader that Thailand would not pursue its casino aspirations.
Step into the spotlight with Rock n’ Raccoons, ZITRO’s latest FANTASY cabinet debut, where The Critters and The Dreamers clash in a high‑voltage musical showdown.
In this new game, three raccoon rockstars with their signature instruments—Guitar, Drums, and Keyboard—take the stage, each unlocking unique Bonus Live features when activated. Extend the concert with the Encore Feature, enjoy a mystery-driven Rain of Wilds, and aim for the ultimate prize: the PLATINUM RECORD, a special progressive jackpot.
Get ready to rock with Rock n’ Raccoons on FANTASY!
The Macau Grand Prix saw some 116,000 spectators this year, helping to boost Macau’s tourism, hotel occupancy, and overall expenditure.
The city’s most well-known international event, in its 72nd edition, saw a 15 percent annual increase in spectators, according to Lei Si Leng, Acting President of the Sports Bureau and Coordinator of the Grand Prix Organizing Committee.
As highlighted by Macau Business, Lei noted that the results of the event were excellent, with the FIA FR World Cup performing even better than last year due to increased safety coupled with exhilaration.
Macau’s racing circuit is known as one of the most challenging in the world, with drivers returning year-after-year to test their mettle on the 6.12 kilometer track.
Typical highlights of the event include the Motorcycle GP, GT Cup, Formula 4 and FIA FR.
The Macau official indicated that Macau intends to continue to collaborate with the FIA to produce events that can both develop motorsport and help Macau’s development.
While large-scale events such as the Macau Grand Prix do bring more visitors to the city, they do not necessarily equate to increased gaming spend, as tourists tend to be sporting enthusiasts rather than punters.
New studio Ebaka Games has entered the iGaming market with a clear mission to break the copy-paste cycle by creating original titles built on emotion, distinctive mechanics and the fearless experimentation our industry demands.
About the Games
It launches with five instant games. Each is crafted for free-spirited and daring players and operators seeking exclusive content. Another five games will join the portfolio soon.
Ebaka Games stands for big wins, hardcore Ebaka modes with ultra-high volatility, a memorable mascot, and a vibrant style.
“We’re creating gripping games that push boundaries. We have no interest in reskins and clones. Ebaka Games is here to bring new meaning and revive the emotion in online games. We’re not for everyone, but we’ll be the go-to choice for those who get it,” said Ebaka Games CEO, Vitalii Zalievskyi.
Ebaka Games Values
The Ebaka Games philosophy is built on the principle of “chaos and soul”. For players, our product gives them a reason to stay, recommend, discuss, and return. Value here is measured not only by RTP, but by a commitment to improving the user experience through feedback. Ebaka is created by players for players, making every partner and user an influencer of the product.
The iGaming world has grown stagnant: players are bored, and old mechanics are not enough to engage them. Dmitry Belianin joined Ebaka Games as an investor and co-founder to change this. He is also the co-founder of Blask, Strategic Advisor and Partner at Traffic Squad, and Managing Partner at Already Media.
Currently, the games are available exclusively on Menace.com. If you want to be next in line to offer Ebaka Games titles to your players, please get in touch. But remember, integration spots are limited.
Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, has boosted its portfolio of seasonal content with the launch of European Christmas Roulette, a festive iteration of a casino classic.
Spreading Holiday cheer, the nostalgic casino favourite offers players the comfort of familiar gameplay. Set in a warm, twinkly casino landscape, the rules of European Roulette remain unchanged, ensuring a timeless and merry experience.
European Christmas Roulette by Evoplay features the usual wheel containing 37 cells, including a bet on zero. Users can place wagers predicting which cell the ball will land in once the wheel stops spinning.
Possible bets include the standard options of even/odd, red/black, single numbers and group bets, enhanced with a seasonal twist, as the table is surrounded by garlands and shimmering baubles.
The addition to Evoplay’s roulette portfolio arrives just in time for the holiday season, offering players a cozy, Christmas-themed take on a timeless favourite.
Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, said: “European Christmas Roulette captures the spirit of the festive season while preserving the timeless appeal of a classic table experience. By pairing authentic gameplay with a Christmas-oriented design, we’ve created a title that’s both nostalgic for players and a strong performer for our partners.”
