Latest News
RAPTOR PR ANNOUNCES TWO MAJOR GAMES INDUSTRY CLIENT WINS & SENIOR HIRE
Raptor PR – the only pure B2B PR agency dedicated to the global video games industry – is thrilled to announce two major new client wins and a significant addition to its growing team of specialist communications experts. The company has been appointed agency of record by Ultra, a next-generation PC games store, and SuperScale, a successful data and analytics company which powers mobile games growth. Continuing its own recent growth, Raptor PR also has hired legendary games industry writer, Craig Chapple, as its new Head of Content.
Ultra is a next generation PC gaming store and ecosystem which is championing a better deal for game developers, gamers, content creators, and esports players. Its expanding global team is made up of veterans from major global publishers and gametech companies. SuperScale helps mobile game developers and publishers such as EA, BoomBit and Fingersoft make better use of their data in order to grow the mobile games in their portfolios. The company was founded in Slovakia in 2015 and last year opened a dedicated London office. Raptor PR is creating data-driven integrated communications campaigns for both companies to take their stories to market with high impact.
Craig Chapple joins the Raptor PR team after previously serving as Mobile Insights Strategist at Sensor Tower and Senior Editor at leading mobile games trade media outlet, PocketGamer.Biz, having held additional roles at Nintendo UK and Develop magazine. As a games industry specialist, Chapple will spearhead written content for Raptor PR; serving as a valuable talent for the B2B agency’s client base. Craig is also a contributor to leading games industry resource Naavik.
Rana Rahman, Founder and CEO, Raptor PR, commented:
“Team Raptor is humbled to welcome aboard both SuperScale and Ultra, which are both extremely well positioned to disrupt their respective industries. As for Craig…well…let’s say I’ve been waiting years to finally work with him! His appointment will supercharge our data-driven, strategic content offering, supporting our clients and Raptor PR itself with the very best content on the market.”
Paraag Amin, Group CFO, SuperScale, commented:
“When searching for an agency, we wanted to find a team with more than a surface-level understanding of how the games industry operates, including topics such as user acquisition and data science. Team Raptor ticked all the boxes with their considerable experience within the mobile games industry. We’re looking forward to reaching developers and publishers through great, informed storytelling with Raptor PR.”
Nicolas Gilot, CEO and Founder, Ultra, commented:
“Ultra is a platform with gaming at its core and which leverages cutting-edge technologies to improve on the status quo in the games industry. Raptor PR reflects this ethos with a tangible passion for gaming and a pragmatic approach to emergent tech. We’re looking forward to benefiting from Raptor’s energy and enthusiasm about the games industry – both present and future.”
Craig Chapple, Head Of Content , Raptor PR, commented:
“I’m delighted to join Raptor. I love writing about the games industry and making use of quality data and powerful storytelling. This has been my calling for the past 11+ years at Develop, PocketGamer.biz and Sensor Tower, and I’m pleased that the rest of the growing team at Raptor shares my curiosity and depth of knowledge about gaming.”
Raptor PR has been recently voted as a finalist for Agency of the Year at the Mobile Game Awards, from Steel Media. Its appointments by Ultra and SuperScale follow the Q4 2022 wins of Kinetix, Sandsoft Games, and Bidstack Group PLC.
Interviews
Exclusive Q&A w/ Richard Mifsud, Chief Vision Officer at XPRIZO
Would you tell us about the idea behind the Xprizo fintech platform?
It’s a story that started several years ago when the founder was conducting business on the ground in several emerging markets. Xprizo was founded to respond to the needs of emerging market consumers and merchants, whilst also addressing the limitations of Western banking systems.
This full-service payments platform combines all functionality needed by merchants, with a product tailored to unbanked consumers, bringing this market together in one, seamless ecosystem. What’s more, we drive adoption and consumer education through a network of agents, supporting cash deposit and withdrawal in a way that our target audience is accustomed to.
