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The crackdown of online gambling by Governments of multiple countries

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There is no doubt that online gambling has emerged as a common yet amazing way of entertainment. In fact, it can be said that the internet becomes popular due to gaming, especially gambling games.

Some people think both gambling games and adventure games are different. However, the law seems like it does not support them. 

Till now, there are some countries that are debating on whether to allow gambling games for several years or not. However, some data showed that the gambling industry had impacted severely. So, let’s talk about this in detail.

The biggest impacts

The recent share price graph indicates that some companies’ values are now going down, revenues from sports betting are now vanishing, and there is a great sense of uncertainty. It is true that the gambling industry is now facing a short-term crisis. 

Sport betting companies like Betgenius and Betradar try their best to keep it up with Russian table tennis and Myanmar U21 football. On the other hand, bet365 moved into FIFA games. But the truth is it has become a sector with no products. It is like selling empty beer glasses, hoping people will fill them.

If we talk about one of the biggest gambling sites of the UK, now all the gamblers are shifting from offline port betting to the online casino games. The major reason behind this is the recent lockdown restriction imposed by the government. 888Holding informed that the company had been severely affected by this event.

It has canceled or postponed some events like Grand National and the Premier League. The company used to earn 16 percent of the total revenue from sports betting.

Now gamblers are moving to alternative products. That means they are now shifting toward online poker and casino games. 

However, governments are also taking steps to prevent people from getting addicted to the game during this lockdown time. As per a report, the government has considered ordering online gambling companies to set the daily betting cap at £50.

Online sports betting comes with a higher rate of gambling disorder, around 2.5 percent. However, online casinos, bingo, and slots are attracting more potential addicts, with around 9.2 percent of customers who spend their money on gambling products having the problem. 

However, the government’s advice for setting a cap on daily betting has gone unanswered.

On the other hand, 888Holding has informed that it is trying its best to identify signs of the problem in gambling among the customers. The company informed that the board had recognized that. 

Now people are spending their time at home. On the other hand, economic uncertainty is also rising after the COVID-19 breakout. That’s why it is the primary duty of 888Holding to keep an eye on safe gambling. Besides, the company is trying to prevent gambling-related issues.

Online gambling situation in other places

Ukraine is also taking the necessary steps to control the online gambling industry. For a few days, Ukraine has intensified its process to find unauthorized online gambling companies. Ukraine is now trying its best to regulate the online market.

The Cyber Police of Ukraine, recently stated that it had built a team with the Strategic Investigation Office located in Kiev to find out all the online casinos running illegally. Some are running their casinos as legitimate IT development companies.

As per the report, the illegal casinos generally target customers of Ukraine and other countries having a monthly income of about USD 1 million. The government has cracked down some online casinos and detained some computers and documents. Now, the authority is trying to trace down the illegal online gambling operation.

In January, the authority busted a Kyiv-based online casino service operating disguised as a software company. The authority arrested around 50 IT staff, serving more than 300K gamblers across the world. The authority also has cracked down other illegal land-based gambling operations, which were giving access to slot machines.

To reduce such activities, the NBU- National Bank of Ukraine has issued a notice reminding the payment processors, associated businesses, and local merchant banks that even though the government has updated the law, the gambling activities still remain illegal. The NBU is now following a strict observance.

The crackdown of online gambling in Ukraine has led to the shutdown of the Ukraine Poker Open, which was planned to begin on 26th January in Kyiv. Along with that, Full House, the host of the Ukraine Poker Open, was also shut down. During the same time, the authority raided the Favbet office, a local bookmaker.

The company was serving local gamblers through different websites. The websites were offering sports betting, casino games, poker, and slots. A few years ago, Luck Land LLC, parent of Favbet company, was accused of tax evasion. 

The company was doing that by selling lottery tickets through different land-based venues. But later, the local courts didn’t approve the further investigation as there was no sufficient information.

Situation in Spain

In Spain, all online gambling service providers are advised to reduce marketing efforts. This way, the authority can prevent gambling operators from taking advantage of gamblers during this lockdown time.

The country’s Council Ministers had been advised by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to eliminate gambling advertisements till the end of the lockdown. Some bookmakers can use anxiety and concern factors of people to do business. 

Pablo Iglesias, Spain’s government official recently issued an order informing that the decision was taken to keep problem gamblers protected. As per the report, the ongoing lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak is extended to 12th April, and it can be extended further if the community transmission rate increases more.

