SBC Eurasia Editorial Team is happy to present a quick recap of the gambling industry events, news, regulations and partnerships that happened last week.
With over a decade in the industry – spanning key roles at bwin, Bet Cafe Arena, and now at Superbet, Andrei Popa answers SBC Eurasia’s 10 questions and reflects on his journey through the iGaming industry, sharing pivotal moments, invaluable lessons, and the mentors who shaped his path.
SBC Summit will make a powerful return to Lisbon this September, bringing together 30,000 industry professionals for its biggest edition yet. While SBC Summit Americas, debuting in Fort Lauderdale this May, will deliver a pan-American educational experience, tailored for companies aiming to deepen market insights or expand their presence in North and Latin America.
Following weeks of deliberations, the National Assembly of Armenia has approved a package of legislative amendments to apply a new tax code on gambling activities. Initiated from 1 July 2025, the new tax code will apply a 10% turnover tax on the gambling activities of casinos, online games, sports betting, lotteries and totalizers.
Ministers in Romania have been urged to back new regulations that will impose a limit on gambling expenditure to 10% of a player’s monthly income. While Gheorghe-Gabriel Gheorghe, President of Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN), has refused to attend the parliamentary hearings of the IT Committee.
The government of the Republic of Slovakia has been urged to recognise the acceleration of online gambling (particularly online casinos) outpacing land-based gambling segments. The warning came from Martin Bohoš, Director General of ÚRHH, Slovakia’s Office for the Regulation of Gambling, who filed the monitoring report for 2024 activities to the Vláda.
On February 17, Georgia’s Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that SPRIBE OU had registered Aviator LLC’s trademarks in bad faith, violating its copyright. While Lithuania’s Olympic Casino Group Baltija has been fined nearly €8.4 million for serious regulatory breaches related to the BaltCap embezzlement case.
The application of cross-operator checks and protections mandated by Germany’s Fourth Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GlüNeuRStV) has come under scrutiny. The liabilities of the GlüNeuRStV regime were detailed by the journal Investigate Europe.
The Philippines Сentral Bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has issued new gambling policy guidelines. While the Isle of Man has warned against the threat of Southeast Asian crime groups as it strengthened its defences against infiltration from the region.
Investment bank Jefferies has revised its 2025 Macau Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) forecast, lowering it by 2% to MOP$240 billion (US$30 billion).
Entain Plc sees its business units return to ‘organic growth’; however, the FTSE100 group’s yearly profits have been wiped out by bottom-line impairments, write-downs, and restructuring costs totalling £860m ($963.2 m). While Banijay Group has highlighted the results of its Betting & Gaming division, led by Betclic, which “exceeded all expectations with an exceptional performance”.
The senior leadership at Yolo Entertainment, an online crypto-focused betting and casino operator, has undergone a shakeup with three promotions.
Mastercard and Visa have reaffirmed their strict stance against illegal activities on their payment networks, declaring a “zero tolerance” policy toward the black market. While a report by the All India Gaming Federation has revealed the extent at which players in the country engage with the black market. The report detailed that unlicensed betting platforms had a total of 1.6 billion visits over a three month period.
US-based lottery technology and courier firm Lottery.com is looking to enter European and Asian markets. The company has provided more details on its expansion plans, although it has not specifically stated which “key European and Asian markets” it is targeting.
Italy’s Chamber of Deputies has begun debates at the Palazzo on whether to amend or annul the rules of the Dignity Decree of 2018, which bans gambling sponsorships in Italian sports. While BETBY has introduced a custom-made Counter-Strike 2 league for CSGOEmpire.
BlueBet Plc has proposed a counter-offer to acquire the business of ASX rival PointsBet Holdings, stating it is “superior in value” to the deal accepted with MIXI Australia. While the Star Entertainment Group has completed the sale of its 50% stake in the Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane, Australia, with the intention of reducing financial instability.
West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta is to appear at a hearing over alleged betting fraud. The three-week hearing into alleged match-fixing offences will be one of the longest trials in the history of the Football Association (FA), which is seeking a life ban for the player.
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