Goodman will exit the company on 12 December, unless an earlier date is agreed with the provider. Scott will serve as interim CEO while Golden Matrix seeks a permanent replacement.

Goodman became CEO in January 2016. During this time, he oversaw a shift in the business from a micro-cap operator to a NASDAQ-listed international gaming group. This included expansion into multiple regulated markets and the growth of its portfolio of both B2B and B2C platforms.

Prior to joining Golden Matrix, Goodman worked as CEO for Articulate Play for almost 23 years.

Next phase of ‘strategic execution’ for Golden Matrix

Golden Matrix said appointing a new CEO is part of a planned leadership transition for the business. This, it added, aligns with the company’s next phase of “strategic execution and operational scale”.

“Golden Matrix is committed to innovation, compliance and delivering consistent results in a dynamic industry landscape,” the provider said.

In addition to serving as interim CEO, Scott will chair the board committee responsible for appointing a new permanent CEO. Scott is an experienced gaming executive, having held senior executive roles at GTECH/Lottomatica.

“Golden Matrix is built on solid ground – diversified, profitable and prepared to scale,” Scott said. “Brian laid the foundation. Our next chapter is about execution, scale and consistent performance.

“With strong fundamentals, global reach and disciplined execution, we believe we are positioned to outperform the market and deliver exceptional long-term value for our shareholders.”

The joint effort took place between 28-29 November in locations in both Sweden and Spain. However, Europol said the criminal network in question operates in the Stockholm area of Sweden.

Europol said the criminal group runs illegal gambling operations and launders “significant” criminal proceeds. During the raids, police discovered an illegal gambling operation with an estimated annual turnover of €20 million ($23.2 million).

Evidence was also found related to money laundering services for the network and other criminal groups. This, the agency added, was being used for its own benefit and for other criminal actors, with additional links to drug trafficking in Sweden and across the Nordics.

Illegal gambling probe leads to five arrests

The coordinated strike saw almost 150 police officers search six premises in Sweden and two in the Spanish city of Murcia. Police arrested five suspects, including three in Sweden and two in Spain.

Police also seized several hundred thousand euros’ worth of valuable items, including luxury watches and cash. In addition, during a search of a property in Sweden, which police said was being used as an illegal gambling club, authorities seized drugs prepared for resale and found signs of possible human trafficking.

“The suspects form the core of a local criminal network known for its use of violence and intimidation, allowing the group to secure revenues, enforce debts and control sections of the illegal gambling market in the Stockholm area,” Europol said.

“By offering services to other criminals, the group operated as a key facilitator within the wider criminal environment.”

Europol committed to wider criminal clampdown

The agency said the strike is part of a wider, multi-agency strategy to “systematically” dismantle networks that harm local communities while relying on international criminal connections.

“Europol plays a central role in this approach by linking international intelligence with local enforcement actions,” the agency said. “By connecting national authorities across borders, Europol ensures that information collected in one jurisdiction can be turned into operational impact in another – including on the streets of Stockholm.”

By 2022 that logic had collapsed under its own contradictions. Channelisation had sunk below 50%, Veikkaus’ annual contribution to the state had halved since 2017, and policymakers across the political spectrum were conceding—quietly at first, then publicly—that the monopoly was no longer defensible.

Now the country is poised to become Europe’s newest licensed market. What remains uncertain is when the competitive regime will actually begin. The legislative process—still officially aligned with the government’s timetable—has begun to buckle under political nervousness about advertising, electoral timing and the preparedness of regulators.

But while Parliament wrangles over dates, operators are already building teams, commissioning legal advice and shaping local strategies. The Finnish opening is small by European standards but symbolically weighty: one of the last Nordic holdouts is moving into the mainstream. And the industry is preparing accordingly.

Where the bill stands—and why delay now looks likely

At a technical level, the bill is close to the finish line. “The Finnish Parliament’s Administration Committee decided to conclude its hearings on 13 November and is now drafting its report,” says Antti Koivula, Chief Compliance Officer of Hippos ATG. He expects the report “at the very latest mid-December,” after which the two plenary readings “can be completed relatively quickly.”

Independent consultant Jari Vähänen offers a similar assessment: “Parliament is still considering the bill. The Administrative Committee is almost ready, and Parliament will have time to approve it this year, when the law will enter into force on 1 January 2026.”

And yet the committee’s schedule tells another story. Pekka Ilmivalta of Nordic Legal had noted an omission in dealing with the bill in the administrative committee’s weekly plan, which, he said, “raises concerns about the timetable”.

Behind this ambiguity lies political considerations. Both Ilmivalta and Vähänen point to last-minute discussions about pushing the market opening from January 2027 to summer 2027—after Finland’s parliamentary elections.

Gambling operators aware of potential delay

Operators received the same signals. A representative from a big operator told iGB that “government are now discussing postponing the market opening…so after the elections in April,” explaining why the item was unexpectedly pulled from the committee’s agenda.

What is driving the hesitation? According to Vähänen, “political decision-makers fear that gambling marketing will increase so much that public opinion will turn against it before the parliamentary elections.” Even parties broadly supportive of liberalisation prefer to postpone any visible shift until after the vote.

Most observers therefore expect a short delay—weeks in legislative approval, months in market opening. As University of Helsinki researcher Janne Nikkinen puts it, “Perhaps a delay of a few days or weeks, they’re mostly ironing out technical issues.” The law’s substance is not in question; the timeline is.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Interior could not comment on a possible delay, but said in an email to iGB:  “The aim of the Administrative committee has been to complete the report in November, according to the estimate, after which the report is meant to progress to the plenary session”.

Consensus without clarity

Despite procedural delays, political unity on the need for reform is unusually strong. “There has been broad cross-party consensus for a few years that the gambling market should be partially liberalised,” Koivula says. Differences remain over advertising and harm-prevention, but not over the direction of travel.

Ilmivalta explains the logic: “Channelisation of the monopoly is less than 50%, income for the Finnish government has declined and at the same time problem gambling has been slightly increasing. The current system simply does not serve its purpose any more.”

And unlike in many European debates, the opposition has little incentive to resist change: Veikkaus itself declared as early as 2022 that the monopoly should be dismantled. As Nikkinen puts it, “Even the opposition isn’t opposing the reform, because Veikkaus itself said it no longer wants the monopoly.”

The political friction, therefore, is not about whether but when.

A regulator still not ready for day one

While legislative consensus holds, confidence in regulatory readiness is far thinner.

Koivula is frank: “I am not fully confident that the transition will be seamless. ” Although the National Police Board will supervise licensing through 2026, he warns that “the new authority will need to hire a substantial number of employees, and very few—if any—will have prior experience in the gambling sector.” Even within the National Police Board, he says, “this remains to be seen.”

Nikkinen is more pessimistic: Finland’s model “relies on courts, which can take years. That’s too slow for fast-moving marketing campaigns.” The new authority will sit within a regional administrative agency that also handles unrelated topics, from animal welfare to alcohol licensing. “They won’t have power to sanction directly. That’s a weakness,” he says.

Vähänen is more hopeful, believing staff will transfer from the NPB and that the technology project “will be ready in 2026.” Ilmivalta, though trusting in Finnish administrative competence in general, stresses that preparations “have not been very transparent, nor has the regulator had much dialogue with the industry.”

The result seems to be a split-screen picture: operators preparing with determination, and regulators racing quietly behind.

A black-market problem without the tools to solve it

Every expert interviewed agreed that the largest structural weakness is enforcement.

Koivula’s assessment is blunt: “I foresee nothing but enforcement challenges. The enforcement toolbox provided to the regulator is highly insufficient for tackling black market operators.” He warns of a counter-intuitive outcome in which “the majority of enforcement actions end up targeting licensed operators,” simply because they are visible and cooperative.

Nikkinen underscores the legislative omissions: Finland “does not include payment blocking, website blocking, DNS blocking,” partly due to political resistance and partly because the autonomous region of Åland—and PAF—complicates national blocking measures. The result, he predicts, is persistent leakage: “I believe leakage to the black market will continue, and that we’ll need to revise the law again by 2029 or 2030.”

Ilmivalta shares the concern: “There will always be those who decide not to join the regulated market, and the regulator’s tools are not too many.” The B2B licensing requirement in 2028 will help, but is unlikely to be decisive.

Even the operators’ own trade body, the Finnish Gambling Association, Rahapeliala, strikes a cautionary tone. CEO Mika Kuismanen argues that “the bill in itself does not contain enough explicit tools to combat the black market,” warning that if supervision focuses only on licensed companies,” unlicensed operators will not have sufficient incentive to consider the legal market.

Operators prepare: cautious, optimistic and waiting for certainty

Despite the regulatory grey zones, operator sentiment is broadly positive. “The industry as a whole has a positive feeling,” says Kuismanen. The legislative process has been relatively fast and well structured, even if “operators will still have to wait before starting full preparations.”, he says.

FDJ/Kindred´s general manager for Finland and Estonia, Joel Hakamies echoes that view: “It’s looking fairly good for the big picture. Overall it’s been fairly positive from our view.” The main constraint, he says, is uncertainty: “For our planning it would be better if the timeline was set in stone sooner rather than later. Uncertainty always blurs the horizon for investment.”

Hippos ATG, meanwhile, is preparing at full speed. “We are building a Helsinki-based organisation, recruiting experts on product, marketing and customer support,” Koivula says. For Hippos ATG, Finnish liberalisation is not just commercial: “Every euro of profit flows back to Finnish and Swedish horse racing — a model no other operator can offer.”

Ilmivalta sees a wide variety of strategies: “Some operators will establish local organisations while some are planning on operating very much remotely. Some are customising, some trust that their international offering works.” He also expects variety of new and innovative measures in brand-building under advertising constraints.

Marketing: permissive or restrictive?

Advertising rules are emerging as one of the most contested elements of the reform. The government’s responsible advertising clause drew criticism for vagueness, and even the Basic Law Committee questioned whether courts could interpret it effectively.

Nikkinen notes that Finnish media interests are lobbying heavily, while affiliates have been “banned,” leaving an “uneven table.” He warns that traditional media—not online channels—are the dominant source of exposure for consumers, including children.

Operators themselves are split on how restrictive the framework will be. Kindred sees the new rules as “actually quite liberal,” with “plenty of possibilities for operators to make their mark”. Kuismanen, too, believes “almost all channels are available and there are no time limits”.

What Finland means for Europe

Experts that iGB has spoken to agree Finland will not transform the European landscape overnight. “In reality, the wider impact will be limited,” Koivula says. Vähänen and Kuismanen concur.

Yet Finland matters symbolically: it is the first Nordic monopoly to fall since Sweden in 2019, and Norway will be watching closely. As Nikkinen notes, Norway “still maintains a strict monopoly.” Whether Finland succeeds—or struggles—will shape its neighbour’s arguments for years.

More broadly, Ilmivalta expects Europe to move gradually toward harmonisation in the 2030s, driven by black-market control and safer gambling priorities.

A market worth the wait

Finland’s opening is not smooth, nor is it fully defined. But operators appear willing to tolerate uncertainty for a market that remains both lucrative and culturally embedded. “Finland has been and will be an attractive gambling market,” Hakamies says. “Definitely a major opportunity.”

The real test will come not in 2026 or 2027, but in the following years—when Finland must decide whether its lightly armed regulator and incomplete enforcement architecture can deliver the channelisation and consumer protection the reform promises.

For now, the industry waits—impatient, optimistic and already laying its bets.

The trade-off is clear. Regulated businesses offer durable, if slower, returns and build genuine institutional equity value. Unregulated peers deliver rapid ROI but sacrifice longevity and rarely accumulate lasting equity.

For years, investors accepted this sustainability vs. speed equation. Recently, however, the “regulated markets offer certainty” argument has collapsed spectacularly.

Whatever happened to the grey?

The distinction between regulated and unregulated is now binary. Enforcement risk and institutional pressure have made operating in between untenable. Bet365 made headlines last May as bankers circled and liquidity-event rumours intensified. The backdrop: withdrawals from India in 2023 and China in 2025. Analysts estimated around £185 million in lost Chinese revenue – a trade-off the company appeared willing to accept to refocus on fully regulated markets.

Bet365’s retrenchment underscores that institutional-scale operators can no longer justify regulatory ambiguity – and how quickly crypto challengers move to occupy the space. Stake, BC.Game and other crypto-first platforms have expanded aggressively, serving global audiences from offshore jurisdictions.

Below is a Google Trends chart which shows a stark reality of the bleed from Bet365 to Stake over the past three years.

In 2025 we witnessed eye-watering valuations for unregulated crypto iGaming startups, often trading at parity or even a premium to regulated peers. Capital is impatient. With leverage expensive and M&A markets weak, allocators prioritise near-term cash generation. The traditional “safe” bet is being strangled by red tape and legal frameworks that squeeze onshore margins and stretch ROI timelines. As players and affiliates migrate offshore, liquidity and capital inevitably follow.

The protagonist: Tax and compliance burden

In key markets, the public take now exceeds 50% of GGR on certain products. Pennsylvania taxes online slots at 54%. New York takes 51% of sports-betting revenue. Germany taxes turnover on slots and poker, forcing operators to cut RTP and pushing players to unlicensed sites where their money goes further. The Netherlands hiked its online gambling tax to 34.2% this year and 37.8% in 2026. These policies wreck channelisation. Players chase value; affiliates chase traffic; investors chase cash.

Governments treat online gambling like tobacco or alcohol, forgetting that gambling lives on a borderless internet where VPN use is second nature (global data shows VPN penetration exceeding 40% in several key iGaming territories). Tobacco and alcohol cannot be consumed online (joking aside).

By copying policies built for physical vice markets, regulators ignore the elasticity of demand. When taxation and restrictions rise, players don’t stop gambling; they simply move to unregulated sites that offer better odds and familiar product features. Over-taxation and blunt restrictions will ultimately reduce treasury revenue while undermining player protection. Offshore operators often ignore responsible gaming tools and aggressively target vulnerable users. Until policymakers wake up, the gap between the regulated and unregulated sectors will only widen.

Reality cheque, please

Today’s hot thesis promises juicy yields, but is it worth the risk? Australia offers a sobering reminder. Since 2017, the ACMA has blocked approximately 1,000 illegal sites, resulting in more than 200 offshore exits.

One rule change or a coordinated payment squeeze can flip economics overnight. Crypto is no invisibility cloak – blockchains are traceable. The moment value hits a KYC off-ramp, identities attach. That limbo leaves a paper trail.

So why are valuation multiples converging? Two forces are at play: First, public-market compression: Regulated gaming stocks trade at roughly half the multiples of average tech peers, reflecting regulatory headwinds and slower growth. Private regulated deals anchor even lower. Public buyers can’t pay up without diluting their own stock unless synergies are ironclad. That structural ceiling compresses valuations across the regulated M&A chain.

Second, cash-yield hunger and scarcity. Unregulated valuations are driven by capital rotation and simple supply-demand dynamics. Investors are buying yield streams, not future listings. They price cash-flow yield, not blue-sky equity. The strongest bids go to businesses with high double-digit growth, minimal capex, unrestricted product features and borderless reach.

Unregulated assets can still sell, but the buyer pool shrinks with scale and multiples drop to low single digits. Policy sets the spread. Turnover taxes and GGR rates above ~35% crush onshore margins. Ad bans and product restrictions inflate CAC and shrink LTV.

Germany compounds the pain with stake limits and strict advertising bans, making market recovery nearly impossible. The result is more capital chases grey cash cows while they last.

The US has delivered shocks before: UIGEA (2006) and Black Friday (2011) reset online poker overnight. A similar jolt would reprice unregulated assets.

Operator signals matter. Tim Heath pioneered crypto-first betting withSportsbet.io and Bitcasino; his public pivot toward licensed frameworks is telling. If you want a strategic exit or institutional capital, play by the rules. The market ultimately rewards cash-generative and licensable over cash-generative and opaque.

What’s persistent, what’s transient?

Persistent (micro): As long as regulators overreach, then high taxes, blunt limits, weak channelisation and a vacuum remain. Nimble unregulated players will fill it, and risk-tolerant capital will fund them for yield.

Transient (macro): 2025’s volatility should fade (absent black swans). Falling rates and looser liquidity typically lift gaming equities. Cheaper capital also makes regulated cashflows more valuable, pulling pricing back toward licensed, auditable businesses. In the near term, quality assets may see narrow spreads; overtime, the premium should drift back to licensed operators as enforcement and traceability tighten.

As liquidity cycles turn, risk capital will again chase the highest yields, until policy/enforcement resets the spread. Each cycle brings the same lesson: yield can price anything until it can’t. Every yield has a half-life; know which one you’re buying.

Takeaway for capital allocators?

Don’t overpay for cash cows. If equity value and capital appreciation are capped, price for run-off, not fairy-tale exits. Price the licence. Value credible paths to regulated revenue; without them, expect earnouts and holdbacks. Audit the rails. Payments and AML posture determine bankability – weak rails mean a governance discount.

Assume traceability. The “anonymous” premium is gone. Investment always sits somewhere on the risk spectrum. Just make sure the reward justifies the ride.

BEN ROBINSON is managing partner of Corfai and an entrepreneur, investor and adviser with over 25 years of experience in iGaming, payments, tech and media. Since entering iGaming in 2009, Ben has led a global publishing business, co-founded and exited a crypto exchange and, through establishing RB Capital and Corfai, completed over 20 transactions and raised millions in investment capital.

But is it going to push swathes of gambling activity offshore, and will it yield £1.1 billion in new tax revenue as the Office for Budget Responsibility claims? And why could it lead to retail closures when taxes on betting shops were left untouched??

Ed Birkin is not so sure, as Right to the Source breaks down the key figures to cut away the hyperbole and set out what GB gambling faces facing in the wake of the tax rise.

All three will now move on to the last round of consideration by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC). The commission is to make its final licensing decision by 31 December. Up to three downstate licences may be awarded, at a minimum cost of $500 million each.

Most of the meeting was procedural – GFLB’s announcement and remarks lasted all of about 10 minutes. The board has been convening weekly behind closed doors since 8 October.

Board chair Vicki Been said in prepared remarks that the group “determined that awarding all three licences best advances the state’s long-term economic, fiscal and community objectives”.

This question of whether all three projects would advance had become increasingly uncertain as the process unfolded. Several previous applicants voluntarily withdrew and two of the three remaining finalists – Metropolitan Park and Resorts World – are both in Queens, raising questions about cannibalisation from competition. The final licensing decision now rests with the NYSGC.

In any case, board members were met with vitriol following the announcement. Chants of “Shame on you!” broke out at the meeting for several minutes until the shouters were removed. It was not immediately clear which decision was being protested.

All three New York casino bids selected but costs vary

Once the shouting was quelled, board member Greg Reimers explained why all three had been approved.

“No alternative scenarios produce comparable revenue or fiscal benefits,” he said, with regard to other licensing outcomes. “Each project proposes to deliver substantial community benefits, including infrastructure and transit improvements, local business partnerships and significant commitments to community-based organisations.”

The planned investment costs listed on Monday for the projects were below the total cost projections offered by the applicants, which took licence fees, community benefits and other costs into account.

The capital investment for Bally’s was listed at $2.3 billion, from $4 billion total. Metropolitan Park was tagged at $5.3 billion, from $8 billion total, and Resorts World was listed at $3.3 billion, from $7.5 billion total.

Applicants eager to clear final licence hurdle

In a statement after Resorts World’s approval, Genting New York chief Robert DeSalvio said the ruling “represents more than 15 years of work to generate jobs, revenue and opportunities for our neighbours”.

Bally’s said in a statement that it was “grateful for the board’s confidence” and was “honoured” to be selected.

“Our team has worked closely with community leaders, union partners and local stakeholders to build a project that delivers real jobs, lasting economic benefits and a world-class entertainment destination for the Bronx,” the statement said.

Metropolitan Park spokesman Karl Rickett said in a statement that the board “has validated the positive economic impact this project will have with billions of dollars in tax revenue, 23,000 union jobs and over $1 billion in community benefits. We look forward to the Gaming Commission’s review.”

Both Bally’s and Metropolitan Park have projected openings in 2030, whereas Resorts World, as an existing facility, has pushed the limit in scheduling its ramp-up. Originally, it projected a July 2026 opening, but its latest projection has it moved up to March.

Bright spotlight for the GFLB

The five-member GFLB was thrust into the spotlight this autumn after a quick formation in 2025. Four of the five members were appointed this year, the most recent of which came on 30 September. None of the members have experience in or connection to gaming.

In a press conference following the announcement, Been indicated the board leaned heavily on consultants in forming its decision. This was especially true with regard to performance projections and market concerns.

“We ask our consultants to be extremely searching and thorough, and we ask them to be very conservative,” she told reporters. “They disagreed with some estimates by the applicants and thought that they were quite high, so all of our estimates about the revenue potential are based upon our consultants’ views, not the applicants’ views.”

The board estimates that the three applicants could generate $7 billion in gaming tax revenue and $5.9 billion in other tax revenue in the 10-year period from 2027-2036.

According to the selection rationale document, the gaming analysis was “led by Tailored Hospitality Advisors with support from Advantage Partners Consulting, Klebanow Consulting, Hall Hospitality Advisors, Ben Mammina Development Group and Thompson Consulting and Analytics”.

Been was adamant that the board’s approval is not a “rubber stamp” for an identical ruling from the NYSGC. When asked whether there are “strong odds” for such an outcome, she said simply, “I am not a betting person.”

Strong market potential but timelines ‘ambitious’

The rationale document showed that all three applicants were approved unanimously. There were points of concern with each, but the market overall was viewed as being fundamentally solid.

“The downstate gaming market is among the nation’s strongest, given the area’s dense population, high income levels and tourism volume,” the rationale said. “The large local population base residing within a two-hour drive of the proposed casino sites is expected to anchor longterm visitation, supplemented by domestic and international tourism. Each proposal is positioned to compete for premium gaming customers through brand strength, amenities, and facility design.”

Applicants’ suitability and integrity was not included in the board’s consideration – that will be the purview of the NYSGC. Commission chair Brian O’Dwyer has vowed repeatedly that applicants will be held to the highest standard.

Aside from the concerns with the individual applicants, the board noted that construction timelines might impact each. All of the proposed timelines were seen as “ambitious” by members.

“Resorts World New York City’s projected March 2026 opening may underestimate regulatory and construction complexities, and Bally’s Bronx and Hard Rock Metropolitan Park’s mid-2030 timelines may be optimistic given project scale and urban constraints,” the rationale reads. “Continued and diligent oversight and coordination will be necessary to ensure timely delivery.”

In the latest series of raids, police arrested more than 2,000 foreign workers, reports Malaysian-based news site The Star. They seized and destroyed more than 3,300 computers, almost 22,000 mobile phones and other equipment used in online gambling. Authorities have detained former workers pending deportation.

Following the raids, the government systematically sealed or demolished the illegally built structures and broadcast the demolitions on state-run media. As of Saturday, crews had levelled 270 out of 635 buildings.

Is Myanmar crackdown an illusion?

Myanmar has reportedly targeted Shwe Kokko in its “final battle” to eradicate the multibillion-dollar fraud network. But officials may be less committed to the shutdown than they claim. The Irawaddy reports that thousands of scam workers have not been deported at all, but simply relocated to cities throughout Myanmar.

The New York Times likewise suggested the demolitions were “performative”, a strategy by the Myanmar junta to placate Beijing, which opposes scams that victimise its people.

“Just blowing up a bunch of empty buildings in an angry, haphazard fashion might be demonstrative of a show of force,” transnational crime expert Jacob Sims told the Times. “But practically, it’s nothing. No kingpins of KK Park have been turned over.”

In a similar case, organised crime gangs turned the once-sleepy border town of Laukkaing into a hub of criminal activity. Starting in the early 2000s, they developed unregulated gaming halls, houses of prostitution and online scam operations.

Before their arrests, the notorious Bai family ran 41 scam factories in Laukkaing on China’s northeastern border. There they conducted “pig-butchering scams”, building seemingly trusting romantic or financial relationships with online victims, then stealing their money, often via cryptocurrency transactions.

Trillion-dollar global threat

Online scam workers themselves may also be victims, lured into an illegal industry, then subjected to imprisonment, abuse and torture.

According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, a number of Asian border towns have become “strongholds” for transnational crime syndicates dealing in human trafficking, drug distribution, illegal gambling and “industrial-scale money laundering”.

UNDOC estimates that losses from cyberfraud in East and Southeast Asia topped US$18 billion in 2023, and may have amounted to $37 billion. Globally, these scams were estimated to cost consumers more than $1 trillion per year.

It is the first major online launch since March 2024 and operators large and small are hopeful it can provide a fruitful expansion to the US sports betting market as the online gambling industry continues to evolve.

“This is an important launch for BetMGM and the broader industry,” said Matt Prevost, BetMGM chief revenue officer. “For us, it marks our 30th launch since we started in 2018 and also tips us into serving an addressable market of 50% of the adult US population.

“We have thousands of existing customers in the state, as they have travelled to the border states of Kansas, Illinois and Kentucky to engage with BetMGM.”

BetMGM launched online Monday morning and opened its BetMGM Sportsbook at the Century Casino & Hotel Cape Girardeau. The sportsbook is partnered with the Kansas City Chiefs.

While some of BetMGM’s competitors are launching prediction markets and will be able to use that product to capture more customers, even in states where sports betting is not legal, Prevost believes there is plenty of sustainable sports betting growth ahead. DraftKings, FanDuel and Underdog are all in the process of deploying prediction markets, and Underdog pulled out of the Missouri launch process to do so despite having received a licence.

Prevost cited Grand View Research data that projects 10.9% to 12.2% compound annual sports betting growth rate and a projected US market of more than $33 billion by 2030.

“We believe that this is a healthy, sustainable growth rate and the presence of prediction markets might actually increase the rate of adoption of legislation to promote regulated gaming in US states,” he said.

Circa treads new territory

In August, Missouri regulators awarded Circa, a niche brand which is now in six states, with one of the two untethered sports betting licences available. The other went to DraftKings, one of the two US market leaders.

Circa prides itself on going after different bettors than major sportsbooks by advertising high limits and “player-friendly pricing”. Circa founder Derek Stevens told the Missouri Gaming Commission the sportsbook’s hold is approximately 3.5% compared to the national companies, which hold around 10%. The lower hold means less revenue for the operator.

That approach to attract different customers was enough for the MGC to award the licence to Circa.

Circa Director of Operations Jeff Benson said the untethered licence is helpful for the sportsbook as it allows entry with just the $500,000 licence fee, not extra market entry deals and revenue share with casino or sports team partners.

“It allows us to offer a more competitive product to users,” Benson said. “As many [options as possible] leads to competition, which breeds better bonuses and comps.”

Benson said the untethered licence alone likely will not help gain market share, but a new app with added user friendliness could help. It will also help free up some costs for marketing or ancillary spends that could boost handle and revenue.

Benson said the four other launches outside its home state of Nevada have helped shape this rollout.

“We’ve continued to get better each and every time,” he said. “Whether that’s deal points we get, figuring out how to tailor our marketing efforts or boots on the ground, there’s a number of things we looked at to figure out and get better.”

DraftKings goes big with party

The other untethered licence holder, DraftKings, held a party highlighted by Missouri sports legends for its launch at The Palladium, an event space in St Louis.

Former St Louis Rams receiver Isaac Bruce, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez and St Louis Blues forward Brett Hull placed the first bets on DraftKings. Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson was also at the DraftKings launch party.

“DraftKings is built for passionate sports fans, making Missouri an exciting jurisdiction for us to enter with its rich sports culture and several professional teams across the state,” DraftKings Chief Revenue Officer Greg Karamitis said. “This is an incredible time of year for sports fans with NFL, NBA, NHL, college football and college basketball all in-season, and we look forward to elevating the experience for Missouri sports fans, responsibly, with our top-rated online sportsbook.”

Fanatics rolled out its own Missouri sports star, former Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, to place the first bet at the brand’s in-person sportsbook at Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City. Fanatics also has an in-person sportsbook at Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St Charles.

FanDuel, which applied unsuccessfully for an untethered licence, enters the state through a deal with St Louis City FC. FanDuel announced a $300,000 donation to Guns ‘N Hoses, a St.Louis first responders nonprofit organisation. It also announced a $300,000 donation to the Veterans Community Project in Kansas City.

Bet365’s key Missouri sports betting partner

Bet365 enters the Missouri market partnered with the St Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals were a key cog in the process that legalised sports betting. Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III helped launch the ballot initiative in 2024.

“We’re thrilled to bring our world-class mobile sports betting experience to Missouri and to partner with one of Major League Baseball’s most storied franchises,” said Trip Stoddard, Bet365 head of development. “Missouri has a passionate sports community, and we think fans will love Bet365’s unique betting features and industry-leading odds.”

It is the 16th US state for Bet365.

Ceasars, Penn go live in casinos

Ceasars and Penn Entertainment each operate casinos in Missouri. Their online brands have licences through the land-based casinos.

For Penn, it marks the switchover from ESPN Bet to theScore Bet, which was announced last month. Customers who previously downloaded ESPN Bet will see it update automatically to theScore Bet. Penn opened in-person theScore Bet sportsbooks at River City Casino and Hollywood Casino.

Along with its app, Caesars launched its in-person sportsbooks at Harrah’s Kansas City and Horseshoe St Louis. Harrah’s hosted a party on Monday morning with former Kansas City Chiefs star Christian Okoye. Former Chiefs and St Louis Rams quarterback Trent Green began the day at Horseshoe, but he made a stop at Harrah’s and Isle of Capri Boonville.

“Caesars Sportsbook is proud to deliver a premier sports wagering experience to Missouri and a special promotion that’s true to the experience sports fans in the state should come to expect,” Caesars Digital President Eric Hession said in a release. “From our intuitive mobile app to our in-person sportsbooks at Harrah’s Kansas City and Horseshoe St Louis, we’re committed to providing a secure and responsible way for fans to engage with the sports they love.”

Long and winding road to Missouri sports betting

There have been multiple legislative attempts over the past five years to legalise sports betting in Missouri. Senator Denny Hoskins played foil each year, filibustering the legislation in hopes of adding language to legalise video lottery terminals in the state.

Eventually, the professional sports teams launched a ballot initiative to go around the legislature. It gained enough signatures with millions of dollars from FanDuel and DraftKings.

The ballot push also had to survive a legal battle that pit major industry players against one another.

Once on the ballot, it barely passed with 50.05% of the votes.

That same election elevated Hoskins to secretary of state, a position in which he denied emergency rules for sports betting. If emergency rules had been permitted, the MGC hoped for a summer 2025 launch.

Instead, the MGC settled on Monday’s launch date.

The state has a 10% tax rate on sports betting revenue, which is lower than in most states. The majority of proceeds will be used to fund public education in the state, with a portion also allocated to responsible gambling awareness and treatment programmes.

Can bonusing be improved? And is there still room for innovation? iGB sat down with Amusnet to hear what’s new with the gaming juggernaut’s new bonus platform, and why the provider is so bullish on its capabilities.

Couple arrested over AU$1.2 million fraudulent casino win

A husband and wife from Kazakhstan have been arrested over allegations they defrauded an Australian casino out of AU$1.2million (US$786,059).

The BBC reports that the couple was caught cheating at Crown Sydney. Dilnoza Israilova was found to be wearing a discreet camera on her T-shirt while gambling at the venue.

Police also found “magnetised probes” and a mirror attachment for a phone allegedly used to rig games. Both she and her husband, Alisherykhoja Israilov, were arrested shortly after.

New South Wales Police charged the pair with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage. They remain in custody over the matter.

Malta regulator issues further warning over illegal sites

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has distanced itself from two websites that claim to be licensed by the regulator.

Both Lavbet321.com and Kasinoseta.com claimed to have been approved by the MGA and that they hold a Malta licence. However, the regulator said this was not the case with either site.

The MGA said that any reference to the regulator or a Malta gaming licence is “false and misleading”.

“The MGA would like to remind consumers not to utilise services provided by an entity unless they have ascertained that the entity in question is authorised to provide such services by the MGA,” the regulator said.

London councils join anti-gambling ad campaign on Underground

Five more London councils have declared their support for a campaign to stop gambling advertising on the city’s Underground.

Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Hackney and Lewisham councils joined the Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA), the BBC reported. The group campaigns against the spread of harmful gambling promotions, with the Underground one of its focus areas.

Haringey Council was the first council to join CEGA in January 2025. The ongoing campaign calls for the end of advertising for all forms of gambling.

In 2021, Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan pledged to implement such a ban as part of his re-election manifesto. However, this has yet to come to fruition.

Evoplay welcomes Mantsiou as chief financial officer

The game development studio Evoplay has promoted Vasilena Mantsiou to the role of chief financial officer.

As CFO, she will oversee the studio’s financial strategy, planning and operations. This, Evoplay said, will support sustainable growth and stability as part of its global expansion plans.

Mantsiou joined Evoplay in May 2022 and was promoted to head of the accounting department in January 2024.

“Vasilena’s been an integral part of Evoplay’s journey, demonstrating exceptional leadership and deep financial expertise,” said Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, “Her promotion to CFO is a natural step forward. We’re confident that her strategic vision will continue to support our long-term goals as we expand into new markets.”

Caesars launches sports betting in Missouri

On the first day online sports betting became available in Missouri Monday, Caesars Entertainment has announced its launch.

Players in the state can now download the Caesars Sportsbook mobile app and place bets on a range of markets. They can also visit physical locations at both Harrah’s Kansas City and Horseshoe St Louis.

Missouri was also the first state where Caesars launched with Universal Digital Wallet on the first day of wagering. This enables deposits and withdrawals across Caesars platforms in all regulated states.

Eric Hession, president of Caesars Digital, said: “From our intuitive mobile app to our in-person sportsbooks at Harrah’s Kansas City and Horseshoe St Louis, we’re committed to providing a secure and responsible way for fans to engage with the sports they love.”

The agreement will run for three years, covering the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. RMG, which has overseen television production for the Dubai Racing Club for over a decade, will work with long-term partner ARC for the new venture.

This will include distributing Dubai Racing Club content through GBI Racing, the international partnership of ARC and RMG. Content will be made available across global territories. GBI Racing is broadcast in approximately 10,000 venues worldwide and with more than 100 digital customers.

Meydan Racecourse is among the largest horse racing venues in the world. Its half-mile long main grandstand can accommodate over 80,000 spectators, while the facility hosts several major events including the Dubai Racing Carnival and Dubai World Cup.

The 2025-26 Dubai World Cup will be the 30th edition of the race. Some $30.5 million in prize money will be on offer across six group 1 and three group 2 races on 28 March next year.

RMG and ARC talk up revenue potential

RMG CEO Nick Mills welcomed the new partnership. He said he was pleased to build on the company’s prior relationship with Dubai Racing Club and explore new revenue opportunities with ARC.

“Combined, RMG and ARC are among the largest – and most established – distributors of horse racing content globally,” he said. “This extensive reach delivers unmatched metrics in terms of eyeballs and engagement levels on content, and will result in the highest potential revenue generation.”

Brendan Parnell, managing director, media and international at ARC, made similar comments on the deal. He said the three-way agreement will expand Dubai Racing Club’s footprint in regions around the world.

“Meydan Racecourse is an incredible facility, and its content is a huge draw around the world for racing fans,” he said. “Via our retail and GBI networks, we look forward to working alongside RMG to enhance DRC’s footprint and distribution globally.”

Erwan Charpy, head of racing operations and international relations at Dubai Racing Club, added: “We look forward to working with RMG and ARC to grow further interest in our world-class and competitive racing from Meydan Racecourse.”

More expansion for the UAE gambling landscape

The deal represents the latest step of evolution for gambling in the UAE. Just last week, Play 971 launched in the UAE, becoming the first fully licensed and regulated iGaming site in the market.

Play 971 is one of several websites licensed by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA). Sources suggested it was undergoing a trial rollout in a limited area, with the site only available in certain areas of the UAE.

Prior to this launch, the UAE Lottery was the only legal gambling product. Wynn’s Al Marjan Island, a new land-based resort, is not due to open until early 2027.

It is not just the market that has evolved, with the setup of regulator GCGRA also changing in recent weeks. In November, founding CEO Kevin Mullally stepped down from his role at the organisation. Mullally oversaw the establishment of the regulator’s core governance and regulatory structures but is exiting to spend more time with his family. Chairman Jim Murren has taken over in the interim.

It’s such a simple question. One we’ve all been asked at dinner parties, picking the kids up from school, or just on a social night out. Most people answer without a second thought. But for me, there’s always a split-second pause.

“I work in gaming”, I’ll say. Sometimes I’ll add “computer games” and hope they don’t ask more. It’s not dishonesty, it’s self-preservation. The moment you say “gambling” or “betting,” you see it: the shift in expression, the awkward pause, the slight recalibration of how they see you.

Believing in what you build

I understand that reaction. However, here’s what people outside of the industry don’t see. iGaming has given me extraordinary opportunities. It has allowed me to travel the world, meet people from diverse cultures, contribute to causes I genuinely care about, and, perhaps most importantly, give other people the opportunity to do the same. This is something that I am learning to be incredibly proud of.

We are not naïve enough to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that the industry doesn’t carry a certain degree of social stigma. However, there is so much to celebrate, not least of which is the incredible community of women that exists within the industry.

The power of women in iGaming

One of the most rewarding aspects of my role at BettingJobs has been the opportunity to challenge assumptions and open doors for people entering the industry. My role has allowed me to champion people I believe in, time and time again.

My experience within the industry has taught me the strength of speaking up when I need to. There have been many times when I’ve been on a call with a client and they have said something like “when we hire him”. I’m quick to call it out, and nine times out of ten, I see an instant correction.

This is a key reason I have become such an advocate for women within the industry. The industry has come a long way, and while it is still not perfect, I believe it is a place that can offer equal opportunities for men and women, and this is something I will continue to advocate for.

I am also constantly inspired and blown away by the women who operate within the space. The various women in iGaming groups, WhatsApp chats, and conference meet-ups are not just networking opportunities; they provide a genuine support network that bolsters us, allows us to share our experiences, and, when needed, guides us through a difficult time.

Inspired by these communities, I wanted to create something similar closer to home. As such, I’ve not just joined networks, I have also started my own, the AyeGaming Group. I started this alongside Elaine Gardiner, the managing director of TAG Media, with the intent of connecting people in the industry who were based in Scotland. There were a lot more Scots in the industry than I’d anticipated, and finding them has been invaluable.

What started as something small has grown into a thriving network and a place where I have met many fantastic people. This has become another source of pride that I have within what I do.

Championing the next generation of iGaming

In the two decades since I started in this industry, I’ve watched it transform into a more inclusive space that provides opportunities for ambitious people.

I am now in the incredible position where I can help shape what comes next. To ensure that opportunities are easily accessible and that the industry continues to improve its efforts to be a diverse and welcoming place that champions innovation and success, no matter your gender, nationality, or background. So that the next generation doesn’t have to have that split-second calculation when someone asks what they do.

Reframing the conversation

When someone asks what I do now, I hold my head high and I tell them. This industry has given me a platform to advocate for women, to challenge bias, and to create meaningful opportunities. It has allowed me to build a team and a network I’m proud of and be part of a community that I constantly feel inspired and amazed by. And that, well, that is something to be proud of.

After joining as the first female hire in 2006, Jennifer is now CEO of BettingJobs, leading the company’s global vision and strategy with a deep understanding of the iGaming industry and its evolving talent needs. Since taking on the leadership role, she has overseen significant international growth, strengthening partnerships with major operators and emerging brands across key global markets.

With a strong focus on quality, innovation and long-term relationships, Jennifer is known for her clear leadership, industry expertise and commitment to delivering outstanding recruitment solutions at every level.

At present, a single licence is available in Austria for lotteries and online gaming products. This 15-year permit is held by Austrian Lotteries’ brand Win2day – a subsidiary of Casinos Austria, which also holds all 12 land-based casino licences. Austria’s state holding company, ÖBAG, in turn owns a 33% stake in Casinos Austria.

Rumours of reform have been swirling since Austria’s three-party coalition entered government back in March. In their February coalition pact, the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP), liberals (NEOS) and centre-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) had cryptically promised a “further development” of the gambling monopoly, leaving the question of liberalisation on the table.

More recently, senior government officials have spoken out in favour of an open licensing scheme for online gambling. With the sole licence due to expire in 2027, the urgent question is whether the next tender process will be a fully open one.

According to Simon Priglinger-Simader, president of the Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG), clarity on this question could come “any day now”.

“It should only be a question of days until the draft is released and then it will be all about the political negotiations,” he told iGaming Business. “But the signals we’ve received from all three parties have been positive when it comes to a licensing reform for online gambling.”

Political negotiations over iGaming reform in Austria

Although the industry is eagerly awaiting the Finance Ministry’s plans, they will only be the start of the process, kicking off talks between the SPÖ (who control the ministry), the ÖVP and the NEOS.

These talks should lay the groundwork for a new gambling bill to be drafted in February or March next year, with new regulations potentially in place by summer.

If the anticipated reform is announced, it will spell the end of a long and arduous fight against the single-licence system in Austria, which has regularly been placed under a microscope by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). 

“I would say [we’re] much closer to online gambling reform than we’ve ever been in Austria – or at least in the past five or 10 years,” said Priglinger-Simader. “And for us as an industry, that’s a hugely positive sign.”

It is far from the first time that the question of ending the online monopoly has been on the agenda: a previous attempt by the former ÖVP and Green Party-led coalition was scuppered by the parties’ political differences. This time, however, the stars seem to be aligning in favour of an open online market.

Licensing deadlines and tender process

“By 2027, six of 12 of the existing 15-year national offline casino licences will expire, along with the single online gambling licence. The remaining six out of 12 licences for offline casinos will expire in 2030,” explained Arthur Stadler, an Austrian attorney who specialises in betting and gaming law.

With the tender process taking around two years, there is a race against time to draft a new framework for handing out the next set of licences – and potentially tap into a new income source for the government.

“Austria’s fiscal situation is deeply concerning,” Stadler added. “It is an open secret that new licensing fees and taxation models in the gambling sector, as so often in history, will be leveraged to help plug gaps in the national budget. Whether this creates an attractive consumer offering and channelisation is an entirely different story.”

Since entering government in March, the coalition has already introduced two significant tax hikes. Online gambling taxes soared from 40% to 45%, while betting duties were more than doubled from 2% to 5%.  

If the market is opened, the OWVG will argue that these dizzyingly high tax rates could stand in the way of channelisation. Research carried out in Germany suggests that every percent of tax above 30% could equate to a 1% loss to black-market operators.

Unanswered questions in Austria

According to Stadler, Austria’s current dire channelisation rates may have also prompted the political rethink.

“Despite the fact that Austrian Lotteries is the sole legal provider of online gambling services, it has failed in its task of steering Austrian players towards legal gambling channels,” he said.

This places the monopoly on legally shaky ground, as the ECJ has ruled that monopolies in Europe must genuinely serve the public interest.

Still, it’s unclear what shape any future online gambling framework – if there is one – could take, and how many potential licences could be available for operators.   

Speaking to the Austrian Press Agency (APA) this November, a ministry spokesperson explained that the number of licences available in the next tender would be part of the ongoing political discussions.

