A new player is poised to make its mark in the European iGaming scene by the end of 2025, with Big Daddy Gaming announcing its entry into the market. Backed by seasoned professionals from Relax Gaming, Kindred, and Evolution, the studio seeks to tackle the ongoing challenge of standing out amidst a crowded content landscape. While the industry has seen a surge in the volume of available games, maintaining differentiation and ensuring long-term player engagement remain significant hurdles for operators.
The studio’s inception is driven by an understanding of the evolving needs of the market. Its founders believe that the current European slots environment is oversaturated with products that fail to keep players interested over time. To address this, Big Daddy Gaming is introducing a fresh approach centered around what they term “Reel Fun and Real Value.” This philosophy emphasizes the creation of flexible, engaging content that combines well-established mechanics with unique, eye-catching design elements.
At the core of their development process is what they call “Game DNA” — a proprietary framework that merges gameplay consistency, humor-infused creativity, and a commercial model aimed at delivering concrete results for their partners. The team reports early interest from top-tier operators during the pre-launch phase, signaling confidence in their approach ahead of the official market debut planned for late 2025.
The founders of Big Daddy Gaming bring a wealth of global industry experience. Simon Hammon, who previously served as CEO of Relax Gaming, has a track record of scaling major supplier brands and contributing to iconic titles like Starburst during his tenure at NetEnt starting in 2010. His leadership helped elevate Relax Gaming onto the international stage.
Joining him is Daniel Eskola, whose leadership roles at Kindred and Relax Gaming have given him deep insight into how leading operators assess content performance. Eskola’s work on the Dream Drop jackpot is highlighted by the founders as a milestone that shaped current expectations around player engagement and jackpot mechanics.
The third co-founder, Erland Hellstrom, brings valuable commercial and relationship management expertise gained during Evolution’s rapid expansion. His responsibilities at Big Daddy Gaming focus on maintaining alignment with operational and compliance standards at scale, ensuring the studio’s offerings meet the high standards expected by operators.
Financial backing for the launch comes from Castech, a well-regarded gaming investment fund known for its strategic capital deployment within the industry. The company’s governance is overseen by board member Toni Kolehmainen, adding further credibility and strategic oversight.
The team’s collective experience with tier-one partners has heavily influenced their development priorities. Erland Hellstrom, now CEO, emphasizes this focus: “Our collective experience across game development and tier-one operator relations ensures that every title we build is engineered for peak performance and designed with real operator challenges in mind. With Big Daddy Gaming®, we are excited to deliver on the promise that our focus and experience translate directly into unmatched value creation for our partners.”
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In discussing the company’s mission, Simon Hammon expressed confidence in their strategic direction: “Being at the heart of some of the industry’s greatest success stories has allowed us to launch Big Daddy Gaming® with genuine humility and a clear purpose to be a reliable, highly profitable asset for our operator partners. We know the ingredients for lasting engagement, and we have the technical maturity to execute – creating content that is robust, reliable, and genuinely fun.”
Daniel Eskola added, “Big Daddy Gaming has been founded on the belief that a successful partnership starts with a humble approach and ends with measurable returns. As a studio, we’re committed to addressing the fundamental challenges facing operators today by providing consistent, high-quality, and high-performing content that secures long-term player loyalty.”
