Fire Bird

What is Fire Bird?

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.

What is Fire Bird?

The Logan County Sheriff’s Office responded to check the venue and confirmed a break-in: power to the building had been cut, an ATM opened, and multiple video gaming terminals smashed and emptied of cash, according to affidavits.

Heckman and Ziemer were arrested later that morning. Subsequent searches uncovered burglary tools, gaming-machine cash boxes, a stolen Hyundai that had allegedly been repainted from red to black, and other stolen equipment, according to police.

Detectives noted that cellphone records show the pair traveled frequently throughout Central and Southern Illinois, and investigators are working to determine if they are connected to additional unsolved break-ins.

How to play Fire Bird

The research also found profiles of influencers known as tipsters, sports traders and “professional gamblers”. They sell access to groups, predictions, spreadsheets and other products related to betting, while presenting gambling as an income-generating activity.

According to The Intercept, some content even uses expressions like “leaving the CLT [Brazilian labour law]” and “your dream income” to promote this type of activity. There are also screenshots of alleged user earnings and posts that present gambling as a kind of investment.

These professional content creators on Instagram aren’t limited to sports betting. There are niches of creators focused on casino games, like the controversial Fortune Tiger, with a communication strategy similar to that of sports betting.