

Canada
Riot Games promotes John Needham to President, Esports
After growing LoL Esports into the world’s largest esport, Needham steps up to unify, introduce, and evolve Riot Games’ esports titles globally
Riot Games announced the promotion of esports and gaming executive John Needham to the role of President, Esports. In this elevated position within Riot Games, Needham will lead the organization under which all of Riot’s esports titles and operations will now be unified.
After two-plus years as Riot’s Global Head of Esports following his previous roles as Managing Director of Europe and Head of the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), Needham will helm the world’s most successful and sustainable collection of esports.
“As we head into 2022, we’re placing our biggest bets yet on esports to deliver the most connected, immersive experiences for the millions of players worldwide who love our games,” said Nicolo Laurent, CEO of Riot Games. “John Needham’s leadership and vision for our esports business has helped us grow our fandom exponentially over the past few years. It’s why I’m excited to formalize a major division at Riot Games, with John reporting directly into me, to support and drive our big, bold swings that make it even better to be a player.”
The promotion elevates Needham to be one of the senior most executives within Riot Games, now reporting into Laurent along with Riot’s four other presidents: Shauna Spenley, President, Entertainment; Scott Gelb, President, Games; Ryan Crosby, President, Publishing; and Dylan Jadeja, President, Enterprise.
Within Needham’s governance will be 11-year old industry pioneer League of Legends Esports (LoL Esports), the rising FPS esport VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), Wild Rift Esports (which concludes its first global tournament on Sunday), and multiple other games under a new Organized Play umbrella at Riot Games (Teamfight Tactics, aka TFT; Legends of Runeterra, aka LoR; and future games).
“Riot Games has led the explosive growth of esports over the past decade, and I’m proud to be part of the team charged with establishing our portfolio as a foundation for the future of sports,” said Needham. “Esports embodies Riot’s mission to inspire the most meaningful and lasting player experiences.
“By further professionalizing our sports, innovating and focusing on sustainability and competitive integrity, and making esports at Riot Games inclusive to all, we will thrive together with new and existing fans. We also will create additional value for our partners and plan to set the highest player-driven standards for competitive gaming well into the next decade.”
The new Riot Games esports structure being established by Needham has been informed by a combination of traditional sports leagues and governing bodies as well as Riot’s company-wide goal to innovate around and ultimately define the future of gaming. Needham plans to bring a new strategic and operational focus across the multiple sports and leagues, extend Riot’s esports’ impact into complementary entertainment and gaming categories, and create and shape viewing and content platforms for the future growth of its esports audience.
To that end, Needham recently green-lit a multi-million initiative known as Project Stryker, an innovative initiative to increase capacity of Riot’s esports content and events with a centralized broadcast model anchored by Remote Broadcast Centers (RBCs) strategically located around the world. Three years in the making, these RBCs will increase capacity for Riot Esports content and events while lowering operating costs, ensuring top-tier quality and consistency across all esports productions, and built for scale as the volume of Riot’s live esports broadcasts continues to grow. The first center will come online in Dublin, Ireland, in early 2022.
To also help him achieve Riot Games esports’ mission to bring joy to billions of fans around the world, Needham recently promoted several key executives to new positions and has begun a search for a new Global Head of Organized Play:
- Whalen Rozelle to Head of Global Esports Operations*;
- Naz Aletaha to Global Head of LoL Esports;
- Leo Faria to Global Head of Wild Rift Esports.
*Rozelle will maintain his role overseeing the VALORANT Champions Tour until a replacement is identified and hired
Riot Games’ esports, with 2021 Worlds behind it and the inaugural VALORANT Champions set to kick off in Berlin in December, has seen growing audience demand as well as the need to establish an umbrella structure for brands eager to tap into this rapidly growing global sports category. To date, Riot’s global esports partner roster includes Mastercard, Verizon, Mercedes-Benz, Bose, Unilever, Red Bull, Spotify, Bose, Louis Vuitton, YouTube, Twitch, Cisco, Amazon, Coca-Cola, and State Farm. Red Bull, Verizon and SecretLab are among the first global partners to support multiple titles or events within Riot’s esports portfolio, an opportunity that will be more readily available in the years ahead.