If the monopoly is lifted, it’s possible that licences could still remain capped at an arbitrary number. Here, however, Germany’s unsuccessful sports betting licence cap – which was scrapped in 2021 – could serve as a cautionary tale.

Another option is a cap through the back door, which would involve setting the standards and costs so high that only a few operators could realistically meet them. The third, much less complicated option, would be to offer unlimited licences.

Enhancing player protections

Whatever the next licensing scheme looks like, one thing is clear: the government will have to develop its player protection regulations almost from the ground up.

“All three parties will need to make sure that player protections are increased and improved in Austria because at the moment, we don’t have that much within the Gambling Act and very little oversight from the ministry,” said OWVG President Priglinger-Simader.

In their February coalition pact, the three parties pledged to ramp up enforcement measures against the black market, introducing measures such as IP-blocking and payment blocking.

However, Stadler points out that these would require precise implementation to avoid falling afoul of EU rules.

Nevertheless, the gaming law expert believes Austria is in a unique position due to the long delay in regulating the online market.

“As one of the last countries to maintain an online gambling monopoly, Austria is very late to the show,” said Stadler. “However, this could potentially turn out to be an advantage, as the Austrian legislator has been able to observe developments in similar countries and draw conclusions on the most successful measures.

“There is no need – and no justification – for a trial-and-error-period in Austria.”

An independent gambling commission?

Alongside an expansion of the online licensing scheme, industry stakeholders will be scouring the draft plans for mentions of an independent gambling authority, ending the Ministry of Finance’s jurisdiction.

Though moves have been made to address any conflicts of interest – moving the stake in Casinos Austria from the Finance to Economics Ministry – operators are still yearning for neutral and independent oversight. However, as Stadler explains, “establishing such an authority would take a substantial amount of time”.

With time running out to issue tenders, the OWVG believes the new gambling authority will be put on the backburner until after new licences are issued – or even set up in parallel.

Even without a new gambling commission to worry about, however, time is still tight. If the tender process kicks off next summer as expected, it is unlikely to be completed by the autumn of 2027 – not least due to the likely barrage of legal challenges.

According to a recent report in Der Standard, the Finance Ministry is considering buying extra time by extending the current tenders by one year – pushing back reforms to 2028. This would take advantage of a provision laid out in the current Gambling Act, although it’s unlikely to be received well by operators or the European courts.

Although the wait could be longer than expected, however, there is one major consolation for the industry: after years of campaigning and legal scrutiny, one of Europe’s most intransigent online gaming markets could finally be on the brink of reform.

In the role, the government confirmed that Eldhagen will support the minister for financial markets, Niklas Wykman. Alongside gambling regulation, Eldhagen will oversee the financial market, state properties and the financing of new nuclear power.

Eldhagen takes on the new position having most recently served as head of international secretariat Sveriges Riksbank. Previously, he worked in various management roles at the Ministry of Finance and as an advisor at the World Bank.

The government said Eldhagen will commence his new role with effect from 1 December.

Another new face in gambling regulatory leadership

The appointment comes after the Swedish gambling regulator in September also announced a change in leadership. Johan Röhr is now its acting director general following the departure of Camilla Rosenberg.

Röhr took on the temporary role from 1 November and is overseeing Spelinspektionen until further notice. He has worked as chief legal officer at the regulator since June 2008.

Spelinspektionen confirmed that Rosenberg would be stepping down as director general on 31 October. She had led the body as its director general since 2017.

Changing face of Swedish gambling market

Aside from regulatory leadership, the Swedish market has also seen several changes to laws and rules over the past year.

In September, Sweden’s Ministry of Finance published Marcus Isgren’s report, outlining amendments designed to strengthen the country’s regulatory framework. This included closing loopholes that enabled illegal operators to market to locals via English-language sites with payments accepted in euros.

Other proposed amendments included broadening the prohibition on promoting illegal gambling in Sweden. Beyond advertising, this would extend to payment processors, financial services and other providers that support unlicensed operations.

The memorandum also proposes adjustments to criminal provisions, meaning unlicensed gambling and the promotion of unlicensed services would be made illegal and subject to criminal charges.

Aside from this, the government in October published the full text of legislation imposing a blanket ban on using credit for gambling. This will extend the Swedish Gambling Act, which already prevents players from using credit to gamble with licensed operators.

The new rules will come into effect from 1 April 2026.

This year also saw the end of the country’s land-based market. Svenska Spel confirmed the closure of its final land-based casino in Stockholm, after the Swedish Parliament voted to end land-based casinos in April.

A dominant global force in gaming, the operator has become market leader in the US through its FanDuel brand and has expressed similar lofty ambitions in Latin America.   

In September 2024, Flutter acquired a 56% stake in NSX, the parent company of Brazil-facing brand Betnacional. That same month, the company insisted the deal boosted its market share to 11%. NSX provided the operator with a wealth of local talent and experience.

The deal was completed in May, when NSX CEO Joao Studart stepped into the top job at the newly formed Flutter Brazil.

The agreement mirrored Flutter’s strategy across Europe and the US, combining local brand strength and the group’s financial and technology firepower and global structure. For Studart, the deal made perfect sense and marked a new chapter for the Brazil sports betting market.  

“Flutter saw in Brazil not only an opportunity for strategic expansion, but also a market with real prominence within the global sector,” Studart tells iGB. “It recognised in Betnacional a successful example of genuine connection with Brazilian fans – a popular, culturally rooted and fast-growing brand.” 

M&A specialist Christian Tirabassi, founder and senior partner of Ficom Leisure, believes Betnacional was a top-10 player in Brazil’s pre-regulated market.

Acquiring a local hero of this size meant Flutter could achieve an early-mover advantage, a key benefit in such a highly competitive market.

“The opening of other markets has shown us that whoever is early into the market has an important market share and will probably stay there or even increase that leading position,” Tirabassi says. 

Local prowess 

Stakeholders have noted just how important localisation is to succeed in Brazil, which differs culturally from its LatAm neighbours even beyond the language distinctions.

Pre-regulation, many shared the belief that international entrants could struggle in Brazil unless they properly localised through a boots-on-the-ground approach that differs vastly from their other markets. 

Studart believes Flutter Brazil combines NSX and Betnacional’s local prowess and the Flutter Edge technology stack, bringing scale and local autonomy.

“Flutter Brazil [is] an operation that remains Brazilian at its core, with local leadership and a deep understanding of the consumer,” Studart explains. “At the same time, it operates with the resources, governance and technology of a global group. 

“Through the Flutter Edge, we brought to Brazil state-of-the-art tools, a robust infrastructure, high-level compliance standards and a responsible gaming programme tailored to the country’s reality.

“At the same time, we preserved Betnacional’s essence as a local hero – a brand that represents the Brazilian spirit of football, entertainment and popular culture.”

Brazil’s launch has dominated gaming news in the last couple of years. A huge nation with a population of around 213 million, Brazil has a vibrant sporting culture, and many expected its opening to provide an entry into LatAm’s growing gambling opportunity.  

H2 Gambling Capital ranks Betano, Superbet and Bet365 as its top three players by market share, according to its revenue estimates. International entrants are clearly gaining a strong foothold in the market.

Since the launch, operator revenue figures for Brazil have varied. In Q1 most listed players reported strong numbers as early entrants, but as competition has increased, and KYC pressures remain, some have seen that growth slow slightly.  

In Q3 London-listed Entain warned that iGaming was not performing as well as it could be, due to a slow and arduous certification process, which meant few games were available in the market during the period. Flutter reported revenue of $87 million in Brazil in Q3, marking a 412% uptick on the same period in 2024, prior to regulation.  

Of course, this year the company has included NSX’s revenues within its mix, with Betnacional reportedly achieving record iGaming revenues during the quarter. Excluding NSX’s revenue, Flutter saw a 18% year-on-year revenue drop across its Betfair brand in Brazil.

Group CEO Peter Jackson said this was due to its continued recovery from bottlenecks that occurred during and following the regulatory process.

Ed Birkin, H2 Gambling Capital managing director, estimates Flutter Brazil is currently sitting in fifth position in the market with a 4.5% market share. 

“While it’s still very competitive at the moment, I would imagine Flutter’s strategy will be focused on getting the best product [out],” Birkin explains. “And then as other people start to pull back, which is going to happen at some point because the losses that I’d imagine a lot of companies are making aren’t sustainable, that’s when they will start to leverage their financial firepower, start to lean in as they call it and pick up the slack.” 

A slice of the pie 

The Flutter Edge platform is the core function powering the operator’s “local heroes” strategy, through which it has acquired numerous leading brands in various markets and integrated them into the central platform.

Analysts are bullish on the power of the Edge platform. In December 2024 Macquarie senior gaming analyst Chad Beynon estimated the platform would help Flutter gain up to 25% market share in Brazil by 2030.  

In his December note Beynon said the platform had proven to affect market share gains in new markets quickly. He also said further M&A was on the cards for Flutter in LatAm.  

“Flutter Edge brings to Brazil state-of-the-art resources in infrastructure, data intelligence, innovation and compliance – ensuring that our brands operate with robustness, speed and security,” Studart says. “At the same time, we have the freedom to adapt products, experiences and strategies to local realities, delivering tailored solutions that truly connect with our audience.  

“It is precisely this combination of global structure and local leadership that positions Flutter Brazil among the most prepared companies to lead the sector – with consistency, credibility and a positive impact on the entire ecosystem.” 

Birkin expects Flutter will invest heavily in marketing further down the line, as competition slows and others pull back from the market. This will enable it to capitalise on waning competition, a strategy that worked for Flutter in stunning fashion in the US. 

“My view is the best strategy would be to focus on integrating their very strong technology and know-how into the Betnacional business to improve the product,” Birkin says. “Once they’ve got the product where they want it, then to spend their money on marketing as others pull back on it. 

“What you’d notice in the US is that as people started pulling back on bonusing and marketing, as lots of operators were loss-making, they pull back, then FanDuel starts to lean in and kind of use their scale to take customers.”

Birkin notes Bet365 employed a similar strategy in the US, where the operator avoided spending huge amounts to gain brand awareness. Instead, it operated efficiently in the background, waiting to make market share gains when others pulled back. 

The sheer scale of Flutter Brazil compared to smaller operators is demonstrated by its massive local workforce of over 500. The business operates multiple functions locally, including technology, marketing and customer services. The company also recently changed its corporate structure, with a raft of new C-level appointments to work alongside Studart. 

Flutter Brazil has drawn from other sectors to build out its executive team, while also ensuring a combination of international expertise with a “deep cultural connection” to Brazil.

“The IT team is a great example of this integration, with professionals from Flutter’s international structure working remotely in collaboration with the local team, expanding our capacity for innovation and integration,” Studart adds. 

“The new executives bring extensive experience in their fields, foster local reach and lead highly qualified teams that are already recognised as industry benchmarks, always operating with responsibility and a long-term vision. With Betnacional as part of its brand ecosystem, the goal is to sustain an operation centred on Brazilian talent and local insight.” 

Further M&A 

Tirabassi shares Benyon’s view that Flutter will make other acquisitions in LatAm, in part due to their strong history of successful M&A across its global portfolio and with the company’s sights set on reaching the summit of the regulated Brazil sector.

“Their objective, clearly, is to become number one, and that’s why I think they’re going to make other acquisitions,” Tirabassi says. “Large ones that would allow them to be quickly number one or number two, so something of the same size or similar size. I think that Flutter is actively looking for an [M&A] target. I know that for sure.” 

But Tirabassi knows well that this process isn’t easy.

“We believe the issue [in Brazil] is finding a target which is ready to transact,” Tirabassi adds. “Being on the sell side, the majority of the work we do is prepare the target, because they’re not ready. We understand the priority is business. But then again, very big business, very small corporate. So that’s why we’re trying to kind of help them to realign the size of the corporate together with the size of the business.  

“They need at least a couple of quarters to organise the company. So, we expect that in 2026 you will see some additional M&A in the market, because targets will be in a better position than now to engage in a transaction with a company like Flutter.” 

With Birkin currently ranking Flutter Brazil and its Betnacional and Betfair brands at number five in the market, he has reservations over whether they can scramble to the top spot. H2’s numbers give Betano, Superbet and Bet365 a combined 47% of the market, and Birkin feels that could be a tough trio to crack for Flutter. 

“They want to be in a podium position,” Birkin explains. “On our numbers that would involve them overtaking Sportingbet and Superbet. Is that possible? Yes. Do I see them being able to capture in a year, five years, Betano and Bet365? That would involve a significant change in market structure.” 

Tirabassi, however, is a little more confident and believes in the value of the NSX acquisition. Add to that Flutter’s capability to conduct more M&A, and Flutter could certainly buy its way to the top.  

“I think the difference is that culturally, the Flutter group has been extremely capable in M&A, they have a very strong team and also the guys that come after the deal. Betano has basically no experience in M&A or very little so it’s not really their culture.” 

Ultimately, Studart is confident Flutter Brazil will continue to make strides in the new and exciting Brazil market.

“The Brazilian market is going through a phase of consolidation that brings great opportunities for operators who invest with seriousness, a consumer-first mindset and a commitment to best practices,” Studart concludes.  

“The progress of regulation has laid the foundation for a more balanced ecosystem – one that combines innovation with responsibility. Flutter Brazil sees this new scenario as fertile ground for sustainable growth. By combining global scale with a deep understanding of local specificities, we aim to actively contribute to the sector’s maturation – offering relevant and safe experiences to users while reinforcing the pillars of trust, transparency and Brazilian culture that underpin our brands.” 

The draft, “The Case For a National Online Gambling Tax“, stressed that while land-based bookmakers and casinos are currently taxed between 6%-9% of winnings or gross gaming revenue by the licensing provinces, they still generate employment and other communal benefits for the citizens. The same cannot be said about online and interactive gambling despite the significant spike in its user engagement.

A recent publication from the market’s regulatory bodies showed GGR from online gambling went up 60% on data from the previous year.

According to a report from Statistics South Africa, firms providing bookmaker and online gambling services saw a massive income boost up to R152.6 billion ($8.9 billion) as of 2023, representing a 72% increase between 2018 and 2023, a figure which clearly surpassed all other activities in the sports and recreation sector.

Why this proposed tax rate is cause for concern

With online gambling being in direct competition with land-based casinos as part of the interactive gambling industry in most countries, tax rates should be aligned to ensure fairness, the draft stipulated.

And as up to 11 other jurisdictions are already charging a 20% tax on GGR, with a further 16 regulators collecting an even higher tax rate, the National Treasury explained why the proposed rate should be upheld and implemented. The national gambling tax would be in addition to the provincial tax rates and would lead to a tax rate of between 26% and 29% for all online gambling activities.

The new rate is expected to translate to an additional R10 billion in revenue generation to the South African government. However, the proposed reform was not particularly aimed at further revenue generation but to curb the issue of problem and pathological gambling and its consequences.

Enforcing oversight

In respect to that, the National Treasury has also mapped out a procedure to ensure oversight and the collection of the proposed tax rate when approved.

Every online operator will be required to register and provide the South African Revenue Service with similar information to that currently available to the provincial gambling boards they are licensed to, which is used for gambling tax revenue collection. That way, compliance will be enforced.

Local industry players who are involved in interactive gambling will also be subjected to the proposed tax, depending on the extent of the GGR of every gaming activity in which they are involved.

In its conclusion, the Treasury’s proposal noted that regulatory bodies have not kept pace with the evolving market over the years as forms of gambling (like online and interactive gambling) other than lotteries and sports pools have been let off, hence the need for the new rate on their operations.

The betting and gaming consultancy questioned some of the figures put forward by the Office of Budgetary Responsibility (OBG). Previously, the OBG said the changes could bring in up to an additional £1.6 billion in tax receipts.

This figure, however, was reduced to £1.1 billion when accounting for “behavioural change” expected among consumers due to tax increases. These reflect a possible fall in player demand due to a reduction in bonuses as operators seek to mitigate the impact of higher tax, with some users also turning to the black market.

However, H2GC said the increase in tax receipts would be more modest. Its own estimates place the rise at around £800 million by FY28, after accounting for behavioural change among players.

That said, prior to behavioural change, H2GC noted that its estimates were in line with the OBR at £1.6 billion in additional tax income.

Behavioural changes from GB gambling tax hike

The most variation appears within the iGaming sector, which faces the higher rate of 40%. Based on its own calculation, H2GC said the “static” increase – prior to behavioural change alterations – would be £1.35 billion by FY28. However, it placed the adjusted figure at £649 million, almost half the initial, static figure.

As for sports betting, which will see its tax rate rise to 25%, the static estimation was £204 million. After behavioural change, the adjusted figure was considerably lower at £149 million.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the tax increases in the autumn budget announcement on Wednesday. These include a rise in remote gaming duty from 21% to 40%, which will come into effect in April 2026.

A new general betting duty for remote betting will also be introduced in April 2027 at 25%, up from 15%. This will apply to online betting profit but exclude self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool bets and horse racing bets.

Higher tax could push revenue down 14%

H2GC also compared the impact of higher tax rates on gross gaming yield (GGY) and gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the UK. It said both would be impacted by operators withdrawing from the UK, due to the rise in tax, and an increase in players switching to unlicensed sites in search of better bonuses and promotions.

By FY28, GGY – based on the market after the tax increases – would be around £6.69 billion. However, if rates were to be kept the same, GGY would reach approximately £7.79 billion. In total, H2GC said GGY would drop £1.1 billion, or 14%, if the tax rise goes ahead.

Again, iGaming would be the hardest hit, with a 16% drop in GGY expected after the new tax rules come into effect. Sports betting GGR would be 8% lower based on the same estimates.

In terms of GGR, current regulations mean this could hit £9.14 billion by FY28. After the tax rises, GGR would be approximately £7.12 billion, meaning a decline of £1.97 billion, or 22%, as a direct result of higher tax rates.

H2GC said iGaming GGR could be as much as 25% lower in FY28 if the tax rise goes ahead. Sports betting GGR would be 11% lower, with the rate increase here coming into effect later than for iGaming.

Black market in Great Britain to double in size by FY28

Much of the behavioural changes accounted for by the consultancy relate to players moving to black market sites.

Based on current taxation rates, total channelisation for the online market will be 94% by FY28, in terms of GGY. This would reach 97% for sports betting and 93% for iGaming. However, after the new rates, channelisation for the entire market could be as low as 87%, H2GC said. Sports betting channelisation could drop to 94% and iGaming 83%.

As for GGR, based on current taxation, channelisation is on track to be 93% in FY28, with a split of 97% for sports betting and 92% iGaming. Should the tax increase go ahead this would be around 84% for the whole online market, with sports betting at 93% and iGaming 80%.

In essence, H2GC said the black market could more than double in size based on the new tax rates. Offshore GGY would be 111% higher by FY28 if the changes takes place, with offshore GGR also rising 110%.

“We have little doubt that, if the direction of these forecasts materialise, then a reduction in the onshore market will be viewed by politicians as a major victory,” H2GC said. “Not only have they been able to curb the size of the onshore online gambling industry, but they have increased tax revenue at the same time.

“However, what will be completely ignored will be the at least doubling in size of the illegal market and all the negative implications this has, not least on player welfare.”

Industry hits back at planned changes

Announcement of the tax increases, unsurprisingly, led to criticism from the industry. Many major operators hit out at the decision, saying this would not only impact their own business but also have a detrimental impact on the wider market.

Primary concerns included increased traffic to the black market, a reduction in bonus offers and cut-backs on spending, with some businesses warning jobs could be lost as they seek to mitigate the impact of higher taxes.

Part one of this series showed us that vulnerability creates connection. After that piece went out, more men reached out. They wanted to contribute, to be honest, to share the parts of their journey that rarely make it into boardroom conversations or LinkedIn updates. This second column brings together four very different experiences – recovery, entrepreneurship, identity and brotherhood – but all echo the same truth: silence serves no one.

‘Keeping quiet was killing me’ – Mark Schmidt

managing director, Africa, EveryMatrix (South Africa)

Mark doesn’t soften his language when he speaks about addiction and mental health – and that is part of the impact.

“It was very clear to me that keeping quiet and not talking was one of the major reasons life became unmanageable,” he says. His most recent visit to rehab was a turning point: “I let go of the shame I was carrying. I started having very open and very difficult conversations.”

In an industry where leaders are often expected to remain composed at all costs, he made a different choice – he chose truth over image. “I realised that in iGaming, addiction, substance abuse and mental health struggles aren’t isolated to me. They are everywhere. Speaking up wasn’t courage; it was survival.”

He is open about the challenges of early sobriety, especially while leading a fast-growing African region. “The first few months were difficult,” he says. “But over time, managing stress, expectations, rapid growth and entertainment became easier. I have very firm boundaries. And I’m incredibly fortunate to have my wife by my side – she knows me better than anyone.”

Sobriety changed not only his lifestyle, but his entire leadership identity.

“This has been the most successful year of my career,” he reflects. “It’s down to being authentic. Not worrying about what others think. Being honest, direct, human.”

For men who are quietly struggling, his message is beautifully simple: “Your situation isn’t unique. People all over the world are dealing with the same battles. Ask for help. I’ll always be open to being the person they reach out to.”

Today, Mark works with the Recovery in Gaming (RiG) initiative; offering support, anonymity and community to others who need it.

His honesty reminds us that vulnerability is not an interruption to leadership, but it’s part of the foundation of it.

‘It’s been a lonely journey, but I believe in the vision’ – Ayofemi Akinlaja

founder and CEO, Shacks Evolution Studios (Nigeria)

Ayofemi represents a different kind of pressure: the pressure of building something no one else in Africa has built before.

“When I started this company, I wanted to be the biggest provider from Africa,” he says, not with arrogance, but with clarity of purpose. His story is defined by persistence, discipline and faith. And he is frank about the emotional cost of building ‘from scratch’ in a market dominated by global giants.

“It’s really tough not to be emotional,” he says. “You quit everything to focus on one thing, knowing that if it fails, you’re done.” As a solo founder, he has faced technical setbacks, scepticism and moments that would have broken many. He recalls losing a “major, major deal” in 2022 because of early technical issues – a blow that could have ended the story.

“But I kept showing up,” he says. “People used to ask, ‘Who is this young guy trying to do what nobody has done?’ But the more they saw me, the more they respected the work. Eventually the ‘no’ became ‘maybe’. And then ‘we’re listening’.”

Navigating credibility, age bias and an evolving African market requires a mix of strategy and emotional resilience. “I gave myself five years to build something meaningful,” he explains. “My belief in this dream has never wavered.”

His wellbeing strategy is refreshingly practical: “Hire the right people. Reassess constantly. Keep evolving. Fear will try to creep in – don’t let it.”

And to other African men wanting to launch gaming or tech ventures, he offers advice both grounded and hopeful: “Cast away fear. Build lean. Be persistent, resilient, diligent. Challenges will come but they won’t be the end of you.”

His journey is a reminder that innovation in Africa is not emerging – it’s already here, carried by founders who refuse to give up.

‘You may feel unseen, but you are not alone’ – Sipho Hobongwana

personal assistant to the chief strategic advisor, National Gambling Board (South Africa)

Sipho’s experience shines a light on a quieter, often overlooked mental health reality: the emotional labour of navigating identity in environments where LGBTQ+ representation is limited.

“Being an LGBTQ+ professional at a National Regulator has been a balancing act,” he says. “I’ve had to read the room before being fully myself. Sometimes just being publicly present feels like the first step towards change.”

He speaks warmly about the executives and colleagues who have become unexpected champions: “One of my highs has been finding supporters who value my work ethic, integrity and perspective – regardless of identity. They helped build my confidence and self-leadership.”

But he is honest about the loneliness too. Without visible LGBTQ+ networks in African gaming, much of the journey has been walked alone. “There have been moments where I’ve had to conceal parts of myself to avoid unnecessary attention,” he shares. “But as I’ve grown, I’ve gained confidence in maintaining my boundaries while being transparent.”

His mental health practice reflects maturity beyond his years: community, therapy, grounding routines and remembering that identity is only one part of who he is. “Before my title, I’m a human,” he says. “Checking in with myself has become essential.”

His message to others is both gentle and powerful: “You may feel unseen, but you are not alone. Your existence already challenges the narrative of who belongs. Authenticity is not a weakness – it’s a quiet form of leadership.”

Sipho’s story widens the lens on representation, reminding us that inclusion is not abstract – it’s deeply personal.

‘We don’t compete. We build together’ – Moshe & Ashley Adir

founder and co-founder, Vegas Kings (South Africa)

Very few business stories sound quite like this one. For more than 27 years, Moshe and Ashley have built Vegas Kings – and built it together, shoulder-to-shoulder, as brothers.

Moshe describes their partnership in a way only siblings can: “We function as two parts of one whole. The biggest strength is absolute trust.”

Every morning begins with a hug. “It sets my compass for the day,” he says.

Ashley brings his own perspective: “When the chips are down, we put our heads down and grind it out – no signalling needed. After 27 years, it just flows.”

Their dynamic is a yin-yang blend that works because it’s intentional. Moshe is the dreamer chasing “shiny objects”, while Ashley is the grounded operator with laser focus. They split responsibilities 50/50, respect each other’s lanes and refuse to let ego take root.

“People warn against working with family,” Moshe says, “but our secret is simple – stop competing. Let the ego go. Build the dream together.”

Their wellbeing approach is honest – they are workaholics. They don’t switch off, but they feed their creativity through side passions: music, AI, innovation. “It’s the entrepreneur’s curse,” Ashley laughs. “But we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Their story is a testament to trust, consistency, emotional maturity and love – and a reminder that male vulnerability isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like showing up for each other every day, for decades.

Closing

These stories matter because they reveal something our industry often forgets: beneath the pressure, pace and performance, men carry complexity too – identity questions, recovery, loneliness, burnout, brotherhood, responsibility and the quiet courage to keep going.

Our work around mental health and inclusion continues, and we welcome more voices. If you – or someone you know – has a story worth sharing, please reach out. Silence helps no one.

About Women in Gaming Africa

Women in Gaming Africa (WiG Africa) is a non-profit community connecting, elevating and empowering women across the continent’s gaming industry. 

Through events, mentorship and advocacy, WiG Africa champions representation, leadership and inclusion while fostering a stronger, more connected African gaming ecosystem. Learn more or get involved at www.womeningamingafrica.org.

Revenue during the period reached €242.5 million ($281 million), Intralot reported. This was 2.9% short of the previous year but 0.3% higher on a constant currency basis.

Reflecting on the year-to-date, Robeson Reeves, who took over as group CEO in November, noted the impact of “strong” foreign exchange headwinds. He said these has skewed year-on-year comparisons for the period and backed the group to deliver its full-year goals.

“Intralot’s nine-month results as a standalone company show that it has been on track to deliver its goals for 2025, weathering strong FX headwinds,” Reeves said.

Considering the Bally’s impact for Intralot

Reference to standalone relates to the recent purchase of Bally’s international assets. The €2.7 billion acquisition completed in November, with Intralot taking full ownership of Bally’s International Interactive.

While the nine-month figures refer only to Intralot, Reeves noted the impact the addition of Bally’s will have moving forward. For the same period, Bally’s International Interactive saw revenue hit €548 million plus a 43% adjusted EBITDA margin in Q3.

“Our guidance for full-year 2025 pro forma the two entities annualised is expected in the area of €1.1 billion revenue and €435 million in adjusted EBITDA, with a combined margin of 40.65%,” he said.

B2B/B2G decline pushes revenue down

Breaking down performance during the 9M period, the B2B and B2G segment accounted for 95.1% of revenue. Excluding foreign exchanges variances, this was broadly in line with last year, falling 0.5%.

Intralot said its key markets continued to demonstrate “resilient” activity. In the US, revenue was up 2.3% in constant currency, while Australia saw 3.9% growth and Argentina 19.8%. In Turkey, however, results were negatively impacted by the application of the hyperinflation accounting treatment.

Turning to B2C, revenue increased 12.4% in Argentina. Intralot said that the local market saw strong expansion, supported by sustained economic momentum. However, the translation of results into euros was moderated by the effects of hyperinflation accounting.

For the business as a whole, lottery games drew 53.6% of overall revenue. Sports betting contributed 21.6% to the total, video lottery terminals 13% and IT products and services 11.8%.

Intralot slips to €3.1 million net loss

Gross profit for the period fell 15.9% to €83.7 million, although other operating income was up 4.8% to €23.1 million. In addition, operating costs were reduced 16.1% to €69.3 million amid lower spending in Turkey and the US, further supported by local currency devaluation.

Adjusted EBITDA edged down 1.6% to €90.1 million while margin increased from 36.7% to 37.2%.

Intralot noted €2.7 million in reorganisation expenses and a further €51.3 million worth of deprecation and amortisation. This resulted in €34.7 million in operating profit, a decline of 6.5%.

After accounting for interested and related expenses, as well as other costs, pre-tax profit was €8.8 million. This fell 17.1% short of the figure posted in the same period last year.

Intralot ended the nine months with a net loss of €3.1million, compared to a €6.5 million profit in 2024.

Intralot commits to ‘aggressive’ mitigation amid UK tax rises

The group also acknowledged news of higher tax rates on gambling in the UK. Set out in the autumn budget, these will see remote gaming duty increase from 21% to 40% and general betting duty from 15% to 25%.

Reeves said the increases were “higher than anticipated” and that Intralot will follow its “aggressive” mitigation scenarios to manage impact.

“Such tax increases have happened periodically in our markets and, historically, have led to market consolidation and market share growth for companies like Bally’s who have higher margins than other peers,” he said. “We still intend to deliver growth in the wagers accepted which combined with generosity reductions, marketing reductions and accelerated synergies will limit the tax increase impact and will only delay our growth plan by a year.”

With this, Intralot revised its 2026 EBITDA guidance to within the range of €420 million to €440 million.

An SGP, also called a Same Game Multi or Bet Builder, lets bettors combine multiple outcomes within a single match. Instead of just betting on Barcelona to win, a punter can add: over eight corners, a specific player to score and both teams to get a card – all in one bet with compounding odds. The format turns every bet into a potential payday story.

The appeal is obvious. Recreational bettors aren’t always satisfied with a $20 profit on a straight match bet. They want the $10-into-$500 story. SGPs deliver that lottery-style format.

For operators, SGPs solve a critical problem. Rising costs – licences, taxes, compliance, data fees – squeeze margins on traditional betting. Head-to-head bets return 4%-6% on turnover; SGPs consistently deliver high-teen margins, often exceeding 20%.

This margin expansion isn’t luck. Because SGP outcomes are correlated (if Barcelona wins, they’re more likely to have had shots on target), pricing becomes complex. Punters can’t benchmark value across operators and the house edge compounds with each added leg. The huge appeal to bettors and structural margin advantage have made SGPs the most important product innovation in modern sports betting.

The margin multiplier

In the US, parlays have grown to more than a quarter of total handle and more than half of revenue. For Flutter, SGPs accounted for 19.2% of stakes in 2019, rising to 24.3% in 2023, with margins on these bets increasing from 13.1% to 18.5% as bettors added more legs. In 2023, 262 million SGPs were placed across its brands, up 75% year-over-year (Source: Flutter).

Entain reports that in Spain, about 20% of football bets are now bet builders, while in Brazil the figure approaches 40%. Overall bet builder stakes more than doubled in 2024 and their share doubled again in the first half of 2025. DraftKings’ path to profitability has been driven largely by mix-shift towards parlays and SGPs.

Illustrative margin impact on $1 billion handle (assuming 5% single hold, 25% SGP hold)

How we got here

Given their impact, it is striking how recent SGP growth has been. When bookmakers first transitioned online in the 2000s, priorities centred on replicating retail. It was functional and familiar, with no major incentive to build differently.

The 2010s shifted focus to mobile and in-play. Apps, streaming, cash out and fast data feeds absorbed investment, while regulators pressed compliance hurdles and costs onto operators.

In-play looked like the natural growth engine. It delivered higher hold than straight pre-match 1X2, and made it harder for customers to benchmark fair prices in real time, producing margins in the 8%-12% range. Retail shop windows had long advertised high-margin combinations like “Team A to win to nil and Player X to score”, prefiguring the modern SGP, but there was no infrastructure to price correlated legs dynamically.

Request a bet

The first signal of changing preferences came from Twitter (now X). Sky Bet noticed customers asking for prices on markets that didn’t exist, turned the feed into ‘Request A Bet’, and put traders on it full-time, with other competitors soon following suit. Manually pricing thousands of requests was not scalable, so operators pre-packaged popular combos, but the demand was for self-service.

Coxy85’s question reached John Maguire at Sportsbet, then Paddy Power’s emerging Australian brand. Maguire’s team used correlation models developed by Paddy Power and launched SGPs for the 2016 AFL Grand Final. A $50,000 win from two $20 bets showed the pull of long-odds, small-stake builders. Flutter rolled the product across Europe and what began as manual Twitter quotes became a systematised, high-margin core product.

Engineering problem

The complexity of what Flutter and a few other operators and suppliers have built is easy to underestimate – and that complexity is the moat. When FanDuel launched SGP in the US in 2019, the core engine had been hardened in European football. By month five, SGPs were 5% of online sports betting wagered. DraftKings took two years to release their own version.

Today, the majority of SGP legs are player props. A typical ticket is no longer ‘player to score, team to win and over 2.5 goals’. It is: ‘team to win, over 2.5 goals, striker to score, defender 2+ fouls, winger 3+ shots, midfielder to be carded and 10+ corners’. Every leg pulls on the others. If the winger shoots more, the striker is more likely to score, the team is more likely to win and the game is more likely to go over.

To handle that, you need a single model that sees the whole match. Historical data has to be ingested and refreshed. Live feeds have to be mapped in real time. On top sits a projection layer that simulates how the game will play out and produces prices for every market. The SGP layer then takes the customer’s selections and asks that engine for the combined probability, instantly, every time a leg is added or removed.

Product market fit

SGPs succeed because every event becomes an opportunity to express a view. Few understand implied probabilities, but they hold opinions about the players and their attributes, and those opinions – not mathematical expectation – drive behaviour. When it comes to Ashes cricket, they talk about Joe Root and Marcus Labuschagne’s recent form, Bazball aggression, and Nathan Lyon on a deteriorating pitch.

As legs tick off, there is the same satisfaction as working through a checklist. When one leg loses, it feels like a near miss rather than a clean loss which is a powerful retention mechanic. DraftKings have even introduced a GhostLeg feature that still pays out if one leg loses.

On a seven-leg builder at 18.0, benchmarking value is tough. The true price might be 30.0, but few will rebuild across operators to check. The margin builds as small pricing errors compound and customers pay a convenience premium for doing everything in one app.

For most recreational bettors, correctly “calling the game” is more satisfying than being validated on price. FanDuel reports that around 90% of its SGP tickets are 30 dollars or less, with roughly 60% at $5 or less (Source: WSJ). This small-stake structure is suited to restrictive markets like the UK, where financial vulnerability concerns have constrained high-limit bookmaking. In Australia, where there is no online casino, or in-play online, operators need high-margin formats to avoid margin compression.

The risks for operators

The format’s popularity creates new risks operators are still learning to manage. Most SGP action is recreational – punters aren’t thinking about correlation pricing. That makes them interesting for sharps, who can disguise themselves in the flow. Books are happier to take SGP action than straight bets and thinking laterally can surface angles.

AK Bets highlighted one example: goalkeeper cards in specific game states. If a heavy favourite was trailing late, the opposing goalkeeper was often priced at 200-1 to be booked in the last 10 minutes – prime time-wasting territory. The model priced 200-1 across all game states rather than differentiating for specific situations.

Popularity also creates concentration risk. Gambling influencers regularly post their picks to large followings. Thousands of individuals backing the same 100-1+ combinations could eventually land and expose a small operator to significant liability – particularly when the correlated outcomes all hit at once.

The opportunity

For Waterhouse VC, SGPs are a case study in how regulation, consumer behaviour and innovation can align. The same forces will shape the next wave of products that let fans go deeper into the sports they care about, while giving operators defensible margins in heavily regulated markets.

Data is the starting point for any modern betting product – from pricing correlation in SGPs to creating entirely new markets and experiences. That is one of the reasons why we believe a business like Racing and Sports is particularly exciting. Those who own the data, can build the best pricing engines and control the product layer that will set the terms for everyone else.

SGPs are also a product that sportsbooks currently will offer better than any prediction market. Every contract requires full cash backing up front, limiting the breadth of combinations they can offer compared with a sportsbook’s risk model. In the near term, product depth and differentiation will remain with the books.

Waterhouse VC is a fund that specialises in global publicly listed and private businesses related to wagering and gaming sectors. The fund is only available to wholesale investors.

Since inception in August 2019, Waterhouse VC has achieved a gross total return of +3,880% (annualised at 81%), as at 31 October 2025, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions.

Tax rises were confirmed by the Office of Budgetary Responsibility and set out in Parliament by Chancellor Rachel Reeves during the autumn budget announcement on Wednesday.

Among the gambling-specific changes was a hike in remote gaming duty from 21% to 40%. A new general betting duty for remote betting will also be introduced in April 2027 at 25%, up from 15%. However, this only covers online betting profit and excludes self-service betting terminals, spread betting, pool bets and horse racing bets. 

The new tax rates will come into effect from the start of the next financial year in April 2026.

Unsurprisingly, the response from the industry has been negative and highly critical. Main concerns include how the new rates will impact investment in the industry, with potential job cuts on the horizon. There were also worries over the future financial performance of operators and a potential rise in black market gambling.

Tax rises will ‘significantly’ harm UK industry

The overall consensus was that higher tax will have a negative impact on the UK market. Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst said the new, “excessive” online tax rates will undermine jobs, investment and growth.

“Massive tax increases for online betting and gaming announced in the budget make them among the highest in the world,” Hurst said. “They’re a devastating hammer blow to tens of thousands of people working in the industry across the UK, and millions of customers who enjoy a bet.”

Per Widerström, CEO of Evoke, also raised concerns about the impact the tax rise will have on the UK market. He said the increases are “highly damaging” for the UK economy and players.

“As an industry, we have consistently warned of the significant impact on jobs, investment in the UK and player protection that these changes would have,” Widerström said. “Yet sadly the government chose not to listen. Proposals are ill-thought-through, counterproductive and highly damaging. It is clear these changes will significantly harm businesses, employees and customers.

“As a result of the actions now required, these tax changes will reduce the overall level of tax the regulated industry pays in the UK and, more importantly, it will have a significant negative impact on player protection as these changes will incentivise activity moving to the illegal and dangerous black market.”

Stella David, CEO of Entain, said she was “deeply disappointed” with the decision, saying it poses risks to the industry.

“Disproportionately increasing gambling taxes will not only have a detrimental impact on our industry but also heighten the risk for customers,” David said. “As seen in other countries, punitive tax increases often lead to lower tax revenues overall, while also driving players to illegal, unregulated operators with no player protections.”

‘Robust’ enforcement must accompany tax rate

Super Group, which owns the Betway brand, was a little more positive in its assessment. CEO Neal Menashe said that the higher rates could be “reasonable” if accompanied by “robust and strict enforcement” in terms of black market activity.

“Super Group supports the reasonable taxation of online gaming in the UK,” Menashe said. “We rely on the government to ensure the very substantial increase should be paired with robust and strict enforcement against non-paying offshore operators. This is essential to protect the regulated sector’s investment in jobs, technology and responsible gaming in the UK.”

Elsewhere, Rank Group took the budget with mixed emotions. While the online rise will hit its digital business, this impact will be partly offset by the abolition of bingo duty, which was also announced in the budget.

“The announced increase in remote gaming duty represents a very significant blow to the regulated betting and gaming industry in the UK,” CEO John O’Reilly said. “While we are pleased that the government has abolished bingo duty, which will help to sustain jobs and investment in the land-based sector, the far more significant impact on the group is the hit to digital profitability.”

Budget ‘slightly’ better than expected

Away from operators, several professional firms and analysts have also given their opinion on the budget. Deutsche Bank said the news was “slightly” better than first thought, given the reprieves for land-based gambling. It said the budget “improves” the near-term outlook for the UK gambling sector.

“From a company perspective, Rank looks to have emerged significantly better than expected,” Deutsche Bank said. “Entain and Evoke are also slightly better, albeit for the latter there remains concern over the resulting balance sheet/leverage.”

Meanwhile, Adam Rivers, managing director and global head of betting and gaming practice at Alvarez and Marsal (A&M), said while the budget was “painful” for the online sector, not all business models have fared badly.

“Scrapping bingo duty and holding machine gaming duty steady gives land-based bingo operators some breathing space, helping venues that still matter to many communities stay on the high street and supporting the wider hospitality sector.”

How will operators cope with tax rise?

Looking ahead, some operators published forecasts as to how higher tax will impact their financial performance. They also detailed some of the measures they are putting in place to offset additional tax costs.

Super Group CFO Alinda van Wyk estimated an impact of approximately 6% to 2026 group adjusted EBITDA. However, the group has several mitigation levers in motion that are intended to offset the tax impact.

“Our strategy remains unchanged: sustainable growth and disciplined capital allocation,” van Wyk said. “We don’t expect the news to alter our long-term trajectory nor our capital return priorities.”

Entain’s David also offered insight into how the business will cope with the higher tax rate. She said it will mitigate approximately 25% of this impact through actions including reducing marketing and promotions. Consistent with the dates of proposed implementation, this equates to an EBITDA impact of approximately £100 million in 2026 and £150 million from 2027.

In addition, David hinted that Entain would likely pick up more UK-based players. This would come as other, smaller operators are forced to exit the market due to the higher tax rates.

‘Thousands’ of jobs set to be cut

Evoke’s Widerström also offered insight into potential mitigation steps. Approximately 50% of higher tax costs will be mitigated in the medium term. This includes through supplier savings, reduced marketing, retail store closures, operating cost savings and potential changes to the customer proposition.

Widerström added that Evoke will begin immediately to execute these mitigation plans, with redundancies set to be part of this approach. He said: “This will involve a significant reduction in investment into the UK and, very regrettably, the likely need for thousands of jobs to be cut up and down the country.

With Rank, the group said it expects an additional duty cost of £46 million on its UK digital business. However, this will be partly offset by the abolition of bingo duty. Rank also noted the impact of the 4.1% rise in the hourly National Minimum Wage to £12.71. It said this will represent an additional cost impact of approximately £5.5 million.

Some positivity over future financial prospects

Flutter UK and Ireland CEO Kevin Harrington was also among the voices of concern over the mooted changes. However, in terms of Flutter’s future performance, he remained optimistic.

Harrington said direct first order mitigation, including reduced operational, promotional and marketing spend, will be approximately 20% of gross impact during the first six months after implementation, rising to 40% thereafter.  As such, net impact on adjusted EBITDA for FY2026 would be approximately $235 million and $339 million in 2027.

“Despite this impact, I am confident that through both our scale and leading position in the UK, as well as the proactive cost initiatives that we are taking, we are well placed to navigate through the changes,” he said.

Playtech also issued a statement acknowledging the increases. It said that impact in group adjusted EBITDA for 2026 would be in the “high-teens millions of euros” before mitigation. However, it added that its operations outside the UK would help offset these declines.

“Given the group’s geographic diversity across regulated markets and strong performance and prospects outside of the UK, Playtech remains comfortable that it can meet market expectations for the full year 2026,” Playtech said.

