Latest news with #MartinCollins
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Soft2Bet's Martin Collins Unveils Vision for the Future of iGaming in Exclusive Interview with The European
LONDON, United Kingdom, June 3, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- In a wide-ranging and insightful interview, opens new tab with Juliette Foster for The European Magazine, opens new tab, Martin Collins, Chief Business Development Officer at Soft2Bet, opens new tab, shared the company's bold vision for the future of iGaming, highlighting its innovation-led growth, strategic expansion, and pioneering use of AI and gamification. Opening with the staggering growth of the global iGaming industry, from $70 billion in 2022 to a projected $125.6 billion by 2027, Foster set the stage for a deep dive into how Soft2Bet is not only keeping pace, but leading the charge. Founded in 2016, Soft2Bet, opens new tab has become a standout in the iGaming sector, offering turnkey solutions that combine cutting-edge technology with immersive user experiences. Collins emphasised that the company's success stems from its ability to rethink traditional models and focus on user engagement, rather than transactional interactions. The conversation also explores the company's use of AI and data analytics to personalise user journeys. Collins describes how Soft2Bet segments users into behavioural cohorts, tailoring experiences to individual preferences and continuously refining them through machine learning. Looking ahead, Soft2Bet is planning to expand into new markets including New Jersey and Nigeria, with a focus on local partnerships and tailored brand experiences. We have also successfully penetrated North America through Canada. The company's long-term vision is to be a top-three operator in every market it enters, while continuing to shape the future of iGaming through innovation, localisation, and customer-centric design. Soft2Bet's commitment to innovation is further underscored by its €50 million Soft2Bet Invest fund, launched in 2024 to support startups and emerging technologies in the gaming sector. Unlike traditional VC models, the fund offers not just capital but real-world integration and battle-testing opportunities. The exclusive video interview is available to watch on The European's YouTube channel, opens new tab. About CP Media Global Limited The European is a quarterly business publication by CP Media Global Ltd, based in London and established in 2008. Available in both print and digital formats, the magazine is distributed globally at major events, trade fairs, and airports, reaching a wide network of decision-makers across Europe, MENA, LATAM, North America, and Asia. Covering a broad spectrum of topics — including Banking & Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Sustainability, ESG, Energy, Shipping, Aviation, Technology, Real Estate, and Business Travel — The European delivers in-depth reporting and analysis on key trends shaping the global business landscape. With a commitment to thought-provoking and objective journalism, the magazine offers expert insight, success stories, and strategic perspectives to help leaders navigate the evolving economic, political, and cultural environment. For more information, visit Media Contact Jonathan Edwardsenquiries@ ### SOURCE: CP Media Global Limited Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire See release on EZ Newswire
Sky News
13-03-2025
- Sky News
The waters once ran red with whale blood - now South Georgia is a conservation success story
Technically, the hundred-mile-long, 20 mile-wide British overseas territory of South Georgia is uninhabited. Only a few visiting scientists and government fisheries inspectors occupy the island all year round. But from a wildlife perspective, it's anything but. Its shores are home to the largest number of marine birds and mammals on the planet. Lying 800 miles east off the Falkland Islands and a thousand miles north of Antarctica, it's one of the few fragments of land between that vast frozen continent and the rest of the world. 2:03 The part of the South Atlantic in which it sits is one of the most food-rich oceans in the world, fed by powerful circulating currents, and it's full of shrimp-like Antarctic krill. "Krill feeds the blue whales, humpback whales, fin whales. It also feeds the gentoo penguins, macaroni penguins, chinstrap penguins and the fur seals," says Martin Collins, a scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, and former head of the South Georgia government, speaking to me from his office at King Edward Point on the island. The island also has some of the largest and most significant populations of elephant seals, king penguins and several species of albatross and petrel - the hardiest of ocean-going seabirds. The island has been in the headlines after the world's largest iceberg, A23a, ran aground off its south-west coast. 1:28 Concern over impact of iceberg on island's wildlife There's a concern it could impact wildlife on the island - but the timing is fortuitous, says Mr Collins. "It's the end of the breeding season now, which means the impacts on penguins at that part of the island will be lessened. "There may be a little bit of impact, particularly on gentoo penguins, which still forage around the island during the winter." From a wider conservation point of view, South Georgia is one of the world's stand-out success stories. Until the 1960s, it was a major hub for whaling. Thousands of whales were caught off its coasts and processed at a number of whaling stations - the scale of the slaughter such that the bays around the island were red with whale blood. The whalers introduced reindeer for food that nibbled and trampled unique plant life that sustained many of the island's endemic wildlife. Stowaway rats plundered the eggs and chicks of penguins and other ground nesting birds (there are no trees). 0:52 Whales returning in large numbers The South Georgia pipit, the world's most southerly songbird, was driven to the brink of extinction. But before the abandoned whaling stations have even rusted away, whales have begun returning to South Georgia in large numbers. A campaign of air-dropping poisoned bait across the inaccessible island has eradicated the rats and the pipits are booming. The seas around South Georgia were once heavily fished. The worst for wildlife were long-line vessels trying to hook high-value Chilean seabass. Call for outright ban on fishing Albatross and petrels would dive for the bait and be caught and drowned. Since 2012, the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands have policed a 500,000 square-mile marine-protected area around the islands where most fishing is now banned. A few vessels are licensed to catch shrimp-like krill and seabass but only in winter when most predators are absent and under strict controls. Some conservationists are calling for fishing to be banned outright. However, the South Georgia government argues it's the income from limited fishing licences that allows them to protect and monitor the exclusion zone. Crucial at a time when funding from central government is scarce and unlikely to increase. The key threat now is the rapidly changing climate around South Georgia. "There's evidence that the distribution of krill is moving a little further south gradually over time," says Mr Collins. "We need to be really mindful of that changing climate." But he's optimistic too. Despite warmer oceans, numbers of some species are booming. Especially whales and fur seals. "I've just had two king penguins walking past the windows as we were talking," he says.
