Leading game aggregator QTech Games is keeping its content pipeline flowing with its latest strategic partnership. The powerhouse has teamed up with Barcelona-based rising star BitPunch, a studio celebrated for routinely producing dynamic and engaging slot games.
BitPunch’s portfolio of arcade-quality slots features popular proven titles and recent releases including Headhunter, Coins Of Cleo, Clash Of Claws and Manic Fairy. All these games ride on the back of exceptional maths modelling that varies the volatility spectrum, helping to foster some truly engaging gameplay.
The addition of BitPunch’s visually dynamic catalog further fortifies QTech Games’ platform, reinforcing its reputation for delivering an unmatched variety of gaming content to emerging territories. Simultaneously, the agreement accelerates BitPunch’s international expansion, providing access to lucrative, unmined markets spanning Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
As the fastest-growing aggregator over the past few years, QTech’s platform 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.
Yann Bautista, Director and Founder at BitPunch, said: “We’re delighted to have teamed up with QTech Games to improve our reach and influence across the sector, seamlessly offering our fantastic games to a range of untapped operators. At BitPunch, we create games with engaging themes, stunning visuals, and innovative mechanics to deliver games that players love – experiences that are fresh, exciting, and built to stand out. BitPunch is targeting only the finest content aggregators to improve our visibility and influence in the sector, and QTech Games sets the gold standard for emerging markets.”
Philip Doftvik, CEO, QTech Games, added: “BitPunch already craft high-quality games that appeal to both seasoned and more casual slot players in key regulated markets worldwide. Now, QTech can break new ground and markets for these games, delivering more high-performing content that appeals to a wider variety of players across the planet. Like us, they understand that localised solutions comprise the key to success across this patchwork quilt of opportunities.”
Games Global, together with exclusive studio partner Foxium, has unveiled Reels Avenue Link&Win™, a fresh take on the Vegas aesthetic that brings classic slot play to life with dynamic bonuses and vibrant visual flair.
BARs, bells and fruits reminiscent of vintage slot machines line the reels of this 5×4 slot, where collect symbols on reels one and five award the value of all money symbols that land simultaneously in the base game.
A variety of coloured money symbols are collected by their respective meters beside the reels and can randomly activate the Link&Win™ bonus round, where cash and jackpot coins drop on two 5×4 grids.
The Collect Club modifier accumulates the value of all cash symbols on the same grid, while the Twin Heart replicates its value onto the adjacent grid. The Multi Spade increases cash prizes by up to 5x, and the Boost Diamond increments the value of up to four random cash symbols.
Four jackpots generate additional potential. These pots can be enhanced by landing jackpot tokens in the base game and are awarded when diamonds are collected in each bonus round.
The four unique Link&Win™ feature modifiers ensure every session is unique, with jackpot win potential of up to 10,000x.
Dan Brown, Business Development Manager at Foxium, said: “There will always be a place for Vegas-themed slots, and for us, it is less about trying to replicate that style, and more about how we can rework it for the modern player. This release provides that nostalgia, but delivers the depth in gameplay that we know drives engagement.”
The latest addition to Games Global’s portfolio showcases the enduring value of the classic casino theme, elevated by electric audiovisual design and diverse feature sets.
Dave Reynolds, Director of Games Strategy and Partner Management at Games Global, added: “Foxium have a real knack for building games that grab attention right from the get-go. Reels Avenue Link&Win™ takes the classic Vegas slot and drags it firmly into the modern era – four distinct Link&Win™ modifiers, four-tier jackpots, and audiovisual design that delivers on every level.”
Wazdan has strengthened its footprint in Portugal after going live with a collection of titles on YoBingo.pt via Light & Wonder’s aggregation platform, following the brand’s recent arrival on the Portuguese market.
The partnership marks an important step in Wazdan’s continued growth across regulated European markets, bringing a curated portfolio of high-performing games to Portuguese players for the first time on YoBingo.pt.
