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Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)

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Gambling industry veteran, Steve Donoughue opposes recent illiberal statements in an open letter

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There is a fresh statement published by the organizer of ICE Totally Gaming, which has been released due to the recent turn of events. (You can read the statement here…)

This statement should be taken seriously by the industry and should be debated in order to reach a common ground, otherwise the escalation of the harm done to the gambling industry can lead an irreversible situation.

We have pointed out some clear facts about some clear radical feminist acts coming from both the regulator and event organizer, however it seems that we are not the only one considering that such acts should be commented.

The subject has been dissected on social media and we have found that most of the comments come from individuals that are not taking any sides in the topic which is very alarming. This is certainly a sign of fear and it seems that some companies are scarred to comment this issue just for the sake of avoiding discussions from certain crowds.

This is not the case of industry veteran, Steve Donoughue, who is one of the UK’s leading management consultants and specializes in the gambling industry, both offline and online. Steve has today published an open letter which you can read below or on this link.

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Open letter to Clarion’s Kate Chambers
posted by Steve Donoughue

In an article posted on iGaming Business entitled ‘Clarion pledges Action Plan to tackle industry sexism’ http://www.igamingbusiness.com/news/clarion-pledges-action-plan-tackle-industry-sexism posted on the 12th February 2018 it states that Clarion will be canvassing stakeholders views about your plan to eliminate promotional girls from all your gambling events through your Ampersand Think Tank and Research initiative that you say enables you to communicate directly with the industry.

As an industry veteran of 25 years who speaks at many conferences and has done for over 20 years, I am unfortunately not one of your chosen Ampersand members so have been forced to write this open letter.

I am categorically against your plan to dictate to the gambling industry what is acceptable behaviour at industry events. We have laws made by Parliament that control our behaviour not diktat laid down by unappointed and unaccountable industry suppliers

In no way am I condoning sexism, exploitation, discrimination and all the other nasties that the world is beset with, but I do not think this is what is happening at ICE or any other show.

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What I do think is happening is that a small bunch of privileged women from outside our industry are trying to impose their own political agenda on an industry they dont know and possibly dont like and as a result, hundreds of promotional girls will have food taken from their tables for no justifiable reason.

The promotional girls are not exploited, they know fully well what is expected of them and they do their jobs professionally and happily. There has been no reports of harassment or assault and if there was, the law would apply and the perpetrator prosecuted. The promotional girls like the job, keep coming back and most of all value the employment that you begrudge them. They are in most cases employed by female run agencies being commissioned by female run marketing departments.

I fully understand the argument that using promotional girls is old-fashioned, that may be the case, but it is not up to you regulate it. Much as flares are old fashioned but we dont ban them however much we might want to. Market forces may make exhibitors try another approach to presenting their business but this is their choice not one to be forced upon them

Not only have what you and Sarah Harrison done is unfairly bring more acrimony upon an already under attack industry but you have ignored the hundreds of women who work in the industry throughout the year, not just at the conferences that pay your wages. Some of us are old enough to remember when there were practically no women working in this industry, the mirror image of what the exhibition industry now just you have very few men and seem not to be so exercised about this lack of diversity.

We can at least be very proud of the numbers of women we have and safe in the knowledge that more are being attracted to the industry. I have not heard any voices against the promotional girls from women in the industry, all the ones I have talked to do not consider it an issue. yet again this attack on our industry is coming from a small number of privileged outsiders

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What is at stake here is your attempt to tell us – your customers – what to do and how we should do our business and that is wrong.

You can dress it up by saying its about respecting women but you seem to have no respect for those you wish to force out of legal employment.

Once you ban the girls what will you ban next?

Will you lead a campaign against the costumes women competitors wear on Strictly?

I would not be saying this if this was another industry. Skimpily clad girls are out of context at an accountancy exhibition. Not at a gambling exhibition where members of the public are not invited. Gambling has always been an adult form of entertainment with sexual motifs prevalent throughout both time and the breadth of the industry.

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The girls must stay

No one is asking for nudity just the ability to dress as the client wants – which is no more than many girls dress on a Friday night

We are kindly asking all our readers to send us their opinion to [email protected] and let us know what would they do in order to keep radical feminism out of the industry.

Please take our survey about the topic, by submitting your reply below:

 

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Source: European Gaming Media and Events

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What makes Turbo Games’ provably fair games so special?

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A partnership between game developer Turbo Games and iGaming solution provider and aggregator Slotegrator began in November 2022 via the APIgrator game integration solution. Since then, the collaboration has been developing successfully — and now it’s time to analyze what made it successful.

