Europe

Bacta’s National President to the UK John Bollom has issued a statement regarding DCMS consultations on machine allowances for arcades and bingo halls. According to the President, the Supplementary Consultation by the government is more than enough to provide an “optimum mix” of products to keep the adult gaming centres’ industry (AGC) going strong and lock its competitiveness at a …

The rollout of Entain’s player protection journey over the past eight years has been a ‘bumpy journey’, according to the firm’s Director of Player Protection Systems and Analytics, Jez White, but the improvements have been ‘massive’. White made his observations whilst speaking at Navigating The Maze, a panel session during ICE London 2024 within the expo’s Consumer Protection Zone which …

Svenska Spel has confirmed that it will close its Casino Cosmopol venues in the cities of Gothenburg and Malmö on Saturday, 24 February. The decision follows Svenska Spel’s conclusion of negotiations with the respective trade unions on the closure of venues deemed ‘no longer profitable’ for Sweden’s state-owned gambling group. The closure of Cosmopol’s Gothenburg and Malmö venues follows Svenska …

The District Court of Stockholm has dismissed a legal challenge against Kindred Group related to the compensation of losses of gambling addict Per Holknekt. Renowned fashion designer and founder of online retailer Odd Molly, Holknekt began legal proceedings in July 2022 against Kindred Group and its relationship with subsidiary Trannel Ltd. Holknekt claimed that he was a VIP customer of …

Germany’s Federal Authority for Gambling (GGL) utilised its presence at last week’s ICE London industry conference to talk about the importance of safeguarding virtual games before they reach the end German consumer. Representatives from the organisation took the time to reflect on several recent GGL supervisory activities, pinpointing a common problem when it comes to testing individual virtual games of …

Esports bookmaker Rivalry has renewed its partnership with Tier One Entertainment-owned esports organisation Blacklist International. As a result of the Dota 2-focused deal, the two companies will continue to jointly operate the Southeast Asian team, Blacklist Rivalry, along with a new focus on more ‘creative storytelling’ and fan-focused activations.  Tryke Gutierrez, CEO at Tier One Entertainment, commented: “Entering into our …

Groupe FDJ lauds its improved operating efficiencies to overcome a year of stagnant results in its flagship Française des Jeux (FDJ) lottery offering. This morning, the Paris Euronext gambling group published its full-year 2023 accounts, declaring corporate revenues of €2.61bn, up 6% on FY2022 comparative income of €2.46bn. Corporate leadership underlined new efficiencies achieved in 2023, as FDJ’s recurring EBITDA …

Betsson AB has proclaimed a second successive year of record-breaking financial results and KPIs as it celebrates its 60th year in business. Publishing its full-year 2023 results this morning, the Stockholm-listed gambling group’s corporate revenues stood at €948m, up 22% on FY2022 results of €777m. Year trading saw the firm register a 60% increase in EBITDA to €262m (FY2022: €173m) …

Tim Miller reflected on the journey and the scale of work undertaken on the UK Gambling Act review and its subsequent White Paper consultations as the most comprehensive examination of a gambling market undertaken by a regulatory agency. Many believe that the process of the Gambling Review had been triggered before the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) …

Kindred Group plc-owned brand Unibet has launched a new health awareness campaign across Belgium and the Netherlands in collaboration with the Dutch cycling team Tour de Tietema (TDT). The new project called ‘Follow Your Heart’ aims to boost the public’s knowledge about the potential heart issues that could arise within the cycling community.  Both entities have developed a specialised online …