The launch includes ten popular releases, such as 9 Lions™, 25 Coins™, 36 Coins™, Magic Spins™, 12 Coins™ Grand Platinum Edition, Hot Slot™: 777 Cash Out Grand Platinum Edition, Mighty Wild™: Panther Grand Gold Edition, 30 Coins Grand Gold Edition, Moon of Fortune™, and Sizzling Eggs™ Grand Platinum Edition, with each title showcasing Wazdan’s signature approach to immersive gameplay, flexible features and strong player engagement.
Licensed in Portugal, YoBingo.pt has recently entered the local market and continues to build its casino offering with partners that support a reliable and scalable launch strategy. The collaboration with Wazdan forms part of a broader plan to introduce diverse, premium content aligned with local player preferences.
Wazdan’s rollout on YoBingo.pt will continue with additional batches planned in the coming months, further developing its presence in the Portuguese market.
Magdalena Wojdyla, Head of Account Management at Wazdan, said: “The launch on YoBingo.pt represents an important step for us in Portugal, particularly as the brand begins its journey in the market. Starting with a strong selection of proven titles allows us to support a stable rollout and respond to local demand for feature-driven content. Partnering via Light & Wonder ensured a smooth integration, and we look forward to expanding this collaboration in the months ahead.”
Elisabete Lourenço, Portugal Country Manager at Rank International, added: “Wazdan’s portfolio brings an exciting, high-quality addition to our YoBingo.pt offering. Portuguese players value engaging mechanics and polished gameplay, and Wazdan’s titles deliver exactly that. This launch supports our commitment to elevating the entertainment experience for our customers, and we are delighted to welcome Wazdan on board.
GoldenRace, a global leader in virtual sports and betting solutions, has announced its participation in the Peru Gaming Show 2026, taking place at the Centro de Exposiciones Jockey on 17 and 18 June.
While GoldenRace’s world-renowned Virtual Football remains the gold standard, the company’s presence in Lima highlights the next evolution of its delivery: the new V5 mobile solution, a high-speed infrastructure engineered for peak performance.
This technological leap is designed to deliver seamless gameplay and complete brand authority. By moving beyond traditional interfaces, GoldenRace have created a unified UI and UX specifically built to convert and retain players through:
● Ultra-fast performance:Optimised load speeds that ensure a frictionless journey for every player.
● Total brand authority: Full customisation, giving operators absolute control over their brand’s look and feel.
● Intuitive navigation: Smart event organisation and a one-click hybrid toggle to find the best markets instantly.
GoldenRace continues to push the boundaries of the player experience across its entire portfolio. A major highlight in Lima will be the company’s Hit&Win category, featuring the acclaimed Arcade Heist—recently crowned with the Game Innovation Award at the SiGMA Africa Awards 2026—and the arrival of Fortune Fighters, a high-energy title specifically built to thrive on the new V5 infrastructure.
The company’s display also features In-shop Mobile, a dedicated tool for retail that allows players to bet on their own devices while in the shop, alongside classic Greyhound and Horse Racing titles, delivering the timeless thrill of the track with unmatched realism.
RubyPlay has further expanded its footprint in South Africa through a new partnership with World Sports Betting, one of the region’s leading established bookmakers.
The agreement sees a selection of RubyPlay Studios’ titles integrated onto the operator’s online platform, including fan-favourites Elephant Stampede, Diamond Explosion® 7s and Mayan Cache.
Founded in 2002, World Sports Betting is one of South Africa’s most prominent sportsbook and casino operators, offering sports betting, racing and online gaming across retail and digital channels, serving a broad and engaged player base.
South Africa remains a key market in RubyPlay’s international growth strategy. Since entering the country in 2023, the supplier has gone from strength to strength through targeted partnerships, with this latest collaboration further enhancing its local presence.
“South Africa has been a real focus for us since we entered the market three years ago, and the traction we have seen in that time makes this partnership with World Sports Betting a genuinely engaging one,” said Dima Reiderman, CCO at RubyPlay. They are an established, highly respected brand, and adding our portfolio to their platform is a strong example of how we are continuing to establish ourselves as a tier-one supplier across regulated markets.
“World Sports Betting has a deep understanding of their players and a clear vision for how they want to grow their offering. That kind of operator mindset is what we look for in a long-term partnership, and it gives us a strong foundation to build on together in what remains one of the most intriguing markets worldwide.”