Turbo Games has noticed how the new technologies spreading throughout the industry can work for the good of brand transparency and player loyalty: “We can already see how blockchain technology has made it possible to make betting checks more accessible to players. All you need is a blockchain-hash and a decoder service. We think we will continue to move in this direction. Many traditional online casinos do not offer the possibility to check the bet. Sooner or later we all have to come to this. Perhaps the development of artificial intelligence will help here, because we are already seeing its involvement in all spheres of human life.”

Turbo Games specializes in provably fair games. Provable fairness is a concept where players can verify their wins or losses using blockchain technology — the outcome of the game is dictated by a smart contract and is absolutely random, barring the possibility of any human involvement. Using cryptographic hashing algorithms, the gambling site and the player’s device both generate seeds (random strings of numbers). Players receive a key that allows them to check the results; if the results are the same as the game round they witnessed, it proves that there was no foul play.

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According to statistics from Turbo Games, the audience for provably fair games is mostly between 18 and 25 years old. However, there are also players aged 35-40 who prefer traditional games but would like to try something new, and have turned their attention to provably fair games.

There are good odds that the technology of provably fair games will become more popular, if not even commonplace, because it gives players a feeling of transparency and proves that the business is trustworthy without the need to search through dozens of reviews. Whereas many innovations in iGaming simply add entertainment, provable fairness addresses security concerns and reassures players that they’re not being exploited, which is invaluable.

Provably fair games are beneficial for both players and online casinos. Vadim Potapenko, Head of Sales at Turbo Games, comments: “It often happens that the users are not satisfied with the result, because gambling is not only about big wins, but also possible losses. By allowing them to check the fairness of a bet, we make life easier for platforms and players. Of course, this allows us to communicate with partners and users that we work honestly and that’s why they should trust our games.”

Ayvar Gabidullin, Business Development Manager at Slotegrator, adds that “this type of game is now becoming more and more popular and has great potential for both players and game providers in the future. On the part of the player, the advantage is that the player can always be sure that his game is fair and he can independently check any of his bets. And for the game provider, this also simplifies the process of implementing casino games, since now it will not be necessary to obtain the appropriate certificates from independent laboratories before launching new games, they can immediately enter the market with these games and where anyone can check the result and make sure that that there is no cheating with players. Many game providers are starting to look towards this type of game. And as far as I see, many operators are starting to think about adding these games.”

What do players in 2023 need? The iGaming industry is all about reputation and trust. Players have a huge number of platforms to choose from, making them pickier and pickier. There’s an abundance of forums where players leave reviews, so if players view a brand as untrustworthy, there are plenty of places they can share their opinion. Provable fairness not only stops that from happening, it provides evidence to the contrary, giving players something else to talk about.

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Slotegrator also recommends investing time and effort into localization and creating an effective and detailed marketing strategy — before trying provably fair technology players need to get to the platform, and there is no acquisition without marketing.

 

 ABOUT SLOTEGRATOR

Since 2012, Slotegrator has been one of the iGaming industry’s leading software and business solution providers for online casino and sportsbook operators.

The company’s main focus is software development and support for online casino platforms, as well as the integration of game content and payment systems.

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The company works with licensed game developers and offers a vast portfolio of casino content: slots, live casino games, poker, virtual sports, table games, lotteries, casual games, and data feeds for betting.

Slotegrator also provides consulting services in gambling license acquisition and business incorporation.

More information: https://slotegrator.pro/

 

ABOUT TURBO GAMES

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Turbo Games — a provably fair games provider that belongs to Turbo Stars company — has an ambitious goal to establish widespread recognition throughout the iGaming world. Even though it is young, the company consists of professionals who have been working on the brand for over five years and are even planning to introduce a new brand for a wider audience soon.

Turbo Games also works in Europe, India, and South Africa, where the company sees the most potential and expects the same “hype” as in Brazil.

The portfolio of Turbo Games consists of 21 titles, including well-known games like Mines, Crash X, DoubleRoll, Hi-Lo, and Plinko. The studio releases a game every month. However, not all games are developed from scratch. Wicket Blast and Spin Strike, the last two releases, are based on cricket and the Indian Premier League. Crash X remains the most popular fast game in the Turbo Games portfolio, and the studio reports that crash games enjoy stable levels of popularity. Overall, the main focus of the brand is provably fair games.

More information: https://turbogames.io/

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Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

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Looking to take your career to the next level in the games industry? Then, Nordic Game Talents is the place to be! Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

From Oct 27-29, the online and interactive event is dedicated to recruitment and career building in the creative & games industry within the Nordic region. The event empowers participants to be part of a bigger community and motivates them to explore new paths in achieving their career goals.