Biography
John Needham serves as the President, Esports at Riot Games, overseeing League of Legends Esports, VALORANT Champions Tour and Wild Rift Esports global international events and driving the overall vision for esports at Riot Games worldwide. John is responsible for shaping and defining an accessible, modern sports entertainment property for a multi-generational fanbase, while creating a strong sustainable business ecosystem that attracts top-tier sponsors and investors.
Under his leadership, the sport of League of Legends has experienced rapid maturation with continued investment in infrastructure and broadcast capabilities needed for long-term growth, digital products, and measurement standards (e.g. AMA). LoL Esports’ two major international events — The World Championship and Mid-Season Invitational — have hit record viewership and seen incredible growth in fan engagement and value, with some of the most recognizable global brands signing partnerships.
Needham joined Riot in 2017 as the Managing Director of Europe and North America. During his time in that position, he led the rebranding of the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), which included the move to a long-term partnership model with 10 teams and an influx of new partnerships including Kia, Logitech, Red Bull, and Foot Locker.
Needham is an accomplished senior-level executive with a demonstrated history of results. He has developed high-performing teams, departments, and studios through his ability to communicate, motivate, and align teams from across different regions and cultures.
Prior to Riot, John served as Partner, Microsoft where he worked on Hololens experiences, 3DCreation, Microsoft Casual Games, and Age of Empires. He previously served as Microsoft’s Studio Head of Lionhead where he transitioned Lionhead from a traditional console developer to a games-as-a-service studio. In that role, he also launched Fable Anniversary, Warface, and Quantum Break. John also has held leadership positions at Cryptic Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Telemundo, Gazillion Entertainment, and Sony Online Entertainment.
AGLC
Casino ATM Scam in Edmonton Reveals Money Laundering and Drug Links

Law enforcement in Alberta continues to search for the last suspect in a sophisticated fraud operation that targeted ATMs in Edmonton-area casinos and resulted in over CAD 1 million ($720,487) in losses throughout Western Canada.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has confirmed that Hisham Ismaeel, 28, remains at large with a province-wide warrant for his arrest. He faces charges of fraud exceeding $5000 and possessing proceeds of crime. Police have already arrested four other men linked to the scheme. Investigators describe the operation as a well-planned effort to exploit financial systems and clean dirty money.
The accused, Elliot Miao, 42, Van Bau Ta, 39, Hassan Jaafar Haydar Ahmad, 37, and Dennis Jones, 42, showed up in the Alberta Court of Justice last week. They face charges from fraud and money laundering to owning criminal property. Miao also has a narcotics trafficking charge after police found cocaine when they searched with warrants.
Investigators claim the group made coordinated withdrawals at several casino ATMs, timing their transactions to avoid getting caught. This action messed up ATM networks in the area and showed flaws in the systems that banks and casinos use to stop misuse.
The RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region led an investigation that involved six search warrants in Edmonton. The Edmonton Police Service, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), and several banks supported this effort. Officials said the case shows how teamwork between public agencies and the private sector plays a key role in combating modern financial crime.
AGLC representatives pointed out that casino operators in the province must follow strict reporting and surveillance rules under Canada’s anti-money laundering laws. The specific casinos affected remain unnamed, but the Edmonton region has seven licensed facilities. AGLC said its policies helped spot problems and backed the RCMP’s investigation.
Compliance experts say this fraud shows how criminals change their methods to take advantage of weak spots in reporting limits and transaction checks. They claim that casinos, which deal with lots of cash, are still easy targets unless they keep improving their detection systems and teach their front-line workers to notice coordinated actions like several big withdrawals happening one after another.
For now, the case highlights both the money and crime aspects of casino-related fraud. Besides the million-dollar losses, finding drugs during the raids points to a bigger criminal operation where financial crimes and drug dealing overlap.
