Thunderkick, the innovative Swedish company that creates games for online casinos, has announced that its presence on the Spanish market has become stronger after having signed an agreement with Paf, one of the top online casino operators in Europe.

The agreement will see Paf gain access to the impressive portfolio of games supplied by Thunderkick, including very popular titles such as Midas Golden Touch, Hot Potato and Esqueleto Explosivo 2. The deal will also see Thunderkick solidify its position on the Spanish market, one of the key regulated markets in the European Union.

A Top Operator

Moreover, an agreement with Paf can be regarded as a seal of approval because this online casino operator is one of the oldest in the business. The company was founded all the way back in 1966 in the Aland Islands, which is an autonomous region of Finland.

The company was founded by the local health charity Folkhälsan together with the local branches of famous international foundations such as the Red Cross, Save the Children and Dagens Barn. The operator is licensed and controlled by the Government of Aland, so its main purpose is to generate money which then will be redistributed towards social expenses.

Along with being an online casino operator, Paf also has its own in-house games studio which creates unique content for the company’s website. Moreover, Paf also operates 31 cruise ships which navigate the Baltic and the North Seas. The operator is licensed in Aland, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, and Spain.

An Increasingly Popular Supplier

Thunderkick does have a bit of history behind its brand as well; the company was founded in 2012 and since then it has grown into one of the most reputable names in the iGaming industry. The deal with Paf means that its footprint continues to grow across the world because it comes after multiple other agreements secured with top operators.

Among the studio’s online casino partners we can find big names such as 888casino, Mr. Green, Casumo, and LeoVegas along with powerful aggregators such as Pariplay and QTech Games. The company currently has over 80 employees and 77 different games in its portfolio.

Source: “Spanish Fiesta with Paf!“. Thunderkick. March 25, 2024.

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Nordic gaming operator founded on the Åland Islands “with the clear purpose to generate funds to be used for the benefit of society,” Paf, has announced an extension of its lucrative partnership with shipping company Tallink Grupp.

The newly inked multi-year cooperation agreement will allow Paf to keep offering its gaming entertainment options onboard Tallink’s vessels.

Tallink Grupp, “Pleased to Continue” the Long-Standing Agreement

The shipping company’s chief operating officer for Land & Ship, Lasse Danielsson, took the opportunity to express their pleasure for the continuation of their “long-standing history” with Paf.

Danielsson also referred to the freshly updated partnership as “an important step towards further improving the entertainment experience” for their customers. 

The group currently operates a number of passenger ships in the Northern Baltic Sea area under the Tallink and Silja Line brands.

Tallink’s excitement is also motivated by the announced gaming experience renewal plans expressed by the gaming operator that showed impressive performance in 2022.

The Customer Journey Concept

The operator is determined to change the way entertainment is offered onboard Tallink Grupp’s ships. The ships operate under the Silja Line brand between Finland, Sweden, and Åland. 

The upgrades are expected to include several new coinless machines that will be integrated with screens meant to improve player’s gaming experiences.

Paf’s key account manager, Christian Lundell, announced the implementation of the Customer Journey concept, which will be used to improve the interaction with players while strengthening their gaming experience and communications regarding their responsible gaming policies. 

Paf will also consider the possibility of offering even more gaming opportunities through specific amusement games aimed at adults.

Paf has already implemented a number of updates that have helped improve responsible gaming onboard the group’s ships currently operating to and from Estonia. 

Passengers on the respective vessels are asked to identify themselves using boarding cards before they are allowed to play slot machines.

Tallink Grupp’s group entertainment director, Kairi Maidla, spoke about the “higher standard for the gaming activities onboard” obtained via their collaboration with Paf, expressing hope that similar improvements will be brought onboard all their ships alongside Paf in the upcoming years.

In May, Kambi and Paf announced they would strengthen their decade-old partnership in the sportsbook vertical. During the same month, Paf also expanded its collaboration with Finnish shipping company  Eckerö Linjen.

September marked the month when the operator decided to continue its innovative tech education program called grit:lab launched two years ago with the purpose of allowing students to learn from each other, thus eliminating the need for teachers. 

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Apparat Gaming, the supplier of slot games with a German accent for online casinos, has announced that its content will reach the Spanish market for the first time following a partnership with Paf, the well-known international operator of online casinos and sportsbooks.

The integration of the content supplied by Apparat into the offering of Paf has been facilitated by Pariplay, the supplier and aggregator of content from various developers from all over the world. Its Ignite Platform stands behind the seamless integration of the content from Apparat into the lobby of Paf, a gaming operator that started out all the way back in 1966.