Ryno Du Plessis, Chief Operating Officer at World Sports Betting, added: “Our focus is on delivering a high-quality iGaming experience, with a high breadth of standout content playing a key role. RubyPlay stands out as a quality content supplier, not only for the strength of its portfolio, but for its clear approach to game development and delivery.
“Their ecosystem model supports long-term player engagement, which aligns with our strategy as we grow our offering. Bringing in-demand titles such as Elephant Stampede, Diamond Explosion® 7s and Mayan Cache to our players is an exciting move, and we see strong potential in the partnership moving forward.”
Bally’s Intralot S.A. has reached an agreement with evoke plc, a Gibraltar-incorporated company listed on the London Stock Exchange, on the terms of a recommended all-share acquisition of its entire issued and to-be-issued share capital. The parties have entered into a Co-operation Agreement dated 5 June 2026.
The transaction will be implemented via a scheme of arrangement under Gibraltar law, subject to shareholder approvals and customary conditions. Bally’s Intralot reserves the right to proceed via a takeover offer.
Under the terms, evoke shareholders will receive 0.537 new Bally’s Intralot shares per evoke share, valuing evoke at approximately £243.1 million (52 pence per share). Shareholders may alternatively elect a cash consideration of 52 pence per share, with the total cash component capped at £117.1 million.
The cash option will be funded through a bridge facility of up to €200 million, arranged with Deutsche Bank and Jefferies. Additional committed financing includes up to £889 million equivalent in second lien debt to refinance existing obligations, and a £157 million senior facility from institutional investors.
The transaction is expected to complete between Q4 2026 and Q1 2027.
Mr. Sokratis Kokkalis, Chairman of the BoD of Bally’s Intralot, stated: “Today marks the beginning of a major new chapter for our company with the submission of a binding offer for the acquisition of evoke, aimed at creating a very strong global player in the gaming industry. This move demonstrates the new momentum our company has gained, justifying the trust shown to us by the investment community.”
Yaspa, a leading fintech specialising in payments and identity solutions, has announced that it has won two awards at the EGR B2B Awards 2026, held on 3 June.
The company walked away with both the AI Solutions Provider and Safer Gambling Supplier awards. The EGR B2B Awards – this year held at the HAC In London – recognise suppliers operating across the iGaming industry.
When presenting Yaspa with the AI Solutions Provider award, the judges noted: “Yaspa has demonstrated a highly credible, research-backed, and socially responsible innovation that uses AI to address one of the industry’s toughest challenges: linking financial well-being with gaming behaviour. Yaspa’s Intelligent Payments platform combines technical depth, regulatory alignment, and real-world performance metrics, making it a standout entrant for categories focused on AI innovation, data analytics, or responsible gambling enablement.”
The company collected another prize for Safer Gambling Supplier, which the judges highlighted: “Yaspa has delivered a strong and innovative submission focused on financial vulnerability and demonstrating a great take on open banking’s ability to link to at-risk indicators. Intelligent Payments is well aligned to current affordability challenges and provides useful research validation,” said the judging committee.
In the last 12 months, Yaspa was also named winner of the Payment Solution of the Year at SBC Awards Europe and Best Payments Solutions Provider at the European iGaming Awards. This is in addition to winning the Real-Time Payments Innovation award at the 2025 Payments Awards, and listing as one of the CB Insights Top 100 Fintechs, a global ranking that spotlights the most promising and innovative companies shaping the future of financial services.
James Neville, CEO of Yaspa, shared: “To win not one but two awards at the coveted EGR B2B Awards is an incredible achievement and testament to the great work the whole Yaspa team has done from the company’s inception to now. The recognition by the industry of how our technology is using AI to make gambling safer shows the direction the market is heading and how we are leading the technological innovation in this space, from the front.”
This comes during a period of sustained growth for Yaspa in the past 18 months and closed a $12m investment round in July, led by Discerning Capital. This growth has culminated in the opening of its new Atlanta office in the US, as well as the opening of its tech hub in Leeds, UK, in August 2025.
