Blackstar BEAM

What is Blackstar BEAM?

There will inevitably be imitators if swipe gaming establishes itself. Yashin welcomes that prospect, but believes any rivals would struggle to match the speed, creative output and trend-spotting capabilities that sit behind it.

“I think it would be good for us to have strong competitors,” he says. “Of course, you can copy the mechanic, you can copy the name and you can copy the theme of the video, but you cannot copy the creative itself.”

Every era of iGaming has been defined by a breakthrough format. Slots became the industry’s foundation. Live casino transformed realism. Crash games reshaped instant-play entertainment. Swipe Games believes the next defining category will not simply be another game – it will be a new way of playing.

What is Blackstar BEAM?

While this initially seemed terrifying, I quickly discovered that this outsider status was a gift. It has allowed me to view the industry through fresh eyes. I do not have any preconceptions about companies or products. This has become my superpower, allowing me to analyse the industry without bias and, hopefully, help shape its future.

iGaming was not the industry I set out to work in. Before 2021, I worked in finance and business – agro companies, management consultancy and investment funds, none of which were remotely linked to the industry.

In 2021, I joined an investment fund focused on startups harnessing AI and machine learning. In the process, I had a chance encounter with an iGaming investor. This sparked a conversation that would change the course of my career. He pointed out that iGaming was dramatically underutilising its data potential. There was an opportunity here, and once we began exploring it, the thread just kept unravelling.

How to play Blackstar BEAM

This followed a period of restrategising for the operator, after rebranding from GVC Holdings and committing to having 100% of its revenues come from regulated markets.

But its share price has taken a tumble over the last year, dropping up to 37% since September 2025. Its market cap currently sits at £3.39 billion.

The operator first started trading on LSEG’s main market in February 2016 under its previous company name GVC Holdings. This followed its delisting from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM exchange).