Canada
Playmaker Taps Taz Patel, Kristine Bill for C-Suite Positions to Accelerate Growth in 2023
Playmaker, a leading social media sports and entertainment content platform, announced two C-Suite appointments, bringing nearly three decades of experience across sports media, strategic marketing and business development to its team. Taz Patel joins the company to assume the role of Chief Business Officer, and Kristine Bill has been promoted to Chief Operations Officer. The position of Chief Business Officer is a role new to Playmaker, while Bill is succeeding former COO Rob Elder.
“The appointments of both Taz and Kristine clearly articulate the strategic vision and aggressive growth goals we have set for ourselves in 2023,” said Brandon Harris, CEO of Playmaker. “In the coming months, Playmaker is keenly focused on expanding our roster of creative talent, bringing to life more public-facing events and developing and redefining strategic brand partnerships, all while continuing to publish the first-rate sports and entertainment content Playmaker has become so well known for. Taz and Kristine will be instrumental in leaning into the momentum Playmaker created in 2022, and springboarding our brand to new levels of creativity, influence and notoriety.”
Patel’s responsibilities as Chief Business Officer include scaling the brand’s revenue, expanding platform integrations and securing strategic partnerships to further enhance the company’s progression. Patel is a renowned early-stage startup operator with multiple exits over the past decade and previously founded Captiv8, a leading venture backed AI Influencer Marketing platform. His most notable exits included BlueLithium and Interclick, both acquired by Yahoo!, where Patel contributed to meaningful revenue growth via agency and brand partnerships.
“The early-stage companies that successfully scale talent, resources and profit have many of the characteristics Playmaker currently exhibits, most notably a lean operation, correctly leveraging technology and partnerships to maximize its output,” said Patel. “The sports industry is currently in a renaissance period, moving from its traditional state to the true intersection of entertainment, media and technology. I’m looking forward to utilizing my experience to broaden Playmaker’s sphere of influence and industry market share.”
Bill has been with Playmaker since July 2022, where she most recently served as Senior Vice President of Marketing & Events. In this new position, she will be tasked with leading all initiatives related to marketing, public relations, social media, creator content and e-commerce. Prior to joining Playmaker, she held roles with STN Digital, Blast Motion Inc. and GMR Marketing.
“The needs of today’s sports fans are rapidly changing and, as a company, Playmaker is constantly seeking to identify the next great experience, digitally or in-person,” said Bill. “This year we’ll be expanding Playmaker’s influencer program and developing engaging newsletters focused on specific areas within sports, entertainment and culture, as well as expanding our brand footprint with sponsorships and creative content activations at key tentpole sporting events. I’m excited to work with our world-class team of creatives and partners to provide our engaged audience with the exceptional experiences they demand.”
Playmaker experienced exponential growth throughout 2022 despite a series of market challenges brought on throughout the year. The rising platform saw a 300% jump in year-over-year revenue anchored by significant growth across its 30 social media channels, reaching more than 20 million followers and gaining new strategic partnerships with companies such as Pepsi, PointsBet and No House Advantage. Playmaker supported its financial growth by investing in people — specifically operational, marketing and financial employees — as well as new popular and emerging content creators such as Adam Garfield, Cam Smith and Nyrie Iskandarian. This expansion of talent brought Playmaker’s headcount from 12 to 60 in 2022, a 400% increase. In December 2022, Playmaker was named one of the Best Employers in Sports by notable sports business outlet Front Office Sports.
BetRivers
NetGaming Goes Live in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive via BetRivers Platform

NetGaming, a fast-growing online casino content supplier, is proud to announce its launch in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive, Inc., a leading online casino and sports betting company in the United States, Canada and Latin America. This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone for NetGaming as it continues to expand its footprint across regulated North American markets.
As part of the launch, Ontario players on BetRivers can now enjoy a diverse portfolio of NetGaming titles, known for their high-quality graphics, immersive gameplay, and unique themes. Standout games such as Zeus’s Thunderbolt, Bison Gold, and Fireball Inferno are among the first to go live, with additional titles set to follow soon.
This partnership is just the beginning. NetGaming plans to extend its collaboration with Rush Street Interactive into Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Mexico over the coming months.
Pallavi Deshmukh, CEO of NetGaming, commented: “We are thrilled to go live with Rush Street Interactive, a powerhouse operator with a strong presence and loyal player base. This launch marks a significant milestone in our
North American expansion strategy and underscores our commitment to delivering exceptional gaming experiences tailored to local player preferences across the region.”
Richard Schwartz, CEO of Rush Street Interactive, commented: “We are pleased to partner with NetGaming to bring innovative, premium games to our players in Ontario. This collaboration aligns with our strategy to offer world-class
entertainment through engaging, action-packed online casino games. We look forward to expanding this partnership into additional regulated markets in the months ahead.”
This strategic partnership highlights both companies’ dedication to providing high- quality, innovative, and responsible entertainment to players in regulated markets.
The post NetGaming Goes Live in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive via BetRivers Platform appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Canada
User-Centric Redesign for Casinosfiables.ca

Casinosfiables announced that they have redesigned their existing site – https://casinosfiables.ca/ to better address current user demands.
Although the site’s functionality aligns with modern industry standards, the redesign is a step in the right direction and could very well give a competitive edge.
The changes addressed certain functionality concerns and aligned with ever-changing user preferences and behavior.
• Seamless page transition – The overall performance of the site improved, so pages loaded faster, despite the addition of new elements.
• Integrated social media buttons – Buttons that lead to social media pages became more visible, so it is easier for readers to complete engagement incentives that granted them affiliate-exclusive rewards or promo codes.
• More valuable insights – Previously, charts and ratings were only explained in separate reviews. The new roundup charts and ratings had a dropdown feature that provided more insights or clarity behind the rating.
• Relevant search filters – Some trends or categories that targeted user intent weren’t visible in the previous version. The updated version introduced new categories that better reflected player preferences, or included roundups based on casino features (e.g., cashback, no wager promos, game providers) that weren’t at the forefront previously.
• Author pages – Readers who had similar opinions and game preferences to the site’s authors gained the ability to find other texts from those authors. Each casino expert received a dedicated page listing all of their publications.
The changes were finalized over the past few months. The team pushed these updates in batches rather than a single big update.
The post User-Centric Redesign for Casinosfiables.ca appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
BCLC
Vancouver Resident Purchased Winning $40 Million Lotto Max Ticket While Quenching Sparkling Water Craving

Phuc Duc (Daniel) Chau loves the Bubly brand of sparkling water and stopped in a convenience store to purchase a can. Chau likes to buy lottery tickets based on a gut feeling, and due to the employee’s bubbly nature while he purchased his Bubly, Chau also purchased a Lotto Max ticket for the May 23, 2025 draw.
It was this ticket that ended up scoring Chau a whopping $40-million jackpot.
“I was at work when I found out,” recalled Chau of the moment he realized he won. “I was going through my bag to find a cough drop, but I saw that I had two lottery tickets in my bag and decided to scan the tickets, but I needed to update the [BCLC Lotto!] app first. The first ticket I didn’t win anything, but the second said $40 million. I have never seen that many zeroes in my life, ever. I dropped my phone and then called BCLC right away!”
At the time of the prize claim, the Vancouver resident hadn’t yet shared the news of his win.
“My partner doesn’t know yet! I want to share the news with them in a special way.”
Chau shared that his dream has always been to travel the world. “There are so many places I want to go to, so I haven’t fully decided!”
When asked if he will quit his job, he said, “I haven’t decided, but I want to continue to support my community in a different way.”
On how it feels to be a multimillionaire?
“It means a lot to me. It opens up an opportunity for me to give back to my family, community and the world all around me. It’s not meaningful unless you can share this with those who need it.”
Chau purchased the winning ticket at the 7-Eleven on Imperial Street and Boundary Road in Burnaby.
So far in 2025, B.C. lottery players have redeemed more than $146 million from Lotto Max. Lotto Max is a nationwide lottery game drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays after 7:30 p.m. (PST).
Players can purchase tickets at lottery retailers or at PlayNow.com. Winning numbers and group release forms can be found online at www.bclc.com. Players can check their lottery tickets anytime, anywhere on iOS and Android devices.
BCLC offers socially responsible gambling entertainment while generating income to benefit all British Columbians. Players can visit PlayNow.com to learn how to set time and money limits.
The post Vancouver Resident Purchased Winning $40 Million Lotto Max Ticket While Quenching Sparkling Water Craving appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
-
gaming3 years ago
ODIN by 4Players: Immersive, state-of-the-art in-game audio launches into the next generation of gaming
-
EEG iGaming Directory8 years ago
iSoftBet continues to grow with new release Forest Mania
-
News7 years ago
Softbroke collaborates with Asia Live Tech for the expansion of the service line in the igaming market
-
News6 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 Industry7 years ago
Rick Meitzler appointed to the Indian Gaming Magazine Advisory Board for 2018
-
News6 years ago
REVEALED: Top eSports players set to earn $3.2 million in 2019
-
iGaming Industry8 years ago
French Senator raises Loot Boxes to France’s Gambling Regulator
-
News7 years ago
Exclusive Interview with Miklos Handa (Founder of the email marketing solutions, “MailMike.net”), speaker at Vienna International Gaming Expo 2018