As Thailand‘s coalition government moves to revive its long-delayed Entertainment Complex Bill, policymakers across Asia are confronting a question that extends far beyond casinos: when legal gambling options are restricted or prohibited, where does consumer demand actually go?
Recent developments in Europe offer a revealing answer
The debate is often framed as a simple choice between legalization and regulation on one side, and prohibition and enforcement on the other. Yet evidence from several mature gambling markets suggests that bans rarely eliminate demand. Instead, they tend to redirect it.
Regulators describe this dynamic through the concept of channelization—the percentage of total gambling activity that takes place with licensed and regulated operators rather than within the unlicensed market.
The Netherlands provides a striking example. According to the Dutch Gambling Authority, channelization fell from 51% at the end of 2024 to 49% during the first half of 2025. For the first time since the country legalized online gambling, the estimated illegal online market—worth approximately €617 million—generated more revenue than the licensed sector, which recorded around €600 million.
The decline followed the introduction of stricter deposit limits and higher gambling taxes, measures designed to strengthen player protection but which may also have encouraged some consumers to seek alternatives outside the regulated market.
This highlights one of the central challenges facing regulators. Tightening restrictions within the legal market can improve consumer safeguards, but if those restrictions become overly burdensome, some players may migrate to offshore operators that operate entirely outside regulatory oversight.
That migration matters because the regulated channel is designed to provide protections that illegal operators generally do not offer.
Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction
Researchers such as gambling studies expert Mark Griffiths have long argued that certain structural characteristics of gambling products—particularly event frequency, or how quickly players can place repeated bets—can contribute to harmful behaviour among vulnerable consumers. In regulated markets, these risks are addressed through safeguards such as deposit limits, time-outs, self-exclusion schemes, affordability checks, reality reminders, and responsible gambling interventions.
Those protections become far less effective once players move to unlicensed platforms. A self-excluded customer, for example, can often register with another offshore operator within minutes, with none of the protections from the regulated market following them.
Rather than abandoning regulation, many European policymakers are investing in stronger evidence-based approaches. In May 2026, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) launched a major national gambling-harms research initiative aimed at improving understanding of gambling-related risks and informing future policy responses.
For lawmakers in Bangkok, Manila, and other Asian capitals, the lesson is not primarily about morality. It is about market design.
Thailand’s Entertainment Complex Bill has returned to the political agenda after previous delays, while the Philippines continues to assess the consequences of its offshore gambling crackdown. In both cases, the fundamental question remains the same: prohibition does not eliminate demand. It simply determines whether that demand exists within a regulated system that can monitor, protect, and intervene—or outside one that cannot.
As Europe’s experience increasingly demonstrates, the success of gambling policy may depend less on whether gambling is permitted and more on whether the regulated market remains attractive enough to keep consumers within it.
Building upon their analysis of Europe’s major leagues, which revealed a multimillion-dollar, 12-percentage-point gap in trading performance between top sportsbooks and the wider market, odds intelligence firm Bettormetrics will publish a live leaderboard to track operator performance throughout the World Cup.
The analysis measures operator uptime on the Total Goals market across all 1,752 fixtures in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1, taking the Top 10 from a sample of 22 leading operators with a focus on Latin America, Europe, The UK and Ireland, and the United States.
La Liga emerged as the key differentiator across operator rankings. Several operators who performed competitively in other leagues showed a notable dip in La Liga availability.
The Premier League tended to yield the highest availability figures across the board, reflecting its status as the highest-turnover league globally and the corresponding prioritisation by many trading desks worldwide.
European operators set the standard
European-native operators held a number of top positions in the overall rankings. Tipico led the field with an overall uptime of 95.9% while the trio of Betsson (94.9%), Betano (94.8%) and Superbet (94.7%) each claimed spots in the top 5. Performance varied materially across the full field, with a gap of more than 12 percentage points between the highest and lowest performers.
European sportsbooks are reaping the rewards of their long-term focus on global soccer trading frameworks. By exporting this well-honed expertise to Latin America—a crucial battleground for World Cup betting—brands like Betsson, Betano, and Superbet are proving their dominance. The data confirms that their strategic investments translate directly into superior trading execution, crowning them the new benchmark for soccer availability.
