DraftKings

Coinciding with The Masters which began yesterday, daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings has launched a new Weekend Golf format offering for UK players.

The new game gives players the opportunity to pick a team of 6 players based on a salary cap, with those players earning points through their performance on the course over the weekend.

Weekend Golf is a shortened contest containing only rounds three and four of the major tournament.

There are free-to-play contests as well as contests with cash prizes. Players will also be able to experience play by play updates in real-time using the DK Live app, as well as hole by hole results, live leader boards and player scorecards.

Starting with The Masters, Weekend Golf will be offered for all PGA and Euro Tour tournaments, as DraftKings responds to the growing popularity of golf on its platform. Over 15m user line-ups have so far been created for DraftKings Golf since its launch in 2014.

Microgaming

Isle of Man-based supplier Microgaming has launched two new games this week, Cool Buck and Mega Money Multiplier.

Cool Buck is a classic five-reel, nine-payline slot format exploding with fast-paced action and brand new features. The new free spins collection feature combines with player-favourite features including super stacked wilds across the reels, free spins, scatters and a 2x multiplier, all built on a new game engine that has been carefully balanced to make every spin as impactful as possible.

Mega Money Multiplier brings a classic retro feel to the traditional three-reel slot, and includes wild symbols, respins (for guaranteed wins) and multipliers (up to 10x).

"We're very excited to see Cool Buck launch, which has a brand new game engine that focuses on creating maximum player excitement with every spin," said David Reynolds, games publisher at Microgaming. "While Mega Money Multiplier brings the classic three-reel format up to date with a host of modern features."

Both titles are available to Microgaming and Quickfire operators on desktop and mobile, and come with in-game achievements and free games.

Quickspin

Playtech-owned Swedish slots specialist Quickspin has launched its innovative new Achievements Engine, which has been designed and developed to offer players a more fun and rewarding experience.

The engine makes use of six unique game events that take place in all the supplier's slots, such as when a scatter appears or when the player has a win with two wild symbols, and rewards players with Quickspin Tokens for achieving them.

Achievements are set over four levels, and pay out at each level. Players can then cash in their tokens to trigger the game's bonus feature, which is usually free spins but could also be re-spins, side games, and so on.

Quickspin explained that it was a relatively simple tool, but one that drives entertainment value and fun by giving back part of a player’s expected losses.

"Gamification is a hot topic right now, and here at Quickspin we believe we have delivered a perfect version of it with our Achievements Engine," said Quickspin CEO Daniel Lindberg. "By giving back players part of their expected losses via Quickspin tokens, we can add huge value to their experience.

"It is an effective tool for driving player engagement, too. Inside all of us is an achiever, a part of our brain that like to complete tasks in return for rewards. By building this into our slots via our Achievements Engine, we can better engage players and offer them a more fun and immersive experience."

The first game to feature the Quickspin Achievements Engine is Sakura Fortune, a 4x5, 40-line slot which transports players to an enchanted world of cherry blossom and samurai warriors as they guide the game’s beautiful heroine towards untold riches.

Quickspin said that its new launch was in line with Playtech's strategy of integrating additional real-time engagement and retention features, as well as functionality to its offering.

"We believe our Achievements Engine sets the standard when it comes to gamification, and look forward to receiving operator and player feedback now that it is available through our latest game release, Sakura Fortune," added Lindberg.

iSoftBet/Vera&John

Casino games developer iSoftBet will launch its portfolio of online and mobile games for Jackpotjoy's Vera&John brand.

iSoftBet's entire portfolio of original and branded games will be made available to the operator, as well as its Game Aggregation Platform (GAP) which comprises more than 1,000 titles from 28 suppliers.

Initial titles to go live will include iSoftBet's Paranormal Activity, Platoon Wild and Neon Reels games.

"iSoftBet is a reputed software provider in the industry," said Victor Olinger, head of gaming at Vera&John. "With this new arrangement, we will be adding fair and exciting games to our ever-growing portfolio, which I'm sure, will be appreciated by our players."

Michael Probert, head of business development at iSoftBet, said: "We're delighted to get Vera&John on board. Known for being a fun and inspiring online casino, we feel Vera&John is a great platform for us to showcase our games.

"Vera&John's increasing popularity among key regulated markets means iSoftBet can now definitely grow its reach. We hope players will enjoy the vast diversity of games we offer and the solid math model behind them."

