Phil Pearson: iGaming Industry 2025 in Review

About this episode

Phil Pearson discusses the key developments and challenges in the iGaming industry over the past year.

🎙 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…

People in this episode

Host: Pierre Lindh

Guest: Phil Pearson

Topics covered

• iGaming industry
• innovation
• industry trends
• leadership challenges
• game releases
• responsibility in gaming

Keywords

• iGaming
• innovation
• leadership
• game releases
• industry trends
• responsibility
• Game Studio Awards

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yolo, Dar Bjorn, iGaming, Game Studio Awards, RNG, NEXT.io Podcast

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