Sky News
13-03-2025
- Sky News
Iceberg was a wildlife concern - but South Georgia is a conservation success story
Technically, the hundred-mile-long, 20 mile-wide British overseas territory of South Georgia is uninhabited. Only a few visiting scientists and government fisheries inspectors occupy the island all year round. But from a wildlife perspective, it's anything but. Its shores are home to the largest number of marine birds and mammals on the planet. Lying 800 miles east off the Falkland Islands and a thousand miles north of Antarctica, it's one of the few fragments of land between that vast frozen continent and the rest of the world. The part of the South Atlantic in which it sits is one of the most food-rich oceans in the world, fed by powerful circulating currents, and it's full of shrimp-like Antarctic krill. "Krill feeds the blue whales, humpback whales, fin whales. It also feeds the gentoo penguins, macaroni penguins, chinstrap penguins and the fur seals," says Martin Collins, a scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, and former head of the South Georgia government, speaking to me from his office at King Edward Point on the island. The island also has some of the largest and most significant populations of elephant seals, king penguins and several species of albatross and petrel - the hardiest of ocean-going seabirds. The island has been in the headlines after the world's largest iceberg, A23a, ran aground off its south-west coast. Concern over impact of iceberg on island's wildlife There's a concern it could impact wildlife on the island - but the timing is fortuitous, says Mr Collins. "It's the end of the breeding season now, which means the impacts on penguins at that part of the island will be lessened. "There may be a little bit of impact, particularly on gentoo penguins, which still forage around the island during the winter." From a wider conservation point of view, South Georgia is one of the world's stand-out success stories. Until the 1960s, it was a major hub for whaling. Thousands of whales were caught off its coasts and processed at a number of whaling stations - the scale of the slaughter such that the bays around the island were red with whale blood. The whalers introduced reindeer for food that nibbled and trampled unique plant life that sustained many of the island's endemic wildlife. Stowaway rats plundered the eggs and chicks of penguins and other ground nesting birds (there are no trees). 0:52 Whales returning in large numbers The South Georgia pipit, the world's most southerly songbird, was driven to the brink of extinction. But before the abandoned whaling stations have even rusted away, whales have begun returning to South Georgia in large numbers. A campaign of air-dropping poisoned bait across the inaccessible island has eradicated the rats and the pipits are booming. The seas around South Georgia were once heavily fished. The worst for wildlife were long-line vessels trying to hook high-value Chilean seabass. Call for outright ban on fishing Albatross and petrels would dive for the bait and be caught and drowned. Since 2012, the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands have policed a 500,000 square-mile marine-protected area around the islands where most fishing is now banned. A few vessels are licensed to catch shrimp-like krill and seabass but only in winter when most predators are absent and under strict controls. Some conservationists are calling for fishing to be banned outright. However, the South Georgia government argues it's the income from limited fishing licences that allows them to protect and monitor the exclusion zone. Crucial at a time when funding from central government is scarce and unlikely to increase. The key threat now is the rapidly changing climate around South Georgia. "There's evidence that the distribution of krill is moving a little further south gradually over time," says Mr Collins. "We need to be really mindful of that changing climate." But he's optimistic too. Despite warmer oceans, numbers of some species are booming. Especially whales and fur seals. "I've just had two king penguins walking past the windows as we were talking," he says.