Xprizo’s mission statement is to ‘revolutionise the future of fintech’. What gaps in the market is Xprizo working to find solutions for and improve in the fintech space?
We are primarily targeting countries which have substantially large communities which are under served when it comes to fintech or banking. Therefore, we are operating in a challenging environment where we truly believe we can have a life changing impact connecting these people to several national and international services. We are delivering a comprehensive financial service where our clients are usually just served with either mobile money or cash and with the introduction of Xprizo our customers can benefit from p2p payments, card processing and full integration to the local mobile money ecosystem, debit cards, crypto and much much more.
How was the development process in building the platform? Were there particular challenges along the way and how long did it take to get the platform ready for market?
We wanted to build the platform from the ground up using local knowledge and tenants so we are working with people coming from Africa, India, Southeast Asia and also Latin America. To arrive at where we are it took several years actually and it is always developing. Having said that in the last 12 months the platform and the wallet took the shape it has today and we covered a lot of ground. Main challenges were the territory we operate in since we needed to make sure the platform can run smoothly with less than ideal infrastructure. One has to keep in mind that we are operating in a space where lack of electricity is the norm, interrupted internet is an everyday occurrence, regulatory matters are still very complex and more.
How does the Xprizo platform set itself apart from other fintech offerings? What can the service provide that others can’t?
As explained earlier, we build the platform from the people to the people. Most other offerings are a one-size fits all where they are adapted versions of what is available in the western world. Moreover, we are offering a truly comprehensive payment orchestration for users and merchants. One just needs to get on our platform and doesn’t need anything further. You can get the local payment methods, our own p2p, cards, etc.. No other service out there has such a complete offering.
Xprizo’s platform features a number of payment service providers such as M-Pesa, what benefits does this bring customers?
The idea is that our clients don’t need to use several systems to make their life or business. Using or integrating to Xprizo gives you a number of payment methods in one place where for the business side you would integrate one API and you can pick and choose what you wish to use.
How is 2024 shaping up for the business and what plans are in place to continue to develop the platform?
2024 is proving to be an incredible year for Xprizo. We are very happy to be overwhelmed with businesses that are recognising the benefits of using our system and we are having internal discussions to be integrated with very well known businesses and also by Tier 1 banks. Our ground reach though the agent network will also keep expanding month on month and the product offering will keep being a one of a kind setting the standard for other Fintech companies to keep up to.
2024 will also see us expand our reach in Africa launching several other countries and more importantly we will be launching our first operations in South East Asia. We will be beginning with the Philippines in June with the goal of expanding our reach across the following months.
The post Exclusive Q&A w/ Richard Mifsud, Chief Vision Officer at XPRIZO appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Africa
EGT Tanzania consolidates its status as a leader in Africa with a major installation at Grand Leone Casino in Sierra Leone
Euro Games Technology continues its fruitful collaboration with Gaming IQ in Africa. After the large-scale installation in Grand Palace Casino in Cameroon several months ago, the Bulgarian manufacturer of gaming equipment recently made another big delivery of more than 60 cabinets in the reputable Grand Leone Casino in Sierra Leone, the operator’s biggest establishment in Free Town. Thus, EGT became the main supplier of the casino, which currently has a total of 80 machines.
Its guests now have the chance to enjoy some of the most popular products in EGT’s portfolio. Among them are the top performers from Vega Vision Series, as well as the Premier Series bestsellers P 24-24 Up, P 27-27 St Slim and P 42V St Curved, which are among the most successful slot cabinets in the African markets. Super Premier also made its debut in the country, having demonstrated the same excellent performance as the other models. All machines are equipped with the well-known Collection Series multigames: Gold, Purple, Union, Orange, Green and Fruits Collection, featuring some of EGT’s most popular titles on a global level. The players’ experience is complemented by the opportunity to try their luck with the well-established in the local markets Lady’s Cards and Premium Link jackpots. At their disposal are also several S-line terminals connected to a live and an automated roulette wheel and offering the latest multiplayer software of the company: King 3 and 4, Multiplay and Royal multigame mixes.
EGT’s casino management system Spider has been installed in Sierra Leone for the first time. After the impressive results it showed at Grand Palace Casino in Cameroon, the operator decided to implement it here and it is already successfully assisting for the easy and efficient management of the daily activities in Grand Leone Casino as well.
“With this installation, EGT became the leader in Sierra Leone with 60% market share,” commented Lilia Georgieva, CEO of EGT Tanzania. “We would like to thank our valued partners from Gaming IQ, who once again chose to provide one of their top gaming locations with our products. I highly appreciate that they place their trust in us and I believe that we will fully meet the high expectations they have for us.”
Delcho Petrov from Gaming IQ also shared his positive feedback regarding the new collaboration with EGT: “We are extremely happy and grateful for achieving this project at the beautiful and reputable property of Grand Leone Casino. The property now offers two VIP Slot Areas and various gaming spaces to accommodate each type of customer and has the highest footprint of slot machines in Sierra Leone. Our Collaboration with EGT has proven again a successful product delivery. We continue to strive for delivering quality and modern products and to develop the African casino market. We look forward to our upcoming projects in different countries and expanding our footprint.”
The post EGT Tanzania consolidates its status as a leader in Africa with a major installation at Grand Leone Casino in Sierra Leone appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
International Game Technology
IGT PlaySports Launches Trading Advisory Services in Michigan with Lac Vieux Desert Northern Waters Casino & Resort
International Game Technology announced that its IGT PlaySports Trading Advisory Services Team is now supporting sports betting in Michigan via a new services agreement with the Lac Vieux Desert Northern Waters Casino & Resort in Watersmeet. In addition to now leveraging IGT PlaySports’ expertise for a range of trading-related services, Northern Waters has powered its sportsbook with IGT’s award-winning platform and self-service betting technology since 2021.
“IGT PlaySports is Northern Waters’s ideal technology and services partner as we roll out the next era of sports betting entertainment to our customers. IGT PlaySports’ comprehensive, turnkey solution has streamlined our sportsbooks operations and positioned us to more keenly focus on our guests and ensure they have the best possible fan experience,” said John McGeshick, General Manager of Lac Vieux Desert Northern Waters Casino & Resort.
“The IGT PlaySports team is excited to expand our relationship with Northern Waters to include trading advisory services. In servicing 36 sportsbooks across North America, the IGT Trading Advisory Team is adept at helping operators maximize the returns of their sports betting offerings while enhancing player loyalty and engagement,” Joe Asher, IGT President of Sports Betting, said.
As part of Northern Waters’ sportsbook enhancements, the casino plans to deploy IGT’s PeakBarTop cabinets with Total Gaming software. The award-winning hardware boasts a player-preferred, ergonomic design and gives players the option to enjoy Game King video poker, slots, keno, and sports betting from a single device and a single gaming wallet.
-
gaming2 years ago
ODIN by 4Players: Immersive, state-of-the-art in-game audio launches into the next generation of gaming
-
EEG iGaming Directory7 years ago
iSoftBet continues to grow with new release Forest Mania
-
News6 years ago
Softbroke collaborates with Asia Live Tech for the expansion of the service line in the igaming market
-
News5 years ago
Super Bowl LIII: NFL Fans Can Bet on the #1 Sportsbook Review Site Betting-Super-Bowl.com, Providing Free Unbiased and Trusted News, Picks and Predictions
-
iGaming Industry6 years ago
Rick Meitzler appointed to the Indian Gaming Magazine Advisory Board for 2018
-
News5 years ago
REVEALED: Top eSports players set to earn $3.2 million in 2019
-
iGaming Industry7 years ago
French Senator raises Loot Boxes to France’s Gambling Regulator
-
News6 years ago
Exclusive Interview with Miklos Handa (Founder of the email marketing solutions, “MailMike.net”), speaker at Vienna International Gaming Expo 2018