Enlarged black market argument remains

The underlying theme was the impact the rise in tax will have on black market gambling. In the lead up to the budget, industry voices raised concerns about growth among unlicensed operators after tax rises.

The BGC’s Hurst said these concerns will now be realised. She said: “The budget is a massive win for the incredibly harmful, unsafe, unregulated gambling black market, which pays no tax and offers none of the protections that exist in the regulated sector.”

Flutter’s Harrington agreed, saying the increases hand a “big win” to unlicensed operators, who will become more competitive overnight. He said: “These black market operators don’t pay tax and don’t invest in safer gambling. At 40%, the UK’s remote gaming duty is now above countries such as the Netherlands, where a recent tax increase saw a rise in illegal gambling and a fall in government receipts.”

Regulus echoes black market concerns

Regulus was of a similar mindset. Analysts said the expected reduction in bonuses – as operators seek to mitigate the costs on the tax rises – will drive more players to unlicensed sites, which may offer more bonuses and promotions. With this, it said as much as £2.5 billion in gross gaming revenue could flow into the black market.

“The idea that people are going to gamble less because the licensed sector does not offer bonuses, has a slowly worsening offer due to a lack of profits to invest, or because the Gambling Commission has another £26 million ‘to tackle the illicit market’ is naïve at best,” Regulus said. “Instead, around £2.5 billion of GGR will flow directly into the black market, as is already happening on a smaller scale due to other regulatory interventions.

“The black market therefore gets to fill the vacuum of cuts in marketing, product and operating expenditure in the licensed sector – meaning its product will be better, stand out and will be sought out.”

Paolo Sanvido, CEO of Casinò Lugano in Switzerland, discusses their game Wu Jin Pen and why it is so engaging with players.

In this fourth episode in our Light and Wonder video series, Lugano, shares his insights on why Wu Jin Pen is such a captivating game due to its bright graphics, immersivity and innovative techniques. Check out the video above for more!

Play 971 launched earlier this week, stating on its website that it is the maiden online gaming site to launch in the UAE with a licence from the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).

The regulator updated its site to add Play 971 to its internet gaming and sports wagering licensees on 28 November, with sources suggesting it is undergoing a trial rollout in a limited area. The site appeared to be available in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al-Khaimah, but not Dubai, on Wednesday.

The site is operated by Coin Technology Projects LLC. That entity shares an address with The Game LLC, the business behind The UAE Lottery, which launched ticket sales a year ago today.

Whether the site going live marks its official launch is unclear. Sources close to the project suggested an official launch was planned in the first quarter of 2026.

Which suppliers are providing games for Play 971?

A number of the games featured on Play 971’s homepage are from the supplier OneTouch, which falls under the licensed entity of Live Online Gaming Services, a subsidiary of Yolo Group.

However, in the live casino section, the Speed Dragon Tiger is supplied by Evolution, which isn’t yet listed among the licensees.

Aside from OneTouch and two other Yolo Group B2B brands – Hub88 and Live88 – geolocation provider Xpoint and sports data specialist Sportradar, the vast majority of supplier licensees announced to date appear focused on land-based and lottery gaming.

Play 971 marks UAE’s first foray into iGaming

The Play 971 launch – whether as a trial or as an official rollout – marks a major step as the UAE expands its regulated gambling market, by adding online sports betting, racing and iCasino to the nascent market. To date, the UAE Lottery is the only legal product, with Wynn’s Al Marjan Island resort not due to open until early 2027.

Sources suggest regulations allow for one online licensee per emirate, meaning there could in theory be up to seven operators in the market. This of course would depend on all seven emirates supporting an online gaming offering.

While regulations state emiratis are not permitted to gamble, a population made up of roughly 88% expats provides an addressable market for operators. Rumours of an online launch have persisted throughout 2025, as far back as the second quarter of the year.

Building Momentum

Momentum LLC became a key player in the UAE last July, when it beat local incumbents Mahzooz and Emirates Draw to secure the UAE Lottery licence. That business is operated via its subsidiary TheGame LLC, while Play 971 is linked to Coin.

The rollout may be just one step in Momentum’s growth plans. Its website lists a game publishing arm, mixed reality gaming and esports alongside lottery operations and commercial gaming as areas of focus. This, it says, is underpinned by an embrace of AI.

Personnel changes at the GCGRA

Play 971 emerges in the wake of the GCGRA’s founding CEO Kevin Mullally stepping down from his role earlier this month. Mullally, who oversaw the establishment of the regulator’s core governance and regulatory structures, is departing to spend more time with his family. Chairman Jim Murren takes over in the interim.

As well as building the foundations for regulated gaming in the UAE, Mullally also oversaw the launch of the UAE Lottery and Wynn’s licensing.

In its first year, the UAE Lottery awarded prizes of over AED147 million ($40 million) to more than 100,000 players.

The GCGRA and Momentum have both been approached for comment.

This story was updated on 28 November to reflect the GCGRA adding Coin Technology Projects to its internet gaming and sports wagering licensees.

As part of Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) is taking a proactive role in shaping Brazil gambling regulations and establishing clear standards for a transparent industry.

Key points:

• The legalisation of Brazil’s iGaming market includes stricter online gambling regulations. 
• There are three major focuses for operators, namely anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF) and the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
• The SPA has outlined a set of robust AML and KYC requirements to verify player identity and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
• Data centres and servers now have specific requirements to keep them secure and compliant with Brazilian gambling regulations.

For betting operators, the message is loud and clear. You need to have strong systems in place to prevent financial crime. Brazil’s gambling regulator, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), is raising the bar on compliance. Betting operators must now have robust policies in place for three key aspects:

• Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
• Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF)
• Preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (PLD/FTP). 

Compliance is about building a culture that runs through the entire organisation. These rules require you to assess the risk level of every customer when they register and how you apply the same checks to employees and suppliers. 

AML rules under Brazil’s federal online gambling licence

The SPA enforces AML and KYC obligations rooted in federal AML legislation and COAF standards. Through Ordinance No 1,143/2024, the SPA translates these national rules into sector-specific procedures that operators must implement as part of their licensing and oversight.

Licensed operators must follow a strict AML/CTF framework, which is established under federal law and COAF rules and enforced by the SPA through sector-specific ordinances, to prevent money laundering, terrorism financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This involves:

• Registering with the Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF)
• Implementing clear internal policies
• Conducting annual risk assessments. 

Related article:

• How to get a Brazil gaming licence

In addition to this, Law No. 14,790/2023 states that the authorisation to operate fixed-odds betting is conditioned upon the implementation of strict policies aimed at preventing Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Financing of Terrorism (FT) and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (PLD/FTP). SPA/MF Ordinance No 1,143/2024 mandates the policies, procedures and internal controls for the three aspects. A few key points to note are as follows: 

• Annual internal assessment to identify risks for AML & FTP
• Records and documents must be kept for at least five years
• Designated responsible person for Integrity and Compliance
• Annual report to be submitted to the SPA
• Providing regular training on the prevention of AML/FTP and other related crimes

KYC standards at the core of Brazil gambling regulations

Brazil’s iGaming regulations set a high standard for security and player protection. Strict Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures require bettors to verify their identity using their Individual Taxpayer Registration (CPF) number and facial recognition technology upon signup.

Operators must go further by rating players according to their risk profile. You will need to prevent prohibited individuals, such as minors, from registering. Don’t forget that electronic payments must flow through institutions authorised by the Central Bank of Brazil. Credit cards, cash and cryptocurrencies are completely off the table. 

Furthermore, licensed operators must submit detailed AML and CTF policies. Reporting suspicious transactions and screening for Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) is also required.

What is Customer Due Diligence (CDD)?

On the other hand, CDD is a part of the KYC process, which mandates betting operators to gather necessary customer information in line with Brazil’s federal AML legislation, COAF requirements and SPA Ordinance No 1,143/2024. Similarly, there are a few points to pay attention to in the ordinance:

• Identification and validation: Identity must be verified and validated upon registration.
• PEP screening: Operators must verify if the bettor is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) or a close associate, following the rules issued in this regard by COAF.
• Risk classification: Bettors must be classified into risk categories defined in the internal risk assessment.

Technical compliance requirements for the Brazil betting licence

The Brazilian government is now trying to shape its fast-growing gambling industry with an increasingly rigorous regulatory framework. As Brazil builds out its regulated gambling market, the focus is expanding beyond AML and KYC obligations.

Regulators are now placing equal weight on technical compliance, introducing strict standards for system integrity, data protection and operational security.

Federal licences require not only robust AML controls and mandatory KYC checks with facial recognition but also adherence to data centre rules mandating local hosting in Brazil and ISO 27001-certified infrastructure.

The regulatory discussion also reflects wider social concerns. Despite ongoing complexities, the industry is striving to balance its growth with a safer and more accountable betting ecosystem.

IT security and technical controls for the federal licence

First and foremost, the betting system, including the sports betting platform and online gaming platform, must be certified by a recognised certifying entity, as stated in the SPA/MF Ordinance No 722/2024. 

The certifying entity has to be recognised by the SPA, for example, Gaming Laboratories International LLC, Trisigma BV, Quinel Limited, eCOGRA Limited and BMM North America Inc.

Operators must revalidate the certification assessment reports annually and whenever there are changes to critical components. Operators should also have assigned a designated director for the operational security of the betting system during the application. 

Data protection and maintaining data integrity

Operators are required to maintain their betting systems and related data in data centres located within Brazil, as set out in Normative Ordinance No 722/2024. There is some flexibility if systems and data are hosted abroad in a country that has a joint civil and criminal International Legal Cooperation Agreement with Brazil. You must also meet all the cumulative conditions outlined in the ordinance.

As mandated in the aforementioned ordinance, all recorded data must be maintained and backed up for a minimum of five years. Data must be stored redundantly to prevent loss in case of component failure. Operators must also adopt a business continuity policy and a disaster recovery plan and ensure all systems are supported by an uninterruptible power supply to allow safe shutdown and data retention during power loss.

Data centre and server requirements for operators

The data centres that host betting systems must hold ISO 27001 certification. You must also store servers hosting betting systems in secure facilities and equip them with surveillance systems. They must be protected against alteration, tampering or unauthorised access.

Network and communications security standards

For licensed operators, there is a specific domain requirement. Fixed-odds betting sites must exclusively use the “.bet.br” domain registration. Domain Name System Security Extensions, also known as DNSSEC, are also mandatory for the domain registration for DNS security. 

Furthermore, all critical communication data and sensitive information must also be encrypted and protected. In order to prevent attacks such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), an Intrusion Detection/Prevention System (IDS/IPS) is required and communications must pass through at least one approved application-level firewall.

Ensuring fairness in online games and live studios

The SPA has also imposed measures to ensure fairness in online casino games and live studios. Firstly, all online game results must be determined by a Random Number Generator (RNG). Secondly, it requires physical security controls to run live game studios. It is also a must to operate a continuous surveillance and recording system during live games. Recordings are to be maintained for at least 90 days. 

Key personnel roles required under SPA rules

According to the SPA/MF Ordinance No 827/2024, an administrator refers to a person who holds a management position, who is a director or equivalent, or a member of the board of directors of the applicant company. When submitting your application, you will need to name specific individuals responsible for the below areas:

1. Relationship with the Ministry of Finance
2. Customer service and ombudsman 
3. Accounting and finance 
4. Integrity and compliance 
5. Personal data processing and data security
6. Operational security of the betting system

Per the same ordinance, the people responsible for areas 1 to 4 must hold the title of director (or equivalent).

On the other hand, the SPA does not allow dual roles for people responsible for areas 2 to 6. In principle, you will need:

• 1 director – Accounting & Finance
• 1 director – Integrity & Compliance
• 1 director – Customer Service & ombudsman
• 1 director – liaison with Ministry of Finance (can be one of the above)
• 1 person – data protection (DPO-type role)
• 1 person – betting system operational security

Enforcement powers shaping Brazil gambling regulations

Brazil’s new betting framework gives regulators broad authority to supervise, audit and penalise licensed operators, if necessary. Multiple government bodies share oversight, with each playing a distinct role in maintaining market integrity, consumer protection and AML compliance. 

Operators must follow rules covering licensing, taxes, advertising and data protection. Several government bodies are involved in enforcing these requirements. Together, they shape how betting companies can operate in Brazil.

The Ministry of Finance

The Ministry of Finance serves as the central governmental body responsible for regulating fixed-odds betting operators in Brazil. The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), a department of the Ministry of Finance, is Brazil’s federal gambling regulator. It was established by Law No 14,790/2023 in December 2023. Also known as “Lei das Apostas” or “Betting Law,” the law regulates the iGaming market nationwide, including both fixed-odds betting, virtual casino-style games and lottery.

The Ministry of Sport (MESP)

MESP is the governmental body responsible for defining, maintaining and updating the list of specific sports modalities and entities eligible to be the subject of fixed-quota bets in real sporting events. 

MESP carries out this responsibility mainly through MESP Ordinance No 125/2024, which clearly names the sports that can be bet on and prohibits betting on categories or events exclusively involving young athletes. 

Furthermore, MESP plays a crucial role in the overall regulatory ecosystem by confirming their approval after the SPA’s review of a federal licence application, before authorisation is granted. It assists the SPA in ensuring the integrity of sporting events.

Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB)

The Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue Service (RFB) of Brazil is centrally responsible for administering federal taxes and the active debt of the Union, including establishing collection codes. 

From the fixed-odds betting lotteries perspective, the RFB has the authority to audit operations to ensure they comply with tax obligations, regardless of any licence or authorisation issued by the SPA.

Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF) 

The COAF is the central authority for monitoring and analysing operations to prevent anti-money laundering (AML), terrorism financing (FTP) and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (PLD/FTP) in betting operations.

As stated in SPA/MF Ordinance No 1,143/2024, operators must develop internal procedures to detect and communicate suspicious activity to the COAF via the Sistema de Controle de Atividades Financeiras (Siscoaf). The council also defines compliance standards, for instance, the criteria for identifying PEPs, as mentioned in the above KYC section.

Central Bank of Brazil (BCB)

The Central Bank disciplines payment arrangements to prevent transactions intended for unauthorised operators. Moreover, it grants authorisation to financial institutions and payment providers to manage monetary operations. While cryptocurrencies are not accepted in gambling payments, the Central Bank also supervises virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

Related article:

• Crypto gambling in Brazil: What new rules mean for operators

State-level authorities 

A federal licence from the SPA allows operators to offer fixed-odds betting services across the country, with an application fee of BRL30 million for five years.

Some operators have chosen to apply for state-level licences, such as those issued by LOTERJ in Rio de Janeiro, where the authorisation fee is BRL5 million. However, these state licences restrict operations to their respective jurisdictions and their validity outside those states remains under legal and regulatory discussion.

Consumer protection bodies 

As licensed operators, you will need to pay attention to customer relationships, as all bettors are assured basic rights under the Consumer Defence Code (Law No 8,078/1990). Licensed operators must structure a specific channel to address demands originating from the public bodies that are part of the National Consumer Defence System (SNDC). 

SNDC includes the National Consumer Secretariat (SENACON), which sets national policy. On the other hand, the local Consumer Protection and Defence Programmes (PROCON) handle day-to-day complaints. 

These agencies step in to oversee disputes as well as ensure promotional transparency and adherence to advertising standards. They are also responsible for enforcing responsible gambling tools, such as mandatory limits, pauses and self-exclusion.

Conselho Nacional de Autorregulamentação Publicitária (CONAR)

CONAR, a.k.a. the National Advertising Self-Regulation Council, establishes additional restrictions and guidelines with which companies voluntarily comply. It also issues specific recommendations regarding communication, publicity and marketing activities. 

In particular, CONAR published Annex X to its Advertising Code to ensure betting advertisements are responsible, focusing particularly on the necessity of protecting children, adolescents and other vulnerable persons.

Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL)

ANATEL is responsible for regulating the Internet service providers and telecommunications. It cooperates with the SPA to regulate unauthorised betting activities.

When the SPA identifies betting websites run by unlicensed operators, ANATEL has the authority to block the illegal websites upon the SPA’s instruction.

Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD)

The ANPD, a.k.a. the National Data Protection Authority, oversees compliance with Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD), ensuring gambling operators handle user data responsibly.

It enacts requirements around user consent, data security and breach reporting. Licensed operators must comply with ANPD standards when processing personal data or risk fines and other penalties. This covers information such as player registration (KYC), payment and banking details as well as responsible gambling records.

How CPI investigations influence industry compliance

CPI in Brazil stands for Parliamentary Inquiry Commissions. For example, the betting CPI was established to investigate the growing influence of online gambling on Brazilian families’ financial spending. 

The investigations have been shaping industry practices as they drive debates for stricter Brazil gambling regulations. Key issues such as misleading influencer advertising and money laundering were covered. The CPIs indeed increased pressure on operators for compliance. 

How to stay compliant with Brazil gambling regulations

As a potential applicant or a licensed operator, it is also important to stay updated with the latest news of the licensing framework. The Ministry of Finance website is an excellent resource for keeping yourself informed on Brazil gambling regulations. The ministry provides regular updates on aspects such as legislation and authorised certification bodies.

If you are interested in receiving regular updates and expert analysis via email, you might find signing up for our newsletter resourceful. You could also visit our Legal & Compliance section or check back in The Rulebook for essential updates. 

Brazil gambling regulation FAQs

CLSA analysts Jeffrey Kiang and Leo Pan anticipate total GGR of MOP258.43 billion (US$32.3 billion) for the coming year, “implying daily GGR of MOP709 million per day”. They further expect the gaming sector “to deliver low-teens GGR growth in the first half”.

Macau’s official budget projections are more modest. According to figures released on 21 November, the government expects GGR of MOP236 billion next year. The forecast reflects “caution amid global economic uncertainties”, officials stated.

At the end of the third quarter, CLSA projected total GGR for 2025 of MOP244.830 billion. It has since revised its estimate, “marginally [raising] that projection … by 0.4% as we insert the actual GGR print for October while keeping our forecast unchanged”.

Macau to end 2025 on a positive note

CLSA noted that revenue “momentum since June has continued into the fourth quarter of 2025”. Through October, GGR rose 8% year on year, to MOP205.43 billion.

In December 2024, Macau set a GGR target of MOP240 billion for 2025. Following a slow start to the year and ongoing economic turbulence, it reset the projected total to MOP228 billion.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, says the city’s gaming sector will end 2025 on a high note, with GGR up 16% for the fourth quarter following strong Golden Week performance.

An estimated 1.14 million people visited Macau for the eight-day national holiday, slightly below the government’s target of 1.2 million but surpassing the 2019 total of 974,000 arrivals.

October’s total surpassed the prior record – $800.3 million set this September – by 11.5%. It was also 19.3% ahead of the $748.1 million wagered in October 2024, figures from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission showed.

Players spent $879.2 million betting online and a further $12.6 million at retail sportsbooks.

As for revenue, the October total amounted to $71.3 million. This comfortably surpassed the prior October by 47.6% and September’s haul by 36.3%. However, taxable gaming revenue fell some way short of the all-time high of $96.4 million, set in January 2025.

Online wagers accounted for $70.7 million of all sports betting revenue during the month, with retail contributing just $598,901.

Based on these figures, the monthly statewide hold for Massachusetts was 7.99%.

Massachusetts was by no means the only state to see betting handle reach a record level in October. Pennsylvania also reported record betting activity, while betting revenue in Michigan hit an all-time high.

No stopping DraftKings in Massachusetts

Turning to operators, DraftKings remained the online market leader in its home state by some margin. Taking $38.5 million off $447.4 million in bets meant a hold of 8.61%.

FanDuel was again the closest challenger, posting $17.3 million in revenue from a $237.3 million handle, resulting in a 7.38% hold. Fanatics moved up a place to third with $7.5 million off $82.4 million for a 9.1% hold.

BetMGM took $3.6 million in revenue from handle of $55 million, which meant a hold of 6.55%. ESPN Bet followed with $2.1 million from $27.7 million for a 7.58% hold. Next was Caesars at $1.4 million off $25 million, meaning a 5.6% hold.

Bally Bet was the only other online operator, taking $314,452 from $4.8 million for a 6.69% monthly hold.

As for the land-based market, Plainridge Park Casino narrowly took top spot with $306,328 in revenue. Based on a $5.4 million handle, this meant a hold of 5.72%. Encore Boston Harbor posted $292,573 off $6 million for a 4.91% hold, but MGM Springfield failed to post any revenue despite a $1.3 million handle.

Massachusetts casino revenue exceeds $96 million

In terms of casino gaming activity, total revenue for the month was $96.9 million. This beat last year by 2.3% and September by 1.3%.

Gross gaming revenue from slots topped $71.7 million while table games revenue hit $25.1 million. Encore Boston Harbor was the market leader with $57.6 million in casino revenue, ahead of MGM with $24.1 million and Plainridge Park with $15.2 million.

Looking to tax revenue, the total collected by the state in October was $42.1 million. This included $27.9 million from casino gaming and $14.2 million from sports betting.

Thirty Illinois representatives have warned Chicago’s 50 alderpersons that layering a steep city levy on top of the state’s new tiered and per‑bet taxes risks driving bettors to untaxed offshore sites and shrinking overall revenue.

Their intervention comes after a full month of per‑wager fees led to fewer bets but higher average stake. It also resulted in a slight increase in tax revenue, underscoring how fragile the balance has become between maximising tax collections and keeping the legal market competitive.

Johnson proposed the local tax in his $16.6 billion budget last month, projecting it would help boost the city’s revenue by $26 million.

State lawmakers suggest Illinois could lose out on tax revenue, however, as the increasing costs of betting could cause bettors to go offshore.

“If you increase the tax so it becomes cost prohibitive for gamblers, they will seek out overseas sites that … are more dangerous, more predatory, untaxed and unregulated,” Rep. Dan Didech, chair of the House Gaming Committee, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “That’s a direct loss in tax revenue for the state. That impacts our ability to invest in infrastructure.”

Didech introduced a bill prohibiting local taxes on sports betting after Johnson’s initial proposal.

The City Council Finance Committee has already rejected a new corporate tax that Johnson hoped to implement. That was projected to help generate $100 million in revenue.

Illinois sports betting taxes already an issue

When Illinois launched sports betting, lawmakers implemented a 15% flat tax on sportsbook revenue. In 2024, however, lawmakers changed it to a tiered system of 20% to 40%, depending on revenue volume.

This year, the state added a per-wager tax. Sportsbooks pay 25 cents for each of their first 20 million bets taken, and 50 cents for every bet thereafter. The sportsbooks have come up with various tactics to mitigate their losses, such as charging per-bet fees or imposing minimum bet values.

Sportsbooks were responsible for their first full month of per-wager taxes in September.

Bettors placed 30.6 million bets statewide in September. That was approximately 5 million fewer bets compared to September 2024, or about 15% less. But bettors are wagering more per bet, with the average size climbing 28% and the overall handle growing to $1.42 billion, a 9% year-over-year increase.

The state collected $28.7 million in taxes in September, with $10.6 million coming from the new per-wager tax. Ultimately, the state gained $740,920 in taxes, as sportsbooks generated $103 million in revenue compared to $135 million last September.

Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said the fees had “no impact” on FanDuel during his recent third quarter earnings call.

“As you’d expect, we’re seeing a reduction in the number of bets but increasing handle per bet,” Jackson said during the call. “When we look to the September data, Illinois is definitely behaving in line with other states.”

Tax increases pile up

Recent legislative sessions have seen multiple states reexamine their tax rates, with several of them increasing their burdens on sportsbooks.

In Maryland, lawmakers raised the sports betting tax from 15% to 20% after Governor Wes Moore proposed a jump to 30% in his budget.

In 2023, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine successfully pushed to double the state’s tax rate from 10% to 20%. He wanted to double the rate again this year, but legislators denied that move. DeWine has since come out against sports betting following several recent scandals, including one involving Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz.

New Jersey lawmakers scaled back Governor Phil Murphy’s proposed jump to a 25% tax rate, instead raising the rate from 13% to 19.75%. Louisiana, meanwhile, increased the sports betting tax from 15% to 21.5%.

Industry stakeholders tell iGB that with states needing to increase revenue, they expect lawmakers to propose more tax increases in the 2026 legislative sessions.  

Hosted by Dr Eyal Loz, there’s no surface-level chatter here. Dr Eyal and his stellar list of guest speakers focus on answering the big questions, and embark on some serious taboo-orientated, myth-busting and thought-provoking conversations.

In this sixth episode, Dr Eyal and former BETonSPORTS CEO David Carruthers tap into how overzealous regulators create a black market in their own back yard. But is this a good or a bad thing for iGaming? With the natural shift many companies take from unregulated activity that brings fast cash flow, to regulated activity that brings long term value, the pair examine the two different attitudes from regulators – one that attempts to create a thriving iGaming ecosystem and one that tries to shut it down. 

You can also catch the episode on Apple here.

A new general betting duty for remote betting will be introduced in April 2027 at 25%, up from the current rate of 15%. However, the new rate will only be paid on online betting profit and exclude spread betting, pool bets and horse racing bets.  

Bets made at self-service betting terminals will also be spared from the new rate.

The chancellor had been hinting at a gambling tax increase in recent months, after an initial consultation was launched in April to consolidate the current three tax rates: remote gaming duty, remote betting duty, and gaming machine duty.

The new rates are expected to raise £4 billion in tax receipts in 2025-26, marking a 9.8% increase on last year. In 2026-27, gambling tax receipts will increase by a further 24.8% to £5 billion.

Elsewhere in the budget, it was announced the current 10% rate for bingo duty will be abolished and casino gaming duty bands will be frozen in 2026-2027.  

The government said it expected operators to pass on up to 90% of the duty increases to consumers by increasing prices or reducing payouts. This, it said, will lead to a reduction in consumer demand which reduces the yield from the measure by £500 million by 2029-30.   

How have we gotten here?

In April HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Treasury proposed a single remote gambling tax to replace the current three-rate system. The sector hit back at the suggestion, flagging the impact a rise in remote betting duty would have, particularly on the retail and horse racing sectors.

Various think tanks got involved in the conversation, proposing the government raise the remote gaming duty to as high as 50%.

Since then, the Treasury Select Committee carried out an investigation into what format a gambling tax restructure, or hike, should take. It questioned various sector stakeholders and think tank experts in October about the impact a tax hike could have on problem gambling rates.

It also quizzed members of the BGC on why many operators maintain offshore bases and whether the sector was overstating its concerns for their retail businesses.

In its follow-up report, the committee advised the government to tax verticals separately based on their risk profile.

In October, Allwyn announced it would combine with OPAP to create a business worth €16 billion ($18.5 billion). Allwyn will hold a 78.5% economic interest in the new company, with OPAP taking 21.5%.

Allwyn currently owns a 51.78% share of the total holding in OPAP through KKCG, its controlling shareholder, which first invested in OPAP in 2013. The merger is expected to close in H1 of 2026.

“For Allwyn, this represents the natural next milestone in our journey, with a public market listing expanding our capital markets access to equity markets and elevating the profile of Allwyn’s global platform,” Chvatal said.

Speaking during the operator’s earnings call, Chvatal said these agreements, coupled with the group focusing on establishing Allwyn as a consumer-facing brand, would prepare the business for further growth and strategic process over the coming years.

“We see the introduction of a single brand as an important enabler of our growth strategy, allowing us to connect with new audiences in new and existing markets and to achieve marketing synergies across the group,” he said.

“Our progress so far this year reinforces the strength of our proven strategy and, looking forward, we are well prepared to deliver the next phase of our growth story and further strategic progress.”

M&A drive

This was not the only M&A activity in recent months at Allwyn. In September, it agreed to acquire a majority stake in daily fantasy sports operator PrizePicks. Allwyn will acquire a 62.3% stake in PrizePicks, paying an initial cash consideration of $1.6 billion.

There was also an agreement to acquire a 51% majority stake in Logflex MT Holding Limited, the owner of online sports betting and gaming group Novibet, in H1. In addition, Allwyn will sell land-based casino assets in Germany and Australia and has acquired the remaining minority stake in Greece- and Cyprus-facing online operator Stoiximan.

Lottery remains king for Allwyn

Breaking down its Q3 results, total group revenue for the three months to 30 September reached €2.20 billion. This was 4% higher than the previous year.

Of this total, €2.12 billion was classed as gross gaming revenue, surpassing last year by 5%. Net revenue for the group in Q3 also climbed 5% year-on-year to €1.02 billion.

Again, lottery drew the most revenue at €551 million, a rise of 7%. Video lottery terminal (VLT) and casino revenue increased 6% to €139 million while sports betting revenue was 3% higher.

Allwyn drew €120 million from iGaming operations, up 2% from 2024. Incidentally, total online net gaming revenue for the quarter reached €343 million, some 8% more than last year. An additional €84 million was noted in revenue from non-gaming activities, which was level year-on-year.

Geographically, Continental Europe remains the group’s primary source of revenue at €729 million, up 6% year-on-year. This covers operations in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Italy. Within the region, Allwyn noted a “strong” lottery performance and “solid” growth in sports betting and VLTs and casinos.

In the UK, where Allwyn operates the National Lottery, revenue also increased by 6% to €250 million. Allwyn said digital was a key growth driver, with online gross gaming revenue up 10%, while it was also helped by high jackpots in the EuroMillions and targeted promotional activity.

However, it was North America where growth was most apparent. Revenue for the region was 15% higher at €55 million, helped by the consolidation of Instant Win Gaming stake in September last year.

Customer-friendly sports results hit Q3 earnings

Despite an upward revenue trend across the business in Q3, the same could not be said for earnings. Adjusted EBITDA for the period was 8% lower year-on-year at €374 million.

Allwyn said this was mainly due to a lower contribution from equity method investees, down €36 million from last year. This was driven by Betano, the performance of which was affected by customer-friendly sports results in September.

The group also noted the impact of recurring non-operating items that supported results in the comparative period. Simplification of the group structure on corporate costs increased €14 million year-on-year, hitting earnings this year.

Allwyn did not publish a full breakdown of its bottom-line performance but did reveal data for the year to date. In the nine months to the end of September, total revenue was €6.65 billion, up 6% from last year.

Of this, €6.39 billion went through as gross gaming revenue, 6% more than last year. Net revenue for the period topped €2.99 billion, which was 5% more than at the same point in 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA for the year-to-date came in at €1.09 billion, level with last year’s figure.

OPAP also reports Q3 growth

Just hours before Allwyn released its Q3 preliminary results, OPAP also published its figures for the quarter. These revealed a 6.6% increase in gross gaming revenue to €602.9 million, while net revenue jumped 6% to €409.9 million.

OPAP said the revenue rise was mainly due to the performance of its Tzoker lottery game and “robust” growth from its Powerspin offering.

Lottery gross gaming revenue climbed by 9.8% to €219.6 million, helped by a record Tzoker jackpot during August. Instant and passives revenue was also 10.8% higher year-on-year at €24.9 million, while VLT revenue was up 6.0% to €88.4 million.

There was a slight decline in sports betting revenue, with this down 0.7% to €180.1 million. Again, this was on the back of customer-friendly sporting results that impacted the wider market in September.

As for iGaming, growth showed no signs of slowing down as revenue increased 14.4% to €89.8 million. OPAP referenced “strong demand for gaming experiences” among players as the reason for ongoing growth in this segment.

Uptick in net profit for OPAP

Looking towards the bottom line, gross profit from gaming was 4.8% higher at €253.4 million in Q3. Operating expenses increased 10.9% to €111.6 million, although revenue growth meant EBITDA edged up 0.5% to €214.2 million.

Net profit for the quarter topped €127.9 million, an increase of 6.1%. In addition, recurring net profit at OPAP was 2.9% higher at €129.9 million.

For the year-to-date, gross gaming revenue in the nine months to 30 September was 6.5% ahead at €1.76 billion. Net gaming revenue also increased by 6.3% to €1.20 billion.

Other key year-to-date figures include gross gaming profit of €740.4 million, up 6.9%, and higher EBITDA of €612.6 million, a rise of 4.4%. Net profit climbed 6.3% to €361.3 million, with recurring net profit up 4.4% to €363.3 million.

“Overall, profitability has risen in tandem with healthy margins and a solid cash position,” OPAP CEO Jan Karas said. “These positive trends reinforce our confidence in achieving our outlook for FY2025, as well as our broader strategic and business goals.

“In this context, we are working toward a strong finish to the year and are looking forward to operating in 2026 under the new brand of Allwyn, which will mark a new era of growth opportunities, innovation and best-in-class gaming entertainment experiences for our customers.”

Earlier in November, the regulator suspended the company’s operating licence amid anti-money laundering failures. These included issues with the casino’s AML policies, procedures and controls, all of which are required by licence.

Concerns regarding decision-making processes and responses to identified AML and counter-terrorist financing risks were also flagged. At the time, the commission said these “serious” issues warranted a licence suspension while it carried out a broader review.

Changes to casino leadership

However, issuing an update on the case, the regulator confirmed the suspension has been lifted. This, the commission said, followed significant action taken by the operator.

These steps included widespread changes to the casino’s leadership, AML and compliance supervisors. VGC Leeds has also implemented new AML and safer gambling policies and procedures, improved staff training on AML and social responsibility. In addition, the venue committed to undergoing an independent audit within six weeks

This was enough for the commission to lift the licence suspension. However, its review of the operator will continue, with monitoring of its actives to remain ongoing. The commission said this will ensure “full and sustained compliance” with licensing requirements.

Based in Leeds city centre, the casino offers slot machines, table games and electronic roulette games. It also houses bars and lounges for watching sports events and hosting live entertainment.

The suspension was the second regulatory ruling against VGC Leeds in recent years. During October 2021, the company was ordered to pay a £450,000 regulatory settlement after the regulator flagged social responsibility and AML failures at the casino.

Commission taking no prisoners in clampdown

VGC Leeds was one of several companies to have faced regulatory action in Britain in recent weeks.

Deadheat Racing had its licences suspended while the commission carried out a review of the operator. This was in response to suspected social responsibility and AML failures and covered the operator’s remote and non-remote betting licences.

Meanwhile, Videoslots was fined £650,000 for breaching AML and social responsibility rules. NetBet was also recently ordered to pay £650,000, again over AML and social responsibility failings.

In addition, the commission suspended Spribe OÜ’s software licence in October for failing to comply with hosting requirements. The commission said this was due to “serious” non-compliance. The supplier said it was applying for the relevant hosting licence and hoped to be running again within a few weeks.

In the wake of FanDuel and DraftKings giving up any hopes of a gaming licence in Nevada and leaving the American Gaming Association, prediction markets are front of mind for Ed Birkin this week. He’s not convinced they even have a long-term future in the industry, so why are the market leaders going all in?

This quickly develops into the difference between white, black and grey market gambling. Do grey markets actually exist or, as Robin Harrison suggests, is the definition of what constitutes a grey market being stretched to breaking point?

On Apple? So is Right to the Source!

Gambling in Argentina highlights the grey market challenge

Argentina, with its province-by-province framework, illustrates the grey market challenge quite nicely. Most provinces may have a licensing system, but the bulk of certifications seem to have been handed out for Buenos Aires province and the capital city. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean Argentina gambling licensees are just sticking to those two jurisdictions, however. There’s an element of parts of the gambling industry trying to have their cake and eat it, Ed argues, but does anyone actually face consequences for their actions?

Billups, a five-time NBA All-Star, uttered several one-word replies at his New York arraignment in response to a series of questions from US District Judge Ramon Reyes. The 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee is facing felony charges of money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. Each charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

Billups appeared as part of a status conference in US vs Aiello, a sweeping probe into an alleged mob-backed illegal poker network. All 31 defendants in the case were present at Monday’s hearing including Angelo Ruggiero Jr and Thomas Gelardo, two mob figures who have been denied bail. The conference was held in an expansive ceremonial courtroom, usually reserved for immigration naturalisation proceedings.

Billups and attorney Marc Mukasey declined comment as they walked to a van outside a Brooklyn courthouse. Billups retained Mukasey, a former attorney for US President Donald Trump, following his arrest in Oregon last month.

Chris Heywood, an attorney who represented Billups last month in Portland, referred to the former NBA star at guard as a “man of integrity” and denied the allegations against him. Billups also fits the profile of an unindicted co-conspirator described in US vs Earnest, a parallel case being prosecuted out of Brooklyn concerning illegal sports betting.

A complex case

In the poker case, Reyes addressed several procedural matters at the status conference that lasted nearly two hours. Billups and Jones are not the only athletes indicted in the case. An attorney for boxer Curtis Meeks unsuccessfully petitioned the court to modify the bail restrictions for his client. Meeks has pleaded not guilty to charges that he worked with other defendants to provide poker cheating technology for the rigged games.

Reyes declared it a “complex case” of multiple schemes involving the rigged poker games and alleged extortion and robbery. He denied a petition from Assistant US Attorney Michael Gibaldi seeking to break the case into three different groups of 10-11 defendants in order to streamline proceedings.

Gibaldi said at Monday’s hearing that several defendants have begun plea negotiations with the government.

Reyes scheduled the next status conference for 4 March 2026.

Update on Jontay Porter case

Separately, federal prosecutors submitted a pre-sentencing letter against a defendant on Tuesday in an illegal sports betting conspiracy involving former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter. In July 2024, Porter pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with charges that he manipulated the outcome of a prop bet to defraud a gambling company. Prosecutors charged five other defendants – Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah, Long Phi Pham, Shane Hennen and Ammar Awawdeh – in the brazen scheme.

The government recommended a prison term of 41 months to 51 months for McCormack, whose sentencing is scheduled for January. McCormack and two other defendants conspired to place “under” bets on Porter’s performance in two games during the 2023-24 NBA season, resulting in profits of $33,250 and $36,000 from the wagers.

Joseph Nocella, interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated at a press conference last month that Porter may have been a victim of extortion. In a 2024 complaint, prosecutors accused Awawdeh of pressuring an NBA athlete, referred to in court records as “Player 1”, to extinguish his gambling debts. It was suggested the player could reduce the debts by leaving several games prematurely to secure the outcomes on the prop bets.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported on Tuesday that the state reaped $1.35 billion in gross gaming revenue in October, a 5% increase year-over-year. The Strip came roaring back from a September decline to post GGR of $748 million, an 8% jump YoY.

Through the first four months of the fiscal year, the Strip is +3.3% above its pace of a year ago. America’s gambling capital is now on track for its fourth YoY gain in the last five fiscal years.

Despite the uptick in revenue, tourism numbers for October were lacklustre again. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that citywide visitation slid 4.4% to 3.4 million for the month. That continues a streak of 13 months without a YoY visitation gain of more than 1%.

The Strip was down in all of its metrics, including total occupancy (-2%), average daily rates (-5.5%) and revenue per available room (-7%).

Convention attendance, driven in part by the industry’s annual Global Gaming Expo, was up 8% YoY to 603,600. Yet that too was perhaps underwhelming in the sense that it was markedly lower than 2023 (640,000) and 2022 (628,000).

Baccarat again powers success on the Strip

From a business perspective, the Strip has been heavily reliant for many months on boom-or-bust baccarat performance to help mask other declines.

Such was the case in October – Strip casinos won $116 million on the game, an eye-popping 69% gain from last year. For context, that one total is more than any other market reported as a whole except for the Las Vegas locals segment.

The vacillating performance of the game is illustrated by the fact that the Strip is +20% on baccarat in the past three months but just +2% in the past 12. October’s strong table game performance was enough to overcome a 2.3% decline in slot revenue, a rarity for the market.

Table games consultant Bill Zender explained that the amount of money being wagered on baccarat is what actually makes for the up-and-down performance. The gameplay itself is “pretty level”, he said, in the sense that it is mostly one-to-one or one-to-0.95 payouts versus high-multiple payouts and side bets that are possible in other games like blackjack, craps and roulette.

“Baccarat is not really a volatile game,” Zender told iGB. “What makes it volatile is the amount of money wagered on it. I think, for the bigger players, they have to be going in excess of $100,000 max bet in some of the bigger clubs.”

That dynamic would fall in line with overall Las Vegas tourism and revenue trends of bringing in fewer players but making more from them.

F1 race arrives at time of need for Las Vegas tourism

This past weekend, Formula One (F1) fans flocked to southern Nevada for the third instalment of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which resulted in another dominant win for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Verstappen has won two of the three Las Vegas races and managed to climb even higher up the F1 season standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified post-race for car-related violations.

Gaming stakeholders were counting on a boost from the third annual race after seeing a significant stepdown in economic impact from year one to year two. The first race generated an estimated $1.5 billion in impact, as opposed to just under $1 billion last year, though the first year was boosted by infrastructure costs paid by F1 parent Liberty Media.

LVCVA CEO Steve Hill told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after this year’s race that he expects the event to post “at least” $1 billion in impact.

MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle thanked local residents for their patience in dealing with construction and noted there are more issues still to be resolved. Still, he stressed how important the international event has become for Las Vegas tourism, especially during what was previously among the slower weekends of the year.

“Obviously for our high-end guests and our high-end corporate partners, it pays off,” Hornbuckle told the Review-Journal. “We’ve been at this now for our third year, and we did invest a lot of money in what I call our big erector set out front here (of the Bellagio), so it takes a couple of months to bring up and take down. But it’s all worth it. It may seem for three days that it’s kind of crazy, and it is, but it is all worth it, I can promise you.”

From hearings and information demands to renewed pitches for the SAFE Bet Act, members of Congress are using cases involving MLB and NBA figures to argue that state-by-state oversight has left dangerous gaps in consumer protection and game integrity.

But operators and lobbyists counter that regulated books have helped uncover the misconduct now driving the headlines. They also see Washington’s partisan dysfunction as a major obstacle to any serious move toward a national sports betting framework.

“You have a situation where there is interest in the topic and will remain a lot of interest,” said Brandt Iden, vice president of government affairs at Fanatics Betting & Gaming and a former state representative in Michigan.

“Congress will do its job and there will be a committee hearing and air things out. What I hope is this is not a situation where it’s finger-pointing [and is instead] more a collaborative discussion on how it works. The reality is these things are uncovered because of the regulated market, and together it becomes an education process.”

Are more sports betting hearings coming?

In December 2024, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on sports betting that lasted approximately two hours and ventured off track into partisan arguments. Senator Dick Durbin, committee chairman at the time, said it was just the beginning of discussions on sports betting, but the committee did not hold another hearing.

Following the recent scandals, however, legislators are calling for information from leagues. The US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred with six questions. The committee set a 5 December deadline for response.

“MLB has every interest in ensuring baseball is free from influence and manipulation,” the letter reads. “But in light of these recent developments, MLB must clearly demonstrate how it is meeting its responsibility to safeguard America’s pastime.”

The MLB plans to cooperate in the questioning around Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, who are accused of manipulating pitches to enable sports betting profits.

The same committee and members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce also requested answers from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. NBA staff members were reportedly on Capitol Hill earlier this month.

The House committee is also looking into the NCAA, which has had its own slew of sports betting scandals.

Could discussions highlight benefits of regulated market?

The sports betting scandals have caused lawmakers, as well as the general public, to question the integrity of sports and blame – at least in part – the widespread legalisation of sports betting. Many, including Durbin, have specifically called out the potential for manipulation of prop bets. Recently, major sportsbooks agreed at MLB’s urging to place a $200 cap on pitch-level microbets.

