Europe

Better Collective A/S will significantly expand its presence in UK betting, having agreed terms to acquire AceOdds Media and all related assets. Closing trading on 16 May, Better Collective declared to markets that it had acquired AceOdds for a total consideration of €42m, “expanding its foothold in the UK”. As reported, the €42m deal implies a 4x valuation on AceOdds’ …

Médiateur des Jeux, France’s gambling mediator issued its annual report this week in partnership with industry regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) and urged operators to do more to prevent cases of excessive gambling. As part of four key recommendations, Denys Millet, an honorary magistrate and France’s gambling mediator, said that currently French operators are “almost systematically” delaying or rejecting …

The UK government will proceed to relax and revamp the rules related to operating gambling venues, with a view to improving customer safeguards, modernising competition, and keeping pace with wider consumer changes. DCMS has published its response to the consultation on ‘measures related to land-based gambling’ as proposed by the Gambling Review’s White Paper. Regulatory oversight of the White Paper’s …

Strong growth from Betclic enabled its parent company Banijay Group to record a 10% rise in revenue in Q1 to €1bn and issue a raised EBITDA growth guidance from high single digits to low teens for 2024.  CEO Francois Riahi said this was due mainly to the strong outlook for OSB and iCasino, where revenues were up 31% to €321m …

Spotlight Sports Group (SSG) has announced it will be showcasing Smart View in racecards at York’s Dante meeting.  The racecards are powered by racing media and tech supplier the Racing Post, and have already been utilised in racecards at Naas racecourse in Ireland. SSG’s Retail Director, Alan Pepperell, explained that following a strong Cheltenham Festival this year, Smart View has …

Premier League clubs will vote on whether to keep-or-end virtual assistant referees (VAR) at next month’s annual general meeting. The proposal was forwarded by Wolverhampton Wanderers due to the club being left frustrated with some decisions which it believes have gone against its team this season. Other clubs, such as Liverpool and Arsenal, have also issued letters criticising the VAR process this season. Nottingham Forest also accused …

Across the board, betting stakeholders agree that horseracing’s offering must be redeveloped to engage with wider recreational audiences. Yet why has this simple endeavour caused such friction within betting’s value chain? SBC speaks to Fitzdares CEO William Woodhams on racing’s structural  issues and how a collaborative approach is needed to fix a generational challenge… A key topic of discussion at …

The quartet of Dutch political parties arranging terms to form a coalition government has agreed to increase business taxes applied to the Netherlands’ gambling sector. Yesterday, the Party for Freedom (PVV) announced that it had agreed on a ‘basis of terms’ to form a coalition government with conservative counterparts of the Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the New Social …

1xBet has been named the global betting partner of Volleyball World in a five-year agreement. Encompassing both volleyball and beach volleyball, the deal will see the Cyprus-headquartered operator fully leverage Volleyball World’s digital platforms as well as have its branding featured throughout live events.  A 1xBet company representative described how the long-term agreement with Volleyball World is important to the …

Sportradar Group AG has released its latest financial report for the quarter ending 31 March 2024. The Swiss sportstech group has reported revenue growth across its core business segments. Updating investors, Sportradar recorded quarterly revenue of €265.9m, which was up 28% year-on-year from €207.6m in Q1 2023. This was achieved thanks to a strong performance across its broad product portfolio.  …