For the initial phase the deal includes just seven games from Apparat that will be included in the offering of Paf online casino in the Spanish market. The list includes titles like 40 Sevens, Total Eclipse, Fruit Storm, The Warlock’s Book, Pharaoh Princess, 7 Supernova Fruits and Jack Potter & The Book of Dynasties. These slot games had to be certified for the Spanish market.

Apparat is recognized in the iGaming world for the quality of its games, all of them developed “with a German accent,” as the company proudly says. The German component means solid engineering, eye candy (or augenweide in German) and, as they say with self-irony, “no sense of humour whatsoever.”

It seems that these ingredients have attracted players in several regulated European markets, starting with the company’s home market of Germany but also Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Now the German developer is expecting to enjoy similar successes in Spain.

Tremendous Opportunities

Speaking about the company’s launch in Spain, Martin Frindt, Chief Product Officer at Apparat Gaming, explained that he believes this market “presents tremendous opportunities” for the developer.

“We could not ask for a better launch partner than Paf,” Martin Frindt added, while also acknowledging the contribution of Pariplay to the successful integration of Apparat Gaming’s content into Paf’s offering.

The Apparat executive declared himself confident that the company’s products will “prove popular” in Spain even though his country was clearly defeated in football events by the Iberian nation in recent years.

Eric Castro, Head of Games Content at Paf, described the games supplied by Apparat Gaming as “distinct and great fun to play” and declared himself “thrilled” to welcome such titles into the online casino’s lobby.

Ashley Bloor, Director of Partnerships at Pariplay, pointed out that the Ignite Platform contributed to the success of this partnership, adding that the aggregator’s services could also “pave the way to new regulated markets and opportunities” for the company’s partners.

Source: “Hola and hallo! Apparat Gaming makes Spain debut with Paf“. European Gaming. October 4, 2023.

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Two years ago, the Nordic gaming group, Paf, announced the launch of an innovative tech education program called grit:lab. After it was presented, the program started accepting admissions and a year later, it started educating students. By now, 60 students from 20 countries around the world are in their final year of the intensive tech education program.

Building on the success of the first year, Paf confirmed Monday that the program will continue. The company revealed that applications for the grit:lab program will be open through December 2023 with online tests up until February 2024. According to Paf, the new group of students will start its grit:lab studies next autumn.

Paf’s education program within grit:lab represents a unique product that enables students to learn from each other without the need for teachers. The program is fast-paced and not everyone might find it suitable. However, for those participating, grit:lab helped accumulate important skills, including as time management, leadership and leveraging innovation.

A schedule released by Paf reveals that grit:lab includes four different phases. Throughout the education program, students will learn programming languages, including Go! and JavaScript. Each of the phases lasts for six months and culminates with Phase 4 which presents specialization options in different areas, including Cybersecurity, DevOps, Mobile Development, Blockchain and Crypto and other important tech verticals.

Crucially, grit:lab meets students with different backgrounds and enables them to collaborate together, promoting personal growth and an open mindset. The tech education program is completed in collaboration with Ålands Yrkesgymnasium on behalf of the Government of Åland, an autonomous region of Finland.

The Program Is Expected to Make Åland a Nordic Tech Hub

Anna-Lena Svenblad, the development director for Paf and director of grit:lab, revealed that the company saw approval from visiting groups and students for its tech education program. “It is a form of education that will meet the future needs of the job market,” she added.

“The fantastic response we have received both from the students and from many visiting groups is proof that there is a need for this type of education.“

Anna-Lena Svenblad, development director for Paf and director of grit:lab

Additionally, Svenblad explained that the program teaches students how to adopt and learn new technologies. According to her, grit:lab teaches important skills related to communication, troubleshooting, time management and self-leadership. Ultimately, those skills in combination with extensive training help the students to grow.

“grit:lab is a complement to traditional education and it will contribute to making Åland a tech hub in the Nordics.“

Daniela Johansson, deputy CEO and chief responsibility officer at Paf

Daniela Johansson, Paf’s deputy CEO and chief responsibility officer, praised the tech education program, predicting it will help develop Åland as a major technology hub for the Nordics. Finally, she spoke about the positive impact Paf’s program brings.

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Nordic gaming group Paf released its 2022 annual report, posting a record-high turnover and an impressive increase in net profit.

Turnover by Divisions

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, Paf Group registered a turnover of €165.7 million ($179 million), posting an increase of 23% from €135 million ($145.8 million) the group accounted for in 2021.

