The European T20 Premier League (ETPL), an ICC-approved T20 league co-owned by Abhishek Bachchan and backed by Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, has appointed Oakvale Capital as its exclusive investment banker.

“Oakvale’s deep expertise in sports finance will be a game-changer for ETPL’s long-term vision. We look forward to working closely with their expert team to help bring our event to fruition,” said Warren Deutrom, CEO, Cricket Ireland.

“Oakvale is one of the leading London-based investment banks in the sports and gaming ecosystem. Their sector depth, global network, and track record advising rights-holders, clubs, and technology platforms make them the right partner for ETPL as we scale,” said Saurav Banerjee, Co-owner and Director, ETPL.

“We’re excited to support ETPL’s bold and innovative approach to cricket. The vision to elevate the sport in Europe with a premium, differentiated offering aligns well with Oakvale’s strategic focus in global sports properties,” said Sandford Loudon, Partner, Oakvale Capital.

Blending world-class cricket with a distinctively European experience, ETPL aims to redefine the sport through elite talent, immersive fan experiences, and data-driven innovation. In addition, KPMG in India has been appointed as ETPL’s strategic advisor.

Talking about Responsible Gaming (RG) is nothing new in iGaming — but doing it in a way players actually enjoy is rare. For WinSpirit, it became a chance to do what the brand does best — think differently, engage, and prove that even the most serious topics can be turned into content players actually want to share.

Instead of burying RG in disclaimers or policy pages, WinSpirit brought together their creativity and  expertise of Casino Guru to turn it into a SmartPlay Social Media campaign.

Data-Driven Creativity

Before launching the campaign, WinSpirit turned to its community with a simple question: what do you really know about Responsible Gaming? Nearly 800 players responded, and the results were telling.

• 63% knew the primary goal of RG.
• 46% felt enabling those tools was easy and knew where to find information.
• 56% highlighted WinSpirit’s own email disclaimers (launched this year) as the most effective reminders.

The findings confirmed that awareness was already strong, but also showed that some players still found RG “too complicated.”

“When we asked our community which reminders help them stay mindful, 56% highlighted the email disclaimers developed by WinSpirit Casino this year as the most effective”, – said WinSpirit analytics team manager.

This insight revealed a gap: while some forms work well for many, others may need a different touchpoint to simplify the message. Social media naturally became the next logical step to address the topic.

A Campaign Built for the Feed

The six-part series was crafted not just to inform, but to feel native to social media culture. Players swiped through “red flag or green light” checks, busted common myths with quick-hit facts, and even debated an “unpopular opinion”: games are built for entertainment, not profit. The final self-check felt less like a form and more like a challenge — engaging, fast, and easy to share.

What elevated the initiative further was the expertise behind it. WinSpirit teamed up with Šimon Vincze, Head of Sustainable & Safer Gambling at Casino Guru — a rare pairing of a progressive operator and an independent authority. In an industry where these voices often stay on opposite sides, this collaboration showed the power of combining creativity with credibility.

Here is what Šimon Vincze said about the initiative: “I am glad we could support WinSpirit on this journey and help bring a successful campaign to life by combining expert insights with natural and engaging communication. Their PR team did an excellent job, as demonstrated by the statistics. Player protection is an integral part of the gambling industry’s development. Sooner or later, most players will expect a certain level of well-being and care. Those who start on this journey earlier will benefit from a competitive edge and a loyal player base.”

Impact That Lasts

Social media reach for the campaign exceeded 10,000 people.

Social Media Engagement achieved 53% and boosted monthly metrics of Social Media pages by 80%. But the main result is still on the way – in the first month alone, WinSpirit saw a 12% rise in player support queries about Responsible Gaming tools.

More importantly, Responsible Gaming shifted from being background noise to a conversation players wanted to join. Awareness turned into curiosity — and curiosity sparked deeper understanding.

“This isn’t about ticking boxes,” says the WinSpirit team. “It’s about giving players the confidence and control that keep the game fun.”

For an industry where communication often feels routine, the campaign proved that creativity doesn’t weaken the message — it amplifies it. Even compliance can capture attention when delivered in the language of players.

PlayCentral Terminals Meet Diverse Lottery Retailer Needs as Self-Service Adoption Accelerates

Scientific Games award-winning PlayCentral lottery self-service technology will be showcased at the North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries 2025 Conference, taking place Sept. 8-11 in Ontario, Canada. Developed with the guiding principle that “one size does not fit all,” the company’s family of PlayCentral self-service terminals offers a broad range of form factors, feature sets and configurations to fit diverse retail footprints, from large-format grocery and mass merchandisers to high-traffic convenience stores and compact independent outlets. Each PlayCentral model is designed to optimize space, maximize product visibility and enhance the self-service purchasing experience.

According to a 2024 PYMNTS Intelligence Report, 84% of U.S. consumers enjoy using self-service kiosks, and two-thirds now prefer them over staffed checkout lanes.

PlayCentral Powered by SCiQ was named a Gold Winner in the 2025 American Business Awards and a Bronze Winner in the 2025 International Business Awards in the Emerging Technology category. Several years ago, Scientific Games was named Walmart Services Division Supplier of the Year for Product, recognizing a PlayCentral model as an “exceptional or innovative product that enhanced customer savings (money and/or time, value or assortment).”

Unique in the industry, all terminals in the PlayCentral family support the full line sales of draw games, instant scratch games, Fast Play and monitor games, offering the greatest opportunity for lottery expansion to all player segments and playstyles. PlayCentral terminals have been deployed in thousands of lottery retail locations across North America, processing millions of transactions annually.

“PlayCentral self-service terminals are at the epicenter of a modern retail ecosystem. Powered by SCiQ, the technology integrates store-level analytics for streamlined inventory management, offering players a convenient, user-friendly shopping experience and readying lotteries for future payment strategies,” said Mike Cardell, Senior Vice President, Americas Systems for Scientific Games. “Our PlayCentral family is designed to adapt to any store layout, meet a host of different retailer requirements and deliver personalized game recommendations powered by AI. This is how Scientific Games helps lotteries and retailers grow their business while giving players enhanced self-service experiences.”

In addition to flexibility for a wide variety of retail environments, PlayCentral terminals integrate Scientific Games’ new GameChoice AI technology to provide personalized product recommendations to players. These data-driven insights help lotteries feature the right mix of games based on specific sales trends and player preferences, and it’s already driving higher engagement and incremental sales.

Scientific Games applied the same strategy to PlayCentral as with its highly successful line of WAVE clerk-operated countertop retail terminals. The sleek terminals allow players to purchase games, check tickets and access promotions without clerk assistance, while helping lotteries expand points of sale, showcase a complete portfolio and give retailers tools to operate more efficiently and increase sales without adding labor costs.

Scientific Games is the world’s largest lottery games provider and the fastest-growing lottery systems provider, delivering retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 150 lotteries in 50 countries.

GameChoice, PlayCentral®, SCiQ® and WAVE are trademarks of Scientific Games, LLC. © 2025 Scientific Games, LLC. All Rights Reserved.