US operators: promising progress, with room to grow
Among US operators, Fanatics delivered the most compelling result, finishing third overall, ahead of every other American competitor and many established European books. Where DraftKings and FanDuel have built dominant positions in American sports betting, Fanatics’ result suggests that when soccer becomes a genuine strategic priority, the gap with European operators can close quickly.
A new geography of trading excellence
The absence of British giants bet365, William Hill, Ladbrokes, and Paddy Power from the Top 10 marks a clear turning point. Though the UK and Ireland’s historical contributions to soccer trading technology and methodology remain foundational, industry leadership is rapidly decentralizing. A new wave of top-tier performance is surging from operators rooted in continental Europe and Latin America, alongside aggressive US contenders like Fanatics. As the industry’s center of gravity shifts globally, the World Cup will undoubtedly serve as a major catalyst for this realignment.
La Liga: a structural market constraint, not just an execution issue
La Liga consistently produced the lowest availability figures across the field. Using the TAP tool, Bettormetrics identified a number of sportsbook-specific reasons why some leagues underperform others on this metric, although live data supply occasionally plays a part.
Pinnacle, SBOBET and the pregame paradox
Despite strong reputations for pregame pricing and market depth, both Pinnacle and SBOBET rank poorly on inplay availability in this analysis, which serves as a reminder that traditional pregame strength does not automatically translate into inplay competitiveness, and that the skills required for each are increasingly distinct.
“The World Cup represents one of the highest-risk and highest-opportunity periods in the sportsbook calendar,” said Sabin Brooks, CEO of Bettormetrics. “Small differences in uptime, trading performance and market availability can have a material impact on turnover, profitability and even reputation.”
“The World Cup leaderboard will answer one simple question: which sportsbook performed best when it matters most?”
“Our objective is not simply to measure performance, but to help operators understand where they can improve,” Brooks added. “That’s why we’re providing complimentary access to the Bettormetrics Trading Analytics Platform during the World Cup group stage, allowing operators to benchmark themselves against the wider market and see first-hand how our observability platform can drive better trading outcomes.”
Benchmark your World Cup readiness
Bettormetrics is also offering complimentary access to its Trading Analytics Platform throughout the World Cup Group Stage, which will include these Top 10 global operators and many more.
Operators can use the platform to benchmark their own inplay performance against the wider market, identify gaps before they become costly, and see directly how the platform supports better trading outcomes during the industry’s most scrutinised event.
The current Top 10 leaderboard is shown below.
Totals Uptime for the Top 10 Performing Sportsbooks across the Big 5 European Soccer Leagues
To see how your sportsbook ranks and register for complimentary access, visit https://bettormetrics.com.
Prominent online poker and card game software developer EvenBet Gaming has been crowned Poker Supplier of the Year at the esteemed 2026 EGR B2B Awards.
Held at London’s City Central at the HAC, the 17th annual EGR B2B Awards gathered global iGaming stakeholders to honor the pioneering companies that set the wider gambling market’s ultimate benchmark for operational excellence, innovation, and customer service.
The Poker Supplier category specifically honors companies that deliver innovative, high-quality poker solutions, demonstrate strong product integration, maintain jurisdictional compliance, and consistently respond to the evolving needs of operators and players.
EvenBet Gaming’s prestigious award victory over tough industry competitors solidifies its market leadership, capping off a period of exceptional growth, technical evolution, and global expansion.
Commenting on the remarkable achievement, Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO of EvenBet Gaming, said: “Securing the Poker Supplier title at the EGR B2B Awards 2026 is a proud moment for EvenBet Gaming, validating over a decade of continuous technical innovation. We have always focused on eliminating operational complexity, making poker an accessible and highly profitable vertical for multi-brand operators. This recognition from industry leaders in London confirms that our product strategy aligns perfectly with modern iGaming demands.”
Over the past 12 months, EvenBet has introduced strategic upgrades to its core infrastructure, designed specifically to lower operational overheads for casino-first and multi-vertical operators. The launch of high-performance formats, including One Click Poker and Spins Poker, dramatically simplified the player experience, allowing operators to seamlessly tap into network liquidity.
