Figoal

What is Figoal?

The city council legalised VGTs in its latest budget that took effect in January. Mayor Brandon Johnson opposed the move but was overruled by a council majority. Johnson and his colleagues have fought over the issue all year, which is still largely unresolved.

The mayor has not opined this summer, at least publicly, on if he believes Bally’s will open the casino in the first quarter of 2027. However, Johnson indicated in March that his administration is committed to projects such as Bally’s Chicago that foster economic development, while creating new jobs for numerous neighborhoods across the city.

“We appreciate Bally’s partnership and the thousands of construction workers helping bring Bally’s Chicago Casino to life – a major investment in our city’s future,” Johnson wrote in a social media post on X.

What is Figoal?

Miller served on the forum for several years and was a key UK figure during a period when the Gambling Commission implemented extensive reforms to online gambling regulation and affordability checks. GREF expressed its gratitude for Miller’s contributions during his tenure.

Jean-Michel Costes has also left the board after concluding his role at France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ). 

Costes was involved with GREF at a time when numerous European regulators, including the ANJ, focused on tightening advertising regulations and boosting player protection frameworks. The forum thanked Costes for his dedicated service.

What is Figoal?

Harrison Barrett, VP of business development, spoke to the iGB team at iGB L!VE 2026 to discuss the evolution of Soft2Bet’s MEGA platform, which started out as a purely gamification layer but has become “much more compelling than simply leaderboards, missions and point-based rewards”.

As Barrett puts it, MEGA is “ultimately a retention tool that helps our partners move away from heavy bonus and costs”.

With ice hockey and UFC-themed initiatives driving engagement in North America and a 45% lifetime value increase seen with the launch of MEGA Shoot, a player-versus-player simulation penalty shootout game initiative which launched during the World Cup, it is an exciting time for the Malta-based platform provider.