“We are pleased with last year, it is a good result and a testament to our ability to deliver,” commented Paf’s chief executive officer Christer Fahlstedt, highlighting Sweden, Switzerland and Spain as the gaming destinations which stood out, as well as the recovery of the group’s ship operations.

Paf’s internet operations in the year accounted for €142.1 million ($153.5 million), generating 17% more than in 2021 (€121.2 million ($130.9 million)), with particularly strong growth registered across the Swedish and Spanish markets.

The group attributed the turnover increase to the record number of active customers during the year, 483,595, which increased by 44% from 336,206 in 2021, and expects the number of its active customers to continue to grow in 2023.

Turnover from land and ship operations generated €23.5 million ($25.4 million), increasing by more than 70% year-over-year mainly due to a sharp increase in the number of passengers on board the vessels compared to the prior year. Paf believes there is still room for this number to increase and reach the 2019 level and expects the positive trend to continue in 2023.

Other operating income increased by 9%, from €6.8 million ($7.3 million) in 2021 to €10.1 million ($10.9 million) now, mainly due to the increased sales of gambling platforms and associated services.

Expenses, Operating Profit, Net Profit

Costs in 2022 aggregated to €128.3 million ($138.6 million), up 20% from €106.8 million ($115.3 million) in 2021. There were increases in materials and services costs, €39.5 million ($42.7 million), up 30% from €30.3 million ($32.7 million) in 2021, and other operating expenses which were up by more than 25% to €54 million ($58.3 million) from €43.1 million ($46.5 million) in 2021, and staff costs marginally increased while the cost of depreciation remained almost unchanged.

Paf explained the increased costs by an increase in marketing expenses, costs for the cloud-based technology and travel expenses.

Paf Group ended 2022 with an operating profit of €48.5 million ($52.4 million), up 36% from €35.7 million ($38.6 million) in 2021. The net result of financial income and expenses was a loss of €1.6 million ($1.73 million) while in 2021 it was €300,000 ($324,000).

“Paf’s purpose is to generate funds for the benefit of society and with the strong result we can distribute €33.1 million,” said Paf’s chairman Jan-Mikael von Schantz, thanking all employees for their performance over the past year.

Net profit in 2022 was €44.4 million ($48 million), registering an impressive increase of more than 35% from €32.8 million ($35.4 million) in 2021.

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Casino operator Paf and the Finnish shipping company Eckerö Linjen have penned a new multi-year deal. Under the new agreement, Eckerö Linjen will be able to provide its passengers with renewed and enhanced onboard gaming experiences. The agreement comes just a few days after Paf deepened its ties with Kambi.

The two parties are no strangers to one another, having worked closely together for many years. Their current partnership was scheduled to expire at the end of 2023. However, the two companies have decided to extend their deal in advance in order to capitalize on new opportunities.

Neither company is new to providing gaming in an onboard environment, making Paf and Eckerö Linjen perfect for one another.

As agreed, starting in 2024, Paf will provide enhanced gaming for the passenger ship MS Eckerö, which it already supplies with gaming equipment. The ship operates between Sweden and Åland and, thanks to Paf, can offer passengers thrilling casino products.

For reference, MS Eckerö welcomed a total of 787,930 guests in 2022, which represents a significant increase from the 490,695 people it transported in 2021. As a result, Eckerö Linjen is seeking to step up its game in terms of onboard gambling.

Paf Will Entertain Ship Passengers

Eckerö Linjen’s chief executive officer, Tomas Karlsson, commented on the development, saying that his team has enjoyed a great partnership with Paf so far.

We both have high ambitions and we both know what it takes to adapt our operations to the conditions that exist in an onboard world.

Tomas Karlsson, CEO, Eckerö Linjen

Christer Fahlstedt, Paf’s chief executive officer, confirmed that his team has a “solid history” with Eckerö Linjen and added that he is looking forward to working with the shipping company in the coming years.

Fahlstedt said that Eckerö Linjen is an important partner to Paf and promised that Paf will continue supplying it with best-in-class gaming entertainment.

Lasse Danielsson, Paf’s chief operating officer, also commented on the renewed agreement, saying that it will be beneficial for both companies. He remarked that acquiring new machines and adapting them for onboard use can take a while, which is why the early agreement extension was a good call.

We are in a new phase for passenger traffic onboard and the guests traveling after the pandemic have new requirements for their travel. Therefore, we must also adapt our operations with, among other things, modern cashless payment solutions.

Lasse Danielsson, COO, Paf

In February this year, Paf inked a deal with Stakelogic, expanding the latter company’s presence in Europe.

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