This week in B2B news (19 August)

Pariplay secures its fourth US licence with Pennsylvania accreditationNeoGames subsidiary Pariplay has been awarded its Pennsylvania licence as it looks to expand in North America.The Interactive Gaming Manufacturer Licence, awarded by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), is the fourth licence secured by the provider in the US, following Michigan, West Virginia and New Jersey.This licence allows Pariplay to offer content from Wizard Games and a variety of aggregated third-party titles across the Keystone state through its Fusion platform.Adrian Bailey, MD at Pariplay, said: “We continually strive to expand in key markets, and Pennsylvania is one of the major emerging territories in the United States.“Receiving our fourth licence in the US is an important landmark for us and we’re eager to expand commercially in our newest market. It is one that has great potential both for Pariplay and also our future partners.”Lawrence Hanlin, head of compliance at Pariplay, added: “We pride ourselves on working extremely hard to study the regulations and compliance to enter markets swiftly and seamlessly, and Pennsylvania is yet another example of that.“We’re very happy to receive this licence, which will help serve our operators’ partners and their players with a huge range of locally appealing content.”Pragmatic Play expands its deal with HollywoodbetsPragmatic Play has extended its existing partnership with Hollywoodbets to supply its content to the UK and Ireland.The pair have worked together in the South African market for a while, and this new agreement will mean that Pragmatic Play will supply the UK and Ireland with its library of slots, live casino titles and virtual sports content.Yossi Barzely, chief business development officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “We’ve been working with Hollywoodbets for a while now and so its professionalism and high standards are no stranger to us. It’s fantastic news to be able to work with them in additional markets, especially in the biggest European market, which will allow for further brand exposure and lead generation.”Dermot O’Connell, Hollywoodbets betting operations manager, said: “Hollywoodbets strives to offer our customers premium entertainment and thrilling experiences and, in Pragmatic Play, we have found an ideal partner to enhance our existing portfolio of games.”ParlayBay to further its reach in Lithuania with TOPsport agreementSports betting provider ParlayBay has inked an agreement to deliver its games to TOPsport in Lithuania.The agreement will see ParlayBay’s suite of games provided to TOPsport.lt with the integration set to be completed by the end of the year.Patrick Nordwall, CEO at ParlayBay, commented: “TOPsport is one of the most recognised operators in Lithuania, with a fantastic vision for the future of igaming. We are so proud to be able to announce our alliance with a partner that shares our passion for innovative products in our industry.“This winter, Lithuanian TOPsport players will be able to experience our outstanding sports betting games and unique player experience.”Dainius Gulbinas, CEO at TOPsport, added: “ParlayBay is an ambitious igaming company that will help us to lift our online portfolio to another level thanks to its pioneering products.“We’re on the same page as ParlayBay and feel that innovation in sports betting has yet to reach its full potential, so we’re excited to work together to reach this goal.”Kaizen Gaming team up with Real Dealer StudiosOnline casino games provider Real Dealer Studios has partnered with Kaizen Gaming to launch in Greece and Romania.Under this new agreement, players at Stoiximan and Betano will now have access to a plethora of the provider’s titles.Shane Cotter, chief product officer at Real Dealer Studios, said: “Our cinematic RNG games have proved to be blockbuster hits in a wide range of markets, and we believe they will be just as popular in Greece and Romania.“Our games allow operators such as Kaizen Gaming to deliver a stand-out player experience and provide content that keeps players engaged and entertained at all times.“This is an important agreement for Real Dealer as it forms part of wider plans to continue to expand into regulated markets across Europe and beyond, and with the leading operators in each.”Christos Mavridis, live casino manager at Kaizen Gaming, added: “Real Dealer is the real deal. Its cinematic RNG casino games are like nothing we have seen in the market before and deliver unprecedented levels of fun and excitement.“It is integrations such as this that allow us to stand out from our rivals and set the standard for others to follow in our core markets of Romania and Greece.”20SHOTS secures additional investment from Animal Capital UK technology supplier 20SHOTS has secured an additional £400,000 investment at a £5m valuation, with backers including Gen Z-focused US venture capital fund Animal Capital, towards the fantasy football product Fantasy5.The American fund, that counts social media stars Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson and Noah Beck among its partners, focuses on products that reach a new generation of customers. It has invested an undisclosed sum in 20SHOTS for the new football season, which will see the platform roll out its largest range of products added to its Fantasy5 game to date.Jacob Kalms, co-founder and CEO of 20SHOTS, said: “We’re pleased to welcome Animal Capital as investors as part of our most recent funding round, which has raised £400,000 in capital.“As demand grows in the ultra-competitive free-to-play space, we’re investing in our ability to quickly and seamlessly roll out products and games on a white label basis for a number of different partners across multiple divisions and competitions – with the ultimate objective of using the technology seamlessly across the most popular sports worldwide.Marshall Sandman, managing partner of Animal Capital, said: “In a crowded market of fantasy, free-to-play and pay-to-play sports betting, 20SHOTS distinguishes itself with a best-in-class team and direction that has allowed the product to stand out distinctly and early.“Their flagship game Fantasy5 is an early hit; their B2B relationships are uniquely positioned to make this an exciting asset, and their ability to resonate and be sticky with a younger audience are all reasons why we were excited to be on the journey.”Wazdan enters the Dutch market with Casino777.nl partnershipGames provider Wazdan has gone live in the Netherlands with new partner Casino777.nl.Wazdan received its Dutch certification in March and is now offering its games in over 20 regulated markets worldwide.Andrzej Hyla, CCO at Wazdan, said: “Entering regulated markets is a source of huge pride for us. Our games bring an array of cutting-edge mechanics, innovative features and gripping themes to market that we’re confident will be a huge success with players throughout the Netherlands. This is an important milestone for us.”Jean-Christophe Choffray, head of gaming at Casino777.nl, added: “Wazdan’s games bring amazing graphics, fantastic bonuses and giant win potential, and we are happy we can bring some of their best titles to our customers. It is an exciting deal for both parties and we look forward to bringing more great gaming experiences to players.”