SBC Eurasia Editorial Team is happy to present a quick recap of the gambling industry events, news, regulations and partnerships that happened last week.
Apple has officially unveiled the Apple Sports app, which provides users with the ability to track scores, team statistics, betting odds and more across various major sports leagues. Supported leagues include the Premier League, NBA, NCAA basketball, NHL, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Liga MX, Ligue 1, Serie A and MLS.
7777 gaming is now the proud provider of cutting-edge digital lottery and instant win games for Ukrainian National Lottery (UNL). At the same time, after the first amendments were made to the Law of Ukraine “On Advertising”, control over the publication of gambling advertisements was transferred to the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL). The state regulator noted that popular casinos, as well as companies involved in placing and creating advertising products, must be familiar with the new conditions. The main condition is that advertising must be placed only with authorized gambling operators.
From 2024, the “Сәтті Жұлдыз” lottery operator intends to suspend the opening of new terminals, planning to reduce the number of such terminals to 1,250 by 2032. To date, by December 1, the number of Lotomatic lottery terminals has decreased from 25 thousand to five thousand units.
Albania is lifting its ban on sports betting after a five-year hiatus caused by a 2018 ruling that removed it from the market. According to the new law, online sports betting is only allowed on specialized, authorized and controlled websites, applications or electronic platforms licensed in accordance with the provisions of the law, excluding track racing.
MaxBet, the Balkan market subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment, has announced its ‘biggest sponsorship agreement ever’ – becoming the principal sponsor of FK Partizan Belgrade. As reported by the Serbian media, MaxBet has agreed to terms on a €5.5m deal to become the ‘general sponsor’ of FK Partizan Belgrade for the next three and a half years.
NetBet, the world leader in online casinos, is pleased to enter the Danish market with a gaming license from the Danish Gambling Authority. NetBet is expanding its popularity in Denmark through strategic partnerships with leading gaming providers Push Gaming and Pragmatic Play. Moreover, an error in Denmark’s self-exclusion registry ROFUS that affected around 1,200 listed players has been addressed by the Danish Gambling Authority Spillemyndigheden. The mistake allowed some players who renewed their self-exclusion under ROFUS to nevertheless access gambling through physical casinos and betting machines.
The National Betting Authority (NBA) of Cyprus has introduced the National Self-Exclusion Platform as part of its Safe Gambling Strategy 2022-2025 to protect players. The NBA said the free platform will provide players with the ability to control their betting by allowing them to be temporarily, permanently or indefinitely excluded from betting using all licensed online operators in the Republic of Cyprus.
Kambi Group plc has inked a new deal with PENN Entertainment that extends their previous sportsbook platform agreement until 31 December 2025. Moreover, Kambi has declared that it has achieved a ‘stronger foundation for growth’, following a difficult close to year-end trading which impacted its full-year 2023 results. On an annual basis, group revenues stood at €173m, up 4% on FY2022’s corresponding results of €166m.
Betsson strengthened its influence in Europe by acquiring Holland Gaming Technology, a gaming operator licensed in the Netherlands, and Holland Power Gaming, a Dutch gaming studio that creates casino games.
Live betting provider SIS (Sports Information Services) has signed a distribution agreement with Genius Sports for the supply of the former’s Competitive Gaming product. While sports betting solutions provider Betinvest and Abios have announced a new partnership. Betinvest will provide Abios with efootball content from the professional leagues CyberLive!Arena and Esport Pro Club.
Pragmatic Play, a leading iGaming content provider, has deepened its partnership with bet365 in Greece, bringing its diverse range of products to the operator. While REEVO, an innovative B2B content and aggregation provider, announced a dynamic partnership with Rival Powered, a leading global developer and provider of B2B games and casino software.
Evoplay has released a new instant game, Hockey Shootout. In this game you take part in dynamic hockey matches on ice. Hockey Shootout follows the success of Penalty Shootout and expands the studio’s portfolio of sports games, highlighting its versatility in creating games for various fields.
Svenska Spel has announced the closure of its Cosmopol casinos in Gothenburg and Malmö by the end of this month. Svenska Spel emphasized that the problem with the unprofitability of the Cosmopol casino has been going on for several years due to the growing popularity of online gambling, which leads to a decrease in attendance. Groupe Francaise des Jeux (Groupe FDJ) has put its B2B division Sporting Solutions up for sale and is seeking a buyer for the company acquired in 2019, with the clarification that the transaction price remains confidential.
Unibet has signed a partnership agreement with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), becoming the official bookmaker and betting partner of PFL Europe in the UK and France in 2024 and 2025. While Stake and UFC have entered into a strategic partnership covering the Asian region. As part of the agreement, the betting company will offer joint promotions and VIP services to expand betting opportunities in the region.
Affiliate marketing firm 20SHOTS has announced the next chapter in its marketing division by signing football journalist Fabrizio Romano to its latest expansion campaign. He will take part in 20SHOTS’ service outsourcing to sports data firm Stats Perform and its Opta platform, including the creation of the Premier League fantasy football game Opta Five – part of the Opta Games Gub.
The Brazilian Ministry of Finance has confirmed the resignation of José Francisco Manssur, previously the government’s principal adviser in the drafting of Bill No. 3626/2023. The initiative creates the legislative framework to launch a federal sports betting market, known locally as “Bets”. It is believed that Manssur’s resignation will slow down the final steps to launch Bets in Brazil.
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