Around nine gambling companies in Spain, after the announcement, informed that they would support the anti- coronavirus efforts as well as the initiatives. Spain is now taking strict action to prevent online gambling companies from exploiting the current situation. 

Conclusion

The governments of different countries are now trying their best to reduce online gambling activities. It will also be good if they can limit the public advertising of gambling. Limiting the betting limits can be an effective way, but some online gambling companies in the UK are not considering this as an effective method. It may not stop people from betting.

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Ex-Binance exec Ryan Horn joins Press Box PR as Growth and Business Development Advisor

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Press Box PR, an award-winning digital PR agency specialising in betting, gaming, sport, consumer, retail, and hospitality, has announced the appointment of former Binance sports partnerships leader Ryan Horn as its new Growth and Business Development Advisor.

Horn will work closely with Press Box PR’s leadership team to drive strategic growth initiatives, advise on international opportunities, and support clients navigating the fast-evolving intersection of sport, payments, gaming, and emerging technologies.

With offices in London and Manchester, Press Box PR is renowned for securing earned media coverage across gambling, sports, consumer, finance, hospitality, and catering publications. The agency also helps brands increase visibility in AI-generated answers, citations, and large language model (LLM) recommendations. Press Box PR was named PR Agency of the Year at the 2026 European iGaming Awards.

Horn brings over 20 years of experience at the crossroads of global sport, commercial partnerships, and digital innovation. He has collaborated with major organisations including FIFA, UEFA, the International Olympic Committee, Formula 1, and the Rugby Football Union, helping connect global brands with some of the world’s largest sporting audiences.

He co-founded Brandtix, a sports data intelligence company that introduced a data-driven approach to sponsorship measurement, and later held senior roles in the global advertising sector, including Chief Business Development Officer at Euro RSCG, managing sponsorship strategy and campaigns for top-tier brands.

More recently, Horn led sports and digital asset partnerships at Binance, working with figures and organisations such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson, and Italian Serie A club Lazio, with a focus on the convergence of sport, digital payments, fan engagement platforms, and online gaming ecosystems.

In his role at Press Box PR, Horn will provide strategic insight on emerging areas shaping modern sports business, including AI-driven fan engagement, tokenised commerce platforms, global payments infrastructure, and the digital transformation of sport.

Alex Donohue, Founder and Managing Director of Press Box PR, said:
“Ryan has spent his career at the intersection of sport, technology, and commercial innovation. His experience and network will be hugely valuable as we expand internationally and support clients across sport, betting, and fintech.”

Horn added:
“The digital transformation of sport is creating entirely new commercial ecosystems. I’m excited to join Press Box PR and help clients navigate and communicate their role in this evolving landscape.”

The post Ex-Binance exec Ryan Horn joins Press Box PR as Growth and Business Development Advisor appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Choice Gaming

Choice Gaming: Expanding Across Slots, Crash, Instant and AI Live Casino

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Choice Gaming produces and distributes content across four key verticals: slots, crash games, instant formats, and live casino offerings via its dedicated Kiss division. The company maintains full control over concept development, visual direction, and release scheduling, ensuring a cohesive and strategically aligned portfolio.

Collaboration-Driven Product Development
A cornerstone of Choice Gaming’s approach is integrating public figures and cultural collaborators directly into the design of its games. In the crash segment, Evra Crash was developed in partnership with football legend Patrice Evra, incorporating his likeness, persona, and competitive identity into the game’s mechanics and presentation.

In the instant category, Mono Choice was created alongside contemporary artist Alec Monopoly. The title embeds elements of his signature artistic style throughout the creative execution, extending well beyond surface-level branding.

The collaboration approach also extends to live casino offerings. As part of its cross-vertical strategy, the company launched Evra Sic Bo, a live table game featuring Patrice Evra’s identity integrated into the format.

Live Casino: Kiss Division
Through the Kiss division, Choice Gaming operates an AI-driven live casino infrastructure. Kiss AI Live Casino replaces traditional fixed studios with digitally generated environments and AI-controlled dealers. Operators can customize dealer appearance, ethnicity, attire, language, atmosphere, and studio design without altering the table structure.

The live portfolio includes multiple Sic Bo tables, each offering distinct dealer presentations and visual styles, creating differentiated table experiences within a scalable framework.

Slot Portfolio
Choice Gaming’s slot catalogue features fully in-house developed titles designed for multi-market deployment. Each release adheres to a defined concept and visual framework, avoiding reused layouts or re-skinned games. The company’s roadmap includes continued expansion of slot themes and innovative design directions throughout the year.

