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UNLV’s PGA Golf Management University Program partners with Las Vegas-based AI technology company Evenplay to study the effects of rewards on skill level
There’s a timeless adage from NBA great Allen Iverson: “Practice?!” But now, almost ironically, AI (that is, Artificial Intelligence) will be helping us replicate big-time pressure in that very scenario.
Evenplay, an AI technology company based out of Las Vegas, has created a patented golf simulator application that creates challenges for all skill levels, with the intention of improving play performance through the use of cash rewards.
“What we have is a machine-learning algorithm that takes all of your shot data and says, ‘What are you going to do next from 175 yards?,’ and creates targets personalized for your skill level with money on the line,” said Sameer Gupta, co-founder of Evenplay. “If you practice with pressure, you’re probably going to get better faster.”
UNLV has partnered with Evenplay, taking on the task of studying the impact of rewards on skill level, and how well this experience translates the gains from practice into practical use on the real course.
“It sounded like a good opportunity to build a relationship and a bridge with this company,” said Chris Cain, director of the PGA Golf Management University Program within UNLV’s Harrah College of Hospitality. “And to see if we can continue to advance off-course golf, improve diversity in the consumer base, and think a little bit differently and daring, which is what UNLV’s all about.”
Upping the Ante on Research
The ability to create a feedback loop – one where you practice in the same conditions as when something’s on the line – is the goal: replicating the jitters that come from staring down a big putt, and then training yourself to handle the pressure before you step onto the course.
Evenplay does this by paying out money depending on the shot, using rewards as a way to create real stress in a controlled setting.
“What we have is a turn-key stress generator,” said Gupta. “Our model projects a thousand shots from every distance, with a target drawn where about half of your shots should be capable of landing. We’ve taken a skill-based activity and are able to predict what you will do next.”
The study at UNLV uses a more controlled version of the wagers. Randomly selected participants will receive various payouts such as lesson or UNLV Gift certificates based on their group assignments and the level of contributions to the study.
“This is a skill-based gaming application that allows someone to make a bet and have fun doing it,” said Cain. “What we’re doing at UNLV is seeing if the variable payouts influence program retention – do they play longer or more often? Does this also influence skill improvement? Wouldn’t it be cool to have some sort of technology in place that actually uses gaming as a way to positively influence skill improvement?”
The study is made possible through UNLV’s Sports Innovation Institute (SII), and the College of Hospitality’s Center for Golf Management, in collaboration with the university’s International Gaming Institute. The SII acts as a hub for all of the faculty who do research in sports, enabling them to work together to find solutions to problems and advance the commercialization of products fitting that criteria.
“With Evenplay’s expertise, as well as the Sports Innovation and the International Gaming institutes, that trifecta makes for a pretty special partnership here in Las Vegas,” Cain said. “There are thousands of data points in every swing that UNLV is looking forward to analyzing to see if this really changes the way we practice.”
Growing the Game
It’s no secret that the game of golf is expensive and often exclusive. The National Golf Foundation estimates the cost of a full round at a public course in the U.S. was $43 in 2023. That’s just getting on the course. When you add hundreds and thousands of dollars into equipment costs, training, and lessons, the financial barrier to entry becomes quite imposing.
“There are about 120 million people interested in the game and only 45 million participating,” said Cain. “Technology’s going to help close that gap, and being able to take lessons without being on the golf course will be part of the future, making it more inclusive, accessible, and affordable.”
Improving the accessibility of the game is one of the desired outcomes for the research, potentially showing a greater translation of the skills developed in a simulator using Evenplay to the course itself.
“It’s winter right now – nobody’s taking swings on green golf courses in Chicago,” said Gupta. “All of those players are using simulators indoors. We’re growing the amount of people who can engage with golf by changing how often people can meaningfully play the sport at all times of the year.”
Changing the game doesn’t end with golf. The patent for Evenplay features a baseball player swinging a bat, and the plan is to roll into bowling next. Its partnership and ongoing study with UNLV is only expediting the interest in this potential shakeup to the practice session.
“The ability of UNLV to effectively structure a relationship with the PGA is very impressive and unique in the market,” said Gupta. “And bringing that knowledge to a private company like ours is essential to our growth.”
The results of Evenplay’s efficacy in providing measurable improvement to player skill will be shared as the study concludes later this year.
EveryMatrix has kicked off 2025 with powerful momentum, reporting a standout first quarter of exceptional revenue growth and profitability.