Extreme Live Gaming/Betsafe

After launching recently with Betsson.com, Novomatic UK subsidiary Extreme Live Gaming has rolled outs its live dealer games for Betsson-owned brand Betsafe.

As well as Extreme Live Gaming's flagship Golden Ball Roulette game, Betsafe’s live casino offering will include the supplier's Leader Board feature and soon to be released Reel King Roulette for the UK market.

In addition, Betsafe will add Live Box Roulette games to its site, which are streamed live from Casino Admiral in Gibraltar.

Visionary iGaming and Nolimit City/EveryMatrix

EveryMatrix continues to add new content to its CasinoEngine platform following integrations with Stockholm-based developer Nolimit City and live dealer provider Visionary iGaming.

It is the latest integrations for the platform provider which already has a range of more than 4,000 casino games on offer to its operator partners, from over 50 third-party suppliers.

Costa Rica-based Visionary iGaming will distribute its live casino games to EveryMatrix, including Live European Roulette, Live American Roulette, Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat, and Live Super 6.

"It is our company's mission to create highly entertaining live dealer experiences which maximize client revenue," said Visionary iGaming's marketing director James Olsen. "This new partnership enables us to distribute our live games to EveryMatrix’s large network of operators.

"We are confident that our unique live dealer solutions will help EveryMatrix operators differentiate their brands and generate more gaming revenue."

Doina Stefanescu, CEO of EveryMatrix's CasinoEngine, added: "We've been actively looking to increase our casino offer to include high-quality live dealer content from top vendors in the industry, and Visionary iGaming was an obvious choice.

"With more games and more possibilities at hand, our clients have all the reasons to stay positive about their gaming offering."

Meanwhile, Nolimit City has agreed to integrate its games with EveryMatrix's platform, including titles such as Oktoberfest, Creepy Carnival and Space Arcade.

"EveryMatrix has a roster of partners in several key markets for us, so we are thrilled to be able to add our games to their portfolio and put them in front of even more players," said Jonas Tegman, chief product officer at Nolimit City. "Operators and suppliers need to offer players top-quality content, which is why we have focused on fine-tuning our current portfolio before launching more titles. But we have an exciting product roadmap, with our next batch of games due for release soon."

EveryMatrix CEO Ebbe Groes commented: "We always look to strengthen our portfolio with exciting new games and Nolimit City's slots fit the bill. Our partners seek to integrate high-quality content to stand out from the competition and we are committed to offer it every time."

VSoftCo/Infinity Gaming Solutions

Virtual sports specialist VSoftCo has entered into a deal to integrate its portfolio of virtual football content with Isle of Man-based platform provider Infinity Gaming Solutions and operator of the Midaur.com online casino.

The multi-year agreement will see VSoftCo provide all its virtual football products to Infinity, including the first integration of VStriker, the joint venture between VSoftCo and the Striker comic strip that first appeared in The Sun newspaper in 1985.

The integration also includes VSoftCo's casino based table games which include a roulette version of Spot The Ball.

"This partnership is very exciting for VSoftCo as we continue to sell the VStriker brand and expand our distribution of football based casino content," said Simon Westbury, chief commercial officer of VSoftCo "Infinity's state of the art gaming platform is very impressive and we look forward to a long and successful partnership."

Tina Rawlinson, director of Infinity Gaming Solutions, commented: "I am delighted to welcome VSoftCo as the latest content partner on Infinity’s platform. VSoftCo's innovative virtual sports game suite has significant player appeal and will add another exciting vertical to our own Midaur casino experience and also our white label platform partner offering.

"We look forward to continuing and growing our close working relationship with the VSoftCo team."

Oryx Gaming/Omnislots

Curaçao-licensed iGaming operator Omnislots.com has expanded its offering after integrating its platform with Oryx Gaming.

The operator will initially launch a selection of slot games from Gamomat, adding to its existing portfolio of games from the likes of NetEnt, Microgaming, Amatic Industries, Betsoft, Evolution and Endorphina.

Gamomat games including Fancy Fruits and Ramses Book will be made available to Omnislots.com players, with Wild Rubies set to be rolled out later this month.

"Gamomat's games are the perfect match for our brand to add to our portfolio - as they are one of the best new providers with top performing mobile slots," said Omnislots.com CEO Robert Peters. "With these games we are certain of continuing our skyrocketing growth in 2017."

Oryx Gaming CEO Matevz Mazij added: "Omnislots.com has an excellent gaming offering and it's great to bring them onto the Oryx platform as they look to grow their presence in Europe and Latam."