Press Releases
GROVER GAMING BETS BIG ON OHIO CHARITIES

Grover Gaming announced that it is officially seeking licensure from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to both manufacture and distribute Electronic Instant Bingo devices to charities, fraternals, and other nonprofit organizations in Ohio.
Grover has made sizable investments already in Ohio. According to Wil Riesgard, Vice President of Operations for Grover Gaming, “We have had a large distribution center here in Columbus for a while and are currently adding another office/warehouse in the northeast part of the state. We will very soon have over fifty employees just in the State of Ohio including a dedicated marketing team.”
“We are already licensed as a Bingo Supply Manufacturer in Ohio, but we have also applied for the separate Distributor license and the Electronic Instant Bingo endorsement to each of those licenses,” said Dorwin “DL” Howard, Compliance and Licensing Specialist at Grover Gaming. “The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, by law, cannot issue any of those licenses until April 1, 2022, but we hope to receive our endorsements on that date or soon after. We do anticipate that they will issue licenses to every manufacturer and distributor entitled to a license at the same time to avoid giving an advantage to one or the other.”
“We cannot offer any proposals to any potential customers in Ohio until we receive those endorsements,” stated Marc Downing, Chief Counsel and Director of Compliance for Grover. “But we do have a plan.”
“We intend to bring the same industry leading software and hardware that has been so successful for our charitable customers in states like Virginia, North Dakota, New Hampshire, and Kentucky,” stated Garrett Blackwelder, President and owner of Grover Gaming. “We are fortunate to be the leader in all those markets by a large margin, and in Virginia and New Hampshire we distribute our products directly to our customers. By distributing our own product, we are able to deal directly with the charities which streamlines our customer service and takes it to an even higher level. This will allow us to further our mission of providing entertaining gaming experiences through a team committed to growth and progress.”
Not only will Grover distribute its own product, but they also intend to place Electronic Instant Bingo equipment and supply Electronic Instant Bingo tickets without requiring any long-term commitments from the charities and fraternals in Ohio. “We will not be requiring contracts of any kind from the charities,” stated Jimmy Forrest, Vice President of Sales for Grover. “We want to earn your business by providing the best performing games and world class service, not because we lock you down with a piece of paper.”
Forrest continued, “another market changing innovation is the integration of our redemption kiosks. With this kiosk a player can just insert their ticket and get cash without having to see an attendant to redeem their winnings. In Virginia, not only has security drastically increased, but we have also seen an increase in net revenue to the charities of over 15% in some locations.” Grover plans to offer those kiosks free of charge along with the biggest selection of custom game terminals.
Grover Gaming develops software, game content, and gaming systems for lotteries and charitable gaming jurisdictions, and is licensed in Ohio, New Hampshire, Kentucky, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Ontario Canada, and Virginia. Based in Greenville, NC, Grover Gaming has over 360 employees across nine states including a design studio in Wilmington, NC and a Software Development Center in Chicago, IL.
The company is also a 3-year Inc 5000 award recipient, recognizing the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States and was recently honored with a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award. Glassdoor ranked Grover Gaming Number 2 in its Best Places to Work list in 2022 among companies across the US with less than 1,000 employees.
Compliance Updates
INCENTIVE GAMES SECURES MICHIGAN GAMING LICENSE

Incentive Games, a leading B2B games provider, is proud to announce that it has been awarded a Provisional Michigan gaming licence by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), effective today. This achievement allows the company to bring its innovative suite of Real-Money Games to operators and players across the state.
The Michigan licence represents Incentive Games’ first foray into the North American regulated market. This comes shortly after the launch of Incentive Studios, the company’s dedicated Real-Money Gaming division, which is set to drive its ambitious growth in this sector. The licence underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest standards of compliance, security, and operational integrity. Obtaining this licence, which requires excellence in areas such as robust security protocols and comprehensive responsible gaming measures, provides access to one of the most dynamic iGaming markets in the United States.
Ahmed Baker, Chief Commercial Officer at Incentive Games, said, “Securing our Michigan licence marks an exciting new chapter for Incentive Games. It’s a testament to our unwavering commitment to meeting the highest regulatory standards and unlocks a significant opportunity for us in a critical North American growth market. This will allow Incentive Games to forge new partnerships and bring our highly engaging Real-Money Games directly to players in Michigan. We’re very grateful to the MGCB for this achievement, which is a pivotal step in our global expansion strategy as we continue to deliver world-class products and build strong partnerships in the region.”
Compliance Updates
BMM TESTLABS PROMOTES SACHA MCLAUGHLIN TO VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE

BMM Testlabs, the world’s original gaming test lab renowned for exceptional product compliance and certification services, today announced the promotion of Sacha McLaughlin to Vice President of Global Quality Assurance.
BMM’s President of Land-Based Gaming & Inspections, Kirk White, said, “Sacha has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, operational excellence, and a customer-first attitude. Her experience and passion will be critical as we continue to grow our QA services to meet the always-evolving needs of the global gaming industry.”
With over 18 years of experience in software implementation and seven years in the gaming industry, McLaughlin brings extensive knowledge of both agile and waterfall development methodologies, test planning, project management, and cross-regional team leadership. She is recognized for her ability to build and scale QA organizations that deliver quality, speed, and value to customers.
McLaughlin joined BMM in 2018 and has held roles of increasing responsibility within the Company, most recently serving as Senior Director of Quality Assurance. Throughout her tenure, she has been instrumental in expanding BMM’s QA capabilities and helping customers launch products into the global gaming market more quickly, with a focus on regulatory compliance, functionality, fairness, and security.
Latest News
Liftoff’s 2025 Mobile Ad Creative Index Reveals UGC Is a Key Differentiator for Top Apps

Major findings from the newly launched report include playable ads having the potential to deliver impression-to-install rates 16 times that of non-playable formats for emerging gaming apps and a 20% increase in spending on interactive ads year over year.
Liftoff, a leading AI-enabled growth platform for the mobile app economy, has published its seventh annual Mobile Ad Creative Index. The report explores top creative trends that are attracting and scaling in ad spend across consumer apps and games. It also highlights the expanding role of AI in creative production, testing, and optimization.
This year’s Mobile Ad Creative Index specifically analyzes creative concepts that have excelled in scale for Liftoff’s highest-spending advertisers over the past 12 to 48 months. It is based on findings from over 4.7 trillion impressions, 263 billion clicks, and 1.1 billion installs between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2025.
Highlights from the report include:
Top consumer apps are investing in interactive ads to compete for engagement
In 2024, the share of spend on interactive ads for top apps increased by 20% year over year. The share of spend increased by 2% for spenders outside the top tier. Top-spending apps differentiate their campaigns by adding innovations to evergreen concepts such as social scrollers, carousels, and scratch-offs.
Playable ads deliver returns across ad budgets for mobile game advertisers
In 2024, the share of spend on playable ads for top games averaged 35% higher than other games. Across all ad budgets, however, playable ads delivered higher conversion rates. Impression-to-install rates were 8 times that of non-playable formats for top spenders and 16 times that of non-playable formats for other game advertisers.
Tailoring “metaplay” elements to motivations can improve performance
“Metaplay” elements—gameplay that diverges from an app’s core design to appeal to a broader audience—are widespread, but top games gain an edge by tailoring their metaplay ads to the publisher audience. The report found that aligning “metaplay” creative with publisher audiences resulted in a 93% increase in installs-per-mille.
UGC is becoming a key differentiator in driving scale for consumer apps
The share of spend on user-generated content (UGC) increased 11% for top-spending apps, with social and utility apps seeing the most significant jump of nearly 30% between 2023 and 2024.
Widespread adoption of Gen AI leads to more customized ad experiences
Creative teams increasingly leverage AI to enhance top-performing assets with 3D and motion and to create and test variations. Top advertisers also use AI to recombine their assets in customized ad experiences that break away from standard video to playable formats.
Yann Zeller, Chief of Staff, Creative at Liftoff, said: “Today’s creative landscape is shaped by a single, powerful truth: attention is the commodity, and brands, games, and influencers are all vying for it. Great mobile ad experiences can earn attention by aligning context with behavior. As ad formats become richer and AI expands our ability to personalize and adapt creatives at scale, we’re able to unlock new insights into user behavior and motivation. We see users spend meaningful stretches with the right content, sometimes 60 to 90 seconds when the ad feels personal or prompts meaningful participation. This isn’t just a better way to advertise—it’s a better way to tell stories and the most exciting brief we’ve had in years.”
Soren Steelquist, Director of Creative Production, said: “The proof is in the data—more and more consumer apps are incorporating UGC into every stage of their marketing, and programmatic is no different. UGC works because it’s authentic and relatable, and users are more likely to be influenced by ad when it’s coming from a trustworthy source. To see higher impact from UGC creatives, work with a partner that can match the right creator with your brand and develop winning concepts that resonate with audiences.”
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