The tier-1 iGaming technology platform supplier delivered a very strong first quarter performance, with net revenue reaching €54 million, up 39% Year-on-Year (YoY), and EBITDA increasing to €28m, up 27% YoY, driven by strong growth from existing clients and innovative product launches.
EBITDA margin reached 52%, making it the eighth consecutive quarter above 50%, as the company continues to scale its platform and casino content technologies while maintaining strong financial discipline.
The last twelve months’ EBITDA reached €107m, up 50% YoY, building on 2024’s milestone achievement of surpassing €100 million in annual EBITDA.
Q1 MILESTONES SIGNAL POWERHOUSE YEAR AHEAD
A highlight of the first quarter was the successful migration of Bet600 – the first full turnkey FSB Technologies customer in the UK – to the EveryMatrix platform. The company aim remains to have all clients fully migrated in 2025 thereby realizing large cost synergies from this key acquisition.
EveryMatrix launched its cutting-edge proprietary Horse Racing solution by combining FSB’s proven knowledge and experience in Horse Racing with the innovation of OddsMatrix development teams. It provides global horse racing coverage with 10k+ monthly events, full system bets offering with bonusing capabilities and configurations and a purpose-built Horse Racing front end with rich Racecard content & live streaming integrations among some of the features.
A landmark deal was signed to deliver a full casino turnkey platform solution to SkyCity Entertainment Group. SkyCity is one of New Zealand’s largest entertainment companies owning five land-based casinos across both NZ and Australia and the online casino brand SkyCitycasino.com. SkyCity migrates from their current provider to EveryMatrix later this year.
SPORTS SURGE AND STRONG CASINO & PLATFORM GROWTH
Q1 2025 saw the company’s sports division deliver exceptional growth, with quarterly sports turnover rising 30% YoY to €1.7b, while GGR climbing 60% YoY to €154m on the back of continued strong trading margins. The last twelve months (LTM) turnover hit €6.3b, reflecting a 48% YoY increase, with GGR rising by 92% YoY to €505m. Part of the growth came from reaching a record number of nearly 600,000 live events, a 24% YoY increase.
Casino experienced the strongest quarterly financial results to date, with net revenue climbing to €28.6m, up 44% YoY, while EBITDA reached €16.8m, up 29% YoY. Casino GGR reached €753m, a 22% YoY increase, with the LTM reaching €2.9b, a 38% YoY increase.
GamMatrix, the company’s Gaming and Player Account Management Platform, experienced a net revenue increase of €8.6m, up 18% YoY, while EBITDA landed at €2.4m, a 23% decrease YoY. The decrease in EBITDA margin is related to a change in internal revenue allocation.
Ebbe Groes, Group CEO of EveryMatrix, said: “I’m very excited for 2025. Q1 was a solid quarter, a great start, and the rest of the year looks just as promising. We had a phenomenal year in 2024, which will be hard to beat, but thanks to the momentum we’ve set in motion during the last few years, I’m sure we’ll be able to do it.
“Our sports division never ceases to amaze me, breaking record after record. This quarter, we managed to reach 600,000 live events, all thanks to our ability to expand our coverage and add new products and features even while experiencing this much continuous growth.”
Q1 2025 HIGHLIGHTS
- Reached net revenue of €54m, up 39% YoY, with EBITDA at €28m, up 27% YoY, driven primarily by strong growth from existing clients.
- EBITDA margin reached 52%. Last twelve months’ EBITDA reached €107m, up 50% YoY.
- Migrated Bet600 from FSB to EveryMatrix platform, the company’s first such migration.
- OddsMatrix’s brand new Horse Racing product went live with this launch.
- Signed New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment Group to deliver a full casino turnkey platform solution.
- First three dedicated blackjack tables went live, another step up for the business’ PlayMatrix live dealer product.
- Launched OddsMatrix feeds for LeoVegas Group to enhance their global sportsbook offering.
- Won Norsk Tipping’s Casino and eInstant RFP, the largest-ever SlotMatrix deal, delivering aggregation, in-house and bespoke content.
- Launched SlotMatrix casino content with Caesars Entertainment across five U.S. states, expanding U.S. presence (post-quarter).
- Introduced New Odds Models for Football and Handball and enhanced retail Self Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs).
- Introduced real-time Rakeback through LoyalityEngine, the company’s Newly Launched Cross-Vertical Loyalty Program.
- Integrated 14 new casino vendors, now totalling 185+ and 345+ content providers.
- Signed 20 new PartnerMatrix clients.