Some state regulatory agencies, including the Michigan Gaming Control Board, are reassessing the market and what bets should be available. MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams said the integrity of the industry requires “proactive safeguards designed to detect and deter misconduct before it occurs”.

Still, Williams stressed his belief that the regulatory system in place “prioritises transparency, accountability and consumer protection”.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who was the lead plaintiff in the 2018 PASPA case, wrote in an essay for The New York Times that legal sports betting strengthens integrity.

Iden said any discussions with lawmakers will likely be positive, because it will help them understand that the increase in legal sports betting and illegal activity is not the correlation it might appear to be.

“Too many lawmakers don’t understand how it works. It’s not a negative, just a fact,” Iden said, explaining sports betting is not a topic national lawmakers prioritise. “They want to be involved. They see headlines that there might be something there. We’ll see some committee hearings where leagues get up and provide public testimony.

“It’s a regulated system that works and it will likely happen again. If athletes continue to commit crimes, they’ll be uncovered. [Legal] sports betting is something that didn’t exist, and now it exists, and we’re uncovering nefarious activity that already existed.”

National framework unlikely to move

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have filed numerous gambling-related bills over the past several years, but Congress has shown little interest in taking any up. That includes the SAFE Bet Act, first introduced last year by two Democrats, Paul Tonko in the House and Richard Blumenthal in the Senate. The pair held an event this month highlighting the human impact of sports betting.

“In order to truly address this rising crisis, the federal government must act to establish minimum safety standards. I’ll continue to highlight the importance of this issue to my colleagues and push for this common-sense legislation,” Tonko said in a recent statement to iGB.

State lawmakers and regulators are in a better position to alter existing laws and regulations. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who signed the law legalising sports betting in the Buckeye State, recently expressed regret about it to the Associated Press. DeWine also said the recent limits agreed to on MLB microbets do not go far enough. While he knows the votes to repeal sports betting in Ohio do not exist, he said he would sign a bill sent to him to do so. Lawmakers have filed bills in Maryland and Vermont to repeal their laws, but they did not advance.

One reason industry stakeholders are doubtful anything moves at a nationwide level is the divisive partisanship in Washington. When the initial NBA scandal broke last month, Congress was in a record-long shutdown.

“We have to put into perspective that we have a Congress that is basically not functional, and it’s not even functional when they have a government that’s funded,” one industry source told iGB. “There will be some congressional discussions. What that leads to in terms of federal solution, I think it’s unlikely in the near term.”

US District Judge Andrew Gordon’s ruling on Tuesday rejects Kalshi’s argument that its Commodity Futures Trading Commission registration shields its markets from state oversight. He found that the company’s reading of the Commodities Exchange Act would pull sports betting nationwide into federal derivatives jurisdiction and “upset decades of federalism” in gaming law.

Kalshi anticipates appealing the decision.

“We respectfully disagree with this decision,” a Kalshi spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “As other courts have recognised, Kalshi is a regulated, nationwide exchange for real-world events and it is subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction.

“It’s very different from what state-regulated sportsbooks and casinos offer their customers. We are evaluating the decision and anticipate making an appeal to the Ninth Circuit.”

Gordon initially granted Kalshi a preliminary injunction in April. During a lengthy hearing earlier this month, he hinted the reversal was likely.

Tuesday’s decision sharpens a growing split among courts in Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland and California over whether prediction markets are bets or financial products, increasing the odds that the Supreme Court will ultimately have to decide how far federal commodities regulation can preempt state and tribal control of wagering.

Nevada’s new Kalshi ruling

Nevada gaming regulators sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist order in March, causing Kalshi to seek an injunction to prevent regulatory action. Regulators argue Kalshi’s event trading products constitute gambling and aren’t permitted since it does not hold a Nevada gaming licence. Kalshi argues that its registration with the CFTC allows it to offer its event contracts nationwide.

“Kalshi relies on a strained reading of the already convoluted Commodities Exchange Act in an attempt to evade state regulation,” Gordon’s order reads. “Kalshi’s interpretation would require all sports betting across the country to come within the jurisdiction of the CFTC rather than the states and Indian tribes. That interpretation upsets decades of federalism regarding gaming regulation, is contrary to Congress’ intent behind the CEA and cannot be sustained.”

After Gordon’s initial Kalshi ruling this spring, he did not grant a similar injunction to Crypto.com in October. He questioned whether Kalshi’s products qualify as derivatives, as it argues under its CFTC regulation.

“Kalshi has raised serious questions about how to properly interpret the statutory language, to divine congressional intent and to resolve the tension between what constitutes state-regulated gambling versus federally regulated derivatives,” Gordon’s order reads.

Nevada sets prediction markets lawsuit pace

Following Gordon’s initial injunction ruling in April, a New Jersey judge also granted Kalshi a preliminary injunction. Thirty-four state attorneys general sent a brief to support New Jersey’s case against the company. In Maryland, a judge denied Kalshi’s request for an injunction against the state regulator. Both of those cases are under appeal.

Earlier this month, Kalshi secured a significant win in California when a judge denied a motion from tribal parties seeking to prevent it from operating on tribal land. The judge ruled that the CFTC regulation means prediction markets do not qualify as bets and therefore do not violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In Wisconsin, the Ho-Chunk Nation has filed a similar lawsuit trying to prevent Kalshi from offering its products on tribal land.

There are multiple additional court cases involving Kalshi ongoing, including in New York, Massachusetts and Ohio. A Massachusetts court will hold a hearing on 9 December.

In addition, other states have sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi.

Meanwhile, state regulators are also warning sportsbook operators that their licences could be in jeopardy if they launch prediction market products. Those warnings came as operators including DraftKings and FanDuel prep prediction markets for launch.

In total, consumers in Ontario spent CA$9.25 billion (US$6.56 billion) on iGaming last month. This beat the previous record of $8.55 billion, set in September, by 8% and surpassed the prior October’s total spend by 24%.

Data from iGaming Ontario showed online casino games remain the most popular form of iGaming among Ontarians by some margin. Players spent $7.89 billion in total, which accounted for 85% of the entire market.

Internet sports betting drew $1.23 billion in wagers, or 13% of the overall spend and 16% more than September. However, online poker wagers dipped 9% month-on-month to $131 million in October.

Ontario iGaming revenue surpassed $360 million

Turning to revenue, non-adjusted gross revenue from iGaming during October was $367.7 million. This was 9% more than the previous record of $338 million in May 2025.

October’s total was also up 38% up year-on-year and 12% ahead of September this year,

Revenue from online casino topped $303.8 million, up 9% from September. Sports betting revenue climbed 25% month-on-month, while online poker revenue was 10% higher at $5.6 million despite a fall in spending.

iGaming Ontario also reported that active player accounts for the month totalled 1.3 million, up 9% from September. Average revenue per player account edged up 2% to $286 for the month.

FanDuel, BetMGM, Bet365 and BetRivers are among the major operators active in the province.

In its pre-budget preparations, which included a Select Committee meeting with industry stakeholders and think tank representatives, the Treasury has raised concerns around parts of the UK sector being based offshore in hubs like Gibraltar and Malta.

During its meeting in October, the committee probed Betting & Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst and Tax Committee Chair Stephen Hodgson on why many UK-facing gambling firms maintained an offshore presence.

The committee’s suggestion was that companies were based offshore to avoid corporation tax in the UK. But Hignett explains the reasoning is much more nuanced.  

“There’s a history as to why different parts of the industry are offshore and some are onshore, which needs to be understood to sort of realise how we got here,” says Hignett.

“They’re there for reasons that are well explained,” he adds. Hignett notes that operators have flitted between having offshore and onshore bases for years, to ensure they can compete on equal footing.

Dynamic regulatory environment

Additionally, in the UK remote gambling was illegal until the 2005 Gambling Act came into force in 2007. During this period mobile and online betting was increasing in popularity and operators remained or returned offshore to leverage this opportunity across Europe.

“If you’re an operator in 2007, the question is ‘Why would you come onshore voluntarily, when all of your competitors remain offshore?’ You’re volunteering to pay a whole load of taxes that’s just going to put you at a massive competitive disadvantage,” Hignett tells iGB.

“I can tell you about some of the musings of the Court of Appeal, in particular income tax cases where they look at gambling companies that have gone offshore and said, ‘We kind of understand why you went offshore, because everyone else had gone offshore, and therefore you would be the only people paying duty in the UK when the rules were like that’. So they were pretty sympathetic of that.”

But the Treasury has made some progress in better understanding the sector, he suggests. “You can see that in the differences between the Treasury Select Report and the rather blunt [gambling tax] consultation earlier in the year. But I think they’ve got a way to go to really understand those differences,” Hignett says.

A long way since the consultation

The consultation was launched in April by the Treasury, requesting stakeholder feedback on the current three-rate, profit-based tax system for operators. The initial report hinted at consolidating the three rates into one single rate across all verticals.

But stakeholders largely objected to this idea, as it would raise betting duty from 15% to 21%, in line with Remote Gaming Duty. This could hugely impact, and possibly decimate, the retail betting and horse racing industries.

Various other policies were then suggested by think tanks, including increasing remote gaming duty to 50%, and machine games duty from 20%. But we won’t know which the government has settled on until Wednesday’s budget session.

“If anyone has the ability to sort of shoulder an increase in tax, it’s probably not various people within the general betting duty camp — you know, the high street shops, particularly bookmakers, who are taking bets on horse racing, where they’ve got to pay the levy as well,” Hignett reflects on the initial consultation.

“The industry reacted badly to this consultation, thinking it wasn’t a very good idea, because I think it was based on a false premise, which was essentially, because various types of gambling can be consumed online they must be sufficiently similar, and therefore we can merge them all together.”

Taxes on high-risk verticals in the UK

In its report following the Select Committee meeting, the Treasury has advised the government to consider increasing the tax for high-risk verticals, like online casino.

“I think they are on a journey and I think they’ve probably got a way to go, because what we’re looking at is a very complex ecosystem,” Hignett says of the committee’s meeting and subsequent findings.

“The Treasury select interview process was really interesting because it was meant to be all about gambling tax policy,” he adds. “And most of the questions that were being thrown, particularly of the BGC, were more regulatory-related questions and around gambling creating social ills. I think everyone accepts that. That’s why it’s regulated, to try and make sure we can control that.”

When could a new gambling tax policy come into force?

On the timeline for a potential gambling tax hike, Hignett says the chancellor has a choice on when to introduce a new policy that is announced during the budget.

“She will either bring them into effect from midnight of Budget Day or from the beginning of the next financial year. If it’s a transactional tax, like capital gains tax or a tax on transactions like stamp duties, rate rises often take effect from midnight.

“For the types of gambling duty that we have been talking about, rate rises often take effect from the start of the next financial year (this is what happened when RGD was increased from 15% to 21%, with effect from 1 April 2019). As regards rule changes (rather than just rate changes), these will typically come into effect on a date prescribed in the Finance Act that enacts those rule changes.”

He says a date for operators to formally change their systems could be included in the budget speech.

The Federal Revenue Service in Brazil published its monthly tax update on Monday. The BRL1.09 billion figure was 9.4% lower than the BRL1.21 billion generated in September.

However, it did take the total market tax contribution to BRL7.95 billion for the year. This is the latest indicator the market has reaped sizeable financial benefits since regulation launched in Brazil on 1 January.

Brazil government set to vote on tax increase on Wednesday

The tax situation for the regulated Brazil betting sector could change imminently, with a vote scheduled on Wednesday for the current rate to be doubled.

Currently, the tax rate on GGR stands at 12%. However, operators have to pay a number of other taxes, meaning their overall rate is in excess of 40%.

The Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee is expected to vote on PL 5,473/2025 on Wednesday, with the bill doubling the tax rate to 24%.

If it is approved the bill will go straight to the Chamber of Deputies, unless an appeal is made for the Senate plenary to vote on it.

The bill is facing opposition, however, with a previous vote postponed reportedly due to the Chamber of Deputies President Hugo Motta stating the proposal would fail to have the required support to pass.

Brazil government intent on hiking gambling taxes

With an election looming next year, President Lula’s administration appears determined to increase gambling taxation as it seeks to hit its fiscal targets.

The government recently faced a major setback when its provisional measure proposing a 50% hike in gambling taxes failed.

According to Brazilian iGaming analyst Elvis Lourenço, this defeat has triggered renewed and increasingly urgent efforts by the administration to push tax rates even higher.

“That’s the main reason that they struck back so fast, because it was embarrassing for them,” Lourenço, managing partner of EX7 Partners, previously told iGB.

“This becomes an election agenda, because this is good for the audience and the public to get votes because we are a conservative country in some ways. So, to put this on their agenda, ‘we increase the taxes of the billionaires, of the gambling world’, it is good for the speech of the actual government.”

Lourenço warns that doubling the current tax rate would be an “insane” decision, one that could jeopardise the regulated market.

Data from ATG placed channelisation at between 74% and 85% for the third quarter of 2025. This was ahead of the 70% to 82% range the operator reported in the same period last year.

The upper end of the estimate also lined up with the 85% rate stated by Spelinspektionen for all of 2024. The regulator published its estimated rate in September, placing it behind the 86% figure of 2023.

However, both the latest ATG rate and Spelinspektionen’s estimate for 2024 fall short of the government’s channelisation target of 90%. This was set in 2019 when the country opened its regulated iGaming market.

Sports betting channelisation continues to lead casino

The 74% to 85% range stated by ATG covers the entire online gambling sector. However, when this is broken down, a clear gap remains between online casino and sports betting.

Assuming average revenue per visit (ARPV) was 10 times higher for unlicensed operators, the overall rate was 85%. However, sports betting scored higher at 90% whereas casino came in lower at 79%

Should ARPV be raised to 20 times higher for unlicensed operators, the overall rate was set at the bottom end of the range for 74%. Based on the same assumption, sports betting rate was 82% and online casino 65%.

All rates, however, have shown constant improvement since “bottoming out” early last year. In Q1 of 2024, online casino channelisation was estimated as low as 56% based on ARPV being 20 times higher for unlicensed operators. Sports betting was around 77% and overall market rate 67%.

Unlicensed website visits down in Q3

Visits to unlicensed websites have also been on a steady decline since Q1 last year, the ATG report said. The proportion of visits to unapproved sites stood at 2.3%, compared to a peak of around 3.4% in Q1 2024.

As for which unlicensed websites are most popular with Swedish players, Infiniza Limited owned the top three. Unlimitcasino.co led the way in Q3 with 174,391 total visits, ahead of Luckyjungle.com on 144,992, then Refuelcasino.com with 139,097 visits.

Of the 20 most visited, unlicensed websites, ATG said 16 offered games from leading content providers. The operator also noted eight offered direct deposit and withdrawal from Swedish bank accounts with BankID via payment technology company Krofort.

In addition, three of the top-20 sites featured on the Spelinspektionen’s prohibited list.

ATG CEO reiterates call for bonus ban

Hasse Lord Skarplöth, CEO of ATG, welcomed the rise in channelisation and downward trend in unlicensed website visits. However, he said more must be done to tackle illegal gambling in Sweden.

“It is pleasing to see a positive trend,” Skarplöth said. “The work against unlicensed players is starting to have an effect.”

He also referred to ATG’s joint proposal with Svenska Spel for a blanket ban on bonuses in the country’s iGaming market. This has drawn criticism from some quarters, including BOS, Sweden’s Trade Association for Online Gambling, that such a move could push players to illegal gambling.

However, Skarplöth maintained that if efforts are increased to block unlicensed websites, it will create an even safer online gambling environment for players in Sweden.

“I have long advocated a total bonus ban,” he said. “I am often met with the argument that it would drive players to the unlicensed market where bonuses flow. But if we succeed in strangling unlicensed gaming further, that protest will lose its force.”

With Texas lawmakers only convening in odd years, 2025 was a pivotal point in Sands’ expansion efforts. Sands’ controlling shareholder, Miriam Adelson, quadrupled her lobbying spend for this year’s session compared to 2023. Sands’ longtime government relations chief Andy Abboud told iGB in October 2024 that the chances of Texas gambling expansion were “greater than 50%”.

Lawmakers weren’t swayed, however, and any notion of legalising either casinos or sports betting was never considered. Sands’ highest-backed state Senate candidate also failed to even reach a run-off. Additionally, recent lottery scandals in the state have turned some officials further against gaming than before, and upcoming races for attorney general and lieutenant governor don’t look promising for the industry.

All of these developments have yet to deter Sands’ Texas casino dream. The company is again embarking on media campaigns, this time proclaiming that it could replicate its world-class Singapore resort Marina Bay Sands in the heart of the Lone Star State.

At the same time, Sands has this year given up hopes for a New York casino and abandoned its short-lived digital arm. Why, then, is Texas so enduringly attractive despite the lack of progress?

Texas has biggest pool of untapped population

The simplest explanation as to why Sands is still bullish on Texas is population. Its most recent estimates surpass 31 million residents, second only to California. The next most populous states, in order, are Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.

California and Florida are prohibitive to Sands, as both are markets where Indian tribes have exclusivity for Class III gaming. The company deemed New York to be unattractive due to the looming possibility of legalising iGaming, which is already legal in a Pennsylvania market crowded with all forms of gambling plus unregulated skill games.

Texas is both commercially untapped and conservative with gambling expansion, a perfect combination for a retail-only operator willing to make big investments.

“Looking at the US in general, Hawaii, Utah, downstate New York, Georgia and Texas are really the only greenfields left,” said Gene Johnson, executive vice president at consultancy Victor Strategies. “Texas is the biggest plum on the tree because of the lack of alternatives right now for the huge population and economic demographics.”

Johnson suggested that for Sands, the years of toil could be more than repaid by securing any kind of first-mover advantage. He surmised it’s “probably better to get half the pie in Texas” than a small slice of an existing or less attractive market.

Previous analysis from The Innovation Group estimated that the Texas casino market could generate $2.5 billion to $3 billion in annual tax revenue.

Market perhaps not as reliant on international traffic?

Another factor that could work in Sands’ favour is the idea that the Texas market might not be as reliant on international tourism as places like Las Vegas, Singapore and New York. Las Vegas stakeholders in particular have seen the headaches that a dip in international visitation can cause. Texas’ extensive population, which does have wealth pockets in tech and oil but is mostly local, could make for a “super-regional” type of property.

“I think it’ll be a great domestic market,” said Las Vegas-based consultant Brendan Bussmann of B Global Advisors. “Not just from pure population centres like Dallas and Houston, but also what you’re attracting from a regional setting.”

For years, neighbouring gaming states like Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico have profited immensely from Texas’ lack of gambling expansion by welcoming Texans across their borders. If the state were to legalise its own offerings, some of that outbound traffic could stay local.

Bussmann guessed that a Texas casino could see domestic traffic rates of 92%-93%. There are no current comparisons to that sort of scenario, he said, but returns could be “exceptional” if major players like Sands get the green light.

Johnson noted that there are some international opportunities, but overall “the bigger opportunity is for the domestic customer, all this population in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the Houston area, which you could serve with a very large integrated resort”.

Potential regulatory environment still very unclear

Perhaps the biggest unknown about a potential Texas casino market is the regulatory environment it would operate under.

Given how staunchly state officials have opposed gaming, it seems hard to imagine that the sector would be granted favourable regulatory conditions if it is legalised. But with limited competition, those factors might not be as important for Sands as it would be in other markets.

Johnson surmised that Texas casinos would face a “tolerable” environment, though Sands might be “willing to risk a pretty high tax rate” in exchange for growth opportunities. In Nevada, casinos face a tax rate of 6.75% but there is ample competition. New York has yet to issue licences for its pending downstate casinos, but the three finalists will see tax rates of at least 25% and 10% for slots and tables, respectively.

For Bussmann, the more important issue is crafting a message that resonates with lawmakers to even get the conversation moving in a positive direction, which has yet to happen. It may take more than one voice to get the ball rolling, a concession Sands might be loathe to relinquish.

“There’s a way to get this done, but it has to take a multi-pronged approach, not just a one-solution opportunity,” Bussmann said. “You need multiple operators coming in and saying, ‘Here’s a pitch,’ as opposed to, ‘Here’s one, and we’re gonna do everything we can to get it’. I just think you need multiple parties in the process to give different perspectives.”

Following uproar over a proposed policy change that would have allowed student-athletes to wager on professional sports, the NCAA reversed the decision last week. After a procedural 30-day period, two-thirds of Division I member schools voted to rescind the rule change.

In a separate release, the NCAA Committee on Infractions announced betting violations involving three individuals who have been connected with the Temple men’s basketball programme, including former guard Hysier Miller. According to the findings, Miller placed 42 impermissible wagers on Temple basketball, including three against his own team.

Miller, Temple’s leading scorer in the 2023-24 college basketball season, has been declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA.

A policy reversal

Last month, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey wrote a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker urging him to rescind a policy change intended to allow student-athletes to bet on professional sports, while keeping college wagers off limits. Days earlier, the NCAA’s Division I cabinet had approved the modification, which received support from management councils in Division II and Division III. In the end, other schools joined Sankey and SEC schools in undoing the planned change.

Sankey’s letter had informed Baker that the majority of SEC university presidents and chancellors at a 13 October meeting reached a consensus that the rule change represented a shift in the wrong direction. Sankey’s letter was dated 25 October, two days after Brooklyn federal prosecutors announced charges against 34 defendants in a joint sports betting-illegal poker investigation that involved NBA participants.

Charles Barkley, now a broadcaster for ESPN, had not been shy expressing his views about the NCAA’s planned policy change, describing it as foolish. Another broadcaster, CBS Sports sports betting expert Todd Fuhrman, also took exception with the change, telling iGB that it creates a “slippery slope” for further issues down the road.

The proposed policy change apparently stemmed from legal complexities surrounding an Iowa collegiate betting investigation in 2023. More than two dozen student-athletes faced criminal charges over betting, including then Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers. During an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, state authorities used technology from a geofencing company without a warrant. The practise raised legal and privacy questions, leading to the dismissal of some of the charges.

The issue of betting by collegiate athletes is not the only hot gambling topic the NCAA has been dealing with. Over the last two years, Baker has barnstormed the nation in an attempt to convince lawmakers to issue a blanket prohibition on college player props. Earlier this month, Baker applauded the NFL’s own efforts to work with regulators and sportsbook operators on efforts to limit prop bets that are vulnerable to manipulation.

Attorney: No evidence of point shaving in NCAA probe

The NCAA, meanwhile, released details of an investigation connected to participants in Temple’s programme, most notably Miller.

Over a two-year period through 2 March 2024, Miller placed a total of $473 in wagers involving his former team, an NCAA investigation found. Miller interviewed with NCAA enforcement staff and admitted to placing bets on Temple men’s basketball games but did not recall betting against the team, the NCAA wrote in a statement. The window closed several days before a Temple-UAB matchup that drew scrutiny due to the rapid movement of the betting line in the hours leading up to the game.

He never placed a standalone bet on Temple men’s basketball games, the NCAA’s investigation determined. Rather, Miller’s wagers were all individual components of several larger, multi-leg parlays. On Friday, ESPN reported that the wagers pertained to a 22 November 2023 game against Mississippi, as well as an 8 February 2024 game against Memphis.

A source, who spoke with iGB on the condition of anonymity, confirmed Miller’s wagering patterns on the contests. Miller appeared to bet small amounts on the three wagers, with none exceeding $20.

Before the Ole Miss contest, a 77-76 win by the Rebels, Miller wagered $6 on a 12-leg parlay with a regulated sportsbook. Miller went 7-of-21 from the floor for 21 points, considerably above his 15.9 per game average. Mississippi closed as a 3.5-point favourite  but led at halftime by five to cover the first-half line.

The guard also bet against the Owls on a $12, 10-leg parlay that included the Memphis matchup. Finally, he took Memphis on the same night as part of a $5, 7-leg parlay. Miller finished 4-of-15 for 12 points in an 84-77 loss to the Tigers.

Bet structure anathema to point shaving

One view of the patterns is that it may not be indicative of point shaving since the wagers contained numerous games, beyond ones involving the Owls. Because the multi-leg parlays required outcomes outside of Miller’s control, the structure of the wager undercuts the likelihood of a potential payout.

A single wager on a fixed outcome, such as allegations that NBA player Terry Rozier prematurely left a game to guarantee a result, usually clinches a financial reward. An instance of alleged match fixing as part of a larger parlay does not.

“The key takeaway here is the NCAA found no evidence that Hysier shaved points,” Miller’s attorney, Jason Bologna, told iGB. “The NCAA conducted a long and thorough investigation before reaching that conclusion.”

Rozier, a former Charlotte Hornets guard, is facing federal charges in connection with alleged match manipulation in 2023.

Others from Temple involved

Besides Miller, the committee’s Temple investigation found that Camren Wynter and Jaylen Bond also made impermissible wagers while on the Owls’ staff. Wynter, a former special assistant to head coach Adam Fisher, is accused of making at least 52 impermissible bets for approximately $9,642.

Bond, a former Temple graduate assistant, placed 546 impermissible bets totaling approximately $5,597, according to the committee. The wagers included roughly $200 in bets on college football and basketball. Neither Wynter nor Bond were accused of betting against Temple.

Bologna added that Miller gave the NCAA full access to his cellphone and bank account and answered every question posed to him.

“He admitted to placing parlay bets, but he denied shaving points in any game, and the NCAA’s findings confirm that they accept Hysier was honest and cooperative with their investigation,” Bologna wrote.

Miller has not been charged criminally in the matter. Over the summer, multiple outlets reported that the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania had launched an inquiry into alleged point shaving in college basketball.

When reached by iGB, a spokesperson for the district declined comment. As of Monday, a grand jury in the district has yet to issue any indictments in the matter.

Roque was once the official spokesman for former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. As an attorney, he provided legal counsel to Lucky 99 South, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga. He represented Cassandra Li Ong, purported head of the facility, in her dealings with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr banned POGOs in July 2024 following reports that they engaged in online romance and crypto scams, often powered by forced labour. A raid of the Pampang facility freed about 150 foreign and Filipino workers. They said they faced beatings when they failed to meet daily quotas. Some rescued workers displayed signs of physical abuse. Police found one victim handcuffed to a bedframe.

In October 2024, the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission charged Roque with qualified human trafficking at the Pampang POGO. The fugitive, claiming political persecution, is seeking asylum in the Netherlands.

Stiff penalties under expanded anti-trafficking law

If tried and convicted, Roque faces severe penalties. Last week, disgraced “POGO mayor” Alice Guo was convicted of running a POGO in Bamban, Tarlac. Guo was elected mayor of Bamban in 2022 and removed when the POGO allegations surfaced. She then slipped across the border and eluded capture for several months until September 2024, when she was arrested in Jakarta.

Investigators say Guo is not Filipina but a Chinese national who used a phony birth certificate to run for mayor. She reportedly used Chinese money to fund the Bamban POGO.

On Friday, the Pasig City Regional Trial Court found Guo guilty of the same charge lodged against Roque: qualified human trafficking. She was sentenced to life in prison. The court ordered her and seven co-defendants to pay fines of PHP2 million (US$34,000) and compensate several trafficking victims.

It was the country’s first conviction under expanded anti-trafficking laws that allow the government to prosecute people who “organise and direct others” to enslave workers.

“We can implicate people who, even if they were not the ones who physically hurt, recruited or exploited the trafficking victims themselves,” Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty told the Philippine Inquirer.

To limit Roque’s movement, the government has cancelled his passport.

Roque says Philippines out to ‘pulverise’ critics

In remarks to Politiko.com, Roque said he is beyond the reach of the Philippine government.

“An Interpol red notice … does not override a receiving state’s obligations under refugee and asylum law” he said. “The protections that follow from my pending asylum claim remain in force.

“I will continue to assert the protections that international law grants to asylum seekers,” Roque continued. “And I will use every legitimate legal channel to present evidence, seek accountability and defend my professional reputation.”

He said the charges against him “stem from long-running efforts by this administration to silence and to ‘pulverise’ critics”.

Allwyn and UK National Lottery set for Christmas

Allwyn has launched a new scratchcards campaign for the UK National Lottery for the 2026 festive season.

The fully integrated campaign focuses on how scratchcards can help bring people together at Christmas. This includes playing Musical Scratchcards at the dinner table and other games in a variety of settings.

The campaign has gone live in the week that the National Lottery also celebrates its 30th anniversary.

“Christmas is all about shared moments, many times involving games and a healthy dose of competitiveness,” said Steve Parkinson, brand and marketing director at Allwyn. “Scratchcards are all about adding some fun and excitement – so are the perfect thing to bring along to festive gatherings.”

LeoVegas scores Valletta FC deal

LeoVegas Group has entered into a partnership with Malta Premier League football club Valletta FC.

LeoVegas will serve as the team’s exclusive online gaming partner for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. The deal includes match kit sleeve branding for the men’s squad.

Other aspects of the agreement include visibility across all club facilities such as the training grounds and the matchday fanzone. LeoVegas branding will also appear on the squad’s training bags.

“Our Group has considered itself a partly Maltese company almost since its inception,” said Stefan Nelson, LeoVegas Group CFO and Malta managing director. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the capital’s club to create exciting opportunities for fans, employees and future talent alike.”

William Hill launches Racing Bet Builder

William Hill has announced the launch of its Racing Bet Builder product in the UK and Ireland.

Bettors can combine multiple selections from the same race into one customised bet. This will be the first time an option like this will be available to customers.

Same-race bets include horses to finish in the top three, beat one another, exact finishing positions, betting without runners, and winning distance.

“Our customers have been asking for more customisable ways to bet on racing,” said Mark Howarth, William Hill’s director of racing. “We’re delighted to deliver this fantastic product.”

Swintt to expand Italian offering

Swintt has announced plans to extends its offering in Italy following early success in the country’s iGaming market.

The software provider entered Italy in October via an exclusive partnership with Eurobet.it. This included an initial roll-out of content such as Pirates Pledge Hold & Win, Battle of Myths, Supa Crew, Wizardz World and Crystalium.

Swintt will now seek approval from the regulator to roll out a second round of releases from Elysium Studios on the Italian platform. Additional games may include A Hopping Kiss and Enigma of Egypt.

David Mann, chief executive officer at Swintt, said: “Having only launched with Eurobet.it at the end of October, we’ve been really encouraged by the reception our Elysium Studios titles have received from Italian players, and work is already under way to roll out our next round of releases.”

Stakelogic eyes engagement with mini games

Stakelogic has launched five new mini games with a focus on player engagement and instant-win excitement.

Golden Kick, Mouse on the Run, Gold Pick Legend, Flip N Win and Tiki Tiki Twist are all now available from Stakelogic.

The developer said the collection blends “simple play with high engagement”. This, it added, gives players something “compelling” to dip in and out of between longer sessions.

James Jelliffe, head of slots at Stakelogic, said: “This latest collection showcases just how much personality and excitement can be delivered in short-form play. We’re excited to see them live across our operator network.”

The suspension is effective immediately and covers the operator’s remote and non-remote betting licences. London-headquartered Deadheat has held both licences since January 2015.

The regulator noted the suspected failures were “key considerations” in its decision to suspend these licences.

“The review and consequent suspension follow concerns that activities have been carried out in a manner which is inconsistent with the licensing objectives, not in accordance with conditions of their licence and that the licensee may be unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities,” the commission said.

“We have made it clear to the operator that during the suspension, we expect it to focus on treating consumers fairly and keeping them fully informed of any developments which impact them.”

James Grassi and Antony Komui are listed as company directors at Companies House, and both have been in their roles since April 2012. Christos Symeon also started out as a director at the same time but resigned in August 2019.

Gambling Commission continues clampdown on rule-breakers

Deadheat is the latest operator to have been targeted by the commission. The regulator has made a series of announcements regarding suspension and fines in recent weeks.

Days ago, Videoslots was fined £650,000 for breaching several regulations AML and social responsibility. NetBet was also ordered to pay £650,000 earlier in November, again due to AML and social responsibility failings

Elsewhere, the commission suspended Spribe OÜ’s software licence in October for failing to comply with hosting requirements. The commission said this was due to “serious” non-compliance. At the time the supplier said it was applying for the relevant hosting licence immediately and expected to be back up and running within a few weeks.

However, despite these frequent interventions, breaches persist. The pattern raises a difficult question: why does non-compliance remain so endemic? The answer seems to lie in a complex mix of regulatory evolution, operational shortcomings and commercial tension between growth and governance. 

The numbers give an indication. A conservative estimate is that the total annual fines for regulated non‑compliance in the European gambling sector lie above €150 million per year. Spain is a leader among the European countries, both in number of non‑compliance cases and aggregate fines issued in recent years. The Spanish regulators imposed €142.7 million in fines on gambling and online gaming operators during 2024. 

According to Vixio’s AML Fines Outlook, regulators across Europe imposed more than €36 million in AML-related penalties alone between March 2024 and March 2025, underscoring the sector’s struggle to meet compliance standards that are tightening by the month. 

What’s happening across Europe?

In Britain, the Gambling Commission remains an assertive enforcer. Between April 2023 and March 2024, it issued £7.16 million in fines. Then for the period 1 April 2024-31  March 2025, the commission’s annual report revealed enforcement action against 24 operators led to £4.2 million in fines or regulatory settlements. A new seven-step process to calculate financial penalties was introduced by the Gambling Commission in October. They will now be based on a percentage of the offender’s gross gambling yield.  

In the Netherlands, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) introduced a tougher fining matrix for 2025, where Category 5 violations now carry penalties of between €2 million and €4 million. Last year, Malta-based online casino Gammix Limited was fined €19.7 million for unlicensed operations, one of the largest penalties ever imposed by a European regulator. 

Elsewhere – from Malta to Finland and Denmark – regulators are taking similar tough stances against regulatory non-compliance. Belgium’s Gambling Commission, for its part, handed out a record €4.6 million in fines last year. And in Italy, the regulator ADM imposed €1.35 million fines in advertising-rule breaches. 

Some industry stakeholders warn the black market will be the only beneficiary if enforcement becomes disproportionate relative to revenue. Regulators, however, counter that deterrence requires precisely that degree of financial sting. 

Compliance or competition? 

Industry observers note the longstanding compliance dilemma stems from competing imperatives. Regulatory requirements are complex and there is a tension between delivering commercial performance and meeting compliance obligations. 

“It is clearly obvious that the bar has been raised by regulators both in the UK and across Europe. The sharp increase of regulatory action we are witnessing, particularly around AML and social responsibility, paints a picture that all may not be as it should be in the regulated market,” says Victoria Reed, chief executive of Better Change. 

This friction is particularly acute in markets where margins are tightening. Melanie Ellis, a partner at Northridge Law in London, argues that investment in compliance infrastructure often competes with initiatives that promise faster returns. “The cost of compliance has increased massively. Operators are unable to divert sufficient funds to this function. In the UK, this particularly relates to the increased expectations in relation to customer monitoring and action.” 

She explains how it has become difficult to meet the GC’s expectations without significant investment in both software and personnel, particularly to enable immediate responses to indicators of money laundering or harm. 

That challenge is further complicated by demographic shifts – especially the rise of younger, digital-native gamblers – that put further pressure on operators to deliver seamless, instant experiences without breaching consumer-protection thresholds. 

Reactive to predictive

Britain’s Gambling Commission has sought to evolve from reactive enforcement to predictive oversight. Andrew Rhodes, its chief executive, told industry representatives at a briefing in November that nine operators had been suspended in recent weeks for “issues that we have repeatedly warned about – software provision and self-exclusion”. 

The commission’s new approach to non-compliance relies heavily on real-time monitoring through its Regular feed of Operator Core Data (ROCD) “Over 73% of last year’s consumer-protection assessments were rated good or satisfactory,” Rhodes explained. 

He credits the ROCD with allowing regulators to spot behavioural risk clusters – such as younger players who seldom set deposit limits yet reach thresholds of financial harm. The GC hopes this analytical capability will pave the way for “a truly risk-based regime”. 

Signs of progress 

Despite the headlines that non-compliancy makes in mainstream press, not everyone sees an unmitigated compliance crisis. Richard Williams, a specialist gambling, licensing and regulatory lawyer at Keystone Law, believes operators have made tangible progress. “If you go back five years and look at AML and social-responsibility compliance then versus now, the change has been huge – particularly around intervention when people are losing large amounts of money. Operators are far more responsible,” he says. 

The GC’s evolving stance also reflects a wider trend toward collaboration rather than confrontation. “We recognise there will always be tension between regulator and regulated,” Rhodes says. “But it doesn’t have to be adversarial. Working together productively has delivered progress.” 

Williams notes that regulators increasingly prefer structured action plans to outright licence reviews. “If improvement isn’t shown, then suspension or revocation can follow – but that’s becoming rarer,” he says. “It’s now more about raising standards than simply sanctioning operators.”

Non-compliance a fault of global expansion 

Nevertheless, non-compliance remains a concerning issue. Tamsin Blow, a lawyer at CMS London, observes why instances continue to occur: “Enforcement often results from operators grappling to understand and keep on top of multiple differing legal systems across jurisdictions, balancing parallel — and sometimes competing – obligations under AML, social responsibility, data protection and equalities law.” 

Breaches, in most cases, are not deliberate. “I’m sure it happens occasionally,” says Williams, “but I think it’s rare. If you look at the size of fines, which are often in the millions, and when you add legal fees, audits and licence conditions, it’s generally not profitable to be non-compliant. Most responsible operators don’t intend to breach rules.”  

According to Williams, the high number of compliance cases in the UK is a reflection of a particularly vigilant regulatory body. “Regulators in other markets doing only a handful of checks each year will naturally find fewer breaches.” Operators are being squeezed by rising duties, taxes and levies, he points out. “That pressure creates real challenges.” 

The Dutch toddler 

Taking a quick glance across Europe, if Britain represents regulatory maturity, the Netherlands is still finding its footing. Bjorn Fuchs, chairman of the Dutch trade body VNLOK, likens the market, which opened only four years ago, to “a toddler with a steep learning curve”. 

“The speed with which the bar has been raised, combined with multiple possible interpretations, can lead to misunderstandings, loss of oversight and sub-par execution,” he says. Operators, he adds, face heavy fines for responsible gambling lapses, particularly in self-exclusion and deposit-limit enforcement. 

Fuchs worries that “when regulatory burdens grow exponentially fast and become disproportionate, the legal market as a whole is at risk”. Still, he insists that genuine errors should be seen as part of a maturing ecosystem, not disregard of rules: “Operators that knowingly and structurally aren’t compliant should lose their licence to operate.” 

In Norway, where gambling remains a state monopoly, compliance takes a different form. Carl Fredrik Stenstrom, secretary-general of the Norwegian trade body NBO, says that “being the last-standing monopoly means the operator is under intense scrutiny. Even minor deviations are highlighted.” 

That scrutiny intensified after PwC’s 2025 audit of Norsk Tipping found “poor control and unclear leadership”, with excessive emphasis on innovation over quality assurance. For Stenstrom, the episode reveals that even monopolies are vulnerable to governance drift. “It’s very interesting that PwC issued such criticism for a monopoly company, which is supposed to just supply Norwegians with gambling products,” he notes. 

Trade bodies like NBO, he argues, are vital to maintaining accountability by providing a collective voice, engaging with politicians and communicating the industry’s perspective. He adds, too, that skilled regulators are essential. “Competent regulation ensures responsible and attractive markets.” Personal accountability for directors or turnover-linked penalties, he suggests, could complement strong institutional oversight. 

Reputational damage is another risk 

The financial cost of non-compliance is one thing, but reputational damage is another. Ellis warns: “When players, regulators or the public perceive repeated non-compliance, that can affect brand value and long-term profitability.” 

In markets such as the UK, where gambling advertising and social responsibility obligations are under constant political scrutiny, reputational harm can quickly translate into commercial risk, says Reed. “It is a huge reputational risk; we cannot portray the regulated industry as whiter than white and a safe place for people to play if the headlines continue to report huge fines as a result of failings,” she adds.  

The direction of travel, many agree, is toward data-driven, risk-based compliance. The UK’s ROCD system is a case study in how analytics can identify and mitigate risks. Similar approaches are emerging elsewhere: Sweden’s Spelinspektionen now ties fines to turnover, while the KSA in the Netherlands is experimenting with behaviour-based enforcement triggers. 

For operators, the challenge is to move to predictive oversight embedded in everyday operations. As Reed puts it: “The better operators understand the patterns regulators are monitoring, the better they can align their business practices and protect consumers – which benefits the industry as a whole.” 

The long game 

Looking ahead, Williams sees progress hinging on two fronts: “AML and social responsibility failings are often the same in not properly establishing a customer’s means or source of funds. But now there are far more mandatory limits, vulnerability checks and automated monitoring systems. Technology and machine learning have reduced human error, which was often the weak point.” 

He is skeptical about EU-wide harmonisation. “Each regulator wants its own rules. Harmonisation makes sense in principle, but in practice countries approach it differently.” 

Meanwhile, Blow believes enforcement has already peaked in Britain: between 2018 and 2023, annual enforcement cases ranged from 15 to 23; in 2024, they fell to around a dozen. “The market and the clarity of the regulatory regime have matured,” she says. “We may now see similar developments across Europe as other markets evolve.” 

Ellis adds that infrastructure will matter more than ever going forward. “Investment in compliance infrastructure would have the biggest impact on reducing non-compliance,” she says. “Unfortunately, this will be increasingly challenging if tax rates rise. Effective communication of expectations by regulators is also crucial.” 

Bjorn Fuchs argues for better balance: “The most effective lever for reducing recurring fines is a combination of strong accountability for operators and an effective dialogue between legislators, regulators and the industry.” 

After a decade of explosive growth and sporadic governance, Europe’s iGaming sector is learning that compliance must be built into the business model, hoping that compliance will shift from being a recurring headline to a quiet constant. Until then, the penalties – financial, operational, and reputational – will keep the conversation alive. 

Under the deal, the financial terms of which were undisclosed, the Goma team will operate as a standalone unit. The business will run side-by-side with the existing EveryMatrix front-end division.

EveryMatrix said the acquisition will strengthen its front-end capabilities across casino and sports betting. This, it added, will focus on improved customer experience and a wider range of alternatives for its clients.

Launched 20 years ago, Goma Gaming has worked with tier-one operators in markets around the world. Current and existing clients include Betsson, with Goma supporting its launch in the French market.

According to Goma, operators that partner with the company generate higher retention and longer engagement, with an average 30% margin uplift.

EveryMatrix to accelerate ‘rapid’ business growth

EveryMatrix Group CEO and co-founder Ebbe Groes said the acquisition will support the group’s ongoing growth plans. He said the addition of Goma and its expertise will “further accelerate” business growth for EveryMatrix.

“Our front-end development has made huge strides, creating bespoke sites and features for some of our largest customers such as Bet-at-home and the Hungarian Lottery,” Groes said.

“The addition of Goma means we will immediately have more front-end firepower to deploy and deliver to both existing and new sports and casino turnkey customers who require differentiation that moves the dial when it comes to higher retention, engagement, margin and revenues.”

Andrew Brown, CEO of Goma, also talked up the deal. He said it will allow the company to work with more operators active across the EveryMatrix network.

“We’ve made great progress developing Goma in the last five years,” he said. “But joining the EveryMatrix Group now means we have greater resources to rapidly scale our capacity whenever it’s needed and to make an even bigger impact.”

