Industry News
Yahaha Studios announces Asset Ovi, 3D search tool to support game developers
Yahaha Studios has announced the launch of YAHAHA Asset Ovi, a first-of-its-kind platform to help game developers to search for game assets quickly. Using artificial intelligence (AI), Asset Ovi is the go-to platform to search for assets for any level of creators, from students and hobbyists to indie developers and 3D creation experts. Asset Ovi cuts out the middle-man, allowing users to access search for assets across several of the most prominent 3D asset marketplaces through one platform, including the Unity Store, Sketchfab and CGTrader. YAHAHA Asset Ovi is now live, in partnership with Jina AI.
Finding the perfect assets for game creation is not easy for developers. Yahaha Studios conducted research to better understand the challenges associated with the asset search experience. The results showed that 80% of developers spend 10 minutes or more searching for a new game asset across multiple storefronts – making it a time-consuming, as well as difficult and stressful task to find the hundreds of assets required for a new game. With Asset Ovi, creators can browse over a million assets, using search functionality based not only on text but also by model, ensuring they find the specific asset required.
By launching YAHAHA Asset Ovi, Yahaha Studios hopes to help developers create more efficiently. Introducing this new tool to its free-to-use platform, YAHAHA is supporting game developers and creator enthusiasts at all levels to have easy access to millions of assets for free, making the game creation process as easy as possible.
Chris Zhu, CEO at Yahaha Studios, said: “Yahaha Studios is constantly investigating new technologies to support creators – we are passionate about making it easy to make great content and bring imagination to life. When our research showed that some developers were spending hours searching different stores for assets, we wanted to help them. YAHAHA Asset Ovi is a free platform that anyone can use and it is integrated with other storefronts, such as the Unity Asset Store, saving game developers considerable time and frustration searching for the right assets.”
In order to make Asset Ovi as creator-friendly as possible, the platform has announced the YAHAHA 3D viewer. By using this method, assets can be viewed and closely examined prior to making a purchase decision. This tool allows users to examine the fine details of each asset, including wireframe, post-processing and material channels. Asset Ovi uses AI to power its search. Partnered with Jina AI, it supports AI-powered similarity search, making it easy to locate assets. Users can also perform mesh-to-mesh, text-to-mesh, and colour-to-mesh searches. The search engine learns from large data sets, understands the shape, text, and colour of the asset with neutral network algorithms, and finds the most relevant results. The engine will continue to learn as more people use it, meaning it will understand more as time progresses.
Joel Fällbom, Head Teacher of Game and UX Design, at Futuregames, said: “As someone who has spent countless hours looking through every single asset store, finding high-quality assets, with real-time previews, with all the necessary info such as polycount, topology, lods and textures is really time consuming and difficult. In fact, it is close to impossible to navigate and find what you need. YAHAHA 3DSearch solves a real problem for anyone developing a game, I can’t wait to try it.”
In the closing months of 2022, Yahaha Studios announced it had secured an investment of $40 million to further build upon the Early Alpha success of YAHAHA, a creator-focussed user-generated content social platform. YAHAHA is currently open in Early Alpha, offering anyone the opportunity to be among the first to test the platform and share feedback as it continues to grow. This early community has an important role to play in how YAHAHA will evolve, influencing the shape the platform takes and building its digital world.
Carlo Santarelli
Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Names Carlo Santarelli Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations

Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. announced that Carlo Santarelli has been appointed Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations, a new position at the Company. Mr. Santarelli will begin his new position on August 18, 2025 and will report to GLPI President and Chief Operating Officer, Brandon Moore.
Mr. Santarelli brings over 25 years of Wall Street experience in Equity Research and Investment Banking to his new role and joins the Company from Deutsche Bank where he was Managing Director of Gaming & Lodging Equity Research. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr. Santarelli held similar positions at Bear Stearns, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. He consistently ranked highly in Institutional Investor and other sell-side analyst research polls as a thought leader in the space, providing unique perspectives on industry events and trends with his data-driven approach and stock picking talent. Carlo Santarelli graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics in 2000.
Peter Carlino, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GLPI, said: “We’ve known and respected Carlo’s research work on the gaming, lodging and gaming REIT sectors for many years. Carlo brings to GLPI an in-depth knowledge of the industry and its participants, having experienced GLPI’s original formation of the gaming triple-net-REIT structure from a research analyst and capital markets perspective. We value his deep network of contacts among institutional investors, sell-side analysts and a wide range of gaming industry operators and we look forward to the value of his contributions.”
In his new role, Mr. Santarelli will work with Mr. Carlino and GLPI’s senior management to develop and evaluate growth opportunities and strategic relationships, and will oversee investor relations interactions.
The post Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Names Carlo Santarelli Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Industry News
VIP Play Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer

VIP Play, a technology-driven leader in interactive consumer engagement, announced that Jim Mackey, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will step down from his role, effective August 8, 2025.
The Company has initiated a transition process and is in the process of identifying a successor. Mackey will assist in an orderly transition over the coming weeks.
“We thank Jim for his contributions to the Company, particularly during a transformative period for our business. We remain focused on executing our strategic priorities, including financial visibility, operating efficiency, and delivering value to our stakeholders,” said Les Ottolenghi, CEO of VIP Play.
The post VIP Play Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
DotCom Ventures
IBN Initiates Coverage of SEGG Media Corporation

SEGG Media Corporation, a leading technology company transforming the global intersection of sports, entertainment, and gaming, has selected IBN, a multifaceted financial news and publishing company serving private and public entities, to spearhead its corporate communications efforts.
SEGG Media aims to deliver immersive, real-time experiences through next-generation technology that redefines how audiences interact with their favorite content and communities. Following a full-scale corporate transformation and rebrand, the company now operates across three high-growth verticals: Sports.com, Entertainment, and Lottery.com.
Sports.com serves as a global hub for sports content with a focus on soccer, sim racing, motorsports, and athlete-led media, with the upcoming Sports.com Super App poised to evolve fan engagement by integrating streaming, e-commerce, fantasy gaming, and sports news. The Entertainment division builds on AI-powered live events and direct-to-fan platforms, while Lottery.com delivers compliant, ethical gaming solutions including iGaming and charitable lottery access to global audiences.
With a $100 million financing facility and strategic acquisitions underway, including proposed deals with GXR World and DotCom Ventures, SEGG Media is executing a multi-vertical expansion strategy designed to unify fragmented fan experiences across live content, gaming, and digital commerce.
As part of the client-partner relationship, IBN will leverage its investor-focused distribution network, which includes over 5000 key syndication outlets, various newsletters, social media channels, and wire services via InvestorWire, along with blogs and other outreach tools, to generate greater awareness for SEGG Media.
The post IBN Initiates Coverage of SEGG Media Corporation appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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