Author: Andrew Fletcher

Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court has ruled in favour of professional bettor Antti Koivula after more than five years of legal disputes over his betting tax treatment. The case centred on Koivula’s 2020 betting activity, during which he staked around €366,000 and won approximately €407,000, generating an actual profit of around €41,000. Finnish tax authorities had assessed his bets individually, concluding that losing bets could not be counted as costs incurred in earning his betting income. That interpretation meant Koivula’s modest €41,000 profit could have resulted in a tax bill of approximately €166,000, a figure he described as deeply unfair given…

Ladbrokes Ireland has returned to profitability in 2025, converting a €1.3 million loss from the previous year into a modest profit of €300,000. The turnaround comes after the company, which operates Entain retail shops across Ireland, undertook a concentrated cost-cutting effort reflected in its Companies Registration Office filing. Staff costs were reduced significantly year-on-year, falling from €15.4 million to €14.2 million as the company trimmed its workforce. Monthly headcount dropped from 542 to 526 employees, indicating a deliberate effort to reduce the wage bill and bring operational costs under control. Overall operating expenses fell to €21.5 million for 2025, compared…

Oddin.gg, the Prague-based betting content firm, has unveiled its new eHockey product ahead of the upcoming National Hockey League season. The round-the-clock, head-to-head ice hockey offering delivers 1,600 studio-produced matches per month, giving operators a constant stream of wagering content. Unlike traditional sports broadcasts, the matches are short, frequent, and played by real people inside a studio environment, keeping the format fast-paced and immediately engaging. Trading and risk management services are handled entirely by Oddin.gg’s in-house team, ensuring operators receive a fully managed product from end to end. The eHockey launch is part of a broader rollout that will eventually…

Allwyn AG has confirmed the appointment of Fredrik Ögren as its new group chief technology officer, marking another significant leadership change at the lottery and gaming giant. Ögren joins from Betsson, where he spent seven years before departing in August, most recently serving as the Swedish operator’s chief technology officer. During his tenure at Betsson, Ögren held several director-level positions across the group before rising to the top technology role. Prior to joining Betsson in August 2019, Ögren built his career at some of Sweden’s most prominent newspapers, including Dagens Industri and Expressen. In his new role at Allwyn, Ögren…

Betsson Group has officially launched its flagship Betsson brand in Belgium, replacing its existing betFIRST operation in the country with its primary global identity. The move comes three years after the group’s initial acquisition of betFIRST, with the Stockholm-listed operator now aiming to grow worldwide recognition of its main brand. Betsson Group acquired betFIRST for €120m in June 2023, completing a deal structured as €117m upfront with up to €3m in earnout payments subject to financial targets. The rebrand, effective 5 October 2026, represents the most visible milestone in that integration, following a pattern the group has applied across several…

Jumpman Gaming has secured a landmark legal victory in the UK, seeing its £13.2m Remote Gaming Duty tax bill effectively wiped to zero. The Guernsey-based online casino company, which primarily operates slots products, won a favourable ruling from the Upper Tribunal last week against HM Revenue and Customs. HMRC had issued Jumpman Gaming with the Remote Gaming Duty bill covering the period between July 2018 and December 2022. The case centred specifically on the taxation of winnings generated through promotional free spins offered to customers by the operator. At the heart of the dispute was the concept of re-wagering, whereby…

Racecourse Media Group has appointed Andrew Demaria as its first-ever Chief Content Officer, marking a significant strategic shift for the global media rights management organisation. Demaria will officially join RMG tomorrow, taking on a broad remit that spans content strategy, audience development, digital growth, data and insights, marketing integration and content partnerships. Based in London, he will focus on driving subscriber growth, audience engagement and commercial performance across the organisation’s media operations. Horse racing is actively seeking to replicate the kind of mainstream momentum seen recently in sports such as Formula One, golf and darts. Demaria arrives with over 16…

FairPlay Sports Media, the company behind the Oddschecker odds comparison platform, has named Hannah Buitekant as its new Chief Growth Officer. Buitekant joins the c-level team with a brief to lead the execution of FPSM’s growth strategy across both its media partners and iGaming operators. She will take a central role in building out FPSM’s go-to-market engine as the company looks to expand into new markets and sports verticals. Her responsibilities will also include overseeing customer success, account management, and product sales capabilities across the business. Buitekant brings nearly two decades of experience in digital businesses, having focused on commercial…

Entain has publicly expressed its disappointment after reports emerged linking racing live feed supplier SIS to unlicensed bookmaker Santeda. The controversy stems from documents obtained through a data leak from the Curaçao gambling authority, which revealed a commercial agreement between SIS and Santeda dating back to 2022. The deal is understood to have potentially continued as recently as this year, raising significant questions about oversight within the racing data supply industry. SIS counts some of the biggest names in UK gambling among its shareholders, including Entain, which holds a 23.4% stake in the company. Other major shareholders include evoke with…

Brazil’s presidential race is heading to a runoff after Senator Flávio Bolsonaro outperformed pre-election surveys in a dramatic first-round result on Sunday. Neither Bolsonaro nor incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva crossed the 50% threshold required to win outright, forcing a second vote scheduled for October 25. Bolsonaro secured 47% of the first-round vote compared to Lula’s 45%, a margin that surprised pollsters who had forecast Lula leading by around three percentage points. The stronger-than-expected showing is expected to energise Bolsonaro’s campaign and may positively affect Brazil’s currency and stock market, which have already risen on the prospects of…