Author: Andrew Fletcher

A new provincial study has found that emergency department visits for gambling disorders rose sharply following Ontario’s launch of its regulated online gambling market. The research tracked more than 17.3 million Ontario residents across a period spanning January 2012 through June 2025, making it a substantial population-level analysis. Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study identified 952 gambling disorder emergency visits involving 757 people over the entire study period. The average quarterly visit rate was 31.3% higher after market liberalisation than it had been before Ontario opened its doors to private online operators. The increase did not…

The UK gambling market has reached £17.5bn in gross gambling yield for the 12 months ending March 2026, according to figures published by the Gambling Commission. Total GGY across all regulated sectors rose 4.4% year-on-year, reflecting continued strength in online gambling despite some pockets of decline elsewhere in the market. Remote casino, betting and bingo combined generated the highest segment total at £8.3bn, representing a 6.9% increase from the previous reporting period. Online casino was the standout performer within that group, recording a 14.8% surge in GGY to reach £5.7bn over the 12-month period. Slots were a major driver of…

Tonybet has praised Leopardstown Racecourse for delivering racing of the “highest quality” following their sponsorship of the Group 2 Solonaway Stakes on Saturday. The online bookmaker is now in its third successive year as title sponsor of the Solonaway Stakes, cementing its position as one of Irish racing’s most committed commercial partners. This year’s renewal produced a highly talented winner in Quddwah, trained by the father and son training partnership of Simon and Ed Crisford. The Crisford team were no strangers to the Solonaway, having previously landed the Group 2 prize with Jadoomi back in 2022, marking their second victory…

S&P Global has published a note arguing that Digiplus will likely hold its dominant position in the Philippines online gambling market for the next two years. The US financial intelligence business assessed that Digiplus will continue navigating the country’s developing regulatory environment through strong product offerings, effective user engagement, and nimble policy adaptation. Digiplus currently accounts for approximately half of all legal bets placed nationwide, establishing itself as the clear market leader in the Philippines’ regulated online gambling space. The S&P note stated: “Digiplus will likely maintain its dominant 40%-50% share of the Philippine online gaming market over the next…

Hub88 has agreed a partnership with Imagine Live, bringing the provider’s full live casino portfolio onto its single-API aggregation platform for connected operators. The deal allows any operator already integrated with Hub88 to access Imagine Live’s content without requiring a separate technical build, cutting the time needed to bring new games to market. Imagine Live produces its content in physical studios where dealers speak the native language of the markets they serve, with set design, uniforms and table limits tailored to specific player bases. That localised detail travels with the content as it distributes through Hub88, meaning operators can offer…

GamCare has identified the gamification of everyday life as one of three recurring pathways to gambling harm, based on analysis of helpline activity. The UK gambling harm charity reached this conclusion after studying 2,356 anonymised webchat transcripts drawn from 20 days of National Gambling Helpline activity. The findings form the centrepiece of GamCare’s newly launched Signals series, a quarterly insight publication releasing its first edition under the title “The Gamification of Everything.” Design features including near misses, streaks, leaderboards, and artificial scarcity were identified as mechanisms appearing across gaming, retail, and financial services platforms. GamCare cautioned that the analysis is…

Entain, the FTSE 100 owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is planning to cut up to 400 customer care roles from its 2,000-strong UK workforce. The operator’s CEO Stella David has written directly to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, warning that proposed increases to Machine Games Duty rates could devastate Britain’s betting shops. Entain operates over 2,300 betting shops across the UK, making it one of the largest retail betting employers in the country. David’s letter specifically invokes Burnham’s own “Makerfield Test,” a national policy principle designed to deliver for communities historically overlooked by Westminster governments. The Makerfield Test takes its name…

Brazil has introduced sweeping new financial controls designed to cut off the money flows sustaining unlicensed online gambling operators targeting its rapidly growing market. The Secretariat for Prizes and Betting, known as the SPA, will apply new measures to identify and disrupt financial transactions linked to unlicensed operators targeting Brazil’s online gambling market. Published on 14 September, Ordinance SPA/MF No. 2,750/2026 establishes formal procedures to tackle the financial flows that have been supporting illegal gambling activity across the country. The strategy places clear directives on licensed financial institutions including banks, payment processors, intermediaries, and online wallets handling individual transactions connected…

Regulatory compliance consultancy BetComply has announced three strategic hires as it moves to broaden and deepen the support it offers clients across global markets. The appointments signal a clear intent from BetComply to scale its capabilities in response to increasingly demanding regulatory environments across the iGaming and wider gambling industry. Tiago Scoda Botelho joins the firm as Regulatory and Licensing Compliance Officer, bringing a background in corporate law alongside senior compliance roles at both bet365 and 3 Oaks Gaming. His remit will cover regulatory compliance, licensing applications, and ongoing global operational support for BetComply’s client base across multiple jurisdictions. Commenting…

Online gambling industry peer group iGaming Leader Mastermind has appointed industry veteran Michael Baker-Mosley as its new Fractional Chief Growth Officer. The organisation is led by founder Leo Judkins, a former Director of Retention at BetVictor, who will work closely with Baker-Mosley going forward. Baker-Mosley has been tasked with developing the group’s overall approach to member acquisition, sales, and marketing across the business. His appointment is a natural progression, having already been a member of the Mastermind community for 18 months before becoming an ambassador in March 2026. That inside knowledge of the organisation gives Baker-Mosley a distinct advantage as…