SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sportsbook and igaming provider AK BETS has been officially granted a licence by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
The news was shared on LinkedIn by Anthony Kaminskas, Founder of the Dublin-based operator.
Kaminskas added that he expects AK BETS to launch with its own licence in around six weeks. This is approximately when UK customers can look forward to opening an account with the company.
Regional success
Despite being just a few years old, AK BETS has already managed to attract significant attention from bettors. During the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, the operator was praised for its generosity, offering pricing with average overrounds of 123.1%.
In the best value-to-customer table, AK BETS was closely followed by the overrounds offered by BetVictor (123.9%) and Ladbrokes (125.8%).
Kaminskas himself has put in more than €460k into AK BETS as part of his strategy to secure the best racecourse pitches available. For FY24, the company also reported profits of more than €1m.
In an interview with Business Sport, the Founder offered a brief look behind the scenes, where he exhibited corporate self-awareness mixed with humility.
“We’ll never be absolutely huge,” he said. “We’re not going to have bells and whistles, and we’re not going to have all the toys of a Paddy Power or the market reach of a Paddy Power or a Bet365.
“But I think we can add so much value in being more human when taking bets off individuals.”
Stepping into a shifting landscape
While a UKGC licence is certainly a big step for a company in terms of the opportunities it offers within the UK market, AK Bets needs to stay on its toes as the Gambling White Paper Review continues to shape the new landscape.
Most notably, sportsbook and igaming providers such as AK BETS will need to be aware of the latest policy shift regarding bonus rules.
From December, a ban will be implemented on bonus incentives that require more than 10 times the bonus amount to be wagered before winnings can be withdrawn.
Also, new cross-selling regulations will require bonuses to only apply to one single product category, essentially banning cross-selling incentives.
