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BtoBet: Coming Out Successfully From The Current Sportsbook Scenario

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  • Short-term mitigation plans could shape up a new industry on the long term

As the iGaming industry is adapting to the live sport events shortfall that has now taken the iGaming industry by storm, not everything is doom and gloom. Alessandro Fried, BtoBet’s Chief Executive Officer, discusses the interim measures that operators are adopting to mitigate the gap created in the sportsbook vertical, and how eventually the industry will morph into a more diverse scenario based on the decisions that operators are taking at the moment.

 

In what way will the current situation impact the industry?

Everyone is expecting live sport events to surely resume shortly. They will be back, and with them the sports betting vertical will pick up where it left and bounce back. At this point in time the Italian top league clubs are all set to resume their training in a couple of weeks, whilst in Germany teams have already resumed with their preparations to final sprint of the Bundesliga.

However, it is true that the industry has undoubtedly been impacted. No one has ever imagined a scenario where live sports on practically a global level would be made unavailable. The pandemic and its consequences, with governments and authorities alike putting in place extraordinary measures imposing social distancing in order to curb the outbreak, has disrupted mostly those bookmakers who throughout the years have based their business activities on a retail network. The same applies for the retail casino outlets, with Las Vegas as the primary example, literally closing down its doors for business.

It is with this in mind that I expect a major shift in operators’ strategies in the immediate to short term, with retail licensees seeking to migrate their business activities to the digital mediums, thus also mitigating for any future downturns in terms of retail customers.

 

Turnover from live sportsbetting is a major problem for most operators. However, have other verticals seen an increase in player engagement?

The current circumstances related to live sport events has had its major toll on those operators who have based their offering primarily on live football events, with the top leagues generating an ever increasing revenue stream as this form of gambling is nowadays being considered as an extension to the events themselves. Such are the number of followers that these events produce. However, the scenario has changed abruptly, and live sport events that on a daily basis averaged into hundreds of events have now been reduced to merely a handful. Live betting now comprises of football events in Belarus and Nicaragua, table tennis in Russia, and racing from the United States, Hong Kong and Australia. Which all in all amount to a rather limited content portfolio and will not make up for the loss of revenue that other major sport events generate.

Undoubtedly this translates directly to a significant loss in terms of turnover, with many industry experts expecting as much as 70% or even higher in terms of loss. On the other hand, and this needs to be highlighted, operators and suppliers alike have been agile in identifying new means of how to diversify the players’ engagement across a broader portfolio of verticals.

One of the major verticals that has seen a major bump on the immediate term has undoubtedly been virtual sports, which nowadays is accounting as much as 40% in terms of operators’ turnover. The same can be said with reference to the esports vertical and online casino vertical, with certain operators doubling their turnover in these verticals over a relatively short period of time.

 

How will the current situation impact the industry for the short term and the long term?

I reiterate that live sport events are resuming sooner rather than later. And I expect a high player engagement, if not actually higher, once the situation normalises itself. Does this mean that the industry will resume in its steps before the Covid-19 pandemic ensued? I highly doubt so. Even though there are few historical episodes which provide us with the required data as to how we will emerge from this situation, I expect the new more diversified content approach endorsed by the operators to stick also for the long term.

Operators are now seeing the opportunities that reside in other verticals. Since sport events have been cancelled, sportsbetting players have turned their focus to alternative betting products, be they virtual sports, esports, and online casino amongst other verticals.

In today’s context, I expect this “cross-selling” to other verticals to become even more determining as we go forward, because the current situation will surely have a lasting effect even on people in terms of their gambling behaviour.

I also expect retail operators to adopt a diversification of their business strategies and move towards the online channels. Does this mean that the brick and mortar experience will be a thing of the past? Certainly not. Retail betting shops and casinos still offer a betting and gambling experience in their own unique way. On the other hand I do envisage an expansion to the digital channels to complement the retail offer, with operators necessitating of a diversification of their revenue stream whilst also being better placed to retain their current fold of players, and acquire new customers through targeted marketing campaigns.

 

You have mentioned that operators are opting to “migrate” their players from sportsbook to other verticals.

Sports betting is an activity that nowadays is considered by the players as an enhancement to the real live action. One should also state that the vast majority of players bet on the teams, leagues, and different sports categories which they usually follow, and of which they have a good knowledge and understanding. There is an emotional attachment to sports betting, which in itself is driving operators to seek creative solutions in order to close the gap created by this “live sports void” for the short term.