Hiring creative & games studios – Supercell, Funcom, Panzerdog, Tactile Games, Gamecan, Fingersoft, Dazzle Rocks, Redhill Games to name a few from the Nordic region will be participating in the event. These studios will share information on their latest projects, work culture and what it takes to be part of their team. The individual games associations from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Estonia will share insights through live sessions on the booming games industry in their respective countries. Career development topics pertinent to job seekers like – How to have a successful first interview, Creative Portfolio reviews will also be discussed.

Experienced game industry professionals and individuals beginning their careers from around the world are welcome to join the event. One-to-one interviews with the hiring studios can be scheduled through the event platform. A great opportunity to get to know the studios and network with game professionals from around the world.

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Participating in the event

As a job seeker attending Nordic Game Talents, take a few minutes to fill out a simple registration form. After filling the registration form you will receive a link to the online event platform – PINE, to join the event on 27th October. Participants joining Nordic Game Talents will also receive a free-of-charge pass to the Nordic Game Conference.

To view the complete agenda, please click here and to learn more about the event please visit Games Job Fair

About Games Factory Talents

A Helsinki-based talent attraction agency dedicated to the games & creative industry. Our services include direct recruitment, organizing game job fairs and managing a community of game industry professionals through our GameDev Talent Board.

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To learn more about Games Factory Talents visit – Games Factory Talents

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810 THE SPREAD

Cumulus Media Launches 810 THE SPREAD, the Bay Area’s First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting

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Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announces that it has launched the Bay Area’s first Sports radio station focused on sports betting, 810 THE SPREAD. The new station brings sports and sports betting news, information, and insights to the burgeoning and underserved sports betting audience in San Francisco. 810 THE SPREAD will deliver behind-the-book perspectives from experts in a highly entertaining and engaging format. 810 THE SPREAD goes live today on the legendary 810am frequency that has been the 80-year home of historic Talk Radio KGO-AM. Cumulus San Francisco also launched the station’s new website at www.810thespread.com. Kevin Graham, Program Director of Cumulus’ sister sports stations KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT, adds Program Director duties for 810 THE SPREAD.

Larry Blumhagen, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco, said: “810 THE SPREAD joins our sports brands KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT for a trifecta of dynamic sports content across four signals and streaming everywhere. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to serving the Bay Area’s passionate sports fans in an incomparable way.”

Blumhagen added: “This is a bittersweet day for us, as it’s hard to say goodbye to the legendary KGO, which has been a part of listeners’ lives for so many years. We want to thank all the people who have been a part of KGO’s historic run these many years – and the listeners who loyally tuned in to the station. Times change, and we must change with them.”

Kevin Graham, Program Director, 810 THE SPREAD, said: “810 THE SPREAD will be the Bay Area’s best bet for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts, and we are pleased to introduce sports-betting radio to our community. The station will feature a lineup of expert personalities that deliver unique sports talk and sports betting insights that entertain, inform, and engage, along with Cal Football and Basketball as well as select professional and college sports play-by-play events. While 810 THE SPREAD will feature specific gambling information, we believe our entertaining presentation will make it a favorite for all Bay area sports fans and a perfect complement to the legendary KNBR and KTCT. With its addition, it truly shows Cumulus’ commitment to the Bay area as ‘The Sports Leader’!”

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The weekday programming lineup for 810 THE SPREAD includes:

6am-9am – Bet QL Daily – The must-consume show for sports fans and betting fans alike. Hosted by Joe Ostrowski, Joe Giglio, and Erin Hawksworth.

9am-12pm – Jim Rome - Aggressive, informed sports opinions, rapid-fire dialogue, and plenty of sports smack. As one of the most prolific sports talk hosts in America, Rome draws massive tune-in with legions of fans known as clones, who live for Rome’s take on the day’s largest issues in sports.

12pm-4pm – You Better You Bet – Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley have you covered for the best bets on the biggest matchups, the latest line movement and updates in the futures market. We’ll have up-to-the-minute coverage of backdoor covers and bad beats, and the cheers and tears that come with them. It’s sports betting conversation like you’ve never heard before.

4pm-8pm – Bet MGM Tonight – Live sports betting updates for all the night’s games as they happen – plus live “look-ins” for Major League Baseball games in progress. Get the latest scores, sides, totals, props, parlays, futures, and much more with hosts Quinton Mayo, Trysta Krick, and Ryan Horvat.

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8pm-12 Midnight – CBS Sports Radio

BetQL Network programming is provided by Cumulus Media’s Westwood One through a partnership with Audacy.

For more information or to stream 810 THE SPREAD, visit: http://www.810thespread.com.

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