Author: Charles Shephardson

The 2026 World Cup is underway, and the global appetite for sports betting has reached unprecedented levels across multiple continents and markets. The expanded tournament format, North America hosting, and the recent opening of key regulated markets in North and Latin America have created a landscape of enormous opportunity for the iGaming industry. For Playradar, the tournament represents more than record-breaking volume; it is a platform to showcase a new iGaming vertical called sports casino entertainment. This emerging content category combines the best of online sports with casino, making use of archived footage and data to deliver new betting and…

Brazil’s largest casino-led betting operator has made a decisive move into sports, launching a full sportsbook powered by FIRST.bet technology across three major brands. 7Games, Betão and R7 are all operated by OIG Gaming Brazil Ltda. and are widely regarded as among Brazil’s biggest casino-focused betting brands. OIG selected FIRST.bet to power its sportsbook expansion across all three brands simultaneously, demonstrating the technology’s capacity to serve multi-brand operators at national scale. The 7Games sportsbook was built on SportOS, the FIRST.bet operating system, with the FIRST.bet engine running underneath and powering all trading, pricing and live markets. Players using the 7Games…

The UK Gambling Commission has told NEXT.io that it does “not recognise” claims it is about to knowingly publish inaccurate results in the Gambling Survey for Great Britain. The third edition of the GSGB is scheduled for release on 16 July 2026, following previous publications that have attracted criticism over their methodological approach. Allegations of sampling bias have followed the survey since its first edition was published in July 2024, creating persistent tension between the regulator and its critics. In 2024, Professor Patrick Sturgis of LSE published an independent review finding that GSGB participants may have included a disproportionately high…

Twenty years after federal agents pulled him off a plane in Dallas, David Carruthers is watching the prediction markets industry and seeing uncomfortable echoes of his own story. Carruthers was the chief executive of BetonSports, one of the world’s largest online gambling companies, when he was arrested on 16 July 2006 while changing planes en route to Costa Rica. Within 48 hours of that arrest, £900m had been wiped off London’s gaming stocks, BetonSports had sacked him, and he was facing charges tied to a $4.5bn operation premised on taking Americans’ sports bets online and by telephone. The core accusation…

ThrillTech, described as the global leader in side-bet jackpot technology, has been awarded a Gaming-Related Supplier licence by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. The licence grants ThrillTech the authority to deploy its opt-in side bet jackpot technology across regulated online casino, sports betting, and lottery operators throughout the province. Benjamin Bradtke, co-founder of ThrillTech, called the development a landmark moment for the company’s broader global ambitions in regulated markets. Bradtke stated: “Securing our AGCO licence is a major step in our mission to transform how jackpots are delivered at scale across regulated markets.” He added: “This latest certification…

SOFTSWISS has announced a strategic partnership with WorldGaming, formerly known as Clarion Gaming, for the fifth edition of its iGaming Trends Report. The collaboration brings together SOFTSWISS research capabilities and WorldGaming’s well-established industry brands, including ICE, iGB, and GGB. The alliance is designed to position the 2027 iGaming Trends Report as the definitive benchmark for understanding developments across the global iGaming landscape. SOFTSWISS launched the iGaming Trends Report five years ago, recognising early that data-driven insights are fundamental to navigating ongoing market evolution. The publication has since grown into the most widely read annual research report in the iGaming industry,…

Polymarket has been officially banned from the Czech Republic after authorities classified the prediction market platform as an unlicensed gambling operation. The country’s Ministry of Finance has issued an access blocking order, giving internet service providers a 15-day window to comply with the directive. Czech authorities argue that platforms like Polymarket disguise betting products using financial terminology, replacing the word “bet” with “contract” and calling winnings a “return on investment.” The Czech Republic now joins a substantial list of European nations that have moved against prediction market platforms, including France, Germany, Romania, Spain, and Belgium. Outside of Europe, New Zealand,…

Golf’s relationship with sports betting is under renewed scrutiny after English golfer Matt Fitzpatrick publicly blamed gambling for a sharp rise in player abuse. Fitzpatrick made the remarks at a press conference ahead of The Open Championship, which was set to tee off at Royal Birkdale on Thursday 16 July. The major winner did not hold back, stating that virtually every professional golfer has received gambling-related abuse at some point in their career. “I would say every golfer that’s played a professional tournament has had a message of abuse from someone that is related to gambling,” Fitzpatrick said during the…

BoyleSports is significantly deepening its commitment to its Serbia-based technology hub, describing the centre as offering exceptional opportunities for the company’s continued growth. Over the past 12 months, the omni-channel operator has welcomed 65 new employees into its Belgrade office, making a strong statement about its international expansion ambitions. The latest hiring push forms part of a broader strategic goal to grow the Belgrade-based workforce by 30% over the coming months, underlining the importance of the hub to the business. BoyleSports noted that Belgrade has established itself as a significant centre for the wider gambling industry, combining strong technical infrastructure…

Google has updated its Gambling and Games Policy to crack down on repeat advertising violators, with the changes taking effect from 14 September 2026. The search engine giant now requires prospective advertisers to demonstrate “good policy health” as part of an expanded certification process for gambling-related ads. Manager Accounts flagged for repeated misconduct will be barred from applying for new certifications, and any existing certifications they hold may also be revoked. This policy shift could make it significantly harder for black market gambling operators to continue placing online ads after previous campaigns have been taken down. If an operator has…