Europe NEWS

Bulgaria’s overhaul of gambling regulations

Yesterday an emergency meeting was convened by the Budget and Finance Commission of Bulgaria. The meeting, attended by Members of Parliament (MPs), was held to discuss and approve the latest amendments to Bulgaria’s Gambling Act. These amendments, co-authored by Yordan Tsonev of the centrist DPS party (pictured above), and Temenuzhka Petkova of the populist GERB party, had recently passed their first reading and were now undergoing a second reading.

AI technologies evolve quickly in the gambling world

In April this year, the voluntary EU code of conduct incorporated a vow to refrain from generating, utilising or spreading “any form of deceptive content”. As part of an EU charter on fair campaigning, European political parties consented to refrain from disseminating unmarked deepfakes ahead of the June election. A comparable law has been enacted…

Rise, fall and resurgence of Adam Cole

Adam Cole, the co-founder of the now-defunct Football Index, is back in the spotlight with a new venture, KiX, a footballer trading platform bearing striking resemblances to its predecessor. The collapse of Football Index in 2021 led to users losing an estimated £90 million in virtual footballer shares, averaging losses of about £3,000 per customer, with many losing significantly more.

Ukraine’s Parliament advances bill to reinforce responsible gambling

Yesterday's Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed the first reading of a bill aimed at strengthening the state’s oversight over the gambling business. The bill, backed by 272 lawmakers, was introduced in May 2023 and is now one step closer to becoming law, pending a second reading and the president’s signature.

Norway’s Norsk Rikstoto sees 4% revenue dip

Norway‘s state-owned horse race betting operator, Norsk Rikstoto, reported a 4 percent decrease in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the year 2023. Despite this decline, the operator managed to contribute NOK516 million (€44.0 million) to Norwegian equestrian sport.   Turnover and racing products   Turnover from racing products experienced a similar 4 percent decrease, amounting to NOK3.14 billion (€268.8 million). Notably, NOK1.75 billion…

Svenska Spel Q1 24 reports declining profits and rising costs

Svenska Spel, a major player in the gaming industry, recently disclosed its Q1 2024 financial results, which painted a picture of mixed fortunes. The company’s net revenue for the quarter was SEK1.96 billion ($0.18 billion), marking a marginal 1 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. This dip in revenue has been attributed to the restructuring efforts within the Casino Cosmopol and Vegas business area.

Allwyn and MADIC UK collaborate to boost lottery sales

The UK National Lottery has been a significant contributor to good causes, surpassing the £500m mark twice in the past five quarters, marking an 18.7% sequential increase. This achievement has been made possible through the continuous efforts of Allwyn, the operator that took over the stewardship of the National Lottery from Camelot in 2023. Allwyn’s takeover was marked by a strong unaudited annual performance, generating double the revenue (€7.87bn) compared to the previous corresponding period. This success has set the stage for the next phase of the National Lottery’s evolution.

France’s gambling sector: record growth despite regulatory challenges

In 2023, France’s sports betting and gaming operators witnessed a significant milestone. Their gross gaming revenues (GGR) rose by 3.5 percent year-on-year, reaching a record €13.4 billion. This growth was observed across all market verticals, marking the highest level of activity ever recorded by the sector.

Kindred’s struggle with harmful gambling revenue

Kindred’s ambitious campaign, ‘Journey towards Zero’, aimed at eradicating revenue from high-risk gamblers, appears to have stumbled in its latest update. The first quarter of 2024 saw a marginal uptick in revenue from this demographic, with gross winnings hitting 3.2 percent, a slight increase from the 3.1 percent reported in Q4 2023.

House of Lords library sheds light on impact of gambling marketing

The UK House of Lords library has turned its focus towards a pressing issue - the impact of gambling marketing. This topic has been gaining traction due to the expansion of the gambling industry in recent years and the subsequent increase in gambling-related harms.