Not only are they integrating new, innovative and alternative vertical content. They are going to great lengths to ensure a high level of player engagement even on the sportsbook itself, by exploring and expanding markets – such as the props market – that have until now played a rather minor role in the sportsbook vertical.

Most of our partners are realising the benefits that this expanded sportsbook content can have also in terms of retaining their fold of loyal players.

More importantly nowadays we are assisting operators pushing in their bid to create and develop new vertical markets. This is a further indication that eventually we are going to have a better, and stronger scenario, where sportsbook will still reign supreme, but strong gains will be registered in other verticals as operators will seek to diversify ever more their revenue stream.

 

How is BtoBet assisting its partners in mitigating the short term effects, and possibly putting in place a strategy for the longer term?

For the past months BtoBet has focused on boosting all its verticals in order to place all operators in the position to determine which strategy they want to undertake for their target players, whether they want to focus on sportsbook, online casino, lotteries, virtuals, e-sports and fantasy sports.

Nonetheless throughout these times we are still investing and pushing to provide bookmakers with the best range of alternative vertical content, whilst at the same time keeping focused on delivering a long term plan ensuring our partners will reap benefits by adapting a player-centric approach.

This is why we have put a strategy for the short term period assisting all our partners with the introduction of special content including:

  • a daily selection of the most important horse-racing events,
  • a new and engaging novelty bet section,
  • extended E-Sports content,
  • a boosted odds fantasy league,
  • and a tennis game based on the outcome of more than 1 million matches.

We will also offer all our assistance to bookmakers and other operators in diversifying their business model by integrating a wider content for the Virtuals, with games from six leading industry providers natively integrated in the Btobet platform; an Online Casino portfolio consisting of an extensive list of over 8000 games from over 100 providers; and a wide selection of Lotteries, Instant Lotteries and Jackpots, with prizes up to €150 million.

Our past investments have also seen us launch a new retail solution, intended to not only boost the betting experience at the brick and mortar level, but also aptly enable operators to transform their non registered players into registered customers through a rapid registration process.

I am confident that the current sportsbook shortfall will be just a small blip in the radar for the majority of operators who optimise their business strategies, allowing them to reap major revenue increase opportunities from a wider verticals portfolio on the long term.

 

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SOFTSWISS Wins Best Game Aggregator Award in Latin America

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SOFTSWISS wins the CGS Recife Awards 2025 for its flagship Game Aggregator, confirming its industry leadership as the largest content hub in iGaming, operating with 99.999% uptime across 24 regulated jurisdictions. Recognition in Latin America, where SOFTSWISS has achieved full product certification, further proves the product’s global dominance and commitment to delivering trusted solutions across key regulated markets.

The award recognises the best game aggregation platform in the Latin American iGaming market, celebrating leadership, innovation, and operational excellence. This recognition is especially important as it comes from Brazil, where all SOFTSWISS products have recently been certified, led by the Game Aggregator. It is the 7th international award for the Game Aggregator, highlighting the product’s dedication to delivering unmatched scale and stability.

The Game Aggregator is recognised as the industry leader because of measurable advantages that no other platform can match. Operating in 24 jurisdictions, the solution provides direct access to 35,000+ active playing games from 300+ providers with new releases appearing immediately in operators’ portfolios enabled by streamlined integrations.

Engagement features deliver proven growth. Its Tournament Tool increases average daily bets by 22% across the player base. Players who join tournaments place twice as many bets and wager 3 times more than others. Jackpot Aggregator campaigns on the Game Aggregator drive a 50% increase in turnover per user, making engagement mechanics a direct source of revenue.

The platform’s infrastructure is designed for continuous, fail-safe operation. Uptime reaches 99.999–100%, guaranteed by strict SLAs and backed with proactive system notifications. The system processes 7,000 requests and up to 100,000 database queries per second, with 99% of responses returned in under 100 milliseconds. This ensures operators never lose a session, a bet, or their players’ trust.

Beyond scale and engagement, the platform offers features that raise industry standards: AI-driven localisation for any market, deep analytics through the Ultimate Report Builder, and customisable game metadata for client-facing flexibility.

We are honoured to receive the Best Game Aggregator Platform award at CGS Recife. This recognition shows the value of our commitment: a constantly growing game portfolio, wide market coverage, and unwavering platform reliability. For almost ten years, our team has been building a platform that not only delivers scale and stability but also drives measurable results,” added Tatyana Kaminskaya, Head of SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator.

