NEXT.io Podcast18 Joulu 2025

Phil Pearson: iGaming Industry 2025 in Review

🎙 NEXT.io Podcast #256 with Phil Pearson, iGaming Consultant.

Another year. Another cycle of hype, pressure, pivots, and hard lessons.

In this episode of the NEXT.io Podcast, Phil Pearson joins Pierre Lindh to unpack what really happened across iGaming in the past 12 months beyond the headlines.

Together, they explore the widening gap between innovation headlines and real progress, the pressure leaders are facing behind the scenes, the growing importance of focus over scale, and why many companies are quietly reassessing their priorities.

It’s a grounded conversation about what moved the needle, what didn’t, and what lessons are worth carrying into the year ahead.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:41 - Sponsor messages

02:04 - Welcome Phil Pearson

04:06 – Yolo’s move into regulation: why it matters

06:38 - Personal reset: health, sabbatical & perspective

11:55 - Biggest industry stories of the year

14:19 - Charity, Dar Bjorn & responsibility in iGaming

16:17 - Investigative journalism

33:27 - Game Studio Awards: overview

33:33 - Best studio of the year

39:29 - Best newcomer studio

40:39 - Worst studio of the year

44:01 - Most underwhelming game releases

49:56 - Live game of the year

51:21 - RNG game of the year

52:36 - Best industry freebies & swag

57:23 - Grey products explained

58:12 - Sweepstakes, prediction markets & loopholes

01:12:56 - The defining trend of 2026: grey products

01:30:02 - Events review: what worked, what didn’t

01:49:00 - Final outlook: where the industry is heading

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/409DefE06IKPhZzhDIDpH3?si=bf60dedab34e45bc

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333

CONNECT WITH NEXT.IO

✩ Website - https://next.io/

This episode of NEXT.io is brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology.

https://pragmatic.solutions/

Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider.

https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/

Jaksot(473)

Weekly News: New Year Legislation Special!

This week on NEXT.io Weekly News, we’re diving into the latest legislative developments in the iGaming world, covering major updates on Maryland, Virginia, Ukraine, and Thailand. Elsewhere, Ukraine’s ...

10 Tammi 202557min

Shimon Akad:Playtech’s iGaming Expansion in North America, Brazil, & MGM Partnership–NEXT.io Podcast

🎙 NEXT.io Podcast #218 with Shimon Akad, COO of Playtech In this episode, Pierre Lindh sits down with Shimon Akad, COO of Playtech, to explore the cutting-edge innovations reshaping the iGaming indu...

9 Tammi 202538min

Joris Dekkers: The History of Las Vegas

🎙 NEXT.io Podcast #217 with Joris Dekkers, author of The Las Vegas Book. In this episode, Pierre Lindh sits down with Joris Dekkers to uncover the untold stories and transformations that shaped Las ...

2 Tammi 202551min

Phil Pearson: State of the iGaming Industry 2024

🎙 NEXT.io Podcast #216 with Phil Pearson, Chief Executive Officer at White Label Casinos. In this special episode, Pierre Lindh and Phil Pearson take a deep dive into the biggest trends, challenges,...

31 Joulu 20241h 3min

📺 Weekly News: Christmas Special 🎄

This week on a festive edition of NEXT.io Weekly News, Conor Mulheir and Nico Jansen take you on a journey through the biggest stories of the year, month by month. From game-changing mergers to regula...

20 Joulu 202456min

Max Trafimovich: iGaming Trends 2025

🎙 NEXT.io Podcast #215 with Max Trafimovich, CCO at SOFTSWISS. We're back with the annual episode featuring the SOFTSWISS iGaming Trends Report! Pierre Lindh welcomes Max Trafimovich, CCO of SOFTSW...

17 Joulu 202437min

Vested Interest #18: How Robinhood (& others) could disrupt sportsbetting - NEXT.io Podcast

🎙NEXT.io Podcast #18 of Vested Interest, with Pierre Lindh, Lloyd Danzig & Benjie Cherniak. In this episode, we dive into Robinhood’s surprising potential entry into the sports betting industry, the...

16 Joulu 202446min

📺 Weekly News - South Africa iGaming Report Special

Join us for a special episode of Weekly News exploring the findings of our new hashtag#SouthAfrica report. Discover the South African hashtag#iGaming landscape, including emerging trends, player prefe...

13 Joulu 202454min