SBC CIS Editorial Team is happy to present a quick recap of the gambling industry events, news, regulations and partnerships that happened last week.
In the wake of SBC Barcelona Summit, 5 startups in the innovation space were selected as finalists in the second round of the SBC First Pitch Barcelona competition. These finalists will compete for an exclusive prize package valued at over €60,000, which will support the further growth and development of the winning company. The competition is organised by Yolo Investments and will provide an opportunity for five ambitious companies to present their products and business plans in front of a live audience of leading industry professionals. The winner will be determined by a jury consisting of experts in the field of venture capital and investment. SBC First Pitch Barcelona will take place on Wednesday, September 20 at the Fira de Barcelona Montjuïc and will form an integral part of the “Future of Technology ” conference track.
The United Arab Emirates set up a federal authority to launch national lotteries and administer so-called commercial games, which may indicate the imminent reaction to the growing interest from the international companies, involving major casino operators. Casinos in the UAE, especially in Dubai, are seen as a way to attract tourists and increase income. This is especially true for Emirates Airlines, which is based in Dubai and carries a large number of passengers.
In Kazakhstan, the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in a Security Council meeting instructed the government agencies to strengthen measures and establish restrictions on gambling for certain categories of citizens. Tokayev noted the increase in the level of crime associated with gambling addiction, and instructed the authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure law and order.
1xBet advertising was found on display at the state-owned Nur Media’s websites in Kazakhstan. Government officials have expressed great concern over the serious harm caused by gambling and have announced new measures to limit gambling advertising, such as limiting where advertising is allowed, in an attempt to curb the spread of gambling.
Cosmolot, a Ukrainian online casino brand, announced that in the first six months of 2023 they transferred more than UAH 1Bn to the state budget of Ukraine in the form of licence payments and taxes (UAH 23.4 million for licence renewal, UAH 802 million as income taxes, UAH 214 million in other categories of taxes).
FAVBET Tech team, who are partners of the CyberPolk volunteer community and active members of the IT Army of Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Ministry, put together a number of tips on personal cybersecurity for Ukrainians and shared their own experience in protecting digital borders. “There’s a fairly standard set of rules that any user should follow during the war,” — Artem Skrypnyk, CEO at FAVBET Tech.
Gennady Novikov, Head of Consulting at 4H Agency, in his recent publication at the SBC CIS website, focused on reviewing the latest regulatory news in the Balkan countries and the post-soviet region. The approach chosen by the expert makes it possible to assess the attitude of state authorities to the regulation of the gambling business, to understand the chosen approach and, as a result, to highlight the trends in the development of the gambling business in the region.
Stake.com, a platform known for its popular cryptocurrency gambling, was hacked, resulting in an unauthorised withdrawal of more than $41 million worth of cryptocurrency. Stake.com had been alerted to suspicious transactions from its Ethereum and BSC wallets, but the company assured that users’ assets in Bitcoin, XRP and other cryptocurrencies remained safe and unaffected. Blockchain data revealed that the first suspicious Ethereum transaction was transferred to a hacker’s account, followed by a $3.9 million Tether transaction.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) introduced an innovative ProhiBet system designed to ensure fairness and transparency in betting. This project is a joint initiative of UFC, Odds On Compliance and U.S. Integrity, UFC’s betting partner.
Betway parent company, Super Group, announced their official global betting partnership with London’s Arsenal men’s team. This deal will enable Betway to enhance the English Premier League club’s fan experience by providing global activations and exclusive content across all social media platforms and supporting responsible gaming. As part of this partnership, the betting brand will be featured on billboards at Arsenal’s home stadium, Emirates, during Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup games.
Luis Figo, best known for his career with Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team, renewed his contract with Digitain and remained the company’s Brand Ambassador. The original agreement was signed in July 2022, and this contract extension means Luis Figo will represent Digitain as a Brand Ambassador at various trade shows in 2023 and 2024.
Podcast Review: Dynamics of Customer Loyalty and Affiliate-Operator Relationship
With SBC Summit Barcelona a mere few weeks away, iGaming Daily continues to look into the event and what is set to be on show between September 19 and 21 September. The event will host a set of roundtable discussions, where attendees will be talking about a range of topics from global markets, payments and compliance to the future of iGaming Bingo. Anna Arakelyan, Public Relations Manager at Casino.Online, will host a roundtable called the “Power of Customer Loyalty in Affiliation” at SBC Summit Barcelona, and in the latest episode of iGaming Daily she joined James Ross to talk about the evolution of affiliation in the industry, strengthening relationships between operators and affiliates, balancing new players and existing ones and more.
PandaScore entered the Polish market by signing an agreement with the Tier 1 operator STS to provide a suite of eSports betting products and tools. Poland is a major eSports market with a very high demand for eSports betting, and STS aims to capitalise on this demand by offering compelling coverage of eSports products, which will be done through PandaScore’s impressive solutions.
Galaxsys partnered with Betsson Group to offer games to the audience of the Betsson brand in every territory where it’s been active. Games that players can now enjoy through Betsson include Roulette X, Jungle Wheel, Ninja Crash, Crasher, F Mines, Plinkoman, Mr. Thimble, Golden RA, Cash Show, Rocketon, Hi-Lo, Blackjack, Penalty, Keno, Keno Express and Sic Bo.
Speaking of Betsson, the brand acquired a licence to operate in the Serbian regulated market. This important step has become a key part of the company’s strategic growth. Now, thanks to this licence, Betsson can officially introduce its online casino Rizk to the Serbian audience.
Following the launch of the Betsson’s Rizk casino in Serbia, Gaming Innovation Group made its debut in the Balkans by bringing its content to Serbia through the Rizk Casino.
7777 Gaming offered its online casino platform to a Romanian operator Win2. Over 70 certified games, as well as a variety of marketing tools including game of the day, missions, tournaments, cash giveaways and many other features will become available to the casino enthusiasts in Romania.
Reevo was making a lot of headlines last week. Here’s a brief recap of the deals and partnerships the platform provider has recently engaged in: Partnership with Evoplay, strategic partnership with 888 Holdings, content aggregation partnership with Hacksaw Gaming.
Stay tuned for more news this week and subscribe to our Telegram channel!
