SBC CIS Editorial Team is happy to present a quick recap of the gambling industry events, news, regulations and partnerships that happened last week.
London-based Esports Insider and Georgia’s SMH Global, with its HQ in Tbilisi, have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at conquering the realms of esports and gaming in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Middle East.
The focus of this strategic alliance extends to pivotal regions such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. By leveraging SMH Global‘s expansive network and Esports Insider’s innovative prowess, including its media and events network and capacities, the collaboration aims to set new benchmarks, making esports even more of an integral part of the cultural fabric in these dynamic territories.
The Bulgarian prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and its president, Borislav Mikhailov. The incident occurred after a protest rally took place in Sofia against the leadership of the BFU, which has been headed by Mikhailov for over 18 years. The prosecutor’s office reported violations and/or crimes of various types (expenditure of public funds, black lottery, etc.).
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan has banned military and conscript soldiers from participating in gambling, and this prohibition will be extended to the future reserve military service, planned for formation in 2025. This is stated in the message of the country’s Minister of Defense, Ruslan Jaksylykov.
Parliament members in Kazakhstan adopted amendments to the country’s Tax Code, which order gambling business owners to provide reports on bets made by residents of Kazakhstan. At the initiative of members of the Parliament, owners of betting companies and sweepstakes must submit online information about the size of bets, losses and winnings to the tax authorities.
Spelinspektionen has welcomed new changes to Sweden’s Money Laundering Act that will allow the gambling inspectorate to increase financial penalties on gambling-related infringements. The decision was approved by Finansdepartementet, Sweden’s Ministry of Finance, which will allow the inspectorate to increase penalty fees for gambling operators violating AML rules, starting from April 1, 2024.
German gambling trade bodies of DSWV (sports betting) and DOCV (online casino) have alerted federal authorities of “alarming developments in Germany’s online gambling market” and its failure to protect consumers from being targeted by the black market. The warning follows a study undertaken by economist Günther Schnabl of the University of Leipzig, evaluating the effectiveness of laws and protections of Germany’s Interstate Market (GlüNeuRStv). The study’s headline evaluation cites that despite the “efforts of the federal states to steer players towards licensed offers, around half of German online gambling continues to take place in the illegal market”.
OKTO.CASH has been granted approval by the German gambling regulator Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), becoming an approved payment method for igaming in the country. This important development allows slot machine sellers in the German market to take advantage of the unique benefits of OKTO.CASH, distinguishing themselves from competitors and offering their customers an unparalleled payment experience.
Epom’s Sales Executive, Sergiy Shchelkov, has shared valuable insights into responsible advertising techniques and how they can contribute to a safer gambling environment for everyone involved.
OpenBet’s Chief Product Officer, Nikos Konstakis, in his interview with SBC Media has shared his insights into the company’s enhanced product set, defined with five different pillars: Bet, Trade, Transform, Protect and Elevate.
Catena Media has revealed new details about the full sale of its sports betting and casino media assets in Italy. The deal announcement was made separately from the company’s third-quarter trading results, which noted a decline in revenue due to changes in the North American network’s payment model, moving from cost-per-acquisition (CPA) contracts to a revenue-sharing model. The sale of the Italian media assets was made to two buyers at a price of 19.8 million euros, while details of these buyers were not disclosed. Investors were told that “one transaction has already been completed and another is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.”
OlyBet has announced an extension of its partnership with Euroleague Basketball, maintaining a visible presence in the European basketball scene. The Baltic operator now becomes a premium partner for both Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup, until the end of the 2024-25 season.
GG.BET has partnered with gaming news company Dot Esports in creating a virtual project featuring 50 of the all-time best CS:GO records. The esports betting company now enables CS:GO fans to read the stories of players, teams, tournaments and content creators, as well as access videos about them.
Statscore has deepened its partnership with the Polish Football Association to include the Women’s Orlen Ekstraliga, Men’s 2. Liga and Fortuna Polish Cup. This allows Statscore to have exclusive rights to collect real-time data from the playing fields of these competitions.
Swint has announced an increase in its influence in Lithuania after entering into a strategic partnership with Uniclub, a new casino and sports betting platform. The company, which has existed since 2001 under the management of UAB Unigames, is already known in Eastern Europe for its slots and sponsorship of the Lithuanian Basketball League team — Uniclub Casino Juventus. However, the company recently decided to expand its activities into the digital sphere with the launch of the Uniclub.lt platform.
WorldMatch and Inbet have signed a partnership agreement, which marks the debut of WorldMatch in the Bulgarian market. Through this deal, Inbet will integrate games from WorldMatch into its platform, expanding Bulgarian players’ access to popular games including Book of Pharaon Deluxe, Banana King and Olimpo Rise of Gods.
Starcasinò Sport, part of Betsson Group, became the main sponsor of the Italian Serie C team, SS Juve Stabia. This is the fourth team in Italy supported by Starcasinò Sport, after Napoli in Serie A, Palermo in Serie B and ACR Messina in Serie C.
Galaxsys announced its partnership with SYNOT Interactive. Their platform successfully supports a number of online operator brands in the Balkans, including SAKA Group, Tipsport and MaxBet Group.
Endorphina, a well-known iGaming software developer, recently signed an agreement with Fonbet to provide a wide selection of gaming slots in Greece. This partnership becomes key for both companies as Endorphina strives to innovate in the development of new types of slots, while Fonbet aims to provide the highest gaming experience.
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