Crash and Instant Segments
Beyond collaboration-led releases, the crash and instant categories continue to grow with titles built around streamlined mechanics, clear visual identity, and structured gameplay positioning.

Scaling with Control
Choice Gaming continues to expand across all verticals while retaining complete oversight of production, creative direction, and collaborative integration, ensuring consistent quality and innovation across its portfolio.

The post Choice Gaming: Expanding Across Slots, Crash, Instant and AI Live Casino appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Groove

Groove Rolls Out Next-Gen Instant Tournaments Solution

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In an industry where player attention spans diminish rapidly, leading platform and aggregator Groove has launched what could be the most valuable weapon in the fight for engagement: their groundbreaking Instant Tournaments Tool.

This groundbreaking advancement enables operators to envision, set up, and initiate high-stakes tournaments straight from Groove Command’s back-office faster than it takes to make a pot of coffee, no developers needed, no delays, only sheer competitive excitement at the speed of now.

The development team, under the guidance of Product Development Head Shay Kababie, observed with pleasure as the initial live test occurred. An experienced casino operator, who was initially doubtful, launched a $10,000 Blackjack Blitz with only a few clicks. The outcome? A sudden increase in players, soaring engagement statistics, and revenue boosts, all happening before lunchtime arrived.

“This alters everything,” the operator said, observing leaderboards illuminate in real-time.

For years, creating tournaments involved managing intricate technical specifications, relying on overloaded development teams, and hoping that everything would run smoothly at launch. Groove’s approach completely eliminates these obstacles.

The new advancement in the Groove Command platform is already causing a stir in the iGaming industry, as beta testers indicate significant increases in player involvement and earnings.

“This isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a fundamental shift in how operators compete,” says Rachel Tourgeman, Head of Partnerships at Groove. “Our partners have been begging for a solution that keeps pace with player demand. Now they can create high-stakes tournaments faster than most teams can schedule a meeting. We’re seeing operators launch tournaments around live sports events, viral trends, even competitor outages, all in real time.”

Operators can now react to market trends with the quickness of day traders, identifying an opportunity in the morning and profiting from it by afternoon. Looking to take advantage of a competitor’s downtime? A competition exists for that. Looking to reconnect with inactive VIPs? The ideal challenge is merely a few clicks away.

This advancement integrates effortlessly into the Groove Command ecosystem, the most robust back-office platform in the industry. In this scenario, establishing a tournament is merely one tool in a well-equipped arsenal. Operators have total control over their operations, encompassing detailed game management, real-time financial analysis, compliance protections, and now, immediate competitive experiences that engage players continuously.

The consequences are significant. While rivals may take days or weeks to set up tournaments, operators using Groove can experiment, refine, and enhance various tournament formats in just one afternoon.

The platform’s user-friendly interface masks its advanced features, customizable prize formats, interactive leaderboards, and specific player segmentation can all be effortlessly set up via a sleek dashboard.

“Speed has become the ultimate competitive advantage in iGaming,” explains Kababie. “We’re not just giving operators tools, we’re giving them the ability to outmanoeuvre competitors at a strategic level. The team that can launch a perfect tournament when a trending slot drops, or capitalise on a major sporting event in real-time, that’s the team that wins.”

Looking ahead, Groove’s roadmap promises even more disruptive innovations, including AI-driven tournament suggestions and automated optimisation algorithms. But for now, the message to the industry is clear: the tournament landscape has changed forever, and operators who hesitate will find themselves hopelessly outpaced.

Yahale Meltzer, Co-Founder and CEO of Groove, explains the strategic advantage: “For years, operators have been trapped in a cycle of slow, expensive tournament development. We’ve broken that cycle. Now when an operator sees Messi score a hat-trick or Drake tweet about a new slot, they can capitalise immediately. That agility is worth millions in today’s market.”

Perfectly incorporated into the Groove Command platform, the Instant Tournaments Tool complements a range of operator-centric innovations such as real-time analytics, automated compliance verification, and data-informed game suggestions. The user-friendly interface of the system enables operators to configure personalized rules, prize frameworks, and qualification criteria effortlessly through easy dropdown menus, eliminating the need for coding skills.

In the future, Groove has hinted at new features such as AI-driven tournament enhancement and large-scale cross-operator events. However, as Meltzer observes, “The true revolution is occurring at this moment, in the possession of operators who realize that speed is the new greatest competitive edge.”

Meltzer states, “The tournament arms race has changed permanently and Groove has just given operators the nuclear codes.”

The post Groove Rolls Out Next-Gen Instant Tournaments Solution appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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