Latest News
Rising Digital chooses Continent 8 as strategic cybersecurity partner for US iGaming operations
Global games developer deploys Continent 8’s Compliance Audit, Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) and Vulnerability Scan (V-Scan) services to swiftly meet multi-state regulatory compliance requirements
Continent 8 Technologies, the leading provider of global managed hosting, connectivity, cloud and cybersecurity solutions to the iGaming and online sports betting industry, is pleased to announce an expanded partnership with global leading Asian game developer, Rising Digital Corporation. Through this enhanced collaboration, Rising Digital has selected Continent 8 as its dedicated cybersecurity services provider.
Rising Digital, a current infrastructure partner leveraging Continent 8’s cloud solution for high-performance connectivity, high availability and uninterrupted uptime of gaming platforms, has established a strategic alliance with Continent 8 to enhance its cybersecurity program and standards. This initiative allows Rising Digital to utilize Continent 8’s complete suite of regulatory cybersecurity services, ensuring full compliance within each US state it operates in.
Rising Digital has successfully launched its cybersecurity program across multiple states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario, to comply with the specific regulatory requirements of each jurisdiction. In collaboration with Continent 8 and its cybersecurity specialist division, C8 Secure, Rising Digital has successfully completed Compliance Audit, Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) and Vulnerability Scan (V-Scan) services. These comprehensive regulatory cybersecurity services ensure compliance with local regulatory standards and identify potential vulnerabilities, providing actionable insights to strengthen the organization’s overall cybersecurity posture.
Aimin Cong, CEO of Rising Digital, said: “We are delighted to formalize our relationship with Continent 8 for our growing iGaming operations business. With the utmost importance being placed upon compliance, performance and security, we believe Continent 8 is an excellent infrastructure and cybersecurity services partner.”
Patrick Gardner, Chief Security Officer at Continent 8, said: “We are honored that Rising Digital has placed its trust in Continent 8 as its infrastructure and cybersecurity partner as they expand their operations across the United States.
“At Continent 8, we pride ourselves as being a one-stop-shop provider of infrastructure, cloud, regulatory and cybersecurity solutions. Our services enable iGaming companies like Rising Digital to swiftly meet multi-state regulatory requirements, safeguarding their operations while providing peace of mind. We stand committed to setting the highest standards and value for cybersecurity and compliance services within the ever-growing iGaming and online sports betting sector.”
Continent 8 will be at SBC Summit Americas, from May 13-15 at Booth D750. Schedule a show meeting to learn more about the best practices and strategies for your organization’s regulatory cybersecurity requirements.
Latest News
ESET Research analyzes tools from the China-aligned TheWizards group, with targets across Asia and the Middle East
ESET researchers have analyzed Spellbinder, a lateral movement tool used to perform adversary-in-the-middle attacks by the China-aligned threat actor TheWizards. Spellbinder enables adversary-in-the-middle attacks through IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration spoofing, which allows the attackers to redirect the update protocols of legitimate Chinese software to malicious servers. Then the legitimate software is tricked into downloading and executing the malicious components that launch the backdoor WizardNet.
TheWizards has been constantly active since at least 2022 until the present and, according to ESET telemetry, targets individuals, gambling companies, and unknown entities in the Philippines, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, mainland China, and Hong Kong.
“We initially discovered and analyzed this tool in 2022, and observed a new version with a few changes that was deployed to compromised machines in 2023 and 2024,” says ESET researcher Facundo Muñoz, who analyzed Spellbinder and WizardNet. “Our research led us to discover a tool used by the attackers that is designed to perform adversary-in-the-middle attacks using IPv6 SLAAC spoofing to intercept and reply to packets in a network, allowing the attackers to redirect traffic and serve malicious updates to legitimate Chinese software,” explains Muñoz.
The final payload in the attack is a backdoor that we named WizardNet – a modular implant that connects to a remote controller to receive and execute .NET modules on the compromised machine. ESET researchers have focused on one of the latest cases, in 2024, in which the update of Tencent QQ software was hijacked. The malicious server that issues the update instructions is still active. This variant of WizardNet supports five commands, three of which allow it to execute .NET modules in memory, thus extending its functionality on the compromised system.
TheWizards and the Chinese company Dianke Network Security Technology (also known as UPSEC) – supplier of the DarkNights backdoor (also known as DarkNimbus), appear to be linked. According to NCSC UK, this malicious backdoor also has Tibetan and Uyghur communities among its primary targets. While TheWizards uses a different backdoor – the WizardNet, the hijacking server is configured to serve DarkNights to updating applications running on Android devices.
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