Author: Charles Shephardson

PopOK, an Isle of Man iGaming solutions firm, has become a sponsor of Botswana’s flagship horse racing event, the TT Cup Challenge Horse Racing Event. The company backed the ninth edition of the TT Cup Challenge, which took place on Saturday 27 June 2026 and drew 3,500 spectators, the largest attendance in the event’s history. Botswana is increasingly recognised as an emerging market within the broader African betting and gaming industry, with its regulator actively encouraging new market entrants. The country’s economy has shown consistent year-on-year growth, with the African Development Bank projecting expansion of 1.2% in 2026 and 3.5%…

Nederlandse Loterij has appointed Ageeth Bakker as its new Chief Financial and Risk Officer, with the role taking effect from 1 November 2026. The Dutch national lottery operator is the largest gambling company in the Netherlands, and Bakker’s arrival is designed to reinforce its internal financial and risk management structures. Bakker joins a senior leadership team that includes Chief Executive Officer Arjan Blok, Chief Technology Innovation Officer Maartje Geven, and Chief Compliance Officer Arno de Jong. Raymond Knops, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Nederlandse Loterij, expressed his enthusiasm for the appointment, welcoming her credentials in regulated industries. Knops…

Soft2Bet has appointed Ryan Collinge as Executive Vice President of Group Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, bolstering its senior leadership team significantly. Collinge brings more than two decades of commercial, product, and operational experience across both retail and online gaming sectors to the role. His appointment signals Soft2Bet’s continued ambition to strengthen relationships with leading operators and entertainment brands across global markets. Collinge previously served as Senior Vice President at Gaming Innovation Group, known widely in the industry as GiG, for approximately two and a half years. Before joining GiG in February 2024, Collinge held the role of corporate group…

The Dutch Supreme Court has dismissed claims brought by players seeking reimbursement for gambling losses incurred before the Netherlands formally regulated its online gambling market. The ruling brings long-awaited clarity to a growing body of individual and collective legal claims that had been stayed pending the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter. At the heart of the dispute was whether online gambling contracts formed before 1 October 2021 could be declared null and void under Dutch law. Players argued that operators had been offering games of chance illegally, as the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act, known as the Wet op…

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has formally withdrawn its membership from the National Council on Problem Gambling, citing strong opposition to Kalshi’s recent induction. Kalshi, a prediction markets platform, joined the problem gambling organisation as a platinum-level member in May, committing a two-year $2 million investment. MGCB executive director Henry Williams expressed his disapproval in a formal letter dated 1 July, directed at the national council’s leadership. Williams argued that Kalshi’s membership directly undermines state enforcement actions already underway against the prediction markets platform across the country. “I am deeply concerned that Kalshi’s attempts to distinguish sporting event contracts from…

Berlin’s Christian Hochgrebe has assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Administrative Board of Germany’s gambling regulator, the GGL, effective 1 July. Hochgrebe succeeds Sandro Kirchner, who served as chairman during the previous term under Germany’s annual rotation system for the role. The rotating chairmanship reflects Germany’s constitutional model, which places gambling regulation in the hands of the Länder, or federal states, rather than central government. This cooperative structure ensures the GGL’s strategic direction is shaped collectively, with each state taking a turn at the helm of the regulator’s Administrative Board. Hochgrebe steps into the role at a pivotal moment, as…

Midnite has strengthened its presence in the EFL Championship by renewing its partnership with Sheffield United and signing a new deal with Middlesbrough. The London-headquartered betting firm now holds front-of-shirt partnerships with three Championship clubs, following its deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers just one month ago. Front-of-shirt sponsorships involving betting operators will be banned in the Premier League from the 2026/27 season onwards, leaving the Championship as valuable commercial territory. The second tier of English football has become increasingly attractive to gambling brands looking to maintain high-visibility shirt placements that are no longer viable in the top flight. Andrew Mook, Midnite’s…

A new entrant to the prediction markets space has arrived with a concept that fundamentally separates forecasting from financial risk. SafeBets, founded by Alex Konanykhin, allows users to make predictions without placing any wager, turning the standard model of prediction platforms on its head. The platform scores every forecast against real-world outcomes, building verified track records for users and rewarding those who demonstrate the most consistent accuracy over time. Konanykhin argues that the core appeal of prediction markets has always been misunderstood by operators and regulators alike, who assume financial risk is what drives engagement. “People assume risk is what…

Conor McGregor has been confirmed as a global brand ambassador for online sportsbook 1xBet ahead of his highly anticipated UFC return on 11 July. The partnership was announced in the build-up to McGregor’s headline fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329, marking the Irishman’s long-awaited comeback to the Octagon. 1xBet wasted no time in expressing their enthusiasm for the deal, issuing a statement that confirmed the scale of the announcement for the brand. “We’re proud to welcome UFC legend Conor McGregor as 1xBet Global Brand Ambassador,” the company said in an official statement released alongside the news. “As one of…

Fernando Morientes, one of European football’s most celebrated strikers and a three-time UEFA Champions League winner, will attend SBC Summit Tbilisi 2026 as an invited speaker. The conference, widely regarded as Eastern Europe and Central Asia’s leading iGaming and sports event, will take place across 15 and 16 July in the Georgian capital. Morientes built his reputation during the golden era of world football, establishing himself as a symbol of professionalism, tactical intelligence, and on-pitch leadership at the highest level. His career was defined by historic victories in European competition, and today he ranks among the most sought-after speakers at…