The SOFTSWISS team will be available at SBC Lisbon 2025, Stand B160, to discuss the possibilities of the Game Aggregator.

 

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 35,000 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team, based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia, counts over 2,000 employees.

The post SOFTSWISS Wins Best Game Aggregator Award in Latin America appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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SBC Summit Tbilisi Conference Agenda Maps Path to Growth in Eastern Europe & Central Asia

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This October, SBC Summit Tbilisi 2025 returns to Georgia with an enhanced conference agenda that connects the industry to the expertise and insights of local Eastern European and Central Asian leaders, helping delegates succeed in these markets.

Co-hosted with SMH Global, a Georgia-based company at the crossroads of sports, media, and iGaming, the summit will once again take place at the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace on 15–16 October.

With over 50 speakers, the two-day agenda will cover local marketing, regulatory hurdles, and talent development, offering delegates the expertise needed to build stronger operations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Commenting on this year’s conference agenda, Rasmus Sojmark, CEO and Founder of SBC, said: “We’ve worked closely with SMH and a group of local experts who really understand the region to shape this agenda. They know how to connect with Eastern European players, why crypto has taken off in gaming here, and how sports icons influence the way fans engage. It’s their stories and expertise that make the program in Tbilisi so valuable.”

Day One will dig into the realities of entering and growing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Panels will explore what it really takes to win over players from a marketing perspective, while others will examine how operators can navigate multi-jurisdictional compliance, balancing taxation, GDPR, and responsible gambling rules without losing efficiency.

Beyond regulation, discussions will look at how traditional casinos are reinventing themselves, from integrating digital products to keeping pace with changing player expectations. The day will conclude with a candid discussion on the rise of cryptocurrency in iGaming, asking whether it is truly a game-changer for payments and trust or a risk that requires careful management.

Day Two will turn the spotlight to sports and player engagement. Panels will unpack how athletes and sports icons influence fan communities, shape responsible play, and build brand trust, with case studies of successful collaborations between gaming brands and top stars. Discussions will then move into the rise of esports and fantasy sports, asking whether these interactive formats are the key to winning over younger, more skill-driven audiences.

Experts will also dig into gamification, from leaderboards and missions to loyalty programmes, and debate which mechanics truly keep players engaged long term. Later in the day, attention will shift to the region’s growing reputation as a talent hub, with speakers sharing how companies are recruiting and retaining top tech and product talent from Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, and beyond. The program will close on the power of sport itself, exploring how major events like the World Cup and Olympics fuel massive betting activity, and how sponsorships are reshaping the global sports economy.

Looking ahead to this year’s summit, Sojmark added: “For me, the real value of this agenda is its practicality. Delegates will leave with ideas they can put into practice across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Just as importantly, it’s about looking ahead, thinking about the region’s future role in the industry and how businesses can start preparing for it today.”

Get your tickets for SBC Summit Tbilisi now!

Take advantage of our Early Bird offer and secure a Full Event Pass for just $150 — a $50 saving. Your pass gives you access to every conference session, the exhibition floor, and all evening networking events across both days.

Operators and affiliates are eligible for free passes. Simply click to apply.

The post SBC Summit Tbilisi Conference Agenda Maps Path to Growth in Eastern Europe & Central Asia appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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ZITRO STRENGTHENS ITS COMMITMENT TO QUALITY WITH A NEW CORPORATE POLICY

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Zitro has implemented a comprehensive corporate policy to establish a cross-cutting management model, ensuring operational excellence, sustainability, and a positive user experience across all business areas and markets.

Based on international standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 27001, as well as environmental indicators like ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14067, this policy establishes a common framework that unifies criteria, procedures, and best practices across all areas of the organization. It reinforces the company’s commitment to quality, information security, environmental sustainability, business ethics, and continuous improvement.

Among the fundamental pillars of the system are:

  • Constant innovation in product design to ensure an accessible, secure, and intuitive experience.
  • Strengthening digital security and data protection to the highest standards.
  • Adopting sustainable practices at all stages of the product life cycle.
  • Actively promoting a safe, diverse, ethical work environment committed to professional development.
  • Ensuring regulatory compliance, conducting regular audits, and adopting agile methodologies to foster innovation and continuous improvement.

With this policy, Zitro strengthens its management model and consolidates its commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainability.

The post ZITRO STRENGTHENS ITS COMMITMENT TO QUALITY WITH A NEW CORPORATE POLICY appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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