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Lumenalta’s most recent white paper explores the role of emotional intelligence (EQ) in tech. Based on input from more than 900 IT leaders, the study suggests a possible link between EQ-focused teams and improved project outcomes.
Despite 94% of leaders calling EQ ‘mission-critical,’ many companies find it challenging to apply these impactful principles. This has resulted in what Lumenalta refers to as an “EQ” crisis that is affecting workplaces across the globe.
What the EQ Crisis Reveals
Despite the increasing evidence that emotional awareness yields results, companies are still prioritizing technical skills over emotional awareness. Lumenalta’s white paper reveals that 58% of teams will abandon EQ development due to pressure from deadlines and project demands. As a result, teams are left unprepared when faced with remote collaboration.
What happens in the absence of an EQ focus can be seen in statistical evidence. Of the companies surveyed, a whopping 88% of IT leaders directly connected EQ to higher problem-solving and innovation. When remote teams scored high on collective emotional intelligence, there were fewer project delays, with work being completed sooner than in the lower EQ groups. Teams that excelled in emotional awareness reported nearly three times lower rates of burnout than industry averages.
How EQ Goes Beyond Technical Skills
Lumenalta’s measurements report an 87% leap in happiness among the clients of emotionally intelligent teams. Under the guidance of high-EQ teams, the adoption of new technology rose 81%, with team members recognizing and addressing client concerns proactively.
The findings of the report strongly suggest that what makes tech projects succeed or fail is emotional intelligence. This was a fact that surprised even Lumenalta researchers.
“Despite our findings, it’s important not to place soft skills on a pedestal and ignore the need for hard skills,” he emphasizes. “However, a mix of the two creates a superpower combination, enabling software developers to create while still listening, hearing, and understanding what’s hidden or not shared,” said the CEO of Lumenalta, Kuty Shavel.
Building Tech Teams with High-EQ
Lumenalta emphasizes the importance of protocols for practical team development. Recently, the company created chatbots that help staff communicate their emotions outside of formal meetings, leading to new ways to understand team dynamics. Coaching sessions can specifically target emotional awareness during high-stress project phases when technical teams tend to shy away from interpersonal concerns.
Google’s 2011 Project Aristotle backs Lumenalta’s findings that psychological safety, such as feeling confident enough to speak up and take risks, is the most important factor for team success. Project Aristotle was a multi-year research project that studied team effectiveness. It identified five key dynamics that lead to high-performing teams, with psychological safety ranking above dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact.
Lumenalta’s white paper uses these insights to offer effective methods for tech companies seeking to boost EQ. The research reveals that as AI automates more technical functions, human emotional intelligence will grow to become more valuable. As a result, this could potentially determine the outcomes of over half of the projects within the next five years.
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INTRALOT, Inc. (Intralot), one of the major global gaming providers, has signed a new contract to provide services to the Montana Lottery.
The news involves the Montana Lottery’s Sports Bet Montana and the provision of what Intralot describes as “next-generation lottery services.”
Intralot and Montana Lottery strike a partnership deal
The news from Intralot means it can put the past rejection from the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency (USA) earlier this year (August 2025) behind them.
We covered the U-turn from Maryland’s state regulators, who said the deal crumbled “on the alleged failure to meet the minimum required percentage of subcontracting to local subcontractors,” according to Intralot’s statement on the decision letter.
Intralot, which has partnered with the Montana Lottery since 2006, became the operator behind Sports Bet Montana when sports wagering launched in 2020. The new deal expands that long-standing partnership into its next phase.
“We are honored to enter our third contract with the Montana Lottery and continue to partner with the Lottery as it embarks on its next phase of growth,” Richard Bateson, CEO of Intralot, stated in the release.
This new deal will bring the Intralot and the Montana Lottery relationship, which has lasted twenty years, into a new era for the gaming brand. LotosX Omni, Intralots “unified, future-ready lottery experience for players across the state using LotosX, a best-in-class gaming platform engineered for upmost security, scalability, and innovation,” boasts the release.
Bob Brown, Director of the Montana Lottery, said, “We are very pleased to extend our business relationship with INTRALOT, a company that has been our partner for nearly two decades. This new contract ensures our lottery system remains modern and secure, allowing us to provide our retailers and players with the best possible experience.”
Intralot and Bally’s merger
All seemed rosy for Intralot, having brokered a €2.7 billion ($3.4 billion) deal with Bally’s Corporation (Bally’s) Interactive Business in July 2025.
Sokratis Kokkalis, the founder of Intralot and the company’s current Chairman, will keep his seat at the boardroom. The company will also remain listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and will take Bally’s investment in Intralot from 26.86% to 33.34%.
Soohyung Kim, Chairman of Bally’s board and Vice Chairman of Intralot’s board, was delighted at the finalization of the deal, saying, “By joining with Intralot, the resulting company will be anchored in Europe, and will have significantly greater financial scale from which to drive growth and compete on a global basis.”
Featured image: Intralot / Canva
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The Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) argues against raising taxes on sports betting, stating that it would create an “unsustainable” scenario.
Speaking at a public hearing at the Senate Joint Committee, the executive president of the IBJR, Fernando Vieira, has spoken out against a provisional measure that would increase taxes on sports betting. He and the IBJR said that such a measure could “destroy a recently regulated market and push millions of bettors into illegality”.
“There’s a perception that the betting sector can pay Brazil’s bills alone. This is unrealistic,” he said. “The combined revenue of the five largest Brazilian companies is almost 50 times greater than the entire revenue of the licensed betting market. This is disproportionate and a complete breach of trust in the regulator, given that the market was regulated only eight months ago.”
Vieira went on to refute the claims that betting companies only pay 12% in taxes, claiming that with all consumption taxes, companies often pay as much as 28% with the Provisional Measure and more than 40% with the tax reform.
“This scenario is unsustainable,” he added. “On the contrary: it undermines legal operators and strengthens the underground market.”
Instead of taxes, focus on illegal markets
Instead, Vieira said that the administration should focus on tackling illegal gambling, rather than focusing on those companies already adhering to regulations and paying taxes legally. As it stands, the underground market already represents up to 51% of gambling in Brazil.
“The most efficient way to increase revenue is to combat illegal gambling, not to stifle those who are regulated and paying taxes,” argued Vieira. “People won’t stop gambling, but in the underground sector, there are no rules, no audits, no protection. Externalities increase, and the consumer is the one who loses.
“Our appeal is clear: the solution lies in combating illegality, consolidating the regulated market, collecting revenue efficiently, and protecting gamblers.”
Featured image: IBJR
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This week in prediction markets, Donald Trump Jr. somehow managed to secure himself a seat on both sides of the table. The man has officially joined the advisory ranks at Polymarket while also moonlighting at Kalshi. One imagines the awkward small talk when both companies end up at the same cocktail party.
Polymarket made the splashy announcement that Trump Jr. was not only on the advisory board but that his investment firm, 1789 Capital, had put money into the company. Over at Kalshi, they reminded us that Trump Jr. has been in an advisory role since January, though Axios dryly noted this is a paid gig rather than an investment. In other words, cash one place, consulting fee the other.

Excited to welcome @DonaldJTrumpJr’s fund @1789Capital as a strategic investor in Polymarket ahead of our US launch.
Don will also be joining our advisory board.
Assembling the avengers. We’re coming home pic.twitter.com/w6MdZuoCXv
— Shayne Coplan (@shayne_coplan) August 26, 2025

If you are confused about how the same person can advise the two biggest players in a niche industry that thrives on wagers about who sneezes next in Congress, you are not alone. But then again, we live in an era where conflict of interest is more of a conversation starter than a career-ender.
Polymarket, for its part, is preparing for its grand re-entry into the United States after a time-out courtesy of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC had scolded the company in 2022 for allegedly running unregulated prediction markets, which is basically the financial regulator’s equivalent of sending you to your room without dessert.
Now, with its acquisition of a licensed exchange this summer, Polymarket hopes to come back stateside within weeks, or maybe the fall if the paperwork moves at government speed.
The only thing harder to predict than the next election is how Trump Jr. plans to balance his new double life. Luckily, there are two companies ready to let you bet on it.
What’s on this week’s prediction markets
Kalshi
For reasons known only to the gods of finance, Kalshi’s users are once again glued to the Federal Reserve. Last week it was interest rates, this week it is whether Fed governor Lisa Cook will be booted before the year is out. The market gives it a 31% chance, which is prediction-market speak for “probably not, but wouldn’t it be fun if.”
Kalshi traders give Lisa Cook a 31% chance of losing her Fed seat this year. Credit: Kalshi
The drama stems from President Trump’s announcement that he had fired Cook, accusing her of mortgage fraud. In the grand tradition of Trump statements, it was accompanied by a social media letter spelling out her alleged sins.

JUST IN: Fed governor Lisa Cook, who was “fired” by Trump, says she will continue to carry out her duties
Only 39% chance she’s out this year pic.twitter.com/XrQJoaouzH
— Kalshi (@Kalshi) August 26, 2025

The law, however, says Fed governors can only be removed for cause, usually interpreted as serious misconduct, not a mortgage paperwork spat. Legal experts lined up to politely suggest the president may have a tough time making this stick.
Meanwhile, Kalshi got an unexpected marketing boost from El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who gleefully tweeted about the platform’s market on whether the country’s Bitcoin stash will hit one billion dollars by the end of 2025.

I could do the funniest thing right now… https://t.co/82lENa4hgN
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) August 27, 2025

Odds on Kalshi jumped from 20% to 38% after Bukele hinted he “could do the funniest thing right now,” a phrase that no doubt made both his finance minister and the International Monetary Fund reach for aspirin.
Not to be outdone, Polymarket quickly listed its own version of the bet, where the odds sit a touch higher at 43%. Apparently nothing motivates the global prediction market industry quite like a Bitcoin-loving president with a Twitter habit.
Polymarket
Not to be left out of the Lisa Cook drama, Polymarket has its own market on whether she will be out by the end of 2025. Bettors are giving it only 28%, a slight notch lower than Kalshi’s take. Cook herself has brushed off Trump’s dismissal letter, arguing that “for cause” removals have to do with actual misconduct in office rather than anything in her past mortgage paperwork.
Polymarket bettors see only a 28% chance Lisa Cook is forced out by year’s end. Credit: Polymarket
Polymarket traders also see little chance of Jerome Powell being shoved aside in 2025, pricing his early exit at just 10%. The message is clear: investors believe central bank independence has a stronger spine than the headlines suggest.
But Polymarket’s crown jewel this week had nothing to do with the Fed and everything to do with Taylor Swift’s ring finger. One user, who goes by the name “romanticpaul,” saw the writing on the Instagram wall before the rest of us. Less than 24 hours before Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement, romanticpaul loaded up on “Yes” shares of the couple tying the knot by year-end.
Polymarket users cashed in after Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement. Credit: Polymarket
By the time the couple posted their coordinated selfies, he was sitting on a 153% profit worth more than $3,000. The speed with which Polymarket bettors pivoted to wagering on pregnancy timelines suggests Swifties may be outpacing Wall Street in their use of alternative data.
Of course, Polymarket cannot resist wandering into darker corners of speculation. The platform is now offering bets on whether Houthi rebels will successfully attack another ship by August 31.
The market appeared barely two weeks after real-world strikes killed at least five seafarers, which has led to outrage from human rights groups and the shipping industry alike. Critics call the contracts abhorrent, accusing the platform of normalizing the monetization of violence.
Despite the condemnation, volume has already topped $23,000, with traders buying “Yes” shares for fifteen cents.
It is the kind of bet that reminds you prediction markets are not just mirrors of public curiosity but also of its worst impulses. For every romanticpaul riding a wave of celebrity gossip, there are others willing to wager on whether missiles will fly.
Featured image: Canva / Federal Reserve / Grok
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A North Carolina man has filed a lawsuit alleging that three operators exploited his addiction through predatory gambling practices.
Plaintiff Matthew Joyce alleges that ARB Gaming, BSServices OU, and Affirm Inc. all used predatory practices to exploit his gambling addiction, arguing that this caused him severe financial and emotional harm. He and his lawyers at the Law Office of Reshma Kamath have filed the multi-count lawsuit in the Federal US District Court in Sacramento.
Joyce suffers from a recognized gambling disorder, alongside bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. He claims that the defendants named in the suit engaged in unlawful and unfair business practices, by marking online gambling platforms as sweepstakes, despite them functioning essentially as illegal lotteries.
Specifically, the suit argues that this is in violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Financial Lenders Law, as well as a breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and unjust enrichment.
What are the predatory gambling claims?
The complaint details that Joyce was deliberately targeted, as he was given Black Diamond Status. That afforded him preferential treatment like personal hosts, free credits, and other incentives not available to every player. In addition, the timing of Joyce’s wins and losses are claimed to have followed a pattern designed to maximize addiction and financial and emotional harm.
For example, larger wins were timed for the beginning of the weekend, preventing Joyce from withdrawing funds during these non-working days. Having funds in the account meant he would continue to bet those funds or cancel withdrawals, with the plaintiff arguing the operators knew he would do so.
Despite clear signs of gambling addiction, the lawsuit argues that the named defendants failed to implement responsible gaming measures as they are bound to, but rather continued to encourage gaming through predatory gambling practices.
In the case of Affirm, Inc., the plaintiff claims that the company allegedly facilitated Joyce’s gambling through high-interest loans, many with APRs of between 24 and 25 per cent, used almost exclusively for gambling.
Joyce is seeking damages from ARB Gaming, B2Services OU, and Affirm, Inc, which could include punitive damages, repayment of wrongfully obtained funds, disgorgement of profits, and coverage of legal fees.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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