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Casino Guru’s complaint data reveals scope of UK players gambling at unlicensed websites

Published

5 years ago

February 24, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Gambling Commission’s recent calls for evidence and views from the industry and the public regarding upcoming changes to Great Britain’s gambling regulation has seen a number of professionals emphasize the potential rise of black-market gambling as a consequence of tightening regulations.

These claims have been largely backed up by a PwC report, which estimates the number of UK online gamblers using unlicensed operators to have more than doubled from 2018 to 2020, from c.210,000 to c.460,000 gamblers.

Later on, UK gambling firms have been accused of exaggerating the scale of black-market gambling in an attempt to influence the GC’s decision to introduce tougher regulations. The GC’s chief executive Neil McArthur commented that the report delivered by PwC is not consistent with their intelligence picture and lacked any evidence to show an increase in illicit betting. He added that GC’s own evidence suggests that the impact may be being exaggerated.

Simon Vincze, Casino Guru’s Responsible Gambling Projects Manager, has been keeping up with the heated discussion taking place in British media and looked into their data on player complaints to get an idea about the scope of the issue: “I understand the need for regulation in the gambling market and its usefulness in keeping children and vulnerable players safe. It’s something I deeply believe in and work towards in my position as well. However, it didn’t seem right to me to just disregard the negative effects of tightening regulations altogether.”

Casino Guru operates a casino dispute mediation service, in which players can complain about any online casino if they feel to have been mistreated, regardless of its license, and get assisted for free. After looking into their data, Simon discovered 666 complaints submitted by players from the UK, of which 145 is about casinos with a license from GC and 521 is about casinos without it. This means that 78% of all complaints submitted by UK players have been about operators without a GC license.

“Of course, this doesn’t mean that 78% of UK players gamble at foreign websites. Because of the generally lower quality of service and reputation of these operators, it can be expected that these players will run into issues more often, resulting in a higher proportion of players submitting public complaints. However, it is also a clear sign that there are UK players gambling at casinos without a GC license, and that there is quite a lot of them,” Simon commented on this data.

He also compared the British situation to what has happened in Sweden: “When gambling regulations get more restrictive, an increased proportion of players usually start looking for unlicensed operators to avoid those regulations. Sweden is a great example of this, where 40% of casino players and 34% of sports betters gamble on unlicensed websites or would consider doing so in future, according to a study published back in April 2020. Taking a look at Google search data, there has been a major increase in Swedish players actively looking for unlicensed casinos since introducing the country’s gambling regulations with a strong focus on player safety.”

“With tighter regulations being introduced in Great Britain, the GC should be aware of the possibility of an increasing number of British punters actively looking for unlicensed sites in attempts to avoid the strict regulations. These players then gamble on foreign websites without the strict limits present at UK-licensed ones, ending up more susceptible to problematic gambling habits as a result of lower responsible gambling standards of some foreign operators, on top of other negative qualities that can be present at these websites.”

Data from the PwC report suggests that 4,5% of UK players gamble at foreign websites, while 78% of all complaints submitted to Casino Guru by UK players are related to these foreign websites.

Simon commented: “Combining this data would suggest that 4,5% of players are responsible for 78% of all casino complaints, which would signify a huge imbalance. Of course, the numbers are based on different data and there may be other factors in play, but I think that the imbalance is there, and has to do with the fact that players gambling on foreign websites simply run into issues more often. These can range from unclear bonus terms and bