Octoplay continues its expansion in Europe by going live in Slovakia with a strategic partnership with Nike, the largest betting company in the country. This move marks Octoplay’s third major market milestone in the last four weeks, following its entry into Denmark and obtaining a license in Greece.

Octoplay will launch a portfolio of 10 games, including the title Eggsponential, exclusively on Nike’s platform in Slovakia. The partnership goes beyond game integration, with Octoplay set to deliver a bespoke version of its opt-in jackpot solution, Jackpot Hunt. This collaboration demonstrates both companies’ commitment to long-term market growth and innovation.

Nick Vuchev, Commercial Director at Octoplay, stated: “Our partnership with Nike marks a significant step in Octoplay’s expansion into regulated European markets. We’re excited to introduce our games exclusively in Slovakia through the country’s largest operator.”

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Robert Vizvari, Chief Revenue Officer at Niké, commented: “We’re thrilled to be the first to bring Octoplay’s premium products to players in Slovakia. Through this collaboration, we’re offering the high-quality, engaging content Octoplay is known for, exclusively on our platform. This partnership not only enhances our portfolio but also reinforces our commitment to providing our players with the best gaming experiences in the market.”

This partnership highlights Octoplay’s rapid expansion across Europe’s regulated markets. Already holding licenses in the UK, Sweden, Malta, Ontario, Greece, and Romania, Octoplay continues to strengthen its position in the iGaming industry through strategic partnerships and market entries. This latest collaboration with Nike, a major operator in Slovakia, further exemplifies Octoplay’s commitment to growth in key regulated markets.

EGT’s bestseller jackpot Bell Link set foot in the Czech Republic. The prominent local operator Palasino Group a.s. made installations of the product in their gaming establishments Palasino Excalibur City, Wullowitz and Furth im Wald, located near the borders with Austria and Germany.

“We are very glad that Palasino Group a.s. is the first operator in Czechia to present EGT’s top-seller Bell Link to its clients,” commented Ivan Grigorov, Regional Manager of EGT Czech Republic.  “We have been cooperating with them from the very beginning, since the foundation of our office in the country 5 years ago and I am proud to say that our partnership is continuously developing, bringing a lot of positives to both sides. I believe that Bell Link will live up to the operator’s expectations and will very quickly become a favorite among players in all three casinos.”

Bell Link, which is housed in G 27-27 St slot cabinets from the General Series of EGT, now enables the customers to the 3 facilities to try their luck with the 10 exciting titles of Bell Link 1 multigame. The jackpot has 4 levels: Minor and Mini, that are fixed, and the progressive Grand and Major, all triggered by different color bells. Bell Link includes the Bell Link bonus game and the Reels Boost mode, which both enrich the gaming experience and give additional rewards to the lucky ones.

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Marek Sedlacek, Director of Casino Operations at Palasino Group a.s., also shared his positive expectations regarding the recent installation: „We are very happy with the performance and reliability of EGT’s gaming equipment, as well as all the services that the company provides us. All of their developments that we have tested so far have shown excellent results. I am confident that by adding Bell Link to our offerings, we are giving to our customers a great gaming product that will make them coming back to our casinos again and again.”

The share of PC and console games purchased as downloads in Germany climbed to 60% for the first time in 2023, meaning that download purchases have remained at the same high level they reached during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Back then, the share of downloads jumped from 45 to 58%. These figures were published by game – The German Games Industry Association, in cooperation with market research company CPS GfK. A closer look at the individual gaming platforms, though, shows there are huge differences between them. Download purchases are most popular among PC players; these days, they buy nearly all of their games – 98% – as downloads. Last year, that figure was already 97%. Consoles are a different story, though. Most console players prefer to buy games on physical media. The majority of console games – 60% – are still purchased as physical media, even though that figure has dropped by 3% points compared to last year.

The way in which video game players purchase games is also a question of age. The younger generation of players in Germany overwhelmingly opt for downloads. And this trend is particularly strong among players between the ages of 20 and 29: they buy more than 7 out of 10 PC or console games (71%) in this format. But these days, growing numbers of older players are starting to prefer downloads, as well. Among 50- to 59-year-olds, approximately 6 out of 10 games (59%) are purchased as downloads; last year, this group bought about 53% of their games on physical media. Physical copies are most popular among the over-60s. In 2023, they bought more than half their games (53%) on physical media. However, this figure also represented a decline of 12% points in sales of physical media among this group.

“We’re seeing a clear trend: downloads are becoming an established way of buying games, and their share of the games market is continually increasing, even though that growth has slowed a bit since the pandemic. For many people, downloads are a quick and convenient way to buy games. Last year, a number of big blockbuster games, like ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ and ‘Alan Wake II’, were initially released as digital exclusives. Plenty of successful indie games have been download-only for ages, as well. All these factors have given the popularity of downloads a massive boost. But how games are purchased still varies according to the age of the player and the type of platform. Video game players primarily buy their console games on physical media, to get the limited editions and fan merchandise that come with them, or to ensure that they always have a copy of the game in their collection,” Felix Falk, Managing Director of game, said.

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