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 Kyrgyzstan, the first casino licence was issued, some 10 months after the country’s government officially legalised gambling. According to the State Financial Supervision Authority, Grand Casino LLC became the first licensee. The company was registered on November 14, 2022 and is headed by Adil Abdimanapov. The licence fee amounts to nearly $960,000.
In Kazakhstan, the gambling industry continues to show impressive results, reaching a turnover of $1.24 billion in 2022. This shows a steady growth of the industry and demonstrates its significant contribution to the country’s economy.
In Ukraine, the Head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Myhajlo Fedorov, registered a Bill that proposes to dissolve the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRGL/КРАИЛ), a regulatory body responsible for granting gambling licences.
Ivan Rudy, the Head of the Ukrainian gambling regulator, expressed his concerns with Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation new Bill. Precisely that it has not been officially submitted to the Commission for review. He offered his analysis of the new legislation and shared 5 key points that he believes are enough to refute the need to adopt the new Bill.
In Estonia, the Ministry of Finance published a Bill that proposes to increase taxes on online gambling, casino games and lotteries. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board said the Ministry decided to introduce such changes based on a significant increase in online casino revenue, from 78 million Euros in 2020 to 281 million Euros in 2022 (a 260% increase).
International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) issued 40 alerts on suspicious betting activity. The number of warnings decreased by 16.6% compared to the same period last year and by 20% compared to the previous quarter of this year. Suspicious betting alerts were issued in 21 countries for 9 different kinds of sport — 24 in Europe, 6 in Asia, 4 in Africa, and two warnings in the North and the South Americas each. The largest number of warnings was recorded in Spain.
Dmitry Voshkarin, CEO at GG.BET, shared his thoughts on the results of 2022 and prospects for 2023. The online traditional sports and eSports betting company made significant progress last year, but also faced some challenges. In the SBC CIS article, Dmitry Voshkarin looks at what happened to GG.BET in 2022 and what to expect from the company in 2023.
PlayMeTech entered the gaming sector by acquiring a stake in Alphabook, an online sportsbook and casino operator. Launched in 2022, Alphabook has established itself as one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency platforms, offering over 750 sports betting markets and thousands of casino games to players worldwide. In a statement confirming the deal, Alphabook announced the appointment of UFC star Ilya Topuria as a brand ambassador to help expand the brand into a rapidly growing MMA community.
Altenar, a Latvian-based betting software provider, is going to attend MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit in Riga to inform stakeholders about the advantages of operating sports betting in Latvia and how innovative and engaging content, data providers and features can drive business success.
Tabcorp, Australia’s largest gaming provider, introduced new artificial intelligence (AI) technology — Mindway AI — to improve responsible gaming for its players. This is the first time that a global AI-platform partnered with an Australian betting company. The company added that Mindway AI has customer service software in 20 countries and has 6.5 million monthly active users.
Wazdan, one of the leading developers of slot games, announced their partnership with the Bulgarian operator 8888.bg. This cooperation will help Wazdan expand its presence in the Bulgarian market and strengthen its position in the gaming industry. 8888.bg is one of the leading online casinos in Bulgaria offering a wide range of slot games from the industry’s leading providers.
Pragmatic Play, the leading content provider in the iGaming industry, continues to . This time the company presents its latest release, Excalibur Unleashed. This slot takes players into the mysterious world of King Arthur and his legendary sword, Excalibur. In Excalibur Unleashed, players will embark on an exciting adventure alongside King Arthur to uncover the mysteries of the sword and earn rich rewards.
SOFTSWISS, one of the leading online casino game aggregators, announced its new partnership with RubyPlay, a B2B games provider licensed in Romania and Malta, and having gaming certification in Italy and Colombia. This collaboration will allow SOFTSWISS to expand its portfolio of games and provide customers with even more options to diversify gaming content. RubyPlay offers a wide range of slots and other games that meet high quality standards and are attractive to players.
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