Online gaming has taken over the world. It’s become the biggest entertainment sector, earning more global revenue than movies and music combined. Billions of people play online video games, and several older games have been key to the industry’s success.

Whether you play bingo online, consider yourself a gaming enthusiast, or merely take a partial interest in gaming, most of the games featured below are sure to ring a bell. Take a look at 10 of the most popular games from the past five years.

10. Runescape

With over 280 million players in 2022, Runescape has been one of the most consistently successful online games, especially if you consider the fact that it was first released all the way back in 2001.

Runescape is a fantasy MMORPG that offers players complete freedom to explore the world at their own pace. It can be played on any gaming platform, offers a true sandbox for roleplaying, and has withstood the test of time far better than any other online game. 

9. Fortnite Battle Royale

Fortnite Battle Royale currently has over 350 million active players. It was released in 2017 and, thanks to consistent and significant updates, it has maintained its status as a pioneering example of the battle royale genre.

With multiple pop culture tie-ins and dramatic seasonal changes, Fortnite Battle Royale manages to keep its gameplay fresh and exciting. The latest update, Chapter 3 Season 2, removes the player’s ability to build structures, significantly altering the game’s meta.

8. Crazyracing Kartrider

Developed by Nexon Games and released in 2004, Crazyracing Kartrider has approximately 380 million players. Despite its high player count, the game is only available in Taiwan, Korea, and China.

It’s a pity that Western audiences can’t experience this gem. However, the good news is that the updated global version, named Kartrider: Drift, has been scheduled for a 2022 release, with the third successful beta test held in December 2021.

7. Mini World

Mini World is a free-to-play, sandbox adventure game with 400 million players from over 30 countries. Its main drawcard is that it gives players all the tools they need to have fun right from the get-go. There are no grinds to go through and no pay-to-win mechanics.

There are three game modes available in Mini World: survival mode, creative mode, and community mode. In community mode, user-generated content such as mini-games and custom levels can be shared between players.

6. Among Us

The rise of Youtubers and Twitch streamers has led to several party games becoming incredibly popular. Among Us, with over 500 million players, is by far the most successful viral hit of the lot.

Among Us puts 4-15 players on a spaceship, and each player is assigned maintenance tasks onboard the ship. However, one or more players can be Impostors, whose sole aim is to eliminate their crewmates. It’s a riveting formula that has hooked millions of players.

5. Minecraft

With 600 million players Minecraft is the fifth most played game in the last five years. Due to its innovative gameplay mechanics, Minecraft received critical acclaim and won multiple awards after its release in 2011.

More than ten years later, despite a simplistic art style and pixelated graphics, Minecraft is still at the top of concurrent player charts. The game’s success has led to several additional games, such as Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Earth.

4. QQ SPEED

QQ SPEED, otherwise known as GKART, is an MMO online kart racer that has 700 million players worldwide. It’s a fairly simple game and, unlike other kart racing games, QQ SPEED has little to no simulation-style elements or challenging gameplay mechanics.

The simplicity of QQ SPEED’s gameplay allows players to focus on having fun, without having to worry about bombs and traps or optimal racing lines. It’s a game where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy, which is a rare treat in this day and age.

3. Dungeon Fighter Online

With an active user base just shy of 710 million players, Dungeon Fighter Online is one of the biggest video games of all time. In fact, with over $15 billion in lifetime revenue, it’s also one of the highest-grossing entertainment media products ever made.

Dungeon Fighter Online is a multiplayer beat ‘em up with action RPG elements. Players fight monsters in a classic 2D style, complete with side-scrolling visuals, theatrical boss fights, and skill-based character development.

2. Crossfire

A billion people have played Crossfire, which makes it the most successful game you’ve probably ever heard of. It’s an online tactical FPS that gained a massive following in Asia, especially in China and South Korea.

Crossfire is so popular that it spawned an entire media franchise, including several spin-off games, a film adaptation, and a television drama series. Since October of 2020, the Chinese TV series has been watched over 1.7 billion times.

1. PUBG: Battlegrounds

PUBG: Battlegrounds has been downloaded by 1.3 billion unique players. It’s the most played game in the world, which is astonishing if you consider the fact that the first version was made by one person – Brendan Greene.

Inspired by a Japanese film named Battle Royale, Greene’s creative direction led to the birth of the battle royale genre in video games. Considering the immense influence of PUBG: Battlegrounds, it’s only fitting that it’s the final game to close off our list.

The importance of meetings in any business or even non-profit organization is simply undeniable. In fact, with the evolving business practices, organizations now arrange weekly or even daily meetings for different reasons.

Let’s see what the current meeting organization trends dictate, and how they will evolve in the future.