Another new addition for EveryMatrix

The acquisition follows EveryMatrix striking several other deals in 2024. These included the purchases of UK-based betting and iGaming platform FSB in July 2024 and the purchase of Fantasma Games later that year.

With FSB, EveryMatrix said its full end-to-end turnkey solutions, including its player account management software and horse racing products, would enhance its OddsMatrix platform.

As for Fantasma Games, this focused more on content. Fantasma titles were made available to its network of more than 250 operators including Paddy Power, Betsson, LeoVegas and DraftKings.

EveryMatrix also recently made changes at the top for its management team. Earlier in November, the group announced Jonas Groes will become co-CEO with effect from 1 January 2026.

Groes, brother of Ebbe Groes, will bring experience from across technology, finance and policy, having spent over 11 years with EY. This includes the past nine and a half years as a partner in the business’ Nordic Consulting practice.

He also worked for the European Regions Research and Innovation Network, the South Denmark European Office and in local government Denmark. In addition, he has chaired Management Rådgiverne, a Danish organisation for management-consulting businesses, for the past two and a half years.

Gross gambling revenue in Pennsylvania from all types of commercial gaming reached $597 million in October, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). This surpassed the same month last year by 20.2% and was 11.4% higher than this September.

While record iGaming revenue was the headline figure in the month, the sports betting haul also turned heads. This followed a disappointing September when sports betting revenue fell to a six-month low.

Pennsylvania iCasino revenue jumps 32.8%

Starting with online casinos, revenue in this segment was 32.8% higher year-on-year. It was also a new state record, surpassing the previous all-time high – $238.2 million in March 2025 – by 5.4%.

Of this, $190.8 million came from online slots, 35.5% ahead of the previous year. Internet table games revenue climbed 25.7% to $57.7 million and online poker revenue was 13.6% higher at $2.5 million.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course and its online gaming partners again led the market. Their monthly revenue reached $98.7 million, up 42.2% from last year.

Valley Forge Casino Resort and partners remained second with $71.4 million, 37.5% ahead of October 2024. 40.8%. Rivers Casino Philadelphia completed the top three with $38.2 million, an increase of 15%.

Pennsylvania was not the first state to report record revenue from the online sector in October. Both New Jersey and Michigan saw revenue reach new heights during the month.

Record handle drives sports betting recovery

Turning to sports betting, revenue more than doubled year-on-year during October to $60.7 million. This included $56.2 million from online betting and a further $4.5 million from retail sportsbooks across Pennsylvania.

This was helped by player spending reaching a record $968.5 million. This beat the previous high of $935.5 million in November 2024 and was ahead of October last year by 9%. Last month, $926.1 million was bet online and $42.4 million at retail locations.

As such, monthly hold for the state stood at 6.27%.

Looking to operators, DraftKings and Hollywood Casino at the Meadows climbed into top spot in October by posting $21.8 million off a $300.1 million handle, resulting in a 7.26% hold.

FanDuel and Valley Forge Casino Resort, which typically lead, slipped to second. With $18.2 million in revenue from $357.6 million in bets, this left a hold of 5.09%. BetMGM and Hollywood Casino Morgantown remained third with $4 million off a $59.6 million handle for a hold of 6.71%.

Land-based slots remain king in Pennsylvania

While expansion within the iGaming market shows no signs of slowing in Pennsylvania, land-based slots remain a key source of gambling revenue. In October, revenue in this sector was 1.4% higher year-on-year at $203.5 million.

Retail table games revenue edged up 3% to $76.1 million but video gaming terminal dipped 1% to $3.5 million. The PGCB also noted a 1.1% drop in sports fantasy contest revenue to $2.1 million.

In terms of tax for state and local governments, $252.3 million was collected during the month. Of this, online casinos provided $112.7 million, sports betting $21.8 million, land-based slots $102.8 million and retail table games $12.8 million.

He was referred to as a “bad actor”, an “AML wrecking ball” and even a “semi-wannabe gangster” at one point. Regardless, he is quickly running up the list of the most infamous figures in the history of Las Vegas.

With the approved fine, Caesars became the third Las Vegas entity to face AML fines in connection to Bowyer this year, joining MGM Resorts and Resorts World Las Vegas. This $7.8 million penalty ranks third among them, with MGM paying $8.5 million and Resorts World paying $10.5 million for similar AML offences.

In all three cases, Bowyer was allowed to frequent casinos for years despite the entities having at least suspicion of his workings as an illegal bookmaker, suspicions they sometimes shared. Bowyer was ultimately sentenced to one year in federal prison in August. The five-count complaint against Caesars connected Bowyer to Caesars Palace, Harrah’s Resort Southern California and Harveys Lake Tahoe (now Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe).

Caesars Chairman Gary Carano made a rare public appearance before the commission Thursday. His father, Donald Carano, was a legendary Nevada gaming attorney and executive. But the younger Carano had the unpleasant task of taking accountability for the company’s shortcomings.

“On behalf of Caesars, our employees, our entire leadership team, our board of directors, I sincerely apoligise for our role in the Bowyer incident and the impact it had on the gaming industry of the state of Nevada,” Carano said.

How regulators calculated Caesars fine for Bowyer

With three cases now centring on the same individual, it is difficult for regulators to avoid making comparisons. Caesars received the smallest fine of the three, potentially implying that its transgressions were the least egregious. But officials were far from agreed on that idea, and their disagreements were perhaps indicative of the added scrutiny and criticism the scandals generated.

Before the commission heard from Caesars, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer explained why and how the board negotiated the proposed $7.8 million fine. According to the board’s investigation, Bowyer frequented Caesars properties from 2017 to January 2024. The company knew Bowyer had been banned from other casinos and categorised him as “high risk” for five years before banning him, which only came after federal authorities raided his home.

Caesars won a total of $2.6 million from the bookie, Dreitzer said, so the fine represents a tripling of that. This was done to quell any notion of Caesars still ending up with a net gain from Bowyer. But in reference to the MGM and Resorts World cases, Dreitzer asserted that Caesars’ conduct was the least offensive.

“Here, we do have the conduct occurring over a significant period, certainly, seven years,” Dreitzer said. “However, it’s important to state that there is no evidence of any Caesars employee engaging in any intentional conduct. This was a case of systematic negligence that led to this complaint, and that stands in contrast to other matters that this commission has previously heard where there have been bad actors who have acted intentionally within the employ of the licencees in question.”

‘One bad actor’ vs ‘systematic negligence’ for Caesars

Dreitzer’s comments proved to be a point of debate among commissioners. While MGM was not named specifically, much of the disagreement appeared to center around its conduct as opposed to Caesars’, as the former’s fine was higher. Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey was the most notable detractor, and later cast the lone vote against the settlement.

“I see some similarities and some differences between this case and others that we’ve handled recently,” Solis-Rainey said. “Some of the differences are more egregious, in my mind, than what we saw previously.”

In the case of MGM, Solis-Rainey noted that “a bad actor” was at fault for intentionally contravening AML protocols, which she felt mitigated MGM’s culpability as a company. This might have been a reference to Scott Sibella, the now-banned executive featured in both the MGM and Resorts World cases. Caesars, meanwhile, could be seen as more at fault given that it does not have a specific person to blame.

“I think it’s worse in [Caesars’] case where the programme worked, [Bowyer] was reported to the AML officer, and nothing was done,” she said.

Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Togliatti was more aligned with Dreitzer, saying she felt the fine was “placed appropriately on the spectrum of fines that this commission has imposed” so far this year. She noted the stipulations included in the settlement, Caesars staff changes and the effort of the board to negotiate the fine as reasons for supporting it.

“I don’t know that it’s more egregious, necessarily, I think it’s different,” Togliatti said.

Commissioners Brian Krolicki and George Markantonis, both of whom have become increasingly irritated at the volume of AML cases, sounded exasperated in their comments.

“It’s almost numbing that we continue to have this conversation, particularly because of the acts of one individual,” Krolicki said, referencing Bowyer.

Both commissioners ultimately voted for the settlement.

Contrition from the C-suite at Caesars

In addition to Carano, Caesars CEO Tom Reeg and CLO Ed Quatmann also attended to atone for the company’s misconduct. The scandal adds to what has been a tough year for the operator, whose stock price has dropped precipitously in the midst of poor Las Vegas performance and a failed New York City casino bid.

“We know that this entire matter has been a stain on the state and we’re embarrassed that we’re a part of it,” Reeg told the commission. “We never sacrifice compliance for revenue. There is no customer that’s worth illegitimate profits. We didn’t catch Bowyer and we should have, full stop.”

Quatmann, as the legal and compliance chief, faced more extensive questioning. He acknowledged the company did not do enough in relation to Bowyer but noted several remediation efforts. Caesars’ 2020 takeover by Eldorado Resorts, the Carano family business, was also discussed, given that it occurred in the middle of the misconduct. Quatmann joined Caesars from Eldorado.

“Our AML headcount overall has increased considerably since this matter has occurred,” Quatmann said. “And as has been mentioned earlier, our AML spend is roughly twice what it was in 2017.”

Company did not admit to wrongdoing

Quatmann now has final say on all AML matters as part of the changes. All “high-risk source of funds decisions” now funnel to him, even on vacation, as he promised to commissioners.

When pressed about why Caesars only took action on Bowyer after his arrest was made public despite having intel from other casinos, Quatmann indicated a level of hubris on behalf of the company.

“I think what happened is we saw other licencees and their issues and said, ‘Well, that’s not us,'” he said.

The contrition from the various officials was clear over the course of the lengthy debate. But Caesars attorney Michael Alonso specified that his client did not admit to or deny any wrongdoing in the settlement, and that language was agreed to by the board.

“It’s obvious from what you’re seeing today, we’re taking responsibility for what happened, but for reasons and consequences that have nothing to do with the state of Nevada, we felt it was important to have that language in the stipulation,” Alonso said.

Alonso did not elaborate on what those reasons were and commissioners did not ask. MGM did admit to wrongdoing in its settlement earlier this year.

“After a comprehensive business review and after a thorough assessment of long-term business planning … SJM Resorts will not proceed with the acquisition,” said the Hong Kong-listed company in a Wednesday statement. As part of a termination agreement with 51%-owned subsidiary Pier 16 Entertainment Group Corp, Ponte 16 will close at midnight on 28 November.

Its gaming tables and machines will move to other SJM casinos. Locals employed by SJM Resorts will “be reassigned to other casinos”, the company said. Ponte 16 workers who do not work directly for SJM can “apply for related vacancies within the group”.

SJM to proceed with L’Arc Macau acquisition

Under Macau’s amended gaming laws, satellites have until 31 December to shift from a profit-sharing model to one in which they are directly owned by licensees. The acquired casinos will then make their money through management fees, not shared revenues.

SJM originally planned to close seven of its nine satellites and acquire both Ponte 16 and L’Arc Macau. The latter deal is still on. SJM inked a deal to buy Arc of Triumph Development Co Ltd for HKD$1.75 billion (US$225 million). It described L’Arc as a “well-established” property in the peninsula’s “most concentrated and high-performing entertainment and hospitality cluster”.

SJM Chairwoman and Executive Director Daisy Ho said the casino at L’Arc Macau is “currently operating below its full potential”. However, she added, “[W]e see considerable room for growth as part of a stronger, integrated network under SJM Resorts. This acquisition will allow us to enhance coordination across our peninsula properties in a unified structure that enhances operational efficiency and unlocks cross-promotional synergies.”

Long-term effect of satellite closures

Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai says the satellite closures will have minimal impact on the city’s financial system.

“As of the end of September, loans to companies managing satellites accounted for less than 1% of total bank loans, making the financial impact controllable,” Hou said.

But analysts have expressed concern about the effect on businesses in the neighbourhoods where satellites once operated.

Ricardo Siu, associate professor of business economics at the University of Macau, has warned that loss of the satellites could hamper local economies. “It’s reasonable to expect that the flow of consumers and the absolute value of spending in these areas will slow down,” Siu told Plataforma Media in June. “The vitality of businesses and employment opportunities in these areas will be negatively affected.” 

Real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle added that property values in the ZAPE and NAPE districts could drop by up to 40% after the closures.

Revenue for the year was on par with 2023, data from national regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) showed. The published figures cover both online and land-based gambling, including casinos, sports betting and lotteries.

It was bad news for land-based casinos, which have been in steady decline since the Covid-19 pandemic. Revenue for the sector as a whole was 5.5% lower at €1.30 billion but still represented 30% of the total market.

Physical slot machine revenue dropped 5.4% to €654.4 million. However, machines placed in Holland Casino venues also posted a rise, with revenue edging up 0.5% to €396.1 million. Table games revenue, meanwhile, fell 9.3% to €247.6 million.

The KSA also reported a decline in the number of player positions in most land-based venues. Arcade machine player positions dropped 15% to 20,997, while Holland Casino places fell 0.3% to 6,233. There was, however, an uptick in machines in “catering” venues, with the total rising 17.35% to 7,992.

As was the case in 2023, lotteries drew the most revenue at €1.5 billion, a year-on-year rise of 3.%. This represented 34% of total gambling revenue for the year, while lottery turnover edged up 4.2% to €2.43 billion.

Dutch online casino revenue edges down

Elsewhere, the KSA reported a 1.1% drop in revenue from online casino in 2024. It did not publish a breakdown for the area but did note that the segment drew 26% of total market revenue for the year.

Turning to sports betting, growth was reported across both the online and land-based areas. Online sports betting revenue increased 17.7% to €352.6 million while land-based revenue was 27.4% higher at €77.1 million for the year.

Horse racing accounted for just €3.9 million of the online total, with the rest spread across other sports. It also generated €1.6 million worth of online revenue.

Land-based player losses continue to outweigh online

Player losses data was also released by the KSA in its update on Thursday. On average, players lost €197 each from land-based gambling during the year, only slightly lower than €198 in 2023. In contrast, online loss reached an average of €101, up from €99 in the previous year.

As for tax, the total collected for the year topped €1.03 billion. Despite a decline in revenue, land-based casinos generated the most income for the country. In total, tax from land-based casino activity in 2024 was €396.1 million, only slightly lower than 2023.

Online casino followed with a tax contribution of €342 million, up 2.2%, then lotteries with €156.3 million. Internet sports betting generated €107.5 million in tax and land-based betting €23.4 million.

Tax is very much a hot topic of discussion in the Netherlands at present, with another gambling tax rise on the horizon. From 1 January 2026, operators will be taxed at a rate of 37.8% of gross gaming revenue. Operators already faced an increase to 34.2%, which came into effect in January 2025.

Nederlandse Loteri secured an initial majority stake in the platform in 2021. It said the full acquisition would strengthen its position in the charity lottery market within the Netherlands.

Lotify works with sports federations, sports clubs, charities, events and companies across the country. The platform provides a solution for organising lotteries and competitions that meet Dutch reguatory requirements.

Financial details of the acquisition agreement were not disclosed.

Lotify acquisition will support fundraising efforts

Arjan Blok, CEO of Nederlandse Loteri, welcomed the acquisition. He said that the deal will allow the organisation to help more organisations around the country to raise funds.  

“As a fully integrated part of the Dutch Lottery, Lotify can leverage our knowledge, network and impact even more effectively,” Blok said. “This allows us to support even more sports federations, clubs and charities, who are especially looking for new ways to raise funds during these times.”

Lotify founder Guy van Iperen also talked up the deal. He said the “time was right” to hand full control to Nederlandse Loteri, adding that this will strengthen Lotify’s offering.

“After four years of intensive collaboration, the time has come to transfer Lotify to the Dutch Lottery,” van Iperen said. “This is in line with the agreements we made in 2021, when the Dutch Lottery acquired a majority stake.

“I look back with pride on what we have built together and am confident that the platform will continue to grow under this new owner. This way, Lotify can help more organisations generate additional funding.”

Nederlandse Loteri seeks to offset impact of tax hikes

The acquisition comes as Dutch operators prepare for another rise in gambling tax. From 1 January 2026, operators will be taxed at a rate of 37.8% of gross gaming revenue. This will follow an increase to 34.2% that came into effect at the start of 2025.

Nederlandse Loteri is one of several operators to have hit out at the decision, saying it will not only impact their own operations, but also damage the country’s regulated market.

Being state-owned, lottery is somewhat limited across its operations and activities. There was speculation that it could be privatised but such reports were put to bed earlier this year when the government confirmed Nederlandse Loteri, as well as Holland Casino, would remain under its control. However, this did not stop both operators criticising the government over tax rises.

Concerns over the hike were heightened in August when the Licensed Dutch Online Gambling Providers (VNLOK) trade body suggested the higher rate could result in a €200 million tax black hole.

The Ministry of Finance had expected to collect an additional €200 million annually between 2025 and 2028, it said last September when the tax hike was approved.

Yet for all the industry’s twists and turns over the last decade – from the US opening its doors to online casino to the rise of crypto and 3D animations – there is still no shortage of industry chiefs who assume that what worked yesterday will keep working tomorrow.

Slots still dominate iGaming economics, sitting at the centre of every major platform as operators continue to invest heavily in the format. But the idea that player engagement will always orbit a single category should not be taken for granted. Digital entertainment has moved on, and audiences increasingly expect variety, progression and richer interaction than traditional one-dimensional gameplay alone can deliver.

Evidence is emerging in regulated markets too. In Pennsylvania, table-game revenue growth briefly outpaced slots during 2024, indicating that player appetite is widening beyond a single dominant format. Slots remain ahead by volume, but growth momentum in adjacent verticals signals a meaningful shift. Elsewhere, fishing titles and hybrid game types have gained ground, particularly in Asia and parts of Latin America, proving that alternative experiences can challenge long-established player habits.

The studios that adapt fastest to changing player preferences will be the ones that stay ahead. That philosophy underpins FA CHAI’s approach as the Asian-facing software developer accelerates its expansion into new markets.

Global mindset, regional depth

Founded in 2019, FA CHAI began life with a simple premise: combine global entertainment sensibilities with deep regional understanding. With a team holding over two decades of combined iGaming and casino games experience, the Asian provider quickly established itself across regional markets by prioritising art quality, unique game mechanics, and cultural storytelling. It has since expanded with GLI‑certified production, a global distribution footprint and a product cadence in line with top‑tier studios.

Crucially, FA CHAI has not built its brand on slots alone. While slot development remains one of its core engines, the company has deliberately structured its portfolio to include fishing, arcade and table titles.

“In an industry where hundreds of new titles launch every month, speed and sensitivity to market shifts make all the difference,” said Colbie Huang, head of sales and business development. “We constantly monitor player behaviour and regional trends in real time, designing content that feels both local and global at once. Our goal isn’t just to release games – it’s to deliver experiences that players remember.”

This approach – global scalability paired with cultural authenticity – sits at the centre of FA CHAI’s expansion strategy as it enters Europe and the Americas.

Expanding player choice

FA CHAI’s product portfolio spans four distinct content pillars: slots, table games, arcade experiences and fishing titles – with each category designed to serve specific player profiles.

Slots remain foundational, and the studio continues to refine and expand the category. Recent hit Sugar Bang Bang 2 exemplifies this evolution. The sequel retains a beloved symbol-transforming mechanic, but layers in elimination multipliers and an Extra Bet system that unlocks expanded boards and premium symbols. Every win advances the multiplier, creating accelerating momentum rather than static repetition. It is an example of how FA CHAI rethinks format depth without abandoning accessibility.

“In Sugar Bang Bang 2, we wanted to enhance the core mechanics, making every spin feel even sweeter,” the studio explained. “The refined multiplier system and special symbol transformations deliver more strategic opportunities and bigger, more rewarding wins.”

In fishing games, FA CHAI has seen exceptional traction. In certain countries, the studio’s fishing titles have overtaken slots on certain platforms. The flagship Gods Grant Fortune is defined by immersive 3D combat, cinematic effects and an upgrade path that supports meaningful player progression. A standout feature is the high-multiplier god-target system, capable of awarding players massive payouts. Elements such as timed vulnerabilities and strategic item deployment introduce bursts of excitement that naturally increase engagement and elevate play duration organically.

This success is not limited to Asia. During a recent event in Latin America, Brazilian operators and players consistently called FA CHAI’s fishing category the most eye‑catching at the show – a signal that the vertical has global expansion potential when paired with strong design and game mechanics.

Arcade experiences, anchored by the industry‑first Coin Dozer, bring yet another play style to the portfolio, while table games round out a well‑diversified lineup aimed at long‑term retention rather than single‑vertical concentration.

Diversification, for FA CHAI, is not about stepping away from slots; it is about widening the field. Operators gain more touchpoints, and players gain more ways to explore, progress and find experiences that reflect their tastes — whether that is a fishing title, a table game, or a slot with new rhythm and cultural texture.

Gamification designed for loyalty and longevity

FA CHAI recognised early that modern iGaming audiences value progression, collection mechanics and earned status. The company’s Level Achievement System and Card Collection Module are designed to deepen repeat play by building emotional connection with the experience as well as financial incentive.

Studies show that interaction with game elements facilitates basic psychological need satisfaction, while industry research suggests platforms adopting such systems can achieve satisfaction scores nearing 80%. FA CHAI’s results align: operators integrating its gamified systems report longer session times and higher return frequency.

“Engagement comes from emotional connection,” Huang noted. “These systems reward not only with bonuses and free spins, but also with progression and discovery. We want players to feel they’re part of something larger than a single spin – that sense of growth keeps them coming back.”

Guided by innovation and regulation

Entering regulated markets requires agility – both in technology and mindset. FA CHAI builds content to support compliance requirements across licensing frameworks while preserving creative identity and game mechanics integrity. GLI, BMM and Gaming Associates certification supports this, alongside a technical roadmap designed for modular feature deployment and fast iteration.

Regulation is seen not as an obstacle but as a design parameter. For FA CHAI, compliance shapes the creative process rather than constraining it, supporting innovation that is both responsible and market-ready.

AI is one of iGaming’s most disruptive forces, but FA CHAI sees balanced adoption as the key to protecting originality. The studio uses AI to streamline production and enhance testing efficiency, but narrative, structure and mechanics remain human‑crafted.

“AI helps us move faster, but it doesn’t replace creativity,” Huang emphasised. “Math models, feature design and art direction still come from human imagination. AI amplifies ideas – it doesn’t generate them.”

“We constantly monitor player behaviour and regional trends in real time, designing content that feels both local and global at once.”

Personalisation, hybridisation and cultural depth

Huang expects the industry’s next phase to prioritise adaptive game mechanics, personalised rewards and cross‑genre blends. FA CHAI is investing accordingly.

The studio is actively developing hybrid slots with adventure mechanics, fishing titles with tournament systems, and table games layered with achievement progression.

“The next wave of iGaming will be data‑driven and deeply personalised,” Huang said. “We are developing systems that adapt to player patterns, evolve difficulty dynamically and support more narrative progression.”

In a market where lasting success depends on keeping players satisfied, FA CHAI is proving that innovation grounded in culture and variety delivers results. Its approach offers a clear model for how iGaming can evolve without losing its appeal.

Colbie Huang, head of sales and business development at FA Chai

It has become increasingly common to see $1 billion-plus projects in Las Vegas and California, but Reno had never seen that level of investment – until recently.

Grand Sierra Resort (GSR), which was snapped up from bankruptcy in 2011 by billionaire Alex Meruelo, embarked on a multi-phase expansion project that includes a sports and entertainment arena, a new hotel tower and other amenities. Overall costs for the project fully built-out would be at least $1 billion, the first to break the 10-digit threshold in Reno’s history.

Central to the development is a key question for both Nevada and California in gaming: can sports and entertainment be the driver of casino and regional economic growth like it has for a decade in Las Vegas?

Reno far behind California, Las Vegas by revenue

Now that work is underway, GSR is hopeful the arena will become a new staple for a region that competes primarily with northern California tribal casinos but somewhat with Las Vegas as well. Arguably the biggest modern inflection point for the Reno gaming market came in 2000, when California tribes were granted exclusivity for Class III gaming in the state.

Since then, northern California became a sizable gaming market while the Biggest Little City’s industry failed to grow. Reno reported gross gaming revenue of $754 million in fiscal year 2024, compared to $834 million in fiscal year 2000, per the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

The most recent National Indian Gaming Commission data shows that California tribal casinos reported GGR of $12.1 billion in FY24, though that was statewide. That figure was easily the highest of all eight geographic regions tracked by the commission. Combined GGR for the Las Vegas region (Strip, downtown and locals), which is Reno’s other chief competitor, was also about $12 billion in FY24.

Adding to that level of competition is the fact that significant developments are in the works for both markets. Hard Rock Sacramento is undergoing its own billion-dollar expansion project, and a previously approved casino project near Santa Rosa was recently put on hold but is still on court appeal. Among projects in Las Vegas, the A’s are building a new MLB stadium on the Strip with an adjacent resort complex to be developed by Bally’s Corp.

What’s included in the GSR expansion project?

The yet-unnamed arena is the focal point of the project and will serve as the home for the University of Nevada, Reno men’s basketball team. Stakeholders are hopeful the arena can become both a draw for fans and a recruiting asset for the school as it fights to compete in the name, image and likeness era. The university is not committing any resources toward the 10,000-seat, $435 million arena project.

GSR chief marketing officer Chris Abraham told iGB the idea for the grand expansion started about three years ago.

“It just became clearer as time went on that there’s a real need in our community for an arena, a real one that can house sports and entertainment and do it in a first-class way, which is, I think the message that we were very cognisant to get across,” he said. “We’re not just building an arena. We think we’re building the greatest arena on the planet at 10,000 seats.”

The first phase of the project includes the arena, an adjacent parking garage, a community ice rink and a waterfront Topgolf-style facility. A groundbreaking was held for these 30 September, with completion expected by September 2027. Construction was halted last week because of soil contamination but is expected to resume shortly without affecting overall timelines.

Hockey on the horizon?

Abraham noted that ice hockey is also an intended use for the stadium. Meruelo owned the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes franchise from 2019-2024 but ultimately dissolved the team after failing to drum up support for a new arena in Phoenix.

He did, however, maintain ownership of the Tucson Roadrunners minor league team. There has been speculation that the team could be moved to Reno to play in the GSR arena, but Abraham said it “has not yet been determined” which hockey team might play there.

After the first phase, the remaining amenities include a workforce housing building and an 800-room hotel tower. The exact timelines for those phases are unknown, but GSR estimates the entire project to take about 10 years. Abraham said the expansion will fit mostly on its existing footprint, and some adjacent land has already been purchased.

“We’ve always been blessed with an abundance of land,” Abraham said. “We have over 150 acres on the property, it’s massive. And so we have plenty of room and Mr Meruelo has always talked about unlocking the potential of this property – not just the property itself, but all of the space we have.”

Hope is that if arena is built, growth will follow

A key question for the project is whether the mature Reno market can support such a large and ambitious investment. After all, the projected cost of the arena, which Abraham said would “probably end up being a little bit more” than $435 million, is more than half of what the city as a whole is averaging in annual gaming revenue. But from GSR’s perspective, a first-class venue can be the catalyst needed to kickstart new growth.

In addition to UNR basketball and other sporting events, the arena would immediately become the premier draw in the region for top musicians and entertainers. Its capacity of 10,000 beats out the current leading facilities like Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena (9,300), Reno Events Center (7,000) and outdoor Nugget Event Center (8,500).

UNR’s current facility, Lawlor Events Center, actually has a higher capacity than the GSR plan (12,000) but is 42 years old, has parking limitations and no longer hosts concerts. The new arena would feature more modern systems and fan technology to account for the slightly lower seat count.

“We’ve looked at about a good dozen of the newest arenas in the country, and we feel like we’re going to take the best of all those,” Abraham said. “And when this is built and this is complete, it’ll be the nicest arena this size, we hope, in the world.”

Las Vegas has long been a hub for A-list entertainers and there is a breadth of new venues throughout California. One that could serve as a model, as Nevada Sports Net noted, is Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert. That venue has similar capacity and was designed by the same firm (Gensler). Acrisure has hosted several acts Reno typically would not draw, like Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, Maroon 5 and Dave Chappelle.

Betting big on the Biggest Little City

Most of the large casino properties in Reno are at least 30 years old, with GSR among them. The property changed hands several times since opening as the MGM Grand in 1978. Prior to Meruelo’s ownership, GSR struggled to perform to its potential as the largest resort in the city by room count and casino size. It was believed to be on the brink of collapse before being sold in a $42 million fire sale.

Since taking over nearly 15 years ago, Meruelo has injected hundreds of millions into the property. Abraham said that, above all, the mogul has brought “more of an entrepreneurial spirit” to the business. The arena and overall expansion project are the embodiment of that attitude, despite the potential doubts about the market.

“As Mr Meruelo took over and began to understand the business, it was the experiences that needed to be curated,” Abraham said. “And it’s not just putting money in, but how to put money in, where to put money in. What’s unique about us is we have many core guests. We have convention goers, we have leisure, we have business, being right by the airport. We have entertainment seekers and gamers.

“So looking at all those experiences and how they all interact and how we create a product and create services to those, and pricing and across the board is really what’s made the product and the property successful. People from any walk of life, you can come to the property, you’ll find there’s something there for you.”

TIF drama and the university’s involvement

The biggest controversy related to the expansion is its use of tax increment financing (TIF). TIF is a complicated public funding mechanism that involves freezing and diverting property taxes back to developers to help fund investments that are deemed beneficial inside of designated redevelopment zones. Proponents hail TIF as a means to generate investment in blighted areas, while opponents say it pulls potential tax dollars away from essential services.

When the project was first announced in 2023, Meruelo said he would finance the project privately. He also said the arena “will not cost the university one dollar”, which was later misconstrued as meaning there would be no public funds. Stakeholders since reiterated that Meruelo was referring to the university and not the city.

“The only thing we said is we’re not going to use a dime of university money,” Abraham said. “We want the university to be whole, that they’re not going to have to spend an extra penny to house their games at our arena.”

The official who negotiated UNR’s deal is university President Brian Sandoval, a former governor of Nevada. Sandoval has known Meruelo for more than a decade and is no stranger to the state’s gaming industry.

He served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1999-2001 and later took an executive role at MGM Resorts immediately following his governorship. Last week, Sandoval was also named chairman of the Resorts World Las Vegas board. Jim Murren, the previous board chair, was CEO of MGM when Sandoval joined the company.

Competitors not opposed to project but disagree with TIF

The city of Reno first started using TIF in 1980 and has established two “Redevelopment Areas” that qualify for funding. The second area, known as RDA2, was established in 2005 and encompasses the GSR site. Numerous development projects around the city have utilised TIF in both zones.

TIF agreements are overseen by the city’s Redevelopment Agency, consisting of the mayor and city council. The agency went dormant in 2009 due to the Great Recession but has ramped up activity in recent years. Abraham said that GSR’s $61 million TIF agreement, approved in May, only kicks in “after the arena is built and additional property taxes are levied”.

A coalition of six local operators represented by public affairs firm McDonald Carano sent a letter to the council in March, urging it to reject the funding. Among them were market leaders Caesars Entertainment, Peppermill Resort Spa Casino and Atlantis Casino Resort.

The coalition said it did not “generally oppose the Project itself”. Instead, it took issue with the TIF grant, asserting that the project should not be eligible for such funding. The group argued the affected areas are not “blighted”, according to the city’s standards, and alleged that GSR planned to use the funds for operating expenses rather than development costs.

‘If there’s incentives available to you, then go out and get ’em’

In response, Abraham argued everyone is free to invest in their properties and claim any available incentives. He pointed to Jacobs Entertainment, which did not oppose the project and has also invested significant capital in its gaming and non-gaming real estate projects in recent years.

“Invest in your product, invest in the market, and if there’s incentives available to you, then go out and get ’em, because it’s going to win when the market reinvests in itself and creates a better product and better experience,” Abraham said.

But with regard to TIF specifically, only Caesars operates properties within the two RDA zones. Peppermill and Atlantis are both fenced out of RDA2 and therefore do not qualify for the funding. Representatives from Caesars and Atlantis did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

In April, Caesars regional president Stew Massie told Global Gaming Business that Reno “is incredibly important to us”, and that the company is “consistently working to create the best experiences for our guests at all three of our Reno resorts”. Caesars has promoted live local events like the Great Italian Festival and the Biggest Little Latin Festival, Massie noted.

John Farahi, longtime CEO of Atlantis operator Monarch Casino, expressed similar sentiments to Abraham’s with regard to capital investment. Atlantis completed an extensive remodel this year fueled by Monarch’s significant cash reserves instead of outside funding.

“Those properties that have invested in product, service and location are going to be able to grow more than those who haven’t,” Farahi told Global Gaming Business in April. “There will be a difference for those who have those three elements from those who do not. We compete with any product in northern Nevada, or I would honestly stick my neck out and say, compared to Las Vegas.”

From 2 December, residents in the following countries will be unable to place bets with William Hill; Angola, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Vietnam.

As explained on the William Hill website, any open bets will be settled as normal up to 2 December. Any bets due to be settled after that will be voided and refunded to accounts.

Customers will be able to log in to their accounts until 5 January to withdraw their funds.

From 6 January onwards, players’ login details will no longer work. To withdraw their remaining funds, they will have to contact the customer service team.

In 2022, Evoke licensed the 888 brand to the Africa-facing joint venture 888Africa for regulated online markets in the continent. Evoke retains a stake in the venture.

Ex-Paddy Power head of competitive intelligence Christopher Coyne serves as CEO of 888Africa, while former William Hill online manager director Andrew Lee holds the position of chief product officer.

Threat of retail closures in the UK

The withdrawal from these 13 markets comes after Evoke warned it could close up to 200 William Hill retail shops in the UK should the government increase gambling tax in the November budget, which is due next Wednesday.

Evoke is reportedly mulling the closure of up to 15% of its UK William Hill stores, with 1,500 jobs potentially being lost.

An Evoke spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing planning, we are assessing the potential impact of different overall tax scenarios on our UK operations. This includes the difficult but necessary consideration for shop closures.

“We are mindful of potential tax increases in the forthcoming budget which would impact investment in the UK and drive more customers to the black market.”

Several weeks after Truth Social disclosed plans to launch Truth Predict, a new prediction market platform, a Senate committee grilled Michael Selig on the controversial topic Wednesday. Asked by Senator Elissa Slotkin, D–Michigan, how he will respond if Trump advised him to design a carveout for Truth Predict, Selig indicated that he plans to follow the letter of the law in the applications process.

Selig, who is Trump’s second pick to chair the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, made the comments at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Crypto.com, which will partner with Trump Media on the platform, received CFTC approval in September to hold a designated contract market licence.

In response, Selig stated that he will always “uphold and stick to the law”, adding that if President Trump remains in compliance with requisite ethics rules and submits an application, he would go “through the same process as everyone else”.

If confirmed, Selig will become the seventh chairman of the CFTC since 2000. The CFTC was established through the Commodity Exchange Act, a 1936 federal law that regulates commodity and futures trading.

The committee narrowly approved Selig’s nomination on Thursday afternoon. Selig advanced by a 12-11 margin, on a vote along party lines. Brian Quintenz, Trump’s previous nominee, testified before the Senate over the summer, but the nomination did not advance out of committee.

Latest moves by sports betting market leaders

The committee held the confirmation hearing on the heels of announcements by the nation’s two largest sportsbooks that they will roll out sports prediction markets in select states. The impending launches by FanDuel and DraftKings could raise the temperature in a heated battle on states’ rights versus federalism in the regulation of sports event contracts.

Both companies outlined plans to debut prediction markets on recent earnings calls. Following its acquisition of Railbird Exchange, DraftKings said on 8 November that it plans to launch a prediction market offering in the coming months. Days later, Flutter announced that it will offer sports event contracts on its new prediction market site, FanDuel Predicts. The offering will be available through Flutter’s partnership with CME Group.

As traditional sportsbooks prepare for their leap into prediction markets, the operators have cut ties with the nation’s largest lobbying group for the gambling industry. Both companies announced Tuesday that they are leaving the American Gaming Association, a casino trade group that opposes the proliferation of prediction markets.

HoldCrunch founder Tom Johnson discussed the impact of the impending launches this week in a meeting with Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas. Although the listings in non-sports betting states will put FanDuel and DraftKings on the map, Johnson views the competitive landscape as an “open playing field,” with established companies such as Kalshi.

Also this week, CME Group issued a memo detailing the launch of several sports event contracts. Pending CFTC regulatory review, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc. plans to list contracts on pro football, college football and pro basketball starting 6 December.

CFTC nominee punts to the courts

Selig, who serves as the chief counsel of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, is in favour of principles-based regulations that will protect consumers from fraud and manipulation. While the committee spent a large portion of the hearing seeking his views on the regulation of crypto spot markets, he fielded several questions on sports event contracts.

The most heated exchange occurred during a line of questioning from Sen. Adam Schiff, D–California. One rule, CFTC Regulation 40.11, prohibits event contracts that violate a so-called public interest test, including those pertaining to war, assassination, terrorism and gaming. However, advocates of sports event contracts have a differing view on the treatment of the contracts.

Josh Sterling, an attorney who has represented Kalshi, has argued that while the activities are enumerated in the act, they are not expressly “illegal”. Speaking at a gambling industry event in July, Sterling stated that the activities are subject to review on whether they are contrary to the public interest.

Schiff criticised the CFTC for its failure to issue guidance on whether sports event contracts violate existing regulations. He also pressed Selig on whether contracts that involve “gaming” are in violation of federal law.

“These are questions for the courts,” Selig replied. “They are really complicated issues of interpretation.”

Further discussion on sports event contracts

Schiff was not the only committee member to address the topic at the hearing. Several others, most notably Democratic Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, broached the subject. When asked to expound on the legality of sports event contracts, Selig noted on at least six different occasions that he will defer to the courts on the matter.

Booker, a former football player, spent a portion of his time discussing the sports betting scandals that rocked the industry in the last month. He credited several regulated sportsbooks for detecting suspicious activity that led to a slew of criminal charges. “Given these recent events, it’s all the more concerning that sports event contracts are being offered without the same monitoring,” he said. Kalshi maintains a partnership with integrity monitor IC360.

Klobuchar, the committee’s ranking Democrat, asked Selig if the CFTC has ample resources to regulate the new markets. The nominee replied that if confirmed, he will take a close look at the agency’s resources to ensure that it has enough to fulfill its mission.

Dina Titus, a congresswoman from Nevada who co-chairs the Congressional Gaming Caucus, also weighed in. In a statement posted on X, Titus wrote:

“CFTC regulations clearly prohibit event contracts based on gaming, and as such, the agency must crack down on platforms that improperly offer event contracts on sport outcomes. Failure to enforce these rules not only infringes upon the rights of states and tribes but also undermines market integrity and consumer protection in the games the public enjoys.”

Vote on CFTC nominee Thursday

Truth Social, an alternative social media platform, is owned by Trump Media & Technology Group. Before returning to office for a second term as president, Trump insisted that he would not sell his stake in the company. While Trump initially held a 52% stake estimated to be worth at least $2.3 billion, the company issued new shares that diluted his stake to about 41.5%.

Trump’s refusal to divest his stake has been met with criticism among some leading ethics groups. Citizens For Responsibility & Ethics in Washington urged Trump to divest his shares following his 2024 victory, citing the influence foreign governments could exert through investments in the company. The president disclosed several stock transfers in Trump Media over the summer in a 234-page list of public financial disclosures with the US Office of Government Ethics.

Truth Social is on track to become the first social media platform to launch a predictions market. Trump Media did not respond to a request from iGB for comment.

Brazil has captured much of the gambling sector’s interest this year after regulation launched on 1 January, with a number of international giants entering the market.

One such company was Flutter, which created its new Flutter Brazil business after acquiring a 56% stake in NSX, the parent company of Brazil-facing brand Betnacional.

That deal was concluded in May and, in Q3, Flutter achieved $87 million in revenue from its Brazil venture. This was 412% higher than the $17 million it generated in the same quarter last year prior to the completion of the NSX deal, which largely came from its existing Betfair business.

But while Betnacional achieved record iGaming revenues in Q3, excluding M&A Flutter’s revenue during the quarter was actually down 18%, which Flutter attributed to the fact that Betfair Brazil was still continuing its recovery from the friction derived from the re-registration required at the start of regulation in January.

Despite the Betfair struggles, Flutter CEO Peter Jackson remains confident the company will succeed in Brazil.

“Brazil is an exciting growth opportunity for Flutter and we retain a strong conviction that scale operators with the best products will win the largest share of the market,” Jackson said in the Q3 report.

Entain hampered by poor sports margin

Entain, meanwhile, enjoyed a successful transition to the regulated market with its Sportingbet brand, reporting a 21% year-on-year NGR rise in Brazil during H1.

But Q3 was a different story, with NGR in Brazil down 11% despite 14% volume growth.

Entain deputy CEO and CFO Rob Wood put this down to “genuine bad luck from sports results”, stating the company is still trading on the right side of expectations when it comes to volume.

He expects sports margin to normalise over time, with the volume growth demonstrating why Flutter continues to be enthused about its future in Brazil.

It’s not just sports betting where Entain struggled during Q3, however, with Wood saying slow game authentication has hampered the company’s iGaming efforts in Brazil.

“iGaming is not particularly strong at the moment and all the growth is coming from sports,” Wood said on the earnings call. “We think this is a market-wide phenomenon, not just Entain.

“The good news is we think there’s a lot more growth to come out of gaming as we look forward. But so far in 2025, it’s been slow.”

BetMGM investing heavily in Brazil

Last August, MGM Resorts International struck a partnership with Grupo Globo, LatAm’s largest media group, to introduce the BetMGM brand to the Brazilian market as a joint venture.

The company has stated on a number of occasions that it is aiming to reach 10% market share in Brazil, and it reiterated this target in its Q3 presentation.

MGM achieved “strong growth” in Brazil during Q3 without giving direct figures. The company is focused on efficiently building brand awareness and customer acquisition, powered by its on-the-ground team led by MGM Brazil CEO Almir Ribeiro.

However, MGM Resorts International CFO Jonathan Halkyard said the company’s heavy investment in Brazil will likely lead to MGM Digital reaching an EBITDA loss of close to $100 million for the year.

Halkyard explained the company’s investment is in line with its roughly 50% stake in the JV, which is already showing positive signs.

“The venture has seen encouraging growth quarter-over-quarter throughout the year in active players, deposits and GGR,” Halkyard said on the company’s earnings call.

Record LatAm casino revenue for Betsson in Q3

Betsson continues to make significant efforts in LatAm, launching in Brazil and Paraguay during 2025 to add to its existing markets which include Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

It is proving a successful venture, with Betsson achieving year-on-year revenue growth of 10.2% to €76.5 million in LatAm over Q3.

This was powered by record casino revenue in the region, rising from €46.1 million in Q3 2024 to €56.6 million in the same period this year.

Casino growth helped to offset a year-on-year drop in sportsbook revenue from €23.1 million to €19.8 million. Betsson put this down to tough comparisons with last year’s Q3 which included the European Championship and Copa America football tournaments.

LatAm accounted for 26% of Betsson’s revenue in Q3, down from 28% in Q2.

Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall pointed to Argentina, Peru and Colombia as key areas of focus, with the former continuing to show strong underlying growth in terms of deposits and turnover.

Codere Online positioned to become a leading player

Codere Online is currently operating in the LatAm markets of Mexico, Colombia and Panama, as well as certain provinces in Argentina.

