Author: Charles Shephardson

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has written to the Gambling Commission demanding clarity on its decision to proceed with Financial Risk Assessments. Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the CMS Committee, addressed the letter directly to Sarah Gardner, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Gambling Commission. The letter, dated 10 July 2026, outlines five areas requiring answers ahead of the staged implementation of Financial Risk Assessments across the UK gambling industry. Baroness Twycross, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the DCMS, was copied into the letter sent by Dame Caroline Dinenage. The Committee has asked whether the Commission will publish…

Jumbo Interactive has lowered its FY26 EBITDA guidance for UK prize draw business Dream Car Giveaways, known as Dream UK, citing increased investment costs and market testing initiatives. The digital lottery specialist originally acquired Dream UK in October last year as part of a deal valued at A$109.9m, with the move designed to establish a B2C footprint in the United Kingdom. Jumbo had initially forecast Dream UK would generate underlying EBITDA of between £8m and £8.3m across the final eight-and-a-half months of FY26, but has since revised that figure down to £7.0m to £7.3m. Despite the downgrade, Jumbo insisted the…

Zeal Network, the German online lottery broker, has agreed to acquire the remaining 96.5% of shares in UK prize draw platform operator SevenCanyon. The company already held a minority 3.5% stake in SevenCanyon, making this deal a significant escalation of its existing relationship with the business. The transaction comprises an approximate cash payment of £33.8m, subject to post-completion adjustments, plus further payments of up to £4.8m over a six-month period contingent on hitting certain financial targets. Zeal intends to finance the acquisition with a €40m term loan, giving the company a clear and structured path to completing the purchase. Once…

The upcoming SBC Summit will feature a dedicated Fintech conference track, placing payment innovation, fraud prevention, and responsible gambling under the industry spotlight. Scheduled for Tuesday, 29 September, the track will bring together operators, payment providers, fintech specialists, and compliance experts to address the sector’s most pressing challenges. The Fintech track sits within the broader Payment Expert Summit stage, alongside specialist tracks covering AML and Compliance on 30 September and Crypto and Blockchain on 1 October. Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, outlined the significance of the programme, stating that “fintech is now influencing almost every stage of the…

Throughout July 2026, gaming supplier Amusnet is channelling the invoiced value of one of its most popular titles toward earthquake disaster relief in Venezuela. The initiative follows devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela, leaving thousands of families displaced and countless animals injured, abandoned, or separated from their owners. Amusnet will dedicate an amount equivalent to 100% of the invoiced value of its Caramelo Sortudo title to support ongoing relief efforts across the country. The company is granting operator partners across Venezuela a full discount on the game’s invoicing, encouraging each partner to donate the equivalent amount to local rescue organisations. Those…

Cassino Bet has returned to FIRST.bet’s proprietary sportsbook platform, reuniting two partners to compete at the highest level in Brazil’s regulated betting market. The renewed deal provides Cassino Bet with advanced trading capabilities, configurable product infrastructure, and the operational control needed to thrive in one of the most demanding betting landscapes in the world. FIRST.bet is already trusted by some of Brazil’s largest operators, meaning Cassino Bet benefits from a platform proven under real local market conditions, including high-volume traffic and strict compliance requirements. Ana Gaming, the holding company that controls the Cassino Bet brand, made the decision to return…

Flutter Entertainment and DraftKings have seen notable share price gains following a blog post from renowned investor Michael Burry expressing confidence in both companies. Burry, made famous by his portrayal in The Big Short, disclosed a substantial portfolio weighted 60% toward Flutter and the remainder toward DraftKings in his recent post. He has argued that prediction markets are exploiting a “loophole economy” that will not survive the regulatory wave he believes is coming. Flutter has climbed 2.74% on the New York Stock Exchange since Burry published his blog, while DraftKings has risen just under 1% since 8 July. Some observers…

Imagine Live, the live casino provider, has officially partnered with MaxBet, one of the leading sports betting and gaming operators across the Balkans region. The collaboration will roll out across multiple regulated markets, bringing Imagine Live’s live dealer games and game show content to MaxBet’s growing player base. The partnership launches first in Montenegro before expanding into Serbia and then Bosnia and Herzegovina as the relationship develops. MaxBet serves approximately 95,000 online players each month and holds a leading position in its core Serbian market. The operator has been majority-owned by Flutter Entertainment, the global giant behind brands including Paddy…

Swintt has unveiled its latest SwinttPremium title, Duolito Iceman Tower, taking players on a sun-drenched trip to the Italian city of Pisa. The five-reel, 10-payline slot blends Italian holiday charm with frozen dessert imagery, populating its reels with gelato treats and classic ace-through-ten playing card symbols. The game’s titular iceman serves as the highest-value symbol, capable of awarding a top prize worth 10,000 times the player’s selected bet. A standout mechanic in the base game is the leaning tower wild symbol, which shifts one column to the left on every spin until it disappears off the screen. These moving wilds…

North Carolina’s sports betting operators will face a heavier tax burden after Governor Josh Stein signed Senate Bill 257 into law on July 7, 2026. The newly signed budget raises the tax rate on sports betting operators from 18% to 23%, marking a significant shift in how the state approaches the maturing market. The change arrives just over two years after online sports betting officially launched across North Carolina, signalling the end of an early-stage, lightly taxed environment for operators. Licensed operators can still offer mobile sports wagering under the framework overseen by the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, but…