Meeting organization trends

Interestingly, studies reveal that, on average, an employee spends 31 percent of their time in meetings. That is roughly one-third of their total time. However, 21 percent of employees also revealed that they would have more time if there were fewer meetings.

Now, this is a problem for management because meetings are important, but at the same time, employees need enough time to complete their assigned tasks. Solution? Online meeting software, like virtual board software.

This guide will help you to choose the right meeting software for your management teams. Also, we listed some of the best meeting software available in the market, including board portal software, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.

5 things to consider while choosing meeting software for management teams

1. Define your problems

First things first, it is important to know why you need meeting software. What issues does your management face? Common problems include poor pre-meeting communication, improper meeting agenda, and meeting minutes not recorded and appropriately circulated.

2. Ensure software security

This is something you cannot compromise at any cost, especially if you are considering a paperless meeting solution for your most senior management, such as the organization board. Yes, online meeting solutions save time and money, but they are also prone to cyber-attacks. Therefore, make sure the software you are buying complies with the leading security standards.

3. Look for all-in-one software

Ideal meeting software must be able to offer multiple useful features according to your team’s needs. For example, meeting software for management teams must possess the following features:

• Built-in, effective meeting agenda templates, allowing management to create meeting agenda easily.
• Easy process of uploading files
• Built-in task manager
• Ability to take notes during the meeting
• Video conferencing tools
• Easy creation and circulation of meeting minutes

To be honest, there are very few meeting software like a virtual boardroom that can offer you all these features in one place.

4. Make sure the software is integrable with other applications

Your “perfect” meeting software should have built-in audio, video, and web conferencing tools. But even if it hasn’t, it must be able to integrate with the tools mentioned above. Apart from that, the meeting software must be easily integrable with other cloud-based apps and your organization’s operating system.

5. Decide on budget limitations

Choose a vendor that can offer a flexible pricing plan depending on your needs. For example, if you need meeting software for managing 40-50 participants at a time, you don’t need to buy a pricing plan that caters to 150-200 participants simultaneously.

Similarly, if you believe video conferencing is not necessary for the type of meetings your management conducts, then you don’t have to pay for this feature.

Top online meeting software for management teams

1. Board management software

Board management software is one of the highly used options in small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses. A board portal is basically an online board meeting solution that provides standard as well as advanced online meeting features.

Not only this, board portal software is a highly secure data repository where a board can store, share, or edit corporate files. Furthermore, the board portal serves as a virtual space where board members can engage in group discussions, hold virtual meetings, start a motion, cast votes, and the list goes on.

Here is what board portal software can offer:

• Meeting agenda templates; easy to prepare and distribute meeting agenda
• Audio and video conferencing tools
• Board members can take notes during the meeting
• A secure data repository where the board can store documents, images, audio, and video files.
• Meeting minutes templates that allow the management to prepare and distribute minutes easily.
• Strict compliance to international cyber security standards.
• One on one chat
• Easily integrable with other apps and operating systems.

You can read more info about board meeting software here.

2. Zoom

Zoom is complete meeting software for lower as well as upper-level management with all the necessary features for successful online meetings. Here are some amazing features of Zoom:

• Audio and video conferencing tools
• Synchronization with Google Calendar
• Meeting recording option
• Real-time screen sharing
• Co-annotations
• Auto generation of meeting summary

3. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a free meeting tool catering to the needs of hundreds and thousands of organizations around the globe. Microsoft Teams has some amazing features, such as:

• Team chat feature
• Ability to add up to 10000 meeting participants simultaneously
• Unlimited cloud storage
• Audio and video conferencing tools
• Easy integration with other apps and extensions

Final words

Making hasty decisions while choosing meeting software for your management can hurt you in the long run. Start with identifying your needs, know your budget, and choose software that complies with cyber security standards and offers all the features you need.

It’s been a few days, but some remain shocked about Camelot’s surprise defeat against Allwyn in losing the race to run the UK’s national lottery.

For almost 30 years, Camelot was the undisputed operator of our countrywide lottery, including Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball, and many other jackpots and instant win games.

But when the lucrative license was up for grabs again from 2024 onwards, Camelot surprisingly lost out to Allwyn. The Czech-owned company also runs state lotteries for the Czech Republic, Italy, and Austria. How did this happen?

Returns to good causes

The Gambling Commission, which oversees the bidding for the national lottery license, remains secretive about what exactly led to Allwyn’s victory. However, it’s an open secret that the promised return to good causes had a significant impact.

Camelot came under scrutiny for rising profits that didn’t match the returns for good causes. In 2017, that amount fell under £1.5bn but rose by £200m after the National Audit Office audit. It is understood that Camelot returned £45bn to various causes nationwide in the past three decades. That results in an average of £1.6bn per year.

