Author: Charles Shephardson

Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden has committed a $20 million investment to Alberta’s newly regulated online market, following strong performance in Ontario. Ontario has emerged as Penn’s single biggest online market, generating roughly 2 to 2.5 times more sports betting revenue than its home state of Pennsylvania. That multiple would suggest Penn generated somewhere between $11.6 million and $14.5 million in Ontario sports betting revenue during Q2 2026 alone. Online casino performance in Ontario is also notable, with Snowden revealing to investors that it runs roughly level with Pennsylvania for online casino revenue generated. The operator has endured years of…

Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke has said the rapid growth of prediction markets is already validating the company’s acquisition of sports media business Legend. Speaking during the company’s Q2 2026 earnings call, Locke described prediction markets as the “most visible example” of the revenue opportunities created by the Legend acquisition. Genius completed its acquisition of Legend on 1 May in a deal valued at around $1.2bn, making it one of the year’s most significant iGaming industry transactions. Despite Legend having been part of the wider Genius group for just over three months, the business has already had a measurable impact…

Former FanDuel CEO Amy Howe has received a departure deal worth significantly more than the figure initially made public following her exit from the company. Howe stepped down from her role as CEO of Flutter’s US operation FanDuel in May after a five-year tenure at the helm of America’s leading sports betting operator. Her departure came as the rise of prediction markets began to challenge FanDuel’s dominant position in the US betting market, casting uncertainty over the company’s future direction. It was widely reported at the time that the one-time McKinsey partner would receive a severance package of $4.37m, covering…

Wynn Resorts has confirmed its flagship UAE casino resort will not open until September 2027, following disruptions tied to regional conflict affecting supply chains and staffing. The Wynn Al Marjan Island project was first announced in January 2022 with an original opening target of 2026, later revised to Q1 2027 before being pushed back again. CEO Craig Billings attributed the latest delay to “regional conflict-related disruptions”, which have struck global supply chains and shipping insurance markets simultaneously. Billings explained that certain materials and equipment have had to be “resourced, rerouted or expedited” as a direct consequence of the ongoing conflict…

Advocacy group Gambling with Lives is among numerous charities affected by a significant cybersecurity breach targeting third-party CRM provider Beacon. The charity, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicides, was notified that its data had been compromised as part of the wider attack. Beacon, which works with over 1,500 charities and cultural organisations across the country, had its systems breached by unknown bad actors in late July and early August. Charles Ritchie, chair of Gambling with Lives trustees, communicated the news to stakeholders in an email seen by NEXT.io on 6 August 2026. Ritchie wrote: “Beacon told us that compromised…

The SOFTSWISS Tech Race Summit has expanded its speaker programme ahead of its 10 September event in Warsaw, Poland. Two prominent technology leaders have been confirmed, bringing expertise from globally recognised companies outside the iGaming sector. Javier Verdura, global director of Product Design at Tesla, will deliver a session titled Building High-Performance Teams: Lessons from Tesla. His presentation will explore how Tesla builds teams capable of delivering products at speed while maintaining quality and innovation across a global operation. Also joining the line-up is Mikita Mikado, co-founder of PandaDoc, a unicorn document management platform with international reach and recognition. Mikado’s…

Playtika has reported stronger second-quarter revenue and a sharp profit improvement, while softening its full-year performance expectations for 2026. The mobile-games group retained its annual guidance ranges but signalled that both revenue and adjusted earnings are likely to finish near their lower limits. Revenue for the quarter reached $731.1m, up 5% year on year, though it came in 1.8% below the first quarter of the year. Net income climbed to $48m from $33.2m, while adjusted EBITDA surged 23.4% annually to $206.1m, producing a 28.2% margin. CEO Robert Antokol struck a confident tone, saying: “Our second quarter results demonstrate what has…

Catena Media has carried out another wave of redundancies, this time hitting its regional sites team alongside personnel in its broader tech and marketing functions. The affiliate marketing company confirmed the layoffs to NEXT.io, describing the cuts as part of its continuous streamlining of operations and in line with its strategy to sharpen focus on core products. Multiple sources familiar with the matter told NEXT.io that the regional sites team was eliminated entirely, with its responsibilities redistributed across other groups within the business. Catena confirmed the restructuring has affected five roles in total, with the company stating that those impacted…

Esports betting specialist DATA.BET has signed a new partnership with Hollywoodbets, South Africa’s most prominent sports and entertainment betting operator. The deal gives Hollywoodbets access to DATA.BET’s full esports betting ecosystem, enabling the operator to launch a comprehensive product with minimal integration complexity. Hollywoodbets was specifically seeking a provider capable of delivering depth of coverage, in-house trading expertise, and a fast route to market in the growing African esports betting space. The integration includes a Single Page Application iFrame, Odds Feed, Bet Builder, Widgets, and Streaming, all backed by fully managed risk and trading services. Players will have access to…

Affilka, a leading iGaming affiliate marketing software provider, has closed a landmark first half of 2026 with three major milestones across product development, market recognition, and tournament performance. The global iGaming sector is pausing to assess performance as the midpoint of 2026 passes, reviewing market shifts and setting strategic priorities for the second half. Affilka attended iGB L!VE 2026 in London in early July, joining top-tier operators, affiliates, and B2B providers for high-level networking and strategic discussions. Key conversations at the Affilka stand centred on balancing traffic volume with quality, combating affiliate fraud, and navigating evolving payout models such as…