Author: Andrew Fletcher

Gentoo Media has confirmed the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer, Mads Haugegaard Albrechtsen, marking another significant leadership departure at the Malta-based firm. Albrechtsen had only joined Gentoo Media in March 2025, making his tenure at the affiliate marketing company less than a year long before his exit. The former Deloitte Partner was brought on board during a particularly transitional period for the business following its structural reorganisation. His appointment came just five months after Gentoo Media completed its legal split from Gaming Innovation Group, known as GIG, in October 2024. That separation marked a defining moment for Gentoo, establishing…

Swintt has launched its latest Premium slot release, Wild Chicken, featuring a farmyard theme packed with roaming rooster wilds and a powerful free spins feature. The game is played across a 5×3 reel matrix with 10 fixed paylines, offering players a lively and distinctive take on farm-themed slot gameplay. Unique symbols on the reels include cockerels, chicks, sunflowers and corn baskets, giving the game a charming and colourful visual identity throughout. The roaming rooster wild is the game’s standout symbol, sticking to the reels and moving one position to the left after each spin to generate multiple winning combinations. The…

Weeks after a US Army special forces member faced insider trading charges on prediction markets, a Google employee has become the latest to be indicted over alleged misuse of non-public information. Michele Spagnuolo, allegedly trading under the Polymarket account “AlphaRaccoon”, is facing multiple charges in Manhattan stemming from a scheme to exploit confidential Google data. Prosecutors allege Spagnuolo accessed an internal Google software tool providing real-time data on its “Year in Search” rankings to place profitable trades on prediction markets. Over a three-month period through December 2024, Spagnuolo allegedly executed at least 25 trades totalling $2.75 million on Google-related search…

SBC Summit Canada returned to Toronto last week, drawing the gaming industry together at a pivotal moment for Canada’s rapidly evolving gambling sector. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre across three days, running from May 19 through May 21 this year. Alberta’s upcoming regulated market launch served as a major catalyst, accelerating conversations across virtually every corner of the conference floor. Delegates engaged in focused discussions around regulation, with the Alberta opportunity framing many of the most significant exchanges between operators and policymakers. Responsible gambling remained a central theme throughout the summit, reflecting growing pressure on…

Austria is preparing to open its online gambling market to multiple licensed operators for the first time, ending a long-running monopoly arrangement. A leaked draft of the country’s Gambling Reform 2025, dated 20 May 2026, sets out the conditions under which Austria intends to liberalise its online gambling sector. Online operators seeking a concession would be required to settle all outstanding player claims before being granted permission to offer games legally in Austria. The draft states that all legally binding civil court judgments issued by Austrian courts in favour of players must have been satisfied before a concession is granted.…

Multiple private firms have expressed interest in acquiring parts of Veikkaus, Finland’s state-owned gambling company, according to industry consultant Jari Vähänen. Finland’s gambling market is set to transition to a licensed regime on 1 July 2027, prompting renewed debate over whether Veikkaus should be partially or fully sold. Veikkaus has for decades channelled profits into public coffers but will lose its exclusive rights to online casino games and sports betting under the new system. The company has split into two businesses to prepare for market liberalisation, with its online arm actively restructuring to compete against incoming private operators. A survey…

Prediction market traders have handed Kimi Antonelli a commanding lead in the race to be crowned 2026 Formula 1 world champion, with the 19-year-old Italian now sitting at 39% implied probability on Polymarket and traditional bookmakers following his dominant Canadian Grand Prix victory in Montreal, according to an analysis of odds by GamblingNews.uk. The market, which has attracted $143.8 million in total trading volume since opening in December 2025, prices George Russell second at 30%, reflecting the reality that this championship fight has narrowed into a battle between two Mercedes drivers before the season has even reached its halfway point.…

Colorado’s Governor Jared Polis received Senate Bill 131 on May 13, with 30 days to sign a measure that would make the state the first in the country to impose a statutory daily deposit cap on sports betting platforms and ban credit card use across all licensed sportsbook operators. The bipartisan legislation passed the Senate on a 20-15 vote after the House approved a final version of the bill, completing a legislative journey that began earlier in the year amid growing concern about debt-financed wagering and problem gambling rates in the state. The bill’s core provisions are straightforward in what…

AffPapa distributed more than 40 awards across the global iGaming industry at the fifth edition of its annual awards ceremony, held on May 20 at the Real Casino de Madrid during the final day of the AffPapa Conference Madrid. The event gathered over 1,500 industry professionals representing affiliates, operators, and B2B providers from across the global iGaming ecosystem, with Madrid replacing Malaga as the host city to accommodate the conference’s growing international audience. AffPapa CEO Levon Nikoghosyan said in a statement: “Five years ago, we launched the AffPapa iGaming Awards to celebrate the ones moving the industry forward every single…

The conflict between the UK iGaming industry and its primary regulator has reached its most critical moment yet, with the Betting and Gaming Council issuing a direct legal threat to the Gambling Commission ahead of a pivotal board meeting taking place today, Thursday, May 21 2026. The BGC has warned that if the Gambling Commission pushes ahead with the current iteration of Financial Risk Assessments without addressing the industry’s objections around data accuracy and the risk of driving players to unlicensed operators, a judicial review will follow. At the centre of the dispute is the Gambling Commission’s proposed framework for…