Allwyn promised the UK’s Gambling Commission during its bid to return £30bn to good causes in its first ten-year period. That would double Camelot’s return rate almost instantly.

Charitable contributions have always been a key pillar in the National Lottery’s business model, so it’s no surprise that Allwyn’s forecast put them in a good spot for the license bidding process.

Allwyn to stop casino-like business model

A second major factor that made Camelot lose out to Allwyn was its increasingly casino-like business model. In 2020 and 2021, 2/3 of Camelot’s sales growth came from instant win games, mostly online. During the same time, mobile sales more than doubled.

This growth is particularly problematic considering it happened during the early days of COVID and nationwide lockdowns. It’s the same time period when regulated online casinos faced hard new restrictions laid out by the Gambling Commission to protect vulnerable players. Yet, the same rules did not seem to apply or were disobeyed by the National Lottery.

Allwyn, known for its technology used in state lotteries, focused heavily on responsible gambling during its bid. The company aims to create learning models for each player to understand their gambling and spending habits using artificial intelligence.

This way, players can be prevented to continue playing if Allwyn’s model suggests that someone is trying to ‘win back losses’ or wagering large sums during short periods of time.

Camelot is yet to accept the defeat as the company is looking into a legal challenge. However, given the rigorous bidding process, Camelot’s failures regarding responsible gambling, and Allwyn’s successful track record in running state lottery, it seems unlikely that Camelot stands a chance to overturn the decision.

As for the current employees, it’s understood that the majority will be able to transfer over from Camelot to Allwyn once the license transition has been completed sometime in 2023.

CBD oil is something that people are hearing more and more positive things about. Where it used to be hard to find, today it is more readily available, which helps to create buzz and interest. But is CBD oil something that could benefit you in your life? Just because something is popular doesn’t necessarily mean it warrants the attention or it will work for you.

Here we’ll take a look at six science-backed benefits of CBD oil and why it may be worth you looking into and giving it a try.

It can help fight depression and anxiety

Did you know that according to the Office for National Statistics in the UK, depression is something that affects approximately 21% of adults? Unfortunately, the pandemic has made this number rise in the past couple of years, leading to more anxiety and depression and more severe forms of it. Statistics also show that women and younger adults were more likely to suffer from depression.

This is perhaps one of the most exciting uses of CBD oil, as it can help to calm a person down, giving them relief, and allowing them to go about their day in a more relaxed manner.

It can help to ease pain

There are also a large number of people who suffer from pain, and it may not be acute – it can be chronic, which is more frustrating to deal with. The pain may stay consistent or get worse over time, making tasks in daily life difficult at best.

CBD oil has shown some interesting results in helping people to manage and cope with pain, in particular, chronic pain. Even those with sharp and serious pain can see results. Because it is in an oil form, it can also be applied to specific areas to target the source.

It can offer relief from arthritis

If you are one of the millions who suffer from arthritis, CBD oil can also be used with positive results. A big issue with arthritis is that your joints stiffen up making it hard to move about. Not only that but there is pain and inflammation. CBD oil can target all of these issues and provide quite timely relief. While it may not make the pain disappear completely, it may be able to ease it quite significantly.

Cancer-related symptoms can be lessened

Cancer is a horrible thing for a body to go through and fight. Symptoms can often include pain, constant nausea and even vomiting. If you’re going through cancer treatments, these side effects can be heightened.  Some studies have shown that CBD oil can offer relief for cancer sufferers. Keep in mind, you should speak to your doctor first as you want to be sure it’s safe for you to use CBD products while undergoing cancer treatments.

You can start sleeping better

Do you suffer from occasional or chronic insomnia? Do you find yourself tired no matter what time of the day/night it is, making it hard for you to focus at work and home? Insomnia is something that has a trickle-down effect, negatively impacting just about every aspect of your life.

Again, CBD oil can have a positive effect on this issue, too. It can create a sense of calmness and relaxation, plus offer pain relief benefits (pain can prevent you from sleeping well). Did you know you can also make your own CBD oil by using something like CBD auto seeds? This makes it easy to access the oil and give it a try.

It can improve your skin

How about those who suffer from dry, itchy skin, or acne? You can spend a small fortune on skincare products trying to treat your skin issues, and still not get results. CBD oil can be a solution. It can help to treat acne by reducing the amount of oil produced and decreasing inflammation. As for dry skin, CBD oil has moisturising and healing properties perfect for such issues as psoriasis, dermatitis, and eczema.

Incredible reasons to give it a try

So if you’re on the fence about whether or not CBD oil would offer any benefits to you in your life, this is just a small list of the many ways it can help.