Its current total addressable market (TAM) is €4.8 billion, although it noted in its Q3 presentation the combined TAM of online expansion markets, which includes Brazil, Peru and Uruguay, could be €8.4 billion by 2029.

In the presentation, the company said: “Codere Online is especially well positioned to become a leading player across the region.”

Mexico continues to be Codere Online’s biggest market, achieving market revenue of €26.8 million in Q3. This is ahead of the €22 million generated in its home market of Spain.

However, with Mexico’s government weighing up increasing the gambling tax rate from 30% to 50%, Codere Online said it may have to reconsider its investment into the market.

Outgoing CFO Oscar Iglesias, who will shortly be replaced by Marcus Arildsson, expects the tax to come in from 1 January.

“The discussions around capital allocation, I think, is a broader one, and it’s in the context of the discussions we’re having at the board level,” Iglesias told analysts.

“The tax obviously factors into … our appetite and willingness to invest into the market because it has an impact on the unit economics, the flow-through of every dollar of NGR to EBITDA in the business.  

“It’s still a little bit early to say what that means in terms of our plans for next year to invest in Mexico.” 

Codere Online is also working under the assumption that the 19% VAT in Colombia, which is set to end from the start of 2026, will be renewed.

Codere Online Executive Vice Chairman Moshe Edree explained the operator’s short- to mid-term strategy “does not include Colombia”, echoing CEO Aviv Sher’s post-Q2 comments that the company was pulling back in the market.

RSI confident Colombia VAT won’t be renewed

But while Codere Online is expecting the VAT to be renewed, Rush Street Interactive CEO Richard Schwartz said on the company’s post-Q3 earnings call that the business is predicting the tax will be scrapped.

Rush Street Interactive followed many other operators in absorbing the tax through player bonusing. This meant in Q3, while GGR from Colombia grew over 50%, net revenue was down 27%. Revenue across LatAm fell 11%.

Despite this, Rush Street Interactive believes it holds second place in Colombia, while it also claims to be among the top seven operators in Mexico.

Monthly active users in LatAm during Q3 were up 30% year-on-year to around 415,000.

Rush Street Interactive listed Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile as potential expansion opportunities.

When asked on the earnings call whether the situation in Colombia may dampen the company’s interest in further LatAm expansion, Schwartz responded by saying the company was still excited by the region.

“We believe those markets are at the infancy of growth,” Schwartz said. “And as we see in our growth ourselves, there’s lots of opportunity there, and it’s a very large population across Latin America that are in the process of or will be legalising online gaming in the future. So we certainly remain very excited for it.”

Kambi lowers FY2025 guidance due to slow Brazil progress

In its Q3 report, Kambi announced it was lowering its full-year 2025 guidance from an adjusted EBITDA of €20 million-€25 million to approximately €17 million.

The company said this was in part down to the Brazilian market developing more slowly than expected, with CFO David Kenyon stating the company isn’t seeing the growth in Brazil it had “hoped for”.

Kambi CEO Werner Becher said on the earnings call that while the Brazil market is continuously growing, he believes the overall pre-regulation market size was overstated.

“There’s a little bit of disappointment, I would say, in the entire industry about the Brazilian market,” Becher claimed.

“The legalised regulated market grew slower than expected because the black market is still very big there.”

The new voluntary code is not legislation and will not be legally binding for prize draws and competitions (PDCs) operators. It will also not replace existing regulations on issues such as consumer law, advertising and data protection.

In June, the government pledged to publish the code before the end of the current year. This was despite calls from some industry stakeholders, including the UK’s Lotteries Council, for the sector to be regulated. PDCs do not require a licence under the Gambling Act 2005, due to a free entry route option being offered.

There was some speculation that the Gambling Commission could oversee implementation of the code. However, the DCMS confirmed that it will assume responsibility for the code, including carrying out periodical reviews of its effectiveness.

PDC operators that want to sign up must implement the code within six months of it being published. The code was officially released on 20 November, meaning operators have until 20 May next year to adhere to guidance.

“All operator signatories agree to act in good faith in relation to the measures set out,” it said. “Other relevant signatories who are not operators but connected to the sector, such as web developers, agree to promote compliance with this code to the best of their abilities.”

Player protections a key part of voluntary code

Going into detail as to what the code sets out, a primary focus of the guidance is protection for players. It includes points for operators to follow to ensure they are effectively protecting people from potential harm.

These include only allowing users aged 18 and over to participate in PDCs. Operators should also monitor players’ behaviour for signs of harm and properly signpost users to approved help when harm is identified.

Players should have the option to set monthly spend limits – as low as £0 – while operators can also enforce their own spending limits on users. Credit card spending is permitted in some cases but up to a maximum of £250 per player each month. However, credit cards should not be allowed for instant win games.

Also specific to instant win draws, paid and free entry routes must be equivalent in terms of chance of winning. Operators should display clear information about how free entries work and ensure these draws not make up the majority of their total draws.

Users should be allowed to suspend their account for minimum of six months, a period in which they should not be sent any marketing messages. In addition, there must be a clear complaints process and dispute resolution for players to follows.

Additional market guidance comes with operators to comply with existing advertising codes, including both CAP and BCAP. PDC operators must also ensure their marketing is socially responsible and not target players under 18.

Transparency over prize draws

The code also emphasises the need for transparency with all prize draw and competitions in the UK. This includes operators setting out how each draw works and, where possible, the chance of winning.

Operators were also advised to ensure the prize allocation is fair and independently verified. There is, however, an exception for when a computer or random audited mechanism is used in the draw.

Focusing on the free entry route, operators should ensure this is clearly shown before players opt for a paid entry. The free route method must be no more costly or less convenient than paid entry and allow enough time for people to use it.

As for prize delivery, operators should commit to giving the prize advertised or a fair cash alternative. They must not reduce the prize value or cancel or modify draws due to low ticket sales.

In addition, if a donation is made to charity as part of the draw, operators should detail the amount, frequency and how that is calculated.

Operators should take accountability

The final part of the code refers to accountability. This include operators monitoring and reviewing compliance with the code and acting to fix issues, as well as ensuring that any third-party partners also abide by the code.

Operators will be encouraged to share best practices across the sector, including player protection and transparency. In addition, operators should publish on their websites the measures they have in place around these areas.

Finally, operators will be urged to work with the DCMS going forward after implementing the code. This, the DCMS said, will help amend, develop and evolve the code as time goes on.

Early support for the voluntary code

Despite having only just been published, the code has secured signatories from across the market. Among those to have backed the code are Omaze, Daymade, BOTB and Dream Car Giveaways, which was recently acquired by Jumbo Interactive.

Also signing on as a signatory was Elite Competitions, which has been running prize draws since 2016. Elite CEO Alex Beckett described it as a “major milestone” and said it will bring “complete confidence” to players.

“For the first time, prize draw operators have come together to set clear, consistent standards that protect players and build trust,” Beckett said. “By working closely and collaboratively with the DCMS, we have put transparency, fairness and integrity at the centre of how this sector moves forward.

“Players deserve complete confidence in how our draws are run, prizes are fulfilled and what safeguards exist to protect them. This new code gives them exactly that. Its clear rules mean players can check that the companies they play with are trustworthy.

“The code ensures they can take part in online prize draw competitions knowing that operators are being held to the same stringent standards.”

Lotteries Council repeats call for regulation

However, the Lotteries Council was not as welcoming of the code in its response. Chair George Collins repeated calls for the PDC sector be regulated and urged the government to reconsider its stance.

“Free prize draws continue to operate with no meaningful oversight, while society lotteries face strict limits, including a maximum prize of £500,000,” he said. “At the same time, commercial prize draws are still permitted to offer multi-million pound jackpots that were intended to be reserved for the National Lottery.

“This ongoing disparity undermines fair competition and threatens the revenue that charity lotteries and the National Lottery provide to good causes. We urge the government to monitor compliance with the code closely and to take further action to ensure a fair and consistent regulatory framework.”

Videoslots, which runs Videoslots.co.uk, MrVegas.com and Megariches.com, will make the payment in lieu of a £2 million financial penalty. It was also issued with a formal warning and ordered to undergo a third-party audit to ensure it is effectively implementing AML and safer gambling policies.

The commission said failings were identified for the period from October 2019 through to February 2022. Videoslots was ruled to not have complied with certain Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).

These include paragraph three of licence condition 12.1.1, which says licensees must ensure money laundering policies and procedures are implemented effectively. These should also be reviewed and revised appropriately to ensure that they remain effective.

Videoslots was also found to be in breach of paragraphs 1a, 1b and 2 of Social Responsibility Code Provision (SRCP) 3.4.1. These require licensees to identify and interact with customers to minimise the risk of gambling harms.

“Social responsibility failures stemmed primarily from a reliance on systems that did not effectively monitor customer activity to identify harm or potential harm associated with gambling,” the regulator said.

“The Commission’s investigation determined that although the operator’s monitoring systems automatically set a monthly deposit limit for customers, that limit ran across a calendar month and did not include the customer’s initial deposit.”

Videoslots users lost thousands despite deposit limits

Setting out some of the issues identified at Videoslots, the commission flagged one user who lost £5,000 in a month. This was despite the same player having in place a £3,000 monthly deposit limit.

Another customer lost £5,000 in less than 24 hours despite a £3,000 monthly deposit limit, while a further customer lost £7,500 over 18 days despite a £2,000 monthly deposit limit.

The commission also raised concerns over the monitoring systems deployed by Videoslots. It said these did not effectively identify customers who were potentially at risk of gambling harm. One player did not receive interaction from the operator despite losing £6,550 in three active days across a two-month period.

‘Gaps’ in Videoslots’ AML and countering terrorist financing

Meanwhile, the regulator found issues with Videoslots’ AML/Countering Terrorist Financing (CTF) policies and procedures. These included record management omissions and an over-reliance on an algorithm to identify and monitor customer behaviours, which the regulator said appeared “ineffective” in some instances when tested.

One example was a customer who demonstrated a high level of depositing and gambling activity over a 16-day period. The user funded their account with digital pre-payment vouchers, totalling in excess of £75,000. After gambling, proceeds were transferred to four different bank accounts, while the same customer was found on occasion to be accessing their account from outside Britain.

The commission said despite these high-risk factors, the user’s automated AML risk score did not trigger the threshold for Videoslots to request source of funds information in a timely manner. This led to “unacceptable” delays in an account review and an absence of “effective customer due diligence and effective oversight”.

“One of the key failures was that the automated scoring system in place at the time did not identify the activity as high risk,” the commission said. “There was a presumption that the activity was funded from recycled winnings without any supporting evidence to explain why the customer was adopting a complex and unnecessary deposit and withdrawal pattern.”

In another case, a player’s risk profile was not appropriately escalated despite high deposit and withdrawals during a certain month. According to the commission, Videoslots relied on the fact the player had significant wins and assumed the account was funded from recycled winnings. This was “without sufficient scrutiny or any acceptable form of interaction” to validate this assumption.

Commission updates open-loop payment systems advice

Commenting on the case, John Pierce, director of enforcement at the commission, criticised the over-reliance on ineffective systems. He said controls were not applied to the standards expected by the regulator.

“The investigation identified a serious example where pre-paid digital vouchers had been used for gambling without effective oversight and early intervention,” he said. “The over-reliance on an algorithm to monitor risk meant that the customer was able to carry out a high volume of deposits and transfer the proceeds of gambling to multiple different destination accounts with insufficient and timely checks or robust source of funds verification taking place.”

Pierce also flagged the acceptance of digital vouchers as a method of payment. He said this requires “robust controls” from a safer gambling perspective, particularly where it is possible to purchase digital vouchers using credit or crypto via third-party websites

“Open-loop payment systems are high risk in nature because they could enable anonymous deposits and make it harder to trace funds,” he said. “In this case, the licensee failed to implement timely customer interactions and did not conduct enhanced customer due diligence until the customer had reached significant spend thresholds. Such failings are unacceptable.

“Operators must review how open-loop payment systems such as prepaid digital vouchers are managed in a gambling environment. This is because they are high risk and present operational challenges in terms of effective monitoring.

“While our position on the use of open loop payment systems has not changed, we have updated our risk information to reflect our concerns about digital vouchers.”

Another financial penalty for Videoslots

This marked the second large financial penalty for Videoslots in 2025. In April, it was ordered to pay SEK12 million ($1.3 million) by Sweden’s Spelinspektionen for failing to counteract excessive gambling.

Videoslots employs an automated system to monitor bettors’ behaviour, which triggers when certain risk indicators are met. It also prevents users from making further deposits when certain thresholds have been reached. However, Spelinspektionen ruled 12 players were gambling excessively and Videoslots’ attempts to halt such activities were insufficient.

Meanwhile, in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission has been clamping down on other operators that have breached regulations. These include NetBet, which was ordered to pay £650,000 earlier in November, also due to AML and social responsibility failings.

Elsewhere, Spribe OÜ’s software licence was suspended for failing to comply with hosting requirements. The commission said this was necessary on “grounds of suitability” due to “serious” non-compliance. In addition, the regulator suspended the operating licence of VGC Leeds Limited, which operates the Victoria Gate Casino land-based venue in Leeds, England.

From pixels to physical IP

For Play’n GO, the move into land-based gaming represents a strategic evolution of its content focus. CEO and co-founder, Johan Törnqvist, says the company has always viewed itself as, first and foremost, an entertainment creator with online gaming simply being the primary medium for the past two decades. “Since the very earliest days of Play’n GO some twenty years ago, I have always thought of ourselves as an entertainment company. It was never the idea to limit ourselves in that way.”

In recent years, that content footprint has expanded beyond digital screens – a trend increasingly necessary for content to build scalability. Play’n GO’s proprietary characters now appear on merchandise and soundtrack playlists, while the studio actively promotes its intellectual property (IP) through visible storytelling. The step into land-based casinos, Törnqvist explains, is a logical progression of this strategy, affirming the content’s ability to transcend its original medium.

That transition is being achieved through a partnership with Genting Casinos, one of the UK’s leading operators. Together they have developed the BOOM Slots cabinet, designed exclusively for Genting venues. The rollout will showcase a selection of Play’n GO’s best-known titles across more than 30 properties, including London’s flagship Genting Stratford casino.

The collaboration developed quickly, driven by a shared strategic goal to blend proven successful digital content strategies with traditional gaming environments. Early technical trials at Resorts World Birmingham, where the titles have been live for over six months, have demonstrated strong performance, providing both sides with the data necessary to expand the rollout.

Why the UK came first: A controlled testbed

Launching in the UK was a strategic choice. The market has long been central to Play’n GO’s success online, with titles like Book of Dead and Reactoonz securing a loyal following among British players.

“The UK has been a core market for us for a long time,” Törnqvist says. “It’s large, well-regulated and familiar with our content, which makes it ideal for a sustainable rollout. Add to that Genting’s footprint across the country, and we have the scale to reach a broad audience right away.”

Crucially, the UK’s stable, mature regulatory environment provides a controlled testbed. The synergy between an established operator network and a globally recognised content provider allows the partners to thoroughly validate the technology and cross-channel appeal before an international rollout. This positions the initiative as a solid case study of how digital-first IP can be safely and effectively transferred to physical spaces.

The experiment: From digital volatility to casino floor

The initial wave of releases is a calculated experiment designed to test the land-based audience’s appetite for modern digital mechanics. Titles such as Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead headline the launch, alongside fan favourites Reactoonz, Honey Rush 100, Piggy Blitz, and Legion Gold.

Törnqvist explains that the selection of titles was designed to showcase the range of themes and mechanics that have defined the company’s success. “What sets Play’n GO apart is that, over the years, we’ve created so many iconic slots. Games that are instantly recognisable and adored by millions around the world. People should feel that buzz the minute they see the Play’n GO logo, because they know what it stands for.”

The core test lies in how land-based players, who are traditionally accustomed to classic reel structures and lower volatility, will respond to highly volatile, feature-heavy, and non-traditional slots such as the grid-based Reactoonz series. The studio believes the familiarity of these titles among online players will encourage them to engage with these modern mechanics in the new environment.

Addressing the land-based demographic gap

Land-based casinos need to evolve in order to attract younger, digitally fluent players looking for experiences that mirror the entertainment they already enjoy online. Play’n GO’s content is now being used as a key solution tool to address this industry challenge.

The betting behaviour of younger audiences is notably different; they seek rapid gratification, prefer mobile engagement, and expect instant integration between content viewing and wagering. By bringing the familiarity of online into play – this move can potentially bridge that gap. Törnqvist believes many of the assumptions about land-based audiences are now outdated – with younger audiences now coming into play. “Players are far more open to new experiences than people often think,” he says. “A new generation is coming through that’s already familiar with online mechanics.”

Play’n GO titles, which are fast, feature-rich, and story-driven, fit naturally into this evolving landscape. By bringing well-known online titles to physical venues, Genting gains a new way to market its brick-and-mortar casinos and attract demographics who might not have previously engaged with land-based gaming. Early results indicate that this approach is resonating strongly, offering operators a credible, long-term bridge between digital familiarity and on-site experiences. Törnqvist notes, “Being able to feature Play’n GO games gives them a whole new demographic to market their brick-and-mortar casinos to – and we’ve seen evidence that this approach is working for Genting already.”

“Players are far more open to new experiences than people often think”

Furthermore, on the operational side, compliance and integrity are integral. The partnership requires an extensive set of systems to match regulatory requirements and risk management, with Play’n GO adapting its existing monitoring systems to identify irregular betting patterns and problem gambling within the physical environment.

The convergence strategy

The Genting partnership is only the first stage of Play’n GO’s wider land-based strategy. Over the next three years, the company plans to make land-based gaming a formal pillar of its rollout, with the goal of introducing its content to thousands of cabinets globally.

This long-term vision reflects the broader industry trend of convergence. Content providers must adapt their supply chains to develop titles that are distribution-agnostic. We’re witnessing a growing trend from the market’s largest suppliers seamlessly distributing titles across all physical and digital channels as a core business strategy.

Törnqvist explains that Play’n GO has always aimed to create “great stories and memorable characters,” and that the platform is secondary to the experience itself. The goal remains to deliver content that connects, regardless of whether players engage online or on the casino floor. “We have a rich history of making decisions that at the time may seem unexpected, but very quickly begin to make lots of sense. Moving into land-based gaming is pretty typical of Play’n GO.”

The new content imperative

This shift, however, comes with a significant operational burden. The cost of manufacturing dedicated land-based cabinets, meeting separate regulatory standards for physical machines, and creating unified player tracking systems is immense. Play’n GO’s size allows it to absorb this cost, establishing a new, high barrier to entry for the content market. Ultimately, the successful deployment of Book of Dead on a physical casino floor proves that IP can bridge the great divide.

The real test will be whether other studios can make the leap – or whether this marks the start of a new divide in content creation.

CEO and co-founder of Play’n GO, Johan Törnqvist

As Wednesday’s Wisconsin Assembly floor session went into closed caucus, Dominic Ortiz, CEO of the Potawatomi Casinos & Hotels, stated on The New Normal podcast that a vote on Assembly Bill 601 would move to the full legislative session in January. Ortiz said the legislative proposal creates a “fair playing field and unites the tribes” as the Sports Betting Alliance argues for a different framework.

“We’re about partnership, not ownership,” Ortiz told The New Normal. “The clear indication from the SBA is if they can’t have their rules, they’re going to come in and burn down the market.”

Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said the sports betting proposal was pulled from the agenda during a press conference Wednesday morning. He said lawmakers would have approved the bill if they voted. The Senate will not reconvene before the January session.

August sent a memo this week urging support from lawmakers as a road to keeping sports betting revenue in Wisconsin as prediction markets take hold across the US.

“There’s really no rush on this,” August said at a news conference Wednesday. “I had a conversation with a couple of members over the weekend that brought up some points that I hadn’t considered yet, so we’re going to work through those and I expect that we will be voting on it early next year.”

Wisconsin sports betting proposal

In-person sportsbooks are already legal in Wisconsin, after Governor Tony Evers agreed to tribal compact additions in 2021 allowing sports betting. Evers told UpFront Sunday this week that tribal control of sports betting is “the ultimate goal”.

If passed, the latest proposal would create a “hub-and-spoke system” for online sports betting. It would allow the 11 Wisconsin tribes to partner with sportsbook operators, if the server is on tribal land. A similar setup is how the Seminole tribe in Florida holds a sports betting monopoly for Hard Rock Bet.

Ortiz said the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks are in full support of the tribal proposal. He also said the push for sports betting expansion is to help raise revenue to offset inflation and rising costs. The Potawatomi are longtime sponsors of the teams.

The bill would require the tribes to renegotiate their gaming compacts with the state. The expansion would also require approval from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Tribes push to stop prediction markets

Earlier this month, lawmakers began discussing the expansion of sports betting in Wisconsin. Senator Howard Marklein told the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Revenue the proposal would legalise what Wisconsinites are already doing illegally.

Several lawmakers have expressed concerns with legalising additional forms of gambling in Wisconsin.

While the Sports Betting Alliance, made up of major national sportsbook operators, supports expanding sports betting in Wisconsin, it does not agree with the current legislative proposal. A representative from the SBA told the committee that operators would need to send 60% of revenue to the partner tribes under the proposed framework.

The representative pointed to the framework of tribal-commercial partnerships in Michigan as a more positive example.

Ortiz said the recent development of national sportsbook operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel planning to launch prediction markets highlights a potential end-around in the Wisconsin market. Prediction markets operate under the regulation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which allows them to operate nationally.

There are multiple court cases in which state regulators argue that sports event markets violate state gaming laws. There are also tribal lawsuits, including from Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation, contending prediction markets violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Regulators have also sent sportsbooks warnings that their licences could be in jeopardy if they offer prediction markets.

“They have indicated and made public statements that they can and will operate prediction markets where sports betting is not legal,” Ortiz said of the major commercial sportsbooks. “Their clear intent is to have ownership of Wisconsin. They’re not here to be our partner.”

The GRA has a “broad and overarching scope” to oversee ship-based, land-based and online operations with the exception of lotteries and social games. It will govern licensing and taxation, manage revenue collection and standardise problem gambling safeguards.

“The regulator will also ensure that casinos operate according to rules and concerns about money laundering,” said Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha Fernando.

The launch effectively repeals the Betting on Horse Racing Ordinance, the Gaming Ordinance and the 2010 Casino Business Act.

Minister: No rapid expansion of gaming

A handful of land-based casinos now operate in Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. In October 2024, a $1.2 billion integrated resort opened in the port city. Developed by John Keells Holdings and Melco Resorts and Entertainment, City of Dreams Sri Lanka offers a 16,725-square-metre gaming floor.

Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho has said Sri Lanka “can be to India what Macau is to China”.

However, Sri Lanka is not looking to rapidly expand its gaming industry or hand out additional licences, according to Fernando. “The focus is on regulation,” he said. “That regulation will define which gambling activities are permitted, the restrictions that apply and matters such as the revocation or cancellation of licences.”

New tax structure increases levy by 3%

The introduction of a sole independent regulator was accompanied by a higher tax rate. On 1 October, the Betting and Gambling Levy increased from 15% to 18%. The casino entry fee for Sri Lankan citizens doubled from $50 to $100.

Sri Lanka’s gaming sector is projected to generate $410 million by 2026, up from $240 million in 2020. Analysts predict a compound annual growth rate of 5.4% through 2031.

Player spending was up 16.3% year-on-year, figures from the Arizona Department of Gaming showed. The September total was also 39.4% ahead of the $610.7 million spent in August of this year.

Of this, $847 million was bet online, while players spent $4.4 million at retail sportsbooks across the state.

As to revenue, however, adjusted gross receipts before free bet and promotional deductions reached $55 million. This, calculated after operators paid out $794.3 million in winnings, fell 28.9% short of last year and was 8.2% behind August.

After deducting $35.4 million in free bets and promotional credits, final adjusted revenue for September was $19.6 million, the lowest monthly total since July 2022. This was also 48% less than the same month last year and 53.1% behind this August.

In terms of the state’s hold, based on revenue before free bet deductions, this was 6.46%. After promotional-related deductions, hold was just 2.3%.

FanDuel still the one to beat in Arizona

As for active operators, FanDuel again led the market in September. It posted $8.5 million in adjusted revenue off $254.5 million in bets for a monthly hold of 3.34%.

DraftKings remained second with $4.3 million in adjusted revenue but with a larger handle of $270.2 million. This resulted in a September hold of 1.59%.

Not far behind in third was BetMGM, which took $4.2 million in adjusted revenue off $98.3 million in sports bets for a 4.07% hold. Caesars followed with $1.7 million from $45.5 million, resulting in a hold of 3.74%.

No other operator was able to post six-figure adjusted revenue. Fanatics, which was fourth in revenue terms in August, failed to report any revenue, while Bet365 also drew a blank for the month.

Tax-wise, sports betting generated $1.9 million for Arizona in September. All but $79,416 of this came from online betting.

Estimates suggest global annual esports betting revenue will have reached $2.8bn by the end of this year – a 12% year-on-year increase and more than double the figure of just four years ago. Next year, the total is projected to surpass $3bn.

This sharp growth in the 2020s has led to an inevitable increase in regulatory scrutiny. However, the relatively nascent nature of the vertical has left many watchdogs playing catch-up. 

In many jurisdictions, there is a lack of regulatory clarity that appears to be borne out of an intrinsic lack of understanding of esports, as well as esports betting. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the US. Despite the growing popularity of esports, traditional sports wagering is still legal in more than twice as many states as esports betting, and 19 states are considered grey states, meaning they lack specific legislation related to esports betting.

Building understanding and trust

Across the world, regulatory oversight of the vertical is still in its infancy in many territories. For esports betting solutions supplier Oddin.gg, the challenge is to work with policymakers in different regions to build understanding and ultimately trust.

“We are trying to educate regulators about what esports actually is,” Oddin.gg co-founder and managing director Marek Suchar says. “We are locally present [in different markets] so essentially our staff are on hand to address concerns in native languages. 

“The goals are different for different regulators, so we are trying to have open discussions and do the educational part at the same time as building relationships with regulators. Many times it is about addressing the mainstream perception of esports betting.”

One of the key misconceptions regarding esports is that the activity engages those under the legal age to bet. 

“There have been a lot of misconceptions around esports betting. Many of those are tied to mass media messaging.”

Whilst it is true that esports has long been touted as a vehicle to engage a younger audience, with the 18- to 43-year-old age group accounting for 87% of the activity’s betting audience, the average age of an esports bettor is comfortably above the lower threshold in regulated markets. 

For instance, the average age of an esports punter hovers between 29 years old for League of Legends and 31 for Counter-Strike – two of esports’ most popular titles. 

“There have been a lot of misconceptions around esports betting,” Suchar says. “Many of those are tied to mass media messaging – the assumption is that there is underage betting because the players themselves are underage. That is not true.

“We have run our own analysis and found that, out of the top 100 esports teams, only one would have been classified as underage. Furthermore, when it comes to underage bettors, the operators require proof of age.”

Worldwide experience

Oddin.gg provides a range of esports betting solutions spanning odds feeds, risk management, iFrame solutions, marketing and more for leading iGaming operators like Betway, Yolo Group and Aspire Global in a range of markets. This worldwide experience allows them to draw upon substantial know-how and share their learnings with operators and regulators in different jurisdictions.

“Each region has a different perception about esports betting, but the concerns are often similar,” Suchar adds. “We can usually tell regulators how we have already answered these questions in other markets, so we have the narrative prepared. 

“At Oddin.gg, we hold multiple licences across the world. In North America, for example, we are licensed in Arizona, New Jersey, Colorado, West Virginia, Ohio, and Ontario – and that gives us credibility if we start speaking to regulators in other states.

“We are basically saying, ‘look, we are already regulated across multiple jurisdictions and we work with reputable brands’. When it comes to betting, we understand the trends and we understand how the industry works.”

That understanding extends to the nuances of the esports sector, which, unlike traditional sports, does not have a universally recognised international governing body to provide ultimate oversight. 

Given the growth of esports, regulators in this vertical will likely need to move fast to keep pace with the industry. According to Oddin.gg’s Esports 2024 report, betting volume climbed sharply year-on-year, with one major title recording up to a 175% increase and average bet count rising by 131%. Total wagered amounts and average stakes also climbed across major tournaments compared to 2023, underlining the strength of the game publisher-dominated landscape.

The broader esports umbrella goes beyond games like Counter-Strike 2 and League of Legends to include fast-bet e-simulator games, which offer a completely different proposition. Understanding these distinctions is crucial not only for operators, but also for regulators seeking to design effective frameworks.

“The core esports audience for the likes of Dota 2, Counter-Strike and League of Legends is different as they have been playing and watching these games for years and are heavily invested in the games and what they bet on,” Suchar says. “Then you have a separate audience which bets on electronic simulators such as e-football and e-basketball where it is essentially these sports being played in a studio on a console.”

What’s important for operators and regulators to understand is that esports fans represent an attractive segment of the market. They are more likely to be in full-time employment and have a university degree than the general public, and nearly half earn more than $100,000 per year, according to an executive at a prominent esports team.

The importance of education

However, there is still work to be done on educating esports followers, as well as gambling regulators. It is noteworthy, for example, that one in three esports fans who do not wager on the action say they are ‘unsure how betting works’, according to iGB’s Esports Betting Report 2024.  

A step in the right direction can be taken by considering the consumption habits of younger adults, who represent the primary market for esports betting.

“When we are looking at millennials and Gen Z bettors, what is critical for them is having content on demand,” Suchar says. “If they want to watch a movie, they just go to Netflix. If they want to listen to music, they go to Spotify. If they want to consume a certain type of content, they go to YouTube.”

This ‘always on’ element is one of esports’ biggest advantages over traditional sports, which have natural breaks in the schedule and calendar throughout the day, week and year.

“With esports, they can bet almost all the time, and we have more than 15 live markets for the titles that we trade,” Suchar explains. “There are multiple opportunities to bet within each game.”

In the final quarter of last year, nearly half of all Counter-Strike bets were placed during contests, while the proportion of wagers that were props increased to 13%, showing a growing interest in the players at the heart of the competitive action.

“In sport, many of the players have a bigger following and fan base now than the teams themselves – and this trend is even greater in esports,” Suchar says. “So there are lots of reasons why bettors can come and stay engaged.”

A question of integrity

Collaboration with partners and regulators alike is a vital element of Oddin.gg’s strategic approach. With this in mind, the integrity question is one that has to be addressed openly and honestly from the outset, with the provider working closely with organisations like the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).

“In terms of match-fixing, robust risk management systems are in place with the right algorithms and the right personnel, so we are able to identify in real time any suspicious activity and inform our partners,” Suchar says. “On an annual basis, we see perhaps a couple of billion euros bet on our lines – and the question is, are we able to identify suspicious patterns when we look at the gameplay, like with traditional sports?

“What we see in esports is that we are able to identify those patterns, because we can analyse data from our traffic and our partners and compare it with previous events. If something is potentially suspicious, our title experts will then look into the gameplay and provide feedback to our partners on whether anything has happened that requires further investigation.

“With the tournament organisers and the integrity bodies, this is how we are trying to build confidence in the ecosystem – by showing that we are taking care and can produce a paper trail of evidence if something happens.”

“It is vital to educate regulators about how esports betting should be regulated, because they do not want it to go underground.”

Suchar is adamant that nurturing a “three-pronged partnership in terms of regulator, bookmaker and provider” is essential for success.

“Especially in a highly regulated market, this kind of collaboration is a critical element,” he adds, citing Oddin.gg’s recent work with its partners in Brazil.

“It is vital to educate regulators about how esports betting should be regulated, because they do not want it to go underground.”

Ultimately, Oddin.gg’s mission is about more than compliance. By combining technological sophistication with advocacy and collaboration, the company is helping to shape a safer and more sustainable future for esports betting.

Marek Suchar, co-founder and managing director, Oddin.gg

The House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee approved PCS for HB 189 Tuesday afternoon. HB 189 is a nearly 100-page gambling bill that would overhaul Florida’s gambling laws, including provisions related to match-fixing.

The proposal creates new felony offences tied to sports betting integrity, including betting with knowledge of a fixed result and bribery-related conduct. That includes felonies for anyone who conspires or promises a bribe to influence a game, anyone who accepts a bribe as part of a match-fixing scheme and anyone making a bet with knowledge of the bribe. Those newly proposed felonies come after the arrest of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier last month as part of an FBI sports betting probe.

The subcommittee’s approval comes two months ahead of the start of Florida’s legislative session in January. The measure was referred to the Commerce Committee and the Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

Lawmakers discussed the bill little on Tuesday, and nationwide industry stakeholders were absent from the hearing. A variety of nonprofit organisations from the state, including the VFW, American Legion and Florida Moose Association, testified in opposition. However, they are in support of “getting illegal gaming out of the state” and hope for clear definitions of charitable gambling.

Rep Dana Trabulsy filed the bill and guided it through Tuesday’s hearing. She said she is willing to work with concerned parties and lawmakers to make it a stronger bill.

Florida fantasy sports defined

The gambling bill would regulate daily fantasy sports operators, which have operated in the grey market in Florida. It defines fantasy sports as a contest with an entry fee where a user controls a simulated sports team.

It includes language that outcomes cannot be based on individual performance and the contests cannot involve collegiate participants.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office sent cease-and-desist letters to Betr, PrizePicks and Underdog for offering prop-style games in 2024.

The Seminole tribe of Florida does not comment on proposed legislation but does support efforts to eliminate illegal gambling. The Seminoles hold sports betting exclusivity in the state through a state-tribal compact, in addition to operating Las Vegas-style resort casinos. FanDuel and DraftKings pumped nearly $40 million into a failed ballot initiative attempt to legalise commercial sports betting in 2022.

Along with its daily fantasy sports language, the bill cleans up portions of state law concerning live racing taxes and provides definitions for penalties for online gambling and illegal sports betting. A bill penalising operators outside of the tribal compact was shelved earlier this year.

The bill would also increase criminal penalties against illegal slot machines. Last week, Carl Herold, director of law enforcement for the Florida Gaming Control Commission, told a Florida House panel it needs more help. He said the existing misdemeanours are not enough for proper enforcement.

Michigan surpassed by 12.7% the previous record of $312.5 million set in August this year for combined online casinos and sports betting. Revenue, referred to by the Michigan Gaming Control Board as gross online gambling receipts, was also 38.9% ahead of October 2024 and 16.4% more than September this year.

This was helped by record gross receipts from mobile casino play. In October, $278.5 million in gross revenue was drawn from this segment, a new monthly high and 26.2% more than last year.

As for online sports betting, gross revenue rocketed by 123.6% year-on-year to $73.8 million. This was one of the highest monthly totals since Michigan launched its legal market in August 2020.

In terms of adjusted gross receipts, which accounts for promotional spending, the market total was 49.1% higher than last year at $310.9 million. Adjusted icasino gross receipts climbed 31.8%, while adjusted sport betting gross receipts jumped 397%.

The regulator also published data on player spending within the sports betting market. In October, the handle reached $605.9 million, an increase of 8.1%. This meant Michigan ended the month with a hold of 12.18% based on gross receipts and 8.12% for adjusted revenue.

FanDuel and MotorCity continue to lead in Michigan

Looking to operators, FanDuel and MotorCity retained top spot in the online casino market. In total, the partnership generated $76 million in gross revenue and $71.4 million in adjusted revenue.

MGM and BetMGM remained second with $68.8 million and $64.7 million in gross and adjusted revenue, respectively. DraftKings and the Bay Mills Indian Community were again third with $44.7 million and $42.1 million.

FanDuel and MotorCity also led the way in the online sports betting market in Michigan. The duo took $29.9 million in gross receipts and $17.5 million adjusted receipts. Based on gross revenue and a $230.5 million handle, this left a hold of 12.97%.

DraftKings posted the second-highest gross revenue monthly total at $21.4 million and $16.8 million in adjusted revenue. Hold, based on gross receipts and $180.5 million in wagers, was 11.86%.

BetMGM completed the top three with $10.7 million in gross revenue and adjusted revenue of $7.3 million. Having processed $70.5 million in bets, hold for the month was 15.18%.

Tax-wise, the state took $58 million from online gambling activities. This included $54.6 million from casinos and $3.4 million in sports betting payments. A further $15 million was paid to the city of Detroit by its three commercial casino operators, while tribal payments topped $6.5 million,

Detroit casino revenue back above $100 million

Data for the three land-based casinos in Detroit was also made public. In October, they posted $107.4 million in revenue, up 4.4% year-on-year and 8.6% more than September.

Revenue from slots and table games edged up 2.2% to $105.9 million. However, qualified adjusted gross receipts from sports betting revenue fell 33.3% to $1.6 million. Monthly sports betting hold, after $13.5 million in bets, was 11.59%.

MGM Grand Detroit retained its healthy lead in the city with a 49% market share. MotorCity Casino followed with 29%, then Hollywood Casino at Greektown with 22%.

The campaign is crammed with evocative imagery: coin-pushers on sea promenades, bookies wedged between the chip shop and the newsagent, fruit machines with glowing buttons that evoke the warm memory of holidays. The Sun’s 8.7 million daily readers are told this is not actually about taxation, but an attack on “our way of life”. 

It is safe to say that what began as a technical fiscal recalibration has become a noisy public brawl about British culture, high-street decline and, not least, the right to personal choice and a harmless flutter. 

As Matt Chapman, The Sun’s racing columnist, writes: “By slamming the betting industry government will indirectly be telling you how you can – or in this case can’t – spend your money.” 

Farage enters culture war 

For a long time, arguments over gambling regulations and taxation have been contained among think-tanks, industry consultants and the occasional treasury committee hearing. But now the Labour government’s plan to overhaul gambling duties and increase taxes on remote gambling duties – with proposals reaching as high as 50% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) – is drawing strong reactions. 

Part harm-reduction exercise, part revenue-raising manoeuvre has collided with national nostalgia and The Sun, never shy about riding a political wave – as seen in its successful pro-Brexit campaigning in the run-up to the 2016 referendum – is very much pushing the debate. 

Protecting high-street livelihoods

The newspaper has said its campaign is a defence of punters and high-street livelihoods. This is an argument in line with that of gambling industry bodies such as the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) who have warned of job losses of up to 40,000 and a £3 billion blow to the economy if the proposed tax hikes come into force. The sector has also been extremely vocal about high-street bookmakers facing an existential threat if a higher Remote Gaming Duty is enforced.

The Sun’s ‘Save our Bets’ activism has immediately attracted support from the right of the political spectrum, most notably from Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK party is currently the most popular party in the UK. More than a third of voters have said they would vote Reform UK if there were elections today, according to polling data.  

Farage’s constituency of Clacton-on-Sea in Essex is a seaside town that very much thrives on summer tourism – ripe with bingo halls, slot machines and gambling opportunities that play an integral part of the town’s entertainment offerings. Farage has called Labour’s tax plans an assault on British culture. He believes a betting tax hike will do nothing to help problem gamblers. 

Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch has also spoken out against Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans designed to help fill a financial black hole. Badenoch accuses Labour’s “fun police” of taking a “nanny state approach” to betting, which she said could kill off the industry. 

Sun’s campaign evokes mixed feelings 

But the campaign has not been received entirely well by some within the gambling industry. “I’m uneasy about how the debate has been positioned,” says Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners, one of the sector’s most respected analysts. “This childish idea that gambling is a battle between good and evil has taken hold.”  

But Farage’s involvement, he concedes, is legitimate – he leads the most popular party in the polls after all. And as Waugh points out: “The Liberal Democrats and the Greens, for example, have developed positions that are explicitly anti-gambling. It would be worrying if none of the political parties were prepared to stand up for people who enjoy betting, bingo and horse racing.” 

Waugh does not approve of the spectacle into which policy has been conscripted. “The issues are complex,” he says. “We’re not helped by the noise.” With The Sun’s campaign and the public debate growing louder, the situation could perhaps offer a chance to improve transparency and push for more evidence-based policy. It may also give the gambling industry an opening to publicly challenge the government’s tax proposals. 

Operator support for Sun’s ‘Save our Bets’

Neal Luke, a gambling compliance consultant, says the issue is twofold. While the Gambling Commission is investing heavily in data and research, most people will never read it. What matters is how that information shapes regulation – and how clearly the public can understand what’s been considered. 

“The public will only see headlines. It’s about making sure they know what’s been considered, in plain English, from a neutral place – not a political one.” Asked what a neutral source would look like, Luke argues that today’s opinions are shaped by short-form online content, making balanced communication more important than ever. 

Among operators there is a positive acceptance of The Sun’s war on the government’s plans and of Nigel Farage’s outbursts. For Betfred’s Head of Communications Mark Pearson, the message should be about one thing only. 

“For me this is not about media framing but getting the message across that the country’s betting shops are already in a very, very fragile position. Any hit on the high street is going to close betting shops with job losses and less money going to racing and the treasury. Once betting shops close, they are not coming back,” Pearson says.  

A spokesperson for Flutter UK&I also backs the media campaign. Putting taxes up for any business is not a free hit; it has consequences, he stresses. “It’s great to see The Sun’s ‘Save Our Bets’ campaign as it gives a voice to the customer – and customers have been overlooked in the debate driven by anti-gambling groups so far this year.” 

Think tanks push back industry claims 

The “anti-gambling groups” that Flutter UK&I refers to are primarily the think tanks The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Social Market Foundation. Both are pushing hard for a higher gambling tax. And both are heavily supported by several influential political voices, such as former Labour prime minister and chancellor Gordon Brown, who believes that the tax hike could help end child poverty in the UK, making the tax hike not merely a regulatory tool but a moral undertaking.  

“We tax cigarettes at 80%, we tax alcohol at 70%, but the online gambling tax is 21%. So there’s a big case for change. I think the gambling companies could well afford to pay a tax – and I want that money to go to child poverty,” he told Sky News. 

Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners worries that the entire debate, including the industry’s approach, has lost its anchor in evidence. And, in the end, a campaign led by a tabloid newspaper may not make things clearer. “Public debate is chaotic,” he says. “Statistics are misused across the board.” 

The most talked-about levy 

Grainne Hurst, the BGC’s CEO, attended the Reform UK conference earlier this year and was photographed alongside Farage, who in spite of popularity remains a divisive political figure. 

“It was a pleasure to lead the Betting and Gaming Council team at the Reform UK Conference this week. We had constructive discussions with senior figures in the party about the importance of a strong, sustainable and well-regulated betting and gaming sector,” Hurst wrote in a post on her LinkedIn page.  

Explaining the reason for her presence she added: “I will always stand up for our industry – one that supports 109,000 jobs, generates £6.8 billion for the economy, contributes £4 billion in tax and serves the millions of people who enjoy a bet responsibly.” 

‘Necessary lobbying’ for the sector

Waugh sees Grainne Hurst’s presence at Reform UK´s conference as a necessary part of the trade body’s lobbying efforts. “Operators should engage with a wide range of stakeholders, in my view. If anything, the industry has been far too passive in recent years in the face of an orchestrated campaign to close it down.” 

Others, who prefer not to speak on record, are less cheerful, noting that any perception of ideological capture could backfire while Labour is weighing its final tax design. What happens next will depend on whether Chancellor Rachel Reeves allows public clamour to overshadow the data on her desk.  

