We are starting this week by recapping some of the most prominent events and news that happened last week.
In today’s edition of the SBC CIS Weekly Digest we’ll tell you about Entain’s exit from unregulated markets, STS Group’s withdrawal from the markets in the UK and Estonia, EGT’s new director in their Spanish office, Payment Expert podcast review, SBC’s 2023 Game Developer Awards, record number of players on MGA-licensed websites, outlook for eSports markets in the Central and Eastern Europe, UKGC’s regulatory action against VBET, and a number of new partnerships and growth initiatives by 7777 Gaming, Digitain and WorldMatch.
Read more about these news in our digest below.
Entain announced that it is accelerating its exit from certain unregulated markets, highlighting its commitment to achieve 100% growth out of working on the regulated ones. FTSE 100 Gambling Group executives told investors that they will no longer operate in «unregulated markets where there is no prospect for domestic regulation.»
STS Group, largest sports betting operator in Poland, confirmed that it will begin phasing out its operations in the UK and Estonia to bolster its goal of increasing profitability for investors. The decision follows successful deals in 2022, when STS strengthened its position as Poland’s largest sports betting provider — in 2022, the group generated net gambling revenue (NGR) of PLN 663 million (€142 million), up 17% from PLN 565 million in 2021.
Euro Games Technology, commonly known as EGT, appointed Alejandro Mosquera Rey as their new office director in Spain. Mr. Mosquera has spent 10 years at Codere as a Product Manager and Chief Information Officer. He joins EGT with great drive and ambition to further promote the company’s products and establish its leadership on the Spanish gambling market.
Lena Hackelöer, CEO and founder at Brite Payments, in a recent Payment Expert podcast shared her view on the early rise of second-generation fintech in Sweden, the importance of instant payments in the current payments industry, and the positives for both merchants and customers.
SBC announced it started to accept applications for the Game Creation and Game People nominations of the 2023 Game Developer Awards. The deadline for sending your applications is February 24. The awards ceremony will take place on May 25 at the InterContinental Hotel as part of the CasinoBeats Summit.
Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) released a report indicating the number of players on licensed sites in Malta reached an all-time high. Maltese regulator reports that active player accounts of licensed operators reached 19.3 million, an increase of 8.7% compared to last year. The previous record (19 million) was registered at the end of 2020.
Dániel Hodozsán, Chief Operating Officer at Esport1 Central and Eastern Europe, highlighted some of the most important CEE eSports news from 2022. Among them — Slovenian Olympic Committee accepted the Esports Federation of Slovenia (EŠZS) as its member, in Hungary, the national lottery company became the naming partner of TippmixPro CS:GO Masters, Hungarian National CS:GO Championship, Tipsport betting company also became the naming partner of the Czech National CS:GO Championship and many others.
UKGC announced its intention to impose a regulatory action on Vivaro Limited, which operates under the VBET brand. UKGC’s statement provides that the sports betting operator is to pay the regulator $412,000 regulatory settlement following a series of compliance failings, among which are failings in Vivaro’s implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies and deficiencies in its responsible gambling policies, procedures, controls and practices.
7777 Gaming and Bulgarian online operator Sesame launched more than 60 new titles onto the latter’s platform. Players within the Bulgarian-regulated space will gain access to an array of 7777 titles, including Sea of Treasure, Cash 40, Diamonds of Majesty, and Honey of Gold.
Digitain, one of Europe’s leading iGaming solutions developers, opened a new office in Bucharest. Located in the city center, the new office will allow the company to better serve the growing customer base in the region and further expand its presence in the European market.
WorldMatch strengthened its positions in Belgium. The company will offer slot games in conjunction with betFirst via the iSoftBet platform. Top WorldMatch slots like Banana King Dice and Book of Pharaon Dice will be available to Belgian players at betFirst online casino. The partnership will significantly expand the supplier’s presence in the country and provide Belgian players with fresh and exciting WorldMatch games.
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