The post Casino ATM Scam in Edmonton Reveals Money Laundering and Drug Links appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Bragg Gaming
Bragg Confirms Cyber Attack – Hackers Access Internal IT Systems

Bragg Gaming Group, a leading online gaming technology provider, has confirmed a major cybersecurity incident that compromised its internal IT infrastructure in the early hours of Saturday, August 16, 2025.
The company detected unauthorized intrusion attempts that successfully breached its internal network, triggering an immediate and comprehensive incident response.
Key Takeaways
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Bragg Gaming Group experienced a cybersecurity breach involving access to internal IT systems.
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No customer personal data or payment information appears to have been compromised.
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The company has enacted full containment and investigation protocols.
Details of the Breach
According to a preliminary forensic analysis by Bragg’s internal security team, the attack was a targeted breach aimed at the company’s internal computer environment. While the exact method of intrusion is still under investigation, early indicators suggest a sophisticated exploit of internal network vulnerabilities.
Fortunately, the company’s customer-facing systems, including sensitive user data and financial information, appear to have been unaffected. Bragg’s existing encryption protocols and access control systems successfully prevented the attackers from accessing customer information.
Immediate Response Measures
In response to the breach, Bragg launched a multi-tiered containment strategy, including:
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Network Segmentation to isolate affected systems
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Enhanced Monitoring of data flows across its Remote Games Server (RGS) platform
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Security Audits of critical infrastructure, including the Bragg Hub and PAM systems
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Engagement of Independent Cybersecurity Experts to assist in incident analysis and system hardening
Bragg’s Security Operations Center has also elevated its alert level, initiating 24/7 monitoring across all server clusters and network endpoints. In addition, company-wide penetration testing is now underway to proactively identify any residual vulnerabilities.
Business Continuity Maintained
Despite the severity of the breach, Bragg reports that its operations remain unaffected. All gaming services, including iCasino and sportsbook offerings across regulated markets, continue to function without disruption.
“While this incident is deeply concerning, we are confident in the rapid and thorough response initiated by our team,” a company spokesperson stated. “We remain committed to protecting our infrastructure, our partners, and most importantly, our players.”
Looking Ahead
As part of its response, Bragg has also launched mandatory security awareness training for all employees to reinforce best practices and prevent future incidents.
Cybersecurity analysts will continue working with Bragg to determine the full scope of the attack, improve system resilience, and maintain the trust of its users and stakeholders.
Bragg’s handling of the incident highlights both the evolving nature of cybersecurity threats and the importance of robust, responsive defense systems in the digital gaming sector.
Source: cybersecuritynews.com
The post Bragg Confirms Cyber Attack – Hackers Access Internal IT Systems appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
AGCO
AGCO Removes Cap on Seller Commission for Charitable Lottery Products

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has updated several lottery policies to remove the cap on seller commission for Paper Raffles and Media Bingo, along with removing the prohibition on Catch the Ace paper lotteries, to align with other charitable lottery products.
Licensed charities may now negotiate commissions directly with sellers and determine commissions, provided they are reasonable and tied to the cost of service provided by the seller.
These updates further the AGCO’s commitment to adopt an outcomes-based regulatory approach and reduce burden for the charitable gaming sector. Local charitable organizations will have greater flexibility to make decisions that best serve their fundraising objectives.
Important Reminders
• Charities must still receive approval for other expenses incurred under their licence and retain receipts for seller commission paid.
• Licensing authorities will not require documentation to be submitted as part of the application process, however, charities are still subject to audit to determine compliance.
• Charities are reminded of their legal requirement to meet their obligations under the Criminal Code and with respect to conducting and managing a charitable gaming scheme.
• As with all licensed charitable lottery events, charities must take the necessary steps to ensure that they are conducting and managing the lottery event within Ontario.
For charitable gaming-related inquiries, email an AGCO Eligibility Officer at [email protected] or call AGCO Customer Service at 1-800-522-2876, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The post AGCO Removes Cap on Seller Commission for Charitable Lottery Products appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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