The government knows the gambling sector billions in tax revenue; it also knows online gambling has grown rapidly and that harms persist. It must weigh those realities against the possibility of shuttered shops, reduced racing revenue and a migration to offshore operators. 

For now, the noise grows as The Sun has succeeded in making gambling tax the most talked-about levy in Britain. Whether this results in better policy in the eyes of the industry – or simply more polarisation – remains to be seen. 

Following the failure of a provisional measure to increase the tax rate from 12% to 18%, new proposals were made in October to hike the current rate on gross gambling revenue to 24%.

An initial vote for the proposal was postponed earlier this month, prior to Tuesday’s meeting of the Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) also being pushed back.

Reportedly, Chamber of Deputies President Hugo Motta believed the bill did not have the required support to pass. He informed Senate chief Davi Alcolumbre of his intention to prevent the bill from going to a vote. This ultimately led to CAE president Renan Calheiros cancelling the meeting.

It is expected that negotiations over what the bill includes will continue with a vote potentially scheduled for next week.

The bill also contains a higher social contribution on net profit for fintechs and other financial institutions.

However, it could be a long process, with 172 amendments to PL 5,473/2025 having already been presented in the CAE.

If the bill is approved, it will head straight to the Chamber of Deputies unless there is an appeal for it to be voted upon in the Senate plenary.

Brazil government determined to hike gambling tax

With a general election coming up next year, the government, led by President Lula, seems set on increasing gambling taxes to meet its fiscal targets.

The government suffered a humiliating defeat when its provisional measure to raise the gambling tax by 50% failed.

Brazilian iGaming analyst Elvis Lourenço has told iGB this has led to desperate continued attempts to raise the tax rate.

“That’s the main reason that they struck back so fast, because it was embarrassing for them,” Lourenço, managing partner of EX7 Partners, told iGB in October.

“This becomes an election agenda, because this is good for the audience and the public to get votes because we are a conservative country in some ways. So, to put this on their agenda, ‘we increase the taxes of the billionaires, of the gambling world’, it is good for the speech of the actual government.”

Lourenço believes doubling the current tax rate would be an “insane” move that could risk a collapse of the regulated market, which only launched on 1 January this year.

There are plenty of gaming podcasts discussing what’s going on in the industry. This isn’t more of the same. Instead, this iGB series, in partnership with RubyPlay, aims to dig into the philosophical, psychological, economic, technological and societal dimensions of the gambling industry. Hosted by Dr Eyal Loz, there’s no surface-level chatter here, Dr Eyal and his stellar list of guest speakers focus on answering the big questions, and embark on some serious taboo-orientated, myth-busting, and thought-provoking conversations.

In our fifth episode, Alea co-founder Alexandre Tomic and Dr Eyal aim to answer the question: why the shame in iGaming? And why do we say the iGaming industry instead of the gambling industry? The pair unpack the taboo surrounding iGaming. From the professional perspective of those working within the sector to the societal attitudes shaping player behaviour, they unlock why gambling continues to carry shame and what that means for operators, employees, and players alike. Loz and Tomic look to explore the origins of internalized shame, industry perception, and strategies to break the taboo and foster a more honest and inclusive conversation around iGaming.

You can also catch the episode on Apple here.

Groes is the brother of company co-founder and co-CEO Ebbe Groes and brings experience from across technology, finance and policy having spent over 11 years with EY. This includes the past nine and a half years as a partner in the business’ Nordic Consulting practice.

Prior to this, Groes worked for the European Regions Research and Innovation Network. He also spent time with the South Denmark European Office and worked in local government in his native Denmark.

In addition, for the past two and a half years, he has chaired Management Rådgiverne, a Danish-facing organisation for management-consulting businesses.

Groes backed to help EveryMatrix reach ‘ambitious’ targets

Groes said joining EveryMatrix — alongside brother Ebbe — was a “dream come true”.

“What [games CEO] Stian Hornsletten and the rest of the team have built is nothing short of phenomenal,” Groes said. “I’ve seen close hand just what it takes. We work well together and our differences and combined strengths complement one another. I can’t wait to get started.”

Ebbe Groes said the appointment would support long-term growth plans at EveryMatrix.

“As the company’s growth continues, tripling our headcount in the last five years, and as we work with more of the largest gaming brands and lotteries, I needed to find someone who knows what it takes to scale a business and reach the ambitious targets we have for the next five years,” he said.

“Doing this means I will have more time to work on strategy and execute all the things we want to do to become a global top three tier-1 technology provider by 2030.

“To share a CEO position requires complete trust at both personal and professional level. Jonas is the perfect candidate. I know he will go on to do amazing things at EveryMatrix.”

Earlier this year, Ebbe Groes spoke with iGB about the provider’s expansion strategy. This included the acquisition of UK-based betting and iGaming platform FSB in July 2024 and the purchase of Fantasma Games later that year.

Through 2032, those investments will total an estimated US$16 billion. They are part of a larger strategy to shore up the local economy and reduce Macau’s reliance on gaming.

Through its “1+4” development strategy, Macau is committed to the growth of the medical, technical, finance and events sectors. Together, they are expected to strengthen the hospitality industry and support Macau as a global tourism destination. The government has set a target to derive 60% of gross domestic product from non-gaming attractions by 2028. It’s an ambitious goal, as in 2019 they contributed just 16% of GDP.

Ongoing global turbulence poses a risk to any economy that relies on a single industry, Sam noted. That vulnerability became plain during the Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down the city and its chief industry for three years.

Macau must move swiftly, he said, “cultivating internationally competitive new industries [and] effectively implementing the ‘1+4’ objectives”.

‘Tourism-plus’: Promoting Macau on the world stage

Currently, almost 73% of visitors to Macau come from mainland China. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, head of the Macao Government Tourism Office, is working to change that. She has travelled the world to promote the city in medium- to long-haul markets including India, the Middle East, Europe and other regions including Northeast Asia.

Senna Fernandes has noted Macau’s global appeal: “more than 400 years of East-meets-West historical heritage, side by side with state-of-the-art integrated resorts”.

Visitor arrivals reached nearly 30 million through September, with international tourists accounting for approximately 1.19 million. For the same period, GDP reached about MOP301.33 billion, up 4.2% year-on-year. The government collected MOP88.8 billion in tax revenue, an increase of 3.3%.

Consultant: Gaming still the star of the show

Can Macau reach its target of 60% non-gaming GDP by 2028?

“Unfortunately, this is unrealistic,” Steve Gallaway of GMA Consulting told iGaming Business. “It’s customer preference-driven. While significant enhancements and offerings of non-gaming products will help diversify the economy, gaming will still receive the majority of customer spend.”

He said concessionaires should invest in “enhanced transport infrastructure, airport upgrades, monorail extensions, roads, etc”. He added that the city should expand family- and child-friendly offerings and entertainment.

Christie, a former New Jersey governor, served as the lead plaintiff in the 2018 PASPA case, one that led to the largest expansion of legalised sports betting in US history. Following 2017 oral arguments before the Supreme Court, Christie argued on the famed steps that the federal government overstepped the Constitution with its 1992 ban of sports gambling.

Now, as players from the NBA and MLB are facing a slew of criminal charges in connection with match manipulation, Christie contends that the system is working. The players are among more than three dozen defendants charged by the US Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York in a sweeping illegal poker-sports betting case. Last week, Christie went on a media blitz to double down on his position.

In stating his claims, Christie wrote in a guest essay for The New York Times that when it comes to “ensuring the integrity of sports”, legal betting has achieved more in seven years than “prohibition did for decades before”.

Concerns about sports betting integrity

Last month, two days after the start of the NBA regular season, prosecutors from the Eastern District named 38 defendants in the comprehensive case, including three figures from the NBA. Among them are Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who is accused of deliberately underperforming in several statistical categories to ensure the outcome of a prop bet. Interim US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. described the case as the largest investigation of the sports betting market since the PASPA decision.

The Rozier case and others are not signs of a “system in crisis”, Christie wrote, but rather confirmation that proper mechanisms are in place to “catch the cheating”.

In response to the indictments, the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver seeking information on the actions the league plans to take to limit the “disclosure of non-public information” for betting purposes. The committee is examining allegations of illegal gambling and sports rigging that resulted in “tens of millions of dollars in fraud, theft and robbery”, according to the letter.

The allegations raise “serious concerns about sports betting and the integrity of sport in the NBA, which harms fans and legal sports bettors”, stated the letter from congressmen Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and Frank Pallone Jr of New Jersey.

Tonko: Voluntary self-policing has failed

Since PASPA’s repeal, leading proponents of the regulated markets have called on the US Justice Department to crack down on betting in the offshore black market, where Americans still wager billions per year. Still, some argue that offshore sites maintain guardrails on betting that legal apps do not offer.

One insider, who spoke with iGB on Monday, said the limits for player props, if offered at all, are very low on the offshore sites. By comparison, the defendants in the current case allegedly placed five-figure wagers on a litany of props.

Representative Paul Tonko of New York has also contacted the NBA to express his discontent with the uptick in criminal allegations. Tonko, co-author of the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act, has sought to establish a federal framework for the legal sports wagering market. Alarmed by the criminal accusations, Tonko contends that professional sports leagues have prioritised commercial partnerships with gambling operators over integrity.

“Claims of prioritising integrity ring hollow when leagues have sold credibility to gambling operators, integrated betting content into broadcasts, normalised wagering for teenagers, glorified it in advertising, and then failed to prevent criminal conduct from taking hold within the sport,” Tonko wrote in a series of letters to Silver and six other commissioners.

Tonko took it one step further, contending that the reliance on “voluntary self-policing” in the legal sports betting industry has failed. If the integrity of professional sports depends on federal law enforcement alone, the current system is already broken, Tonko mused.

“The choice before you is now explicit. Either engage directly with Congress to establish mandatory federal guardrails that restore integrity and protect the public, or stand in opposition and accept responsibility when the next scandal breaks and more families and lives are destroyed,” he wrote.

Pitch-by-pitch wagering

However, Christie countered concerns about integrity in his pointed op-ed piece, as he enumerated the detection capabilities at the disposal of sportsbook operators. In using sophisticated high-tech software, several sportsbooks detected unusual betting patterns in recent cases and flagged them to regulators, Christie wrote.

The former New Jersey governor also discussed the transparency of the regulated market in an interview on ESPN with Stephen A Smith. In the poker matter, three New York mob families backed the rigged games, then took a cut of the action, prosecutors allege. If an organised crime family detects illegal sports betting activity, it is foolish to believe that they will “pick up the phone” and call NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, or his counterparts at the NBA and MLB, Christie argued.

After the NBA case broke, a judge unsealed further indictments that resulted in the arrests of two pitchers from the Cleveland Guardians. The MLB pitchers, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, are accused of conspiring with gamblers to rig the outcomes of pitch-by-pitch betting props. The bettors won approximately $450,000 on the wagers in question, including roughly $38,000 on a single pitch from Clase, according to prosecutors.

“Regulated betting didn’t create these integrity issues, it has revealed them,” Christie stated.

NBA launches internal investigation

One defendant in the recent NBA sports betting case, former guard Damon Jones, has ties to the Los Angeles Lakers. A close friend of LeBron James, Jones served as an unofficial assistant on the Lakers’ bench in 2022-23. Jones is accused of disseminating non-public information of a James injury to a bettor, who capitalised on the inside info. Jones has pleaded not guilty to several felony charges related to the gambling probe.

The NBA has hired an independent law firm to investigate the allegations in the indictment. Multiple teams have been approached by investigators, including the Lakers, ESPN reported. In addition, a Lakers assistant trainer and an executive administrator voluntarily gave up their phones to investigators, according to The Athletic.

“As is standard in these kinds of investigations, a number of different individuals and organisations were asked to preserve documents and records,” the NBA wrote in a statement. “Everyone has been fully cooperative.”

Former college player admits to point shaving

On Monday, former University of New Orleans guard Cedquavious “Dae Dae” Hunter admitted that he manipulated the outcome of several games in the 2024-25 season. Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America”, Hunter explained that he devised code words with a teammate to indicate that they planned to shave points.

Hunter also admitted that he previously lied to NCAA investigators about his participation in the scheme. Investigators from the NCAA also determined that players from Arizona State and Mississippi Valley State allegedly took part in separate point-shaving schemes.

“I just had a child, and the school wasn’t paying me money,” Hunter said. “ I was trying to get money to actually take care of my child.”

While several defendants from the federal case based in Brooklyn have reportedly been tied to the college point-shaving scandal, Nocella said his office is not investigating the college probe.

Christie, meanwhile, appears to discourage the federal government from intervening in the legal sports betting market.

“New Jersey has built a system that doesn’t just collect taxes, it builds trust,” he wrote. “There’s no denying that sports betting is more visible than it was a decade ago – that’s by design. Legal markets bring sunlight, they create standards and they bring better accountability.”

Total gambling revenue for the month amounted to $611.1 million, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported. This was 22.3% ahead of October 2024 and 8.4% ahead of this September.

iGaming was the main source of gambling revenue in New Jersey, ahead of the land-based and sports betting segments. However, it was the sports wagering market that reported the largest year-on-year growth.

Another iGaming record for New Jersey

Breaking down the monthly figures, iGaming revenue was 21.8% above last year’s total while clearing $250 million for the first time. It surpassed the state’s prior record – $248.8 million this August – by 4.8%.

Some $257.7 million of iGaming revenue came from online slots and table games, up 22% from last year. Peer-to-peer internet poker revenue also increased 11.1% to $2.6 million.

FanDuel and partner Golden Nugget remained the frontrunners in this market, posting $60.9 million in revenue. DraftKings and Resorts World were second at $48.5 million and BetMGM and the Borgata took third with $33.2 million.

Sports betting revenue rises 49.8% in October

Turning to sports betting, monthly revenue was 49.8% higher year-on-year at $116.1 million. Of this, $110.7 million came from online betting, up 45.9%, while retail revenue rocketed by 242.5% to $5.4 million.

In terms of customer spending, total handle for the month was $1.24 billion, a 10.7% increase from last October. This total included $1.19 billion in online wagers and retail spend of $43.8 million.

As such, New Jersey ended October 2025 with a statewide betting hold of 9.39%.

Operator-wise, FanDuel and Meadowlands again led the online sector, posting $39.9 million in revenue. DraftKings and Resorts World remained second at $30.5 million, followed by BetFanatics and Bally’s with $11.4 million.

As for retail locations, Meadowlands retained top spot with $2.3 million in revenue. Borgata was again its closest challenger, reporting $1.5 million in total monthly revenue. New Jersey does not publish handle information for individual operators.

Double-digit land-based casino growth

The remaining $234.7 million in revenue came from land-based casinos, up 12.5% from last year.

This included $174.4 million from physical slot machines, an increase of 9.1%. In addition, the land-based table games sector posted $60.3 million in revenue, some 23.5% higher than October 2024.

As for the year-to-date, total gambling revenue in New Jersey for the 10 months through the end of October was $5.74 billion. This was 10% higher than at the same point last year.

iGaming revenue was 22.6% higher at $2.39 billion, while sports betting revenue was 0.2% ahead at $914.6 million. Land-based casinos generated $2.44 billion in the same period, up 3.4% year-on-year.

As part of the agreement, the full Yield Sec platform, including the technology and team, will be integrated into GCI’s operations. Founder and CEO Ismail Vali will also move into the role of president of GCI.

Yield Sec operates an intelligence platform which utilises player data to assess the size and impact of illegal gambling markets. The company works with operators, policymakers and other stakeholders on mitigating black market leakage and improving channelisation.

GCI’s AI-driven platform provides in-house player protection, advertising and
media content monitoring. It provided black market mitigation efforts prior to the deal, but the combined operation is expected to build scale and support even more stakeholders.

GCI pledges ‘unprecedented’ market awareness with Yield Sec

Matt Holt, CEO of GCI, said clients would have “actionable awareness” of the iGaming market with Yield Sec’s technology.

“Yield Sec’s innovative platform for effective and efficient disruption will become a cornerstone of our offering, enabling regulators and operators to gain unprecedented awareness and actionable awareness across the total online gaming marketplace,” he said.

“This acquisition accelerates our mission to deliver transparency, integrity, player protection and certainty for regulated jurisdictions worldwide.”

Holt has held a number of prominent roles within the compliance technology space. Prior to joining GCI he led integrity and anti-fraud services supplier IC360 (formerly US Integrity) as CEO.

Vali continues fight against black market proliferation

As CEO for Yield Sec, Vali has been a prominent voice in the sector’s fight against the growing black market. Yield Sec’s data has painted a concerning picture of illegal gambling’s proliferation globally. He has long called for stronger enforcement against illegal sports streaming and illegal sites that target vulnerable players.

“All legal stakeholders should be involved in the fight against black market operators,” Vali wrote in a September 2024 op-ed for iGB. “Legal online gambling can only stamp out the black market once every stakeholder takes action and acts in their own best interest.”

At GCI Vali will lead a global team in monitoring polices and optimising marketplaces across online gaming, streaming, crypto and consumer goods. This will ensure they are adequately protected from the threat of the black market.

Yield Sec’s integration is expected to help deliver awareness-and-action solutions for clients, without impacting their gaming operations. GCI said this offering will be available for marketplace monitoring and black market mitigation, as well as compliance and auditing.

In a statement announcing the deal on Tuesday, Vali said joining GCI was the “next stage” in Yield Sec’s mission.

“Yield Sec was founded to help regulators and operators see the entire online marketplace – legal and illegal – and act with certainty,” he added.

“GCI strengthens that foundation, expanding our ability to serve clients across commerce, community and consumers. The purpose remains the same: to secure a sustainable, compliant and fair marketplace that benefits everyone.”

First up, in the wake of Kevin Mullally stepping down as CEO of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), is online gambling in the UAE. Wynn Resorts is projecting revenue of around $3 billion to $5 billion, but how much could interactive gaming contribute?

Ed Birkin has some thoughts, with H2 Gambling Capital estimating the online offshore market share at around $185 million to $225 million currently. Assuming at least one licence per emirate, and the sports/iGaming mix, he’s expecting a bigger contribution from online onshore.

Right to the Source is on Apple Podcasts

Prediction markets and pie eating

Things take a pivot to prediction markets, which, thanks to an incident on the Coinbase earnings call, led to the story of Wayne Shaw. Yes, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong ended its Q3 analyst call by listing words that Kalshi and Polymarket users were betting he would say. Sorry, were predicting he would say.

Is that different from the former Sutton United goalie eating a pie on the bench during an FA Cup tie with Arsenal?

OPAP-Allwyn: Should we be getting excited?

We end with an argument on Allwyn acquiring OPAP outright. To Ed, there’s nothing to get excited about. To Robin, it’s what Allwyn might do next that’s of interest. 

Ever wanted to hear what the Olsen twins are up to now alongside exclusive data on the UAE online gambling market? There’s only one place you’ll get that.

A cross-industry campaign that has been running for several years, Safer Gambling Week focuses on promoting safe gambling behaviour among players. This includes highlighting the various tools available to consumers in European markets.

The 2025 campaign runs from 17-23 November, with the hashtags #SGWeek #SGWeek25. It will again be organised by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), with support from local organisations in participating countries.

What are operators doing this year?

Flutter Entertainment has announced it will run a series of activities during the week. This includes hosting a town hall, where brand CEOs will share best practices and insights on how their teams are advancing responsible gambling goals. This forms part of the group’s Play Well responsible gambling initiative.

Flutter will also run a lived experience panel with EPIC Global Solutions, demonstrating to staff how education drives progress in the sector.

Meanwhile, a Central & Eastern Europe Play Well Day will share progress across the region to facilitate meaningful development. In addition, sustainability reporting manager Ryan Heslop will join an EGBA webinar on how to turn data into action when measuring what works in player protection.

“Collaboration is how we make meaningful progress – both within Flutter and across the industry – and this week is an important moment for it,” Flutter said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, Merkur Casino UK said it would share key messages that encourage informed, balanced play across the operator.

Is AI the future of safer gambling?

Playtech has used Safer Gambling Week 2025 to speak about its work with AI and responsible gambling. In a LinkedIn post, Playtech said AI remained “central” to advancing player protection, with machine learning enabling early detection by analysing behavioural patterns across millions of data points, identifying risk before harm occurs.

However, Playtech said this must be supported by wider collaboration across the industry, and projects such as Safer Gambling Week help champion this approach.

“We’re continuing to explore generative AI to deliver personalised support at scale, real-time insights and adaptive messaging that meet individual player needs while preserving human empathy,” Playtech said.

“But technology alone isn’t enough. Safer gambling requires collaboration, transparency and a shared commitment to measurable outcomes. Together, we can build an ecosystem that protects the vulnerable and remains commercially sustainable for the long term.”

Seeking to better record Safer Gambling Week 2024

Organisers have utilised the campaign to improve player uptake of safer gambling tools. Last year in the UK and Ireland, over 1.5 million unique accounts used a safer gambling tool throughout the week, up 22% year-on-year. Deposit limits also climbed 14%, with nearly half set for the first time.

In addition, the 2024 programme set new social media records. Last year’s campaign generated over 60 million impressions across platforms including X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

“The week sees the whole industry coming together to further promote safer gambling for the millions of people who enjoy a regular flutter,” Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst said. “It’s a time to highlight all the tools available so that customers can stay in control. And to signpost help and advice to those who need it.”

Over the years, the campaign has also drawn support from the government and the British Gambling Commission. This year the regulator noted that player protection tools were progressing, but warned the sector must ensure these measures are “widely promoted”.

“Collaboration and evidence-based action remain central to making gambling in Great Britain fairer, safer and crime-free.” Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes said in a statement. “Safer Gambling Week is an important moment for the industry to demonstrate its commitment to protecting customers and promoting responsible play.”

Baroness Twycross, Under-Secretary of State for DCMS reiterated the government’s committment to “reducing harmful gambling and protecting those at risk”.

“We welcome the contribution that Safer Gambling Week makes. It provides a good opportunity to highlight the tools and support that is available to people who may need it,” she added.

Codere Online reported its Q3 earnings on Monday. It said net gaming revenue for the period had dropped slightly to €51.6 million from the €51.7 million reported last year. 

Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 was up €2.9 million or 93.3% compared to €1.5 million last year, with Codere Online reiterating its full-year NGR guidance of between €220 million-€230 million and adjusted EBITDA of €10 million-€15 million. 

The company’s NGR in Mexico was €26.8 million, a 0.4% year-on-year rise. Codere Online CEO Aviv Sher noted revenue had been flat in Mexico despite a 5% devaluation of the peso and a consistently low sports betting margin. 

However, Mexico is in the process of increasing its tax rate on gambling from 30% to 50%, as part of the government’s 2026 budget. 

The hike hasn’t yet been approved, but CFO Oscar Iglesias, who will shortly be replaced by Marcus Arildsson, expects it to come into effect from 1 January. 

“The discussions around capital allocation, I think, is a broader one, and it’s in the context of the discussions we’re having at the board level,” he told analysts during the earnings call, in response to questions on its position in the market.  

“The tax obviously factors into that in terms of our appetite and willingness to invest into the market because it has an impact on the unit economics, the flow-through of every dollar of NGR to EBITDA in the business.  

“It’s still a little bit early to say what that means in terms of our plans for next year to invest in Mexico.” 

Mexico government targeting the wrong side of legality 

Mexico continues to be Codere Online’s biggest market, with its €26.8 million in Q3 revenue ahead of the €22 million achieved in its home market of Spain. 

Its monthly active players in Mexico soared by 39% to approximately 88,300, compared to 50,200 in Spain. 

Elsewhere, Codere Online is working with the Mexican government to highlight the prevalence of the black market in the country.  

Iglesias said the government should be looking to bring illegal operators onshore as a source of additional revenue. 

“Directionally, obviously, a tax increase is not good,” Iglesias explained. “We always are looking for governments to look to increase compliance with anyone operating offshore or operating in the grey or black markets. That’s the first place we prefer for governments to look for additional revenues.  

“We are partnered with the Mexican government. We are partnered with governments in every market in which we operate, and we are going to find a way through this and continue to be confident that the Mexican market is going to be a winner for us over the short, medium and long term.” 

Tax rise might ease competitive landscape in Mexico 

Iglesias did note the incoming tax increase could dampen the competitive landscape in Mexico, perhaps benefitting well-established players such as Codere Online. 

“While it is difficult to know how other operators will react, we are expecting that this tax increase may have a chilling effect on both new market entrants in regards to their appetite for further investment in the Mexican market and on those not yet operating in Mexico, but with near or medium-term plans or ambitions to enter the market,” Iglesias said.  

“It is difficult to quantify the impact of that chilling effect, [but] we would at least directionally expect a more benign competitive landscape in Mexico going forward, which we believe will be to our and other incumbents’ benefit.” 

Codere Online five-year strategy does not include Colombia 

In the company’s Q1 results, Codere Online said it was pulling back in Colombia because of the 19% temporary VAT. Sher reiterated this strategic change on the business’ post-Q2 earnings call. 

The VAT is set to come to an end from the start of 2026, but the company is working under the assumption it will either be renewed or made permanent. 

Speaking on the Monday call, Codere Online executive vice-chairman Moshe Edree said the operator’s short to mid-term strategy “does not include Colombia”.  

“We just monetise it as it is. So we’re not going to invest any further unless the tax will change,” he said.  

Iglesias added more colour: “We continue operating under the assumption that this will continue, that this will get legislated in a more permanent way.  

“That said, that may not necessarily be the case. If it’s not the case, then we will rethink what it is we want to do. Obviously, that’s a game changer and fixes the primary problem in Colombia, which is the unit economics are not good in the context of a tax on customer deposits. It is a situation we’re monitoring. 

“As things stand today, it’s a tough market for us to find a way forward that makes sense for us.” 

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Carried out in partnership with IFF Research, the report considered neurodivergent peoples’ needs in terms of gambling harm. It focused on the support currently available to them and how this can be improved to improve the quality of help.

This included how neurodivergent people often face barriers to access support and being unaware of specialist treatment available to them. It also flagged how stigma and fear of judgment discourage people from seeking help for gambling-related harm.

GambleAware urges improved neurodiversity focus

Among the key recommendations from the new report was to build a neurodiversity-aware gambling industry workforce. GambleAware said operators should consider the needs of neurodivergent individuals when developing harm minimisation and protection measures.

The charity also called for the embedding awareness of neurodivergent characteristics in support access, risk assessment, support and treatment approaches. This should include making screening for neurodivergent characteristics, and adapted support plans, a required part of assessments.

Other key recommendations were to adopt a peer-led and co-produced support as standard. The charity said this should include developing structured peer support programmes led by trained neurodivergent mentors or facilitators.

On top of this, GambleAware called for strengthened data collection and monitoring for support and treatment improvements. In addition, it called for more funding to improve understanding on what works and build a movement to put this knowledge into practice.

Alongside these conclusions, the report set out six key principles on which gambling support and treatment approaches should be based to provide the best help for service users with neurodivergence.

These included understanding and adapting to the diversity of communication needs that neurodivergent people have; ensuring clarity and simplicity in communications, as well as providing support to promote the autonomy and independence of neurodivergent users.

Other principles were to provide support in environments that consider the sensory needs of people with neurodivergence. GambleAware also urged promoting the use of self-directed approaches such as self-help tools and to ensure staff are trained in neurodiversity awareness and different communication methods.

Increased likelihood of gambling harms

The report follows earlier GambleAware research that highlighted an increased likelihood of neurodivergent people experiencing gambling harms. Published in March, the report said people with conditions such as ADHD or autism may use gambling as a “coping mechanism”, despite not gambling more than those who are neurotypical.

“Characteristics like difficulty navigating social interactions, impulsivity, hyperfocus, preference for order and a need for stimulation can drive gambling in neurodivergent people,” the latest report said: “Gambling may also help neurodivergent people experiencing social isolation to cope with its effects.

“However, many of the reasons why neurodivergent people gamble in the first place can also serve as drivers of gambling harm for those who experience it. This can result in negative consequences including financial strain, relationship breakdowns, negative impacts on health and wellbeing and setbacks in employment or education.”

New resources to support neurodivergent people

GambleAware has made available new resources to further support neurodivergent users.

These, it said, were designed to enable therapists and practitioners to improve the support they provide for clients with gambling harms and neurodivergence. GambleAware said this would help ensure those clients can get the tailored support they need.

Resources include training materials, toolkits and case studies designed to build confidence, reduce barriers and promote inclusive, effective support. They were developed from a mix of research evidence, insights from lived experience and expert guidance.

“The new report highlights the complex link between neurodivergence and gambling,” said GambleAware CEO Anna Hargrave. “Characteristics of neurodivergence like impulsivity, hyperfocus, social difficulties and a need for stimulation drive gambling behaviour and increase harms, while stigma, shame and lack of tailored support further isolate neurodivergent people and make it harder for them to seek help.

“The resources we have produced are designed to support therapists and practitioners working with clients who experience both gambling harms and neurodivergence. They address a critical evidence gap in understanding how gambling harms affect neurodivergent people and how treatment can be tailored most effectively to ensure it is as effective as possible.”

GFLB members made site visits to the three locations on Monday after poring over financial records and application details.

Board members were not made available to the media, and the purpose of the visits was to “obtain an understanding of the physical location and, if necessary, seek clarification regarding the transportation, parking, infrastructure and layout components of the proposal”, per the board’s website.

Meanwhile, two bidders have made headlines recently, neither for positive reasons. The US Tennis Association (USTA) last week volleyed a lawsuit at New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, which could quickly become a major hurdle for the Metropolitan Park project. The suit alleges the city broke its lease agreements with the USTA by allowing the bid to move forward, although stakeholders say an agreement has been reached.

And on Monday, Bloomberg cited anonymous sourcing in a report that Resorts World will ask the board to reconsider the terms of its proposal. The casino had been the most aggressive in its bid terms, offering a $600 million licence fee and tax rates of 56% and 30% for slots and tables, respectively.

Board making New York casino site visits

Monday’s site visits were likely the only ones of those for the five-member board. All of their other meetings have been conducted behind closed doors. Since the previous round’s deadline of 30 September, the GFLB has convened a total of seven times, including Monday.

The board has established a once-weekly cadence for its meetings so far. That would leave just one more meeting opportunity before the 1 December deadline, although the Thanksgiving holiday next week could complicate schedules.

Most of the previous meetings were held on Wednesdays but the board had scheduled a longer, formal meeting after the site visits Monday. That would allow for another meeting on 24 November before the holiday if the schedule remains the same. In any case, the board’s recommendations are technically non-binding, as the New York State Gaming Commission will ultimately have the final say over how many licences are awarded and to whom.

During the upstate New York casino licensing process in 2014-15, the GFLB recommended four casinos but only three were licensed initially. The fourth, Tioga Downs Casino Resort, was not licensed until the following year.

USTA says city, Metropolitan Park have ignored its lease

The USTA’s suit against NYC was the latest unforeseen development in a process riddled with twists and turns. Filed 12 November in New York state Supreme Court, the association alleges the city will violate its lease obligations if Metropolitan Park is allowed to move forward without its input. The USTA operates the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, located adjacent to Citi Field.

Metropolitan Park itself is not a defendant in the litigation, but the project is slated for the same Citi Field parkland that is leased by the USTA from the city.

According to the suit, the USTA’s lease grants a number of rights over the land when it hosts the annual US Open tennis tournament for roughly three weeks from late August to early September. This is ensured through a “superiority clause” granted to the USTA, and includes the following protections during tournament days:

• Special parking rights for Citi Field parking lots.
• Protection from “competing events that would materially and adversely affect the US Open”, other than MLB games at Citi Field.
• Exclusive rights over “concessions, marketing, and hospitality offerings in the Park during the US Open”.
• Guarantees that the protections stretch for 23 days, the entirety of tournament play and qualifying rounds.

The USTA said it does not oppose the project overall, only the elements that would conflict with its lease. Its suit only seeks declaratory and injunctive relief instead of monetary damages.

Spokesman says a compliant agreement has been reached

Metropolitan Park is projected to cost $8 billion, the most ambitious of the remaining New York casino bidders. But the USTA pointed to the existing benefits of the US Open, which could be harmed if the city and Metropolitan Park fail to uphold the superiority clause. The tournament generates an estimated $1.25 billion in economic impact annually and welcomed 1.1 million visitors in 2025.

The suit alleges that USTA has “repeatedly asked the City to share the draft lease agreement” with Metropolitan Park, but the city “has refused to do so”.

Last Friday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Nancy Bannon granted a temporary restraining order preventing the city from ratifying a new pre-development agreement (PDA) with Metropolitan Park. Under the latter’s New York casino application from June, a PDA for the site was expected to be negotiated by Monday and signed by 31 December.

Metropolitan Park spokesman Karl Rickett told iGB that a PDA has in fact been reached with the city. The agreement is said to have complied with the court order and all sides will continue discussions moving forward.

“We have successfully signed our pre-development agreement with the city,” Rickett said. “This moves forward Metropolitan Park as a comprehensive transformation of the area that embraces the existing sports attractions to create a world-class sports and entertainment destination in the heart of Queens. This is a positive step forward for the local community and fans.”

Resorts World showing hesitancy after bullish campaign

Meanwhile, as Metropolitan Park charges forward, Resorts World appears to be trying to pull back on the extent of what it is offering the state. The racino has outdone all competitors in its quest to ensure licensure but could be getting cold feet at the last minute. Bally’s has proposed slot and table tax rates of 30% and 10%, and Metropolitan Park proposed 25% and 10%, the minimum allowed.

In its application, Resorts World dwarfed those rates by offering 56% and 30%, and it bumped its proposed licence fee by $100 million to $600 million. Bloomberg’s anonymous source said the casino will ask the state to lower its rates or raise those of its competitors.

That is likely a worrying sign for regulators and state officials. Over the last year, three big casino operators willingly withdrew from the process: Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts. MGM was considered a shoo-in alongside Resorts World, and its withdrawal was the most surprising of the three. A withdrawal or downsizing from Resorts World, the most bullish bidder, could throw the entire process into disarray.

The state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is banking on at least $1.8 billion in casino licensing fees and tax revenue in the coming years. That seemed more than attainable six months ago but now looks increasingly shaky, especially if fewer than three licences are awarded. New York state as a whole faces a projected $34 billion cumulative budget gap through fiscal year 2029.

The university released findings last week from a poll that found 79% of sports bettors said the recent sports betting scandals are affecting their trust in the integrity of NBA games. Nearly 40% of those bettors said the investigations are impacting their trust “a lot”.

Sacred Heart partnered with GreatBlue Research on the 23-question survey of 500 US sports bettors conducted during the first week of November. The survey has a 4.3% margin of error and was weighted according to age, gender and education.

With their trust impacted, nearly 36% of respondents said the investigations make them less likely to bet on the NBA. Of those, 45% plan a shift to other professional leagues like the NFL. More than 27% said they intend to reduce sports betting overall.

Still, nearly 30% said they are more likely to bet on NBA games.

“The kneejerk reaction among nearly a third of respondents to switch, at least temporarily, from betting on NBA games isn’t surprising,” Andrew Miller, director of Sacred Heart’s sports communication and media graduate programme, said in a release. “What was interesting is how many – close to 30% – said they’re now more likely to bet on NBA games, perhaps assuming games will be more closely monitored.”

With recent NCAA and MLB investigations also emerging, 75% of the respondents said they believe corruption extends beyond the NBA. A similar percentage said they now question the integrity of college athletics.

NBA gambling scandal hits earlier concerns

Sacred Heart previously released an Effects of Sports Gambling Poll in the spring. That poll, conducted well before the latest NBA scandals, found more than 60% of Americans were concerned that legalised sports betting increases the risk of corruption in sports.

“While sports betting is now widely accepted and easily accessible, a clear majority of Americans are uneasy about the potential for corruption and the erosion of fair play,” Miller said at the time. “And while the question wasn’t included in the survey, obvious solutions might include advocacy for regulators, legislators and law and game enforcement to be more vigilant and more public service outreach around potential gambling problems such as addiction.”

Coaches, players should take responsibility

Nearly half of the respondents said they believe individual players and coaches should be more accountable for gambling violations.

Leagues and sportsbooks took smaller blame, with 20% of bettors saying leagues should take responsibility. Just over 13% of bettors said sports betting platforms should take the heat.

More than 80% of respondents said they support stricter enforcement, including 44% “strongly” supporting more oversight.

Older respondents were more likely to place responsibility on individual players and coaches. Younger demographics placed accountability with the sportsbooks.

Sports betting advertising increases risks

Nearly 70% of bettors believe that sports betting advertising might encourage “risky or unethical behaviour”. More than 30% of those bettors are “very concerned”. The concerns are higher in older gamblers, men and college-aged bettors.

Fewer than 10% of bettors reported having no concern about the effect of sports betting advertising.

In Sacred Heart’s poll from the spring, more than 26% of Americans believe the amount of gambling-related coverage in sports is “too much”.

“Gambling is making sports more interactive for viewers, but many people – especially those most engaged – are seeing firsthand how quickly it can become problematic,” Sacred Heart Sport Management Program Director Josh Shuart said then.

Lawmakers in the US are wary of the deluge of sports betting advertising since the overturning of PASPA in 2018. Gambling advertising is at the heart of several legislative proposals, including the SAFE Bet Act from US Rep. Paul Tonko and Senator Richard Blumenthal.

Sacred Heart, located in Connecticut, plans to conduct a follow-up survey in spring 2026.  

The act prohibits any app or online platform that offers money-based gaming or related services. It makes no distinction between games of chance and games requiring an element of skill, such as fantasy sports. At the same time, it actively promotes esports, educational games and social gaming.

Despite the ban’s speedy passage, the government has yet to issue a notification that permits enforcement of the law. Offenders face fines of up to Rs21 crore (US$113,000) and/or up to three years in jail. Celebrities and influencers who back real-money games could also face criminal charges. Players are not subject to punishment.

Minister: RMG ban ‘avoids a big evil’

Proponents of the ban cited the risks associated with gambling, including financial losses and psychological harm. India Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said RMG platforms “exploit users with false promises of profit”. In his view, the act “avoids a big evil that is creeping into society”.

Jaya Chahar, founder and CEO of JCDC Sports, said banning the legal industry will do little to stop online gambling. In fact, she told ABC Asia, it “pushes fan engagement away from regulated Indian platforms into unregulated offshore spaces, which defeats the very intent of consumer protection”.

Smrita Singh Chandra, former communications officer for RMG provider Dream11, slammed the “overnight ban”. Chandra joined other critics in saying it was introduced “without transition, nuance or consideration of economic realities”.

“Declaring a platform illegal after years of validation, taxation and judicial recognition isn’t just wrong,” she wrote. “It is deeply unethical.”

RMG shuts down, losses mount up

Losses were reflected in the latest earnings quarter. According to the Economic Times, US-based Flutter Entertainment posted a $556 million impairment following the shutdown of India subsidiary Junglee Games. Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group wrote off its investment in Head Digital Works, operator of A23 Rummy.

India’s Nazara Technologies recorded an impairment of $103.2 million on its investment in Moonshine Technologies, parent of PokerBaazi. Fintech firm Paytm recorded a 98% net profit loss after booking a $21.4 million impairment on a loan to First Games Technology.

In total, over 90 days RMG platforms have reportedly recorded asset write-downs of more than $840 million. In addition, about 7,000 Indian workers have lost their jobs.

Ban creates ‘significant regulatory risk’

Going forward, India will emphasise esports and online social games whose “outcome is determined solely by factors such as physical dexterity, mental agility, strategic thinking or similar skills”.

But media and technology attorney Probir Roy Chowdhury told Fortune India the RMG ban could have a chilling effect on investment. “This … sharp policy reversal [abandons] the government’s earlier plan for industry self-regulation under the 2021 IT Intermediary Rules,” Chowdhury said. “Such a drastic shift signals to investors that the government can arbitrarily dismantle a thriving sector, creating significant regulatory risk.”

Prior to the ban, RMG contributed approximately Rs20,000 crore (US$42.256 billion) per year in direct and indirect taxes. It also supported nearly 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

On Friday US District Court of Nevada Judge Andrew Gordon said he is leaning toward reversing his initial decision, given in April, when he granted Kalshi a preliminary injunction against Nevada’s enforcement of gambling laws. Gordon reserved judgment after a hearing and expects to issue a written ruling within two weeks.

“We’re always happy to be heard in court and take the judge’s instruction to confer with the state seriously,” a Kalshi spokesperson said in a statement. “In the meantime, we will continue to operate our national exchange in compliance with federal law.”

Kalshi sued Nevada gaming regulators in March after receiving a cease-and-desist letter directing it to stop offering unlicensed gambling. The prediction markets operator argues it is federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and should not be bound by the state order. Kalshi contends the event contracts it offers are derivatives and are recognised financial tools.

Following Gordon’s initial Kalshi decision, he did not grant a similar injunction to Crypto.com in October. During Friday’s hearing, he questioned whether some of Kalshi’s products, largely sports event trades, qualify as derivatives.

“It seems like your definition is so broad that pretty much anything can become a swap, anything can have a financial consequence,” Gordon said, per Bloomberg. “Nobody thought sports bets were commodities or excluded commodities or swaps until some brilliant people at Kalshi.”

Kalshi will likely appeal any decision against it, and multiple industry sources expect the legal battle between state regulators and prediction markets to head to the US Supreme Court.

Prediction markets lawsuits abound

Friday’s hearing came after Kalshi notched a significant win in California last week. A judge denied a motion from three tribes requesting that Kalshi be prevented from operating on tribal lands. The judge said because Kalshi is regulated through the CFTC, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act applies, and the markets do not qualify as bets and therefore do not violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Following Gordon’s initial decision in April, a New Jersey judge also granted Kalshi a preliminary injunction to prevent state regulatory enforcement. Since then, 34 state attorneys general sent a brief to support New Jersey’s case.

In Maryland, a judge denied Kalshi’s request for an injunction against the state regulator.

There are also pending lawsuits in other jurisdictions, including Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. Last week, 22 Native American tribes, including the Seminole Tribe of Florida, sent a brief in support of Ohio.

Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts will hold a hearing on 9 December to hear that state’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Kalshi.

Multiple other states have also sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, including Arizona, Illinois and Montana.

As commercial sportsbook operators look to launch prediction markets products, including DraftKings and FanDuel, states have also begun to warn them their licences might be at risk if they offer sports event trades. Last week, FanDuel and DraftKings surrendered licences and withdrew applications for sports betting in Nevada.

ACMA orders blocking of illegal gambling sits

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has issued banning orders against a further nine illegal gambling and affiliate websites.

ACMA said the sites did not hold a licence to offer online gambling in Australia. As such, it requested that Australian internet service providers block access to the sites.

Among the brands were Cashed, King Maker, Posido, Spinight, Spinsy, The Pokies Reviews and Topio Networks. Also flagged was wizbet.app, an imitation of the licensed WizBet service, and next2go-au.com, an imitation of the approved Next2Go service.

“Since ACMA made its first blocking request in November 2019, 1,369 illegal websites have been blocked,” ACMA said. “Around 220 illegal services have also pulled out of the Australian market since we started enforcing new illegal online gambling rules in 2017.”

PAGCOR commits funds to typhon support

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has allocated Php32.85 million ($557,267) to assist those impacted by the recent Typhoon Tino and Super Typhoon Uwan.

The typhoons left widespread devastation across the Philippines, claiming hundred of lives and affecting over 2.5 million families. Funds from PAGCOR were used to buy 31,500 relief packs containing food and non-food essentials.

Another batch of 16,500 relief packs worth Php18.07 million will also be dispatched.

“In times of calamities, PAGCOR will always be ready to step in and extend support to our fellow Filipinos,” CEO Alejandro Tengco said. “Part of our nation-building mission is to help our kababayans rebuild their lives.”

Hippos ATG names Nurmi as COO

The newly established Hippos ATG has appointed Jussi Nurmi as its chief operating officer.

Nurmi has 10 years of experience within the iGaming industry, including time working in senior roles with Betsson and TonyBet.

In April, Sweden’s ATG announced a 50/50 joint venture with local Finnish racing association Suomen Hippos. It was later confirmed the business would operate in Finland with the ATG brand.

“Hippos ATG combines strong heritage with a clear ambition to build a modern and sustainable business for the Finnish market,” Nurmi said. “I’m excited to contribute to creating a competitive and responsible gaming company in Finland.”

Intralot extends with Arkansas Scholarship Lottery

In the US, Intralot has signed a new, 10-year contract with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.

The agreement, which comes into effect next August, will extend a partnership that began in 2009. It covers the introduction of new technology for the lottery.

Intralot will introduce its new lottery solution, including the LotosX Central Gaming System. Arkansas will be one of the first states in the US to roll out the technology.

“We look forward to our continued partnership with Intralot.” Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Executive Director Sharon Strong said. “With this new agreement, we remain committed to both our players and our mission of supporting Arkansas students.”

National Council on Problem Gambling appoints Maurer

The National Council on Problem Gambling has appointed Heather Maurer as its new executive director.

Maurer brings over 25 years of leadership experience in the fields of public health, policy, and nonprofit management. She was most recently CEO of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health.

As executive director, Maurer will lead strategic direction and oversee national programmes, partnerships and advocacy initiatives.

“I’m honoured to join NCPG and build on its strong legacy of leadership in addressing gambling-related harm,” said Maurer.

Keith Whyte served as executive director of the national council for more than 25 years before his departure in January.

Acquisitions, aggressive expansion into retail betting and a determination to navigate Germany’s highly complex regulatory framework have turned it into one of the country’s most ambitious emerging challengers. 

Under the direction of 54-year-old CEO Pierre Hofer, who has been on the board since 2010, the company is accelerating a wave of consolidation that is reshaping the German betting landscape. 

The major acquisition by Pferdewetten AG subsidiary NetX Betting of the HappyBet franchise from Playtech, as part of the latter’s B2C exit, marked a major pivot for Pferdewetten.de AG. The deal was announced in late May and includes approximately 600 hardware units, such as betting terminals and POS systems. The main strategy is a simple question of gaining market share, explains Hofer to iGB. 

“We knew we could make the shops perform better with our product, improving revenues for franchisees. Playtech also wanted a fast and simple deal,” he says. But for Pferdewetten.de AG, it is only the beginning. A joint venture with Bet3000, another retail heavyweight, is already under way. 

“This [next] deal is actually five to six times bigger than the HappyBet deal. They will switch to our licence. Contracts are ready to sign and several dozen shops are already in the process of switching.” 

And yet another deal is on the horizon, Hofer says. He reveals that his company is in talks with another important player. “But I cannot talk about it for now. It’s consolidation.” He insists an announcement is imminent. 

Reshaping the German betting landscape 

For a company long in the shadow of national giants such as Tipico, the prospect of a sudden leap in scale is dramatic. Hofer admits that the past year has been transformational: “We have seen more or less every single part of a life with ups and downs,” he says. Yet the ups increasingly outweigh the downs. 

Pferdewetten.de AG began modestly during the early days of online betting. In its formative years, it offered general sports betting – until a lack of regulation forced a retreat. “Because we didn’t have a law or regulation for sports betting, management decided to pull out of the sports betting market and focus on horse racing,” says Hofer.

It was a fateful decision. Rivals pressed on in the regulatory grey zone, eventually becoming today’s industry giants, Hofer remarks. Pferdewetten.de AG remained a niche business, profitable but limited by the scale of Germany’s horse racing market. 

The pivot back to sports betting came only in 2018, facilitated by the acquisition of the Sportwetten.de domain (sportswetten means sports betting). “ It’s more or less the best domain you can have in the German market,” Hofer says.

Revenues from the racing business financed the relaunch. “We took positive results and cash from the horse racing business and invested them into the sportsbook in Germany,” he says. The firm grew cautiously, “in line with predictions”, while biding its time for a larger opportunity. 

That opportunity arrived in 2021. “The entire team of a leading sports betting operator in Germany – offering land-based shop betting and online betting – was looking for a new home. They had major discussions with the owner and decided to split,” Hofer explains. The move signalled turbulence among competitors – several foreign firms were shrinking their German exposure or withdrawing outright as compliance pressures mounted. Yet Pferdewetten.de began amassing talent, technology and shop expertise. 

The company’s business model shifted too. “We transformed from a stable, ‘boring’ horse racing operator into a sports betting startup, investing heavily. We moved from paying dividends to issuing capital increases and convertible bonds,” Hofer notes – a clear signal to investors Pferdewetten.de was preparing to scale. 

HappyBet: The deal that set the pace 

The next turning point was the aforementioned acquisition of HappyBet. Following Flutter’s purchase of Snaitech, the German HappyBet business was left in limbo and with Playtech, eager to complete its B2C exit, it sought a buyer. Hofer moved quickly. 

“Around a year ago, we started negotiating with Snaitech and Playtech to get hold of these franchise shops,” he recounts. The final agreement brought over a substantial portion of the HappyBet retail estate – along with the Maltese HQ, employees and several hundred betting terminals. Compatibility with Pferdewetten.de’s systems was a lucky bonus. “Our supplier is the same, so terminals are 100% compatible without major investments,” Hofer applauds.

HappyBet’s steady decline meant the portfolio required selective pruning. “There were maybe 90–95 shops available. We didn’t want around 30–35 of them – too small,” Hofer says. Even so, the remainder represents meaningful scale: “Yes, as expected, we are integrating a mid-double-digit number of shops.”

Pferdewetten.de wants to be number two behind Tipico

Perhaps it is the next chapter that signals a more profound shift. Alongside HappyBet, Pferdewetten.de is finalising a joint venture with Bet3000, one of Germany’s most recognised retail operators. Hofer outlines the scale: “They run 68 owned shops and 120 franchise shops.” 

Contracts are “ready to sign”, he says, with several dozen shops already migrating. If executed as outlined, the group could operate approximately 400 shops by mid next year – a remarkable escalation for a company that entered the retail market only in 2022. 

And then comes the tantalising hint of the new as-of-yet unannounced deal. The implication is clear: Pferdewetten.de is lining up a third acquisition, potentially larger than HappyBet, in a market where weaker operators are seeking exits. 

Hofer’s ambition is now explicit: “Three or four years ago, there were 11 players in the retail market. Now we are down to six. The Bet3000 deal will make it five. Another deal may make it four. Our goal is to become number two in the market – after Tipico – within four years of operations.” Tipico has a current market share of around 50%. 

For a company that once abandoned sports betting entirely, the target is bold. And Hofer’s enthusiasm suggests that he sees consolidation not as opportunism, but as a once-in-a-generation chance to model Pferdewetten.de AG’s trajectory. 

Germany’s regulatory knot 

The obstacle, as always, is regulation. Since the introduction of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling in 2021, Germany has imposed strict monthly deposit limits which narrow product offerings and require heavy compliance reporting. 

Hofer is blunt about the challenges. “Deposit limits make things complicated. It’s overregulated,” he says. He points to the flood of offshore competition. “There are more than 430 illegal betting platforms targeting Germany.” With restricted odds and capped deposits, “many high-volume customers go to illegal platforms. The online casino market is hit very hard.” 

Even fully compliant operators pay a steep price. “Compliance costs are huge – seven digits per year,” he says. “Last quarter alone we spent €300,000 on lawyers and consultants, excluding employees.”

He hopes that next year’s planned update to the treaty may ease restrictions. “Authorities believed they had 95% channelisation – this was unrealistic,” Hofer says. In reality, “the market appears to shrink but actually grows underground.” 

On whether regulation will improve, his answer is measured: “We hope so. Authorities are slow, but starting to understand reality.” 

Performance and prospects 

Despite regulatory pressures, the company’s underlying business is strengthening. “Third-quarter numbers were presented today — we didn’t expect to disappoint. We are at more or less break-even now,”  Hofer notes, adding that next year it should deliver “record EBIT”. 

Growth has been helped by a broadening retail base and a strong sportsbook product built specifically for domestic preferences. “We focus on the German market nationwide – from Munich to Hamburg to Berlin,” he says. 

There is tentative expansion abroad. The company also operates in Denmark under JackpotBet.dk, licensed for sports betting and casino, and maintains a small presence in Austria. But Germany remains the overwhelming priority. 

Asked whether the model is sustainable amid regulatory change, Hofer replies: “Yes, definitely for the next few years. Regulation can change, but we don’t expect it to get worse.” 

The company that in 2007 stepped back from sports betting now stands on the verge of becoming Germany’s second-largest retail operator. In one of Europe’s strictest markets, Pferdewetten.de AG is betting not on luck, but on timing – and on the sudden availability of competitors’ assets. 

If Hofer’s instincts prove correct, the horse racing specialist may soon find itself racing among giants. 

Svenska Spel and ATG on 7 November submitted a joint op-ed article to the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper, outlining their support for a possible ban, which would put an end to any form of online bonuses awarded by licensed operators in Sweden.

In the article, Svenska Spel’s Anna Johnson and Hasse Lord Skarplöth of ATG argued bonuses could lead to gambling-related problems. They noted the particular appeal of the bonuses to younger people, drawing them to gambling and causing long-term issues.

The op-ed also highlighted certain statistics from a recent report by the Swedish Association for Alcohol and Drug Education. One piece of data suggested gambling among boys in their second year of high school increased from 27% to 43% in five years.

While BOS Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt shared concerns over young people and gambling, he rejected the direct link to bonuses. He said a ban on bonuses in online gambling would not solve the problem.

“We believe that everyone agrees and is concerned that gambling among young people under the age of 18 is a growing problem,” he said.

“But to claim that this is due to the welcome bonuses that are currently offered to adult players, without mentioning how today’s young people learn to play for money through so-called skins and loot boxes in their favourite games, is not serious.”

Gambling monopolies’ motive

Hoffstedt insisted the ban would benefit both Svenska Spel and ATG by reducing the size of Sweden’s legal market and pushing more players to play with the gambling monopolies.

“Both of these gambling companies, which emerged from the Swedish gambling monopoly, took significant market shares with them from the start when the Swedish gambling market was re-regulated in 2019,” he said.

“The fact that their competitors, who in many cases start with zero customers on their data base, are prohibited from offering a bonus when a new customer is recruited is of course tempting for the old monopolists.

“But they bite their own tail. Because with demands for further restrictions on the legal licensed gambling market, they can only defend their market share in an increasingly shrinking licence market.”

“These two companies could have brought together the gambling market, or at least the members of their own trade association, for some common good. However, they ignore this and run solo games for short-term benefit for themselves, but not for Sweden and above all not for consumer protection in the gambling market,” Hoffstedt added.

Black market concerns from bonus ban

Hoffstedt also flagged concerns over how a ban could drive players to unlicensed sites, which may offer bonuses but not the same protection measures as approved brands.

With this, he called for balance in gambling regulations to consider both consumer protection and gambling pleasure. This, he said, would ensure a higher proportion of users gambling with regulated websites.

“A high proportion of legally licensed gambling is achieved through striking a balance between consumer protection and gambling pleasure,” he said. “The gambling consumers must themselves want to be in the licensed gambling market. If this is not achieved, the entire system will collapse.

“Now Johnson and Lord Skarplöth also want to remove the possibility of giving a bonus to a new gambling customer. If they get their way, we probably haven’t seen the bottom yet in how low the proportion of legally licensed gambling can fall.”

Sweden is in the process of overhauling part of its gambling regulation to deepen enforcement against the black market.

A review of the Gambling Act reached a milestone in September when the Ministry of Finance published investigator Marcus Isgren’s report, outlining amendments designed to strengthen the country’s regulatory framework and close loopholes that enabled illegal operators to market to locals.

But Hoffstedt previously told iGB the long-awaited update was unlikely to solve some of the market’s deeper-rooted struggles relating to the proliferation of illegal gambling.

Members of the Federation of State Gaming Regulators of Nigeria (FSGRN) and the CEO of Enugu State Gaming and Lotto Commission Prince Arinze Arum lauded the steps taken to implement global best market practices across the country. Prominent among them is positioning Nigeria’s state regulators at the forefront of global gaming regulations.  

Speaking to iGB on 13 November, Arinze notes the initiative would steer Nigeria’s iGaming operations in the right direction if well implemented. “This structured exchange of knowledge programme is indeed commendable and reflects the forward-thinking posture of the FSGRN,” he says.  

“As a member of the association, the Enugu State Gaming and Lotto Commission is fully aligned with the spirit and objectives of the collaboration with GESPA. We are, however, still awaiting the full details of the arrangement and how its outcomes will be domesticated across the various state commissions.  

“That said,” he continues, “the concept itself is a strong signal that Nigeria’s regulators are serious about deepening global cooperation, improving regulatory capacity and embedding best practices in consumer protection and responsible gaming. 

“This kind of partnership ultimately benefits operators, too, by creating a more credible, transparent and trustworthy environment for iGaming in Nigeria. I fully believe it is a step in the right direction, and one we look forward to seeing fully implemented.” 

The current state of Nigeria’s iGaming regulations  

When quizzed on whether he feels the regulations in Nigeria are closely mirroring global standards and the industry’s best practices today, Arinze agrees that progress is being made. Arum believes that, with time, other countries from around the continent could emulate them.  

“I would say that Nigeria’s regulators have made significant progress in aligning with international standards,” he adds. “The last few years have seen a deliberate shift towards harmonisation, where regulatory frameworks have not only been consistent across states but have been benchmarked against the principles of integrity, fairness and player protection that define modern gaming oversight.”

Arum believes Enugu and Lagos have implemented policies which increasingly mirror those in mature jurisdictions such as the UK, Malta and other parts of Europe.  

Putting things into a wider context, he says the state regulator’s focus is on robust licensing, digital transparency, responsible gaming frameworks and effective tax compliance.  

“Given this trajectory, I believe other African markets will soon begin to emulate Nigeria’s approach. Our country is already becoming a reference point for structured gaming regulation in sub-Saharan Africa, showing that with the right policy leadership, local markets can achieve both investor confidence and consumer trust.” 

Enugu state to boost foreign investor confidence

Arum says the commission is working around the clock to roll out and strengthen initiatives that will significantly improve market standards and boost investment confidence in and around the state.  

“At the Enugu State Gaming and Lotto Commission we are prioritising reforms that make our market more transparent, investor-friendly and socially responsible,” he said before going on to explain these initiatives.  

The first initiative is to strengthen regulatory technology infrastructure to ensure real-time monitoring of operators’ activities. This will help improve compliance and enhance data integrity and consumer protection. 

Second is a responsible gaming and legal education framework that engages agents, operators and players. The aim is to make gaming literacy a shared responsibility, “because a well-informed market is a safer market”, Arum says.

An additional project with the state government is seeking to create an investment facilitation window, which will streamline approvals and reduce bureaucratic friction for legitimate investors who want to establish themselves in Enugu.  

These initiatives will be designed to position Enugu as one of the most progressive, transparent and technology-driven gaming jurisdictions in Nigeria.

Can a centralised regulatory framework work in Africa?

Many recent conferences in Africa have revolved around the continent centralising gaming regulations. This move would allow operators licensed within a specific regulatory framework to do business around the continent with fewer hitches.  

Arinze feels it is a progressive idea but, in a practical sense, different cultural perceptions of gaming as well as varied legal systems make it a difficult thing to implement.  

“You see, in principle, regional harmonisation is an attractive idea. It speaks to efficiency, integration and the growth of Africa’s gaming economy,” Arum notes. 

“However, in practical terms, achieving a single cross-border regulatory framework for gaming in Africa is a much more complex proposition. Each country currently operates under distinct legal systems, taxation models and cultural perceptions of gaming. These differences shape how each regulator defines responsible gaming, determines suitability criteria and enforces compliance.” 

The idea of an operator licensed in Nigeria seamlessly being able to operate in Ghana sounds progressive. However, it would require a deep level of policy coordination, mutual recognition of standards, and political will across jurisdictions. Arinze recognises some of the necessary elements for this are not yet fully in place. 

“I believe that gradual collaboration is the way forward,” he concludes. “We can start with bilateral or sub-regional agreements on information sharing, AML compliance and responsible gaming standards. Over time, these can build the foundation for broader harmonisation.  

“While I’m optimistic about greater regional cooperation, I would say that full cross-border operational harmonisation will remain an aspiration which won’t be achieved overnight.” 

Caesars is the third Las Vegas gaming company to face fines related to Bowyer, joining MGM Resorts and Resorts World Las Vegas. Caesars’ shortcomings were detailed in a five-count, 21-page complaint also filed on Thursday but dated 10 November.

Bowyer, 50, reported to federal prison to serve a one-year sentence in October. Considered to be one of the biggest bookies in the US at his peak, Bowyer is most well-known for taking more than $325 million worth of action from baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider the matter at its next meeting on 20 November. All of the AML fines administered this year have been accepted by the commission. If approved, Caesars’ $7.8 million fine would rank third among those levied this year. Resorts World paid $10.5 million and MGM’s total was $8.5 million.

“The board’s investigation revealed that Caesars and/or its subsidiary properties, including Caesars Palace, had identified, as early as April 2017 and on multiple subsequent occasions until he was banned by Caesars, suspicions regarding Bowyer’s activities, including that there was a lack of information regarding his source of funds and/or that his source of funds failed to justify his level of play,” the complaint reads in part.

What’s included in the Caesars complaint?

The five counts listed against Caesars in the complaint are:

• Failure to establish Bowyer’s source of funds
• Failure to ban Bowyer
• Failure to conduct adequate due diligence on Bowyer after receiving negative information
• Failure to elevate Bowyer to Caesars’ AML officer
• Failure to conduct an investigation

Caesars released the following statement:

“At Caesars Entertainment, integrity and regulatory compliance are paramount. We fully cooperated with the Nevada Gaming Control Board throughout its investigation and are committed to maintaining strong anti-money laundering and ‘know your customer’ programmes. We take our compliance responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to continuously strengthening our practices to meet and exceed the highest standards.”

Investigators said the misconduct by the operator ran from “sometime prior to 2017 until 22 January 2024”, when Bowyer was banned by Caesars. Bowyer was allegedly categorised as a “high risk” patron continually from June 2019 until he was banned nearly five years later. Caesars had documentation that “two other Las Vegas casinos had banned Bowyer” from May 2017.

The decision to ban the bookmaker came after news reports surfaced about his home being raided by federal authorities, the complaint says.

Overall, Bowyer was said to have “won and lost millions of dollars” at Caesars properties, including Caesars Palace, Harrah’s Resort Southern California and Harveys Lake Tahoe (now Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe).

Flurry of AML scandals for Nevada regulators

Often dubbed as the “gold standard” of US gaming regulation, Nevada has been besieged by AML scandals this year. In addition to the three Bowyer-related cases, Wynn Las Vegas was also fined $5.5 million in a separate AML-related case, and word of an additional investigation involving the Fontainebleau leaked earlier this year.

Regulators have expressed displeasure about the spread of these cases. NGCB member George Assad has been particularly vocal about the misconduct and Nevada Gaming Commission member Brian Krolicki has said the large fines should serve as a “clarion call” for the Las Vegas Strip. Nevada has two regulatory bodies: the NGCB handles day-to-day regulation and the NGC has final say.

Former Gaming Arts CEO Mike Dreitzer took over as NGCB chair in June, becoming the fifth chair since January 2019. Regarding repeated AML fines, Dreitzer told iGB at the Global Gaming Expo in October that the board “will have no problem” ratcheting up enforcement efforts if there is “recidivism” in the misconduct.

“Fines make headlines, but at the end of the day from my perspective it’s even more important that the operators, the licensees are acting in a corrective way, and that we are regulating and verifying that as we go along. … Certainly we are not afraid to continue to ramp up enforcement, if that means fines, whatever makes sense,” Dreitzer said.

The misconduct by Caesars is similar to the complaints against MGM and Resorts World. In all three cases, internal AML procedures were ignored and Bowyer was allowed to frequent the casinos freely for years despite the known risks.

Largely a year to forget for Caesars

For Caesars, the fine is the latest headache in what has been a tough year for the operator. Performance has been ho-hum in all three quarters this year, and Las Vegas profits in particular tanked in Q3.

Its digital segment has been the biggest bright spot, although analysts are largely expecting a spin-off or sale as it outpaces its retail operations. As competitors like FanDuel and DraftKings move ahead with prediction market deals, Caesars feels constrained by regulatory warnings from the NGCB. The board has made it clear that offering prediction markets could put Nevada licences at risk. As such, the company is stuck in limbo.

“As we’ve said before, we can’t be out in the lead on this one,” Caesars Digital president Eric Hession told analysts in October. “We’re going to monitor it, make sure we’re not left behind if there’s regulatory clarity. … Our best approach at this point is to monitor it, put our plans in place, make sure we’re adequately resourced and be ready to move if there’s a legalisation or definition in either direction.”

The company was also charging hard this year for a New York casino in Times Square. Theatre unions rallied to oppose the bid, however, and it was rejected by a local community board in September after more than 12 hours of public hearings.

Caesars’ share price dipped below $20 in trading Friday, and the stock is now down 41% year-to-date and 50% over the last 12 months. The company reported $11.9 billion in debt in Q3, markedly above its chief competitors Wynn ($10.5 billion) and MGM ($6.1 billion).

The developments highlight both the legal complexity and rapid evolution of event-trading markets across the United States.

This week, the US District Court for the Northern District of California denied a motion from three tribes to prohibit Kalshi from operating on tribal lands in the Golden State. The Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians and Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians filed the lawsuit against Kalshi in July, arguing its offerings on tribal land violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Tribes have Class III gambling exclusivity in California.

The ruling states because Kalshi is federally regulated through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act applies to Kalshi and its “internet contracts are not bets or wagers under the UIGEA and therefore do not constitute ‘unlawful internet gambling’ even if the contracts are received, placed or transmitted from persons on Indian lands where internet gambling is illegal.”

“The court does not take lightly plaintiffs’ concerns about the effects Kalshi’s activities might have on tribal sovereignty and the tribes’ finances,” the ruling reads. “Indeed, by self-certifying the legality of its event contracts in a way that insulates its activities from judicial review, Kalshi may have found a way around prohibitions on interstate gambling that were created with the tribes’ best interest in mind.

“But, on the record currently before the court, and in light of the Commodity Exchange Act’s self-certification process, plaintiffs have not met their burden of showing a likelihood of success on their IGRA claim.”

Prediction markets in court across US

California is not the only state with tribal gaming interests looking to stop Kalshi offerings on tribal land, as Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation also filed a lawsuit against the prediction markets operator.

Kalshi is in multiple court battles across the US in states where regulators argue it is offering gambling without appropriate licensure. In New Jersey and Nevada, Kalshi received initial injunctions to prevent regulatory enforcement. In Maryland, a judge denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction. Those cases are under appeal.

Meanwhile there are also court cases in Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. Other states, including Arizona, Illinois and Montana, sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi. Also, 34 state attorneys general filed a brief supporting New Jersey’s court case.

Trading platforms including Robinhood and Crypto.com are also facing legal challenges about their prediction markets offerings. Crypto.com recently pulled out of Nevada amid an ongoing lawsuit with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. In Massachusetts, a judge ruled Robinhood cannot block the state’s gambling enforcement.

PrizePicks launches event trading product

On Friday, daily fantasy sports operator PrizePicks announced it is live in 38 states with prediction markets through a multi-year partnership with Kalshi. The DFS company agreed to sell to international gaming giant Allwyn last month in a $1.6 billion deal.

The offering comes through PrizePicks subsidiary Performance Predictions II, a federally approved Futures Commission Merchant. An FCM registration allows PrizePicks to offer prediction market contracts approved by the CFTC.

“Expanding into prediction markets delivers on what our customers want, innovative products with more ways to play,” PrizePicks CEO Mike Ybarra said in a release. “Together with Kalshi, we will welcome new customers across many states to the PrizePicks experience, and we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity ahead in this fast-growing space.”

Earlier this week, PrizePicks announced a partnership with prediction market competitor Polymarket. Polymarket’s full reentry into the US was delayed by the government shutdown, but the partnership remains in place and PrizePicks will offer markets from multiple exchanges.

Customers will be able to trade on sports, entertainment and pop culture on the PrizePicks app through Kalshi’s library of offerings.

PrizePicks is not alone in its foray into prediction markets products. Underdog, which like PrizePicks started as a daily fantasy sports operator, also recently launched prediction market offerings. Underdog has also launched a sports betting product.

Despite multiple states warning sportsbooks that offering prediction markets might affect their licences, market-leading sports betting operators FanDuel and DraftKings are both readying launches of event trading platforms.

In a memo disseminated to all 32 teams on Thursday, the league wrote that it is working with legislators and regulators on the state level to limit and, where possible, “prohibit altogether” prop bets on the sport. The NFL cited the criminal probe as impetus for engaging with state leaders in reviewing props it views as detrimental to the integrity of the sport.

The league drew particular attention to props that can be controlled by one player on a specific play. The NFL alluded to wagers on a kicker to miss a field goal or for the next pass to fall incomplete, as examples that fit the criteria.

“Our commercial agreements are regularly reviewed and updated to prohibit wagers that are tied to the kind of conduct that was identified in recent federal law enforcement activity,” the NFL wrote in the memo. “We maintain regular contact with state officials to ensure that these wagers are appropriately addressed.”

Potential prohibited NFL prop bets

The league outlined several categories of prop wagers for further review:

• Inherently objectionable props: The NFL views these props as markets or bets that are inherently designed to be “derogatory, inflammatory or otherwise based on subject matter against public policy”. Props on player injuries, fan safety and misconduct fall within the category, according to the memo.
• Officiating-related bets: The league is pushing for restrictions on props associated with officiating. The NFL alluded to wagers on officiating assignments, penalties and replays there.
• Pre-determined outcome props: In this category, the NFL flagged wagering activity on pre-determined outcomes directly related to on-field competition. The NFL has frowned upon props on whether the first offensive play will be a run or a pass. The league is also deterring operators from offering props on which quarterback will start in a given week. On Polymarket, a leading prediction market website, customers can trade on whether Shedeur Sanders will start a game this season. The NFL issued a memo over the summer stating that it believes that trading on prediction markets constitutes “prohibited gambling activity”.

On the collegiate level, NCAA President Charlie Baker has barnstormed the country to advocate for a nationwide ban on props involving student-athletes. In response to Thursday’s memo, Baker commended the NFL for its vigilance toward protecting the integrity of the sport.

NFL discussions with state gambling regulators

While the NFL said it has met with various state regulators on prop activity, the league did not disclose the names of the actual states. At the moment, sports betting is legal in more than 35 states nationwide.

Given the fragmented landscape, it is up to each state to develop a sports wagering catalogue for the approval of certain props. In Colorado, for instance, the Division of Gaming rejected a proposed wager on whether any scoring drive in the Super Bowl would be shorter than the length of the national anthem. Last month, the division rejected a proposed wager on whether the jersey number of a touchdown scorer would be odd or even. However, the division approved a prop that enables customers to bet on whether the first offensive play will result in a safety.

On Friday, iGB spoke with a regulator from another state on the condition of anonymity who indicated that he is in favour of any action by a professional sports league that contains positive steps to “ensure the integrity” of its betting products.

Landscape for NFL prop bets memo

The NFL memo comes amid a number of gambling scandals involving US pro leagues.

The federal investigation in the Eastern District of New York has ensnared more than three dozen defendants in a joint poker and illegal sports betting probe involving prominent NBA players.

Separately, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase made an initial appearance on Thursday at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Both Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz have pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges in connection with a comprehensive pitch-rigging scheme.

Since the 2018 PASPA decision on sports betting, the NFL has suspended several prominent players for league violations on sports wagering, most notably Calvin Ridley, Jameson Williams and Isaiah Rodgers Sr.

“From the earliest days of legal sports betting, we have recognised the particular risks associated with prop bets and the corrosive effect they have on fan perceptions, league reputation and the safety of players, club staff and game officials,” the NFL wrote in the memo.

Platinum was fined £10 million ($13.1 million) in October for “serious” failings related to anti-money laundering and social responsibility. It was also handed a formal warning and ordered to undergo a third-party audit over the matter.

While the failings were primarily social responsibility issues specific to British regulation, certain AML systems and controls failings from 2023 were flagged as part of the same investigation.

In addition to its British licence, Platinum holds a licence in Gibraltar. As such, the Gibraltar regulator has considered its position, publishing a statement over the matter.

It said there was no specific evidence of money laundering or criminal spend and that there was “very limited financial benefit” to Platinum from the cases. However, it also flagged a “lack of adequate due diligence” for deposit levels and other failures of due diligence and approach to risk.

Examples flagged by the British regulator included failing to identify a user who exceeded their £2,500 loss limit within 16 minutes of registering their account as being at risk of potential harm. Another user staked £73,000 and lost £4,100 in 23 days without any interaction from Platinum.

Meanwhile, Platinum’s customer interaction system failed to identify a player as at risk of harm. This was despite the user losing £5,000 within 24 hours of registration, then over £16,000 in less than three months.

No further action against Platinum in Gibraltar

Despite raising concerns over Platinum’s conduct, the Gibraltar regulator elected not to pursue any further financial penalty.

Setting out its reasoning, the regulator noted the historical nature of the failings, which date back to 2023. It also acknowledged the “significant” value of the fine already issued by the British regulator.

In addition, the Gibraltar commission said Platinum’s systems and controls in relation to the Gibraltar regulatory regime have been improved. It said they are considered “satisfactory”, subject to third-party review in respect of the British regulator’s requirements.

However, given the circumstances of the case, the Gibraltar regulator saw it appropriate to issue a formal caution to Platinum.

“On balance, the licence holder is considered fit and proper to hold a Gibraltar licence given the documented improvements it has made to its systems, controls and approach to risk over time,” the commission said.

“Licence holders that are dual licensed are reminded they are expected to comply with the regime not only in Gibraltar but also of other relevant jurisdictions in which they operate.

“The fact that a formal caution has been issued will be taken into consideration if other matters come to light in the future.”

The £10 million fine was the second time Platinum has faced a financial penalty in recent years. In March 2023, it was slapped with a fine of £2.9 million, again for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures. At the same time, Kindred’s 32Red brand was fined £4.2 million for similar issues.

Rival supplier Playtech was, in October, unmasked in US court filings as the client behind a covert campaign that had employed the Israeli intelligence firm Black Cube to produce and circulate a defamatory report accusing Evolution of trading within black markets.

The dispute has all the ingredients of a boardroom thriller: disguises, fake identities, hidden cameras and dossiers couriered to regulators. Yet beneath the surface lies a more immediate concern for investors: what do the claims and some of the report’s findings mean for Evolution’s valuation, reputation and ability to sustain shareholder confidence? 

Immediate impact

The case traces back to December 2020, when Playtech contracted Black Cube to craft a report designed to damage Evolution’s standing in the US and European markets. Black Cube’s findings came to a close in November 2021 in a complaint filed with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, which alleged that Evolution’s games had been deliberately supplied in jurisdictions under US sanctions, such as Syria and Iran.  

However, according to court filings, Black Cube’s methods were elaborate and ethically dubious as agents posed under false pretences, secretly recorded current and former employees of Evolution and cherry-picked evidence. Depositions revealed that Black Cube’s co-founder, Avi Yanus, was promised a six-figure success fee for achieving specific outcomes.

Evolution’s statement claimed that the New Jersey Superior Court deemed Black Cube’s report “objectively false”, however the court’s February 2025 ruling said, “this court is not making any dispositive finding with regard to the merits of Plaintiffs’ case.” It therefore deemed the case to still be in its infancy. 

Evolution’s public release, which broke the news on 21 October, portrayed Playtech in a particularly nefarious light. The release described Playtech’s actions as a “smear campaign” and “a defamatory scheme”. The statement also described the Playtech-commissioned report as “highly inflammatory”, intended to “substantially harm” Evolution. The immediate market impact was felt by Playtech as its share price plummeted between 25% and 38%, reflecting investor concern over its role in commissioning the investigation.

The gaming giant’s share price bounced back in the couple of days following Playtech’s public response to Evolution, also released on 21 October.

Short-term PR bruise or long-term credibility at risk?

Evolution’s share price, by contrast, held steady or even rose slightly upon the release of its statement, signalling the market’s initial support for the Swedish company.

Ben Robinson, managing partner at Corfai Capital, interprets the market response as a reflection of the companies’ different roles, as portrayed in the court filings. He also highlights Evolution’s image within the media coverage, compared to Playtech.  

“The market punished Playtech, while Evolution held steady or rose slightly. The street clearly saw Evolution as the target, not the culprit,” he notes. “The 2021 dossier probes closed in February 2024 with no action, blunting the claims and capping further downside unless new facts emerge. Headlines could still sting, but this looks priced in, a short-term PR bruise rather than a lasting rerating.” 

Reputational risk

Despite the apparent resilience of Evolution’s share price, the litigation and public disclosure of internal filings carry reputational risks. Robinson cautions that even if Evolution wins the final dispute, filings and findings could stir old concerns over grey market exposure. Evolution has said its long-standing complaint against Black Cube will be updated to include Playtech.

An affidavit made by Yanus, and shared during court proceedings, suggested Evolution was supplying games in Iran, Sudan and Syria – countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism. Evolution, in its most recent case filing disputing claims made by Black Cube, has insisted these were “material false statements”.

But court documents relating to Evolution’s case include comments that suggest Evolution does maintain some presence in black markets. The document cites a recording made by Black Cube of a conversation with Kfir Kugler, the founder and CEO of developer Ezugi, a live casino developer Evolution acquired in 2018. It quotes Kugler as saying: “[W]hat we do is that we supply products. This is, you know, unofficial. So, we do have games for Kurdistan and Iraq.”

Separately, Evolution remains embroiled in a UK Gambling Commission investigation for providing its games to black market operators. An update on this is expected before the end of the year. “I’d expect pointed questions from investors, but no break in confidence. The risk now sits in perception, not fundamentals,” Robinson says of the review.

Asia cyber attacks and RNG performance impacts Evolution valuation

Evolution claims the 2021 report has caused “multi‑billion‑dollar damage” to its business and share value. Reports have previously said that when the report first came to light, Evolution’s share price “plummeted by more than 30% over the week, wiping approximately $10 billion off its market capitalisation”.  Current data show Evolution’s market cap at around €11.6 billion (at the end of October 2025), which is a drop from about €26.9 billion in December 2021.

But beyond its long-claimed links to grey or black markets the supplier has faced increased valuation damage from continued cyber attacks across Asia and internal restructuring following a number of acquisitions. Its RNG business has been on a slow recovery journey for the last few quarters.

As the dispute progresses, the case could continue to impact share prices for both Evolution and Playtech, Robinson says. “From a share value perspective, both sides appear to have little to gain from letting this escalate.”

With regards to access to operators in unregulated jurisdictions, the complex web of aggregator networks and VPN usage makes complete prevention virtually impossible. 

“Content from major suppliers, including both Evolution and Playtech, often appears through third-party aggregators. That doesn’t prove direct involvement; it reflects the increasingly fragmented nature of distribution,” he adds.

Evolution must abide by Market Abuse Regulation

An equity analyst speaking to iGB under condition of anonymity, believes both Playtech and Evolution are aware their products seep into unregulated territories, and they should also be aware how bringing attention to this will eventually damage them both.

“It’s common knowledge that content leaks into grey or even black markets through intermediaries or cloned instances. Everyone in the sector understands this, and both sides must recognise that escalation could harm them equally,” they add.

Evolution, listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, faces particular scrutiny under the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). When court proceedings reveal information that could affect a company’s valuation, that data may qualify as inside information – requiring prompt public disclosure. Failure to do so can invite regulatory investigation or sanctions. 

A Nasdaq spokesperson declined to comment on the specific case but told iGB: “It is the company’s responsibility to assess whether information constitutes inside information and to indicate this in the press release with reference to MAR.

“We continuously review that issuers comply with the Exchange’s rules and may initiate an investigation against an issuer if there are suspicions of rule violations.” 

Evolution’s balance sheet looks strong 

The saga underscores the growing struggles of corporate rivalry in the online gambling industry. Black Cube, known for its work in geopolitical and corporate espionage, was contracted to explore potential misconduct against a competitor.

Yet the path to accountability has been slow, with Black Cube repeatedly resisting court orders and Playtech striving to remain anonymous for some time. The litigation comes at a moment when the regulatory environment for B2B gaming suppliers is tightening, particularly in Europe.

Richard Williams, a lawyer at Keystone Law, notes that the issues raised in Evolution’s case are far from isolated. “The CEO of the Gambling Commission [Andrew Rhodes] said at his briefing in London on 7 November, that there will be a lot more to come in relation to games suppliers providing games to black market operators serving the UK,” he notes.

“I do not therefore think that Evolution is a special case. We are likely to see a lot more enforcement activity against licensed B2B software developers over the course of the next 12 months.” 

Broader implications on competitive ethics?

Investors will be watching not only the legal outcomes but also the broader implications for governance, compliance and competition ethics. Robinson suggests that the case may reshape investor thinking around reputation and ethics within the sector. “The case paints Playtech as the instigator and that plays in Evolution’s favour.

“The market split confirms it, positioning Evolution as the one smeared, not at fault. Regulators are likely to stay on the sidelines, but sentiment clearly leans against Playtech. In the B2B igaming space, investors may start scoring ethics and rivalry conduct alongside compliance, raising scrutiny on intel tactics.” 

Financially, the litigation and reputational fallout have not materially destabilised Evolution, which has historically had a strong balance sheet and substantial liquidity. “I’d expect a small risk premium to linger until the case closes, probably into 2026. Evolution’s balance sheet looks strong enough to support ongoing dividends and buybacks, and legal costs appear contained. Unless those costs escalate meaningfully, there’s no clear reason for capital policy to change,” Robinson observes. 

Nonetheless, the firm’s leadership is conscious of the need to maintain investor trust and demonstrate transparency. Adrian Westman, Evolution’s head of communications, underscores the company’s ongoing commitment to compliance and responsibility.

“Compliance is everyone’s responsibility and Evolution takes it with the utmost seriousness. Evolution invests significantly in systems and technology and uses all tools at our disposal to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and industry standards,” he tells iGB.

Playtech has also indicated it is committed to overall sector compliance and, in its 21 October statement, said it was “confident that these proceedings will confirm the credibility and legitimacy of the investigation and the importance of the issues it seeks to address”.

“Playtech welcomes court examination of the report and its findings,” it added.

More than a legal scuffle

The case illustrates the tangible costs of reputational warfare. The initial report did not only provoke regulatory scrutiny but resulted in significant financial damage to Evolution. Despite the eventual vindication, being targeted by a well-known competitor using private investigators can quietly hurt the company’s reputation and make investors less confident. 

Robinson reflects: “This dispute highlights ‘reputational warfare’ as a tangible cost of doing business. It echoes Evolution’s 2022 short-seller hit and other recent intelligence skirmishes across the sector. Boards will now tighten oversight of vendor conduct and due diligence, while ESG investors scrutinise governance around reputation management.” 

In January 2022 the company was hit by a short report that claimed the company’s unregulated revenue should have been valued differently from its regulated revenue.

Playtech, meanwhile, is left to contend with the fallout from being publicly identified as the orchestrator of the campaign against Evolution. The £1.8 million paid to Black Cube, while significant, pales in comparison to the reputational and financial costs of a collapsed share price and regulatory attention. For a publicly traded company, a shock of this scale can translate into lasting scrutiny from investors, regulators and analysts, even after the immediate financial penalties are absorbed. 

The Evolution saga is therefore more than a legal scuffle: it is a reminder that in the digital, highly regulated world of online gaming, the boundaries between competition and deception can blur, and the consequences are measured not only in pounds or euros, but in trust and market confidence. 

Evolution continuously denies black market links

As the case progresses through 2026, it will continue to command attention from investors, competitors and regulators alike. However, Evolution is confident in its legal footing. Westman insists the company’s focus is on accountability rather than damage control. “Evolution’s current defamation litigation is the company’s effort to hold Playtech and Black Cube accountable for its wrongdoing and protect shareholder value,” he said. 

But Playtech is also confident of its position. In its public statement it said its subsidiary approached Black Cube as an independent investigator to look into “credible and repeated concerns” from operators, suppliers and regulators about Evolution’s activities in prohibited and sanctioned markets. 

When asked by iGB, Westman insists the findings in the Playtech-commissioned report were false. Indeed, Evolution has for several years firmly denied it has had any involvement in illegal activities.

The next legal steps for Evolution will be to prepare its defamation case against Playtech and Black Cube case for trial, which is expected to run through 2026. “We are confident that the law and facts are on our side and look forward to presenting our case,” Westman adds. 

Revenue for the three months to the end of September was marginally higher than SEK6.68 billion in Q3 2024. However, the monthly total fell 4.4% short of the SEK7.02 billion posted in Q2 of this year.

Figures from regulator Spelinspektionen showed commercial online gambling remained the primary source of gambling revenue by some margin. Total revenue from the sector, which includes online casino, topped SEK4.51 billion in Q3, up 3.5% year-on-year.

This segment also covers online sports betting, with the increase coming despite a tough comparable period last year. Q3 of 2024 included the latter stages of football’s Euro 2024 tournament, as well as the 2024 summer Olympic Games.

Mixed news from the land-based sector in Sweden

Turning to land-based gambling, revenue from the state lottery and physical slot machines was 7.2% lower year-on-year at SEK1.26 billion.

Revenue from lotteries classified as “gaming for public benefit” edged up 0.5% to SEK822 million. Meanwhile, bingo games under the public benefit umbrella generated SEK48 million, which was level year-on-year.

Elsewhere, land-based commercial gaming, including restaurant casinos, drew SEK67 million in revenue, a rise of 3.1%.

Finally, Q3 was the first quarter in which the former Casino Cosmopol land-based operations did not generate any gambling revenue. Svenska Spel closed its final physical casino in April, just weeks after Sweden’s government voted to abolish land-based casinos. 

Land-based casinos will officially be banned in Sweden from 1 January 2026.

Extended credit gambling ban edges closer in Sweden

Also soon to be banned in Sweden will be gambling with credit. The Swedish Gambling Act already prevents players from using credit to gamble with licensed operators. However, a change in regulation will take this further.

From 1 April 2026, both licensees and gambling agents will be banned from processing transactions that involve any form of credit. This will extend to credit agreements with other actors, such as loan agreements and bank overdrafts, where they may be misappropriated for the purpose of gambling.

Licensees and agents must also take measures to counteract gambling with credit. This could include blocking credit card payments and not promoting third-party lenders to customers.

However, the government said Spelinspektionen could make certain exceptions to the ban. This may cover licensed operators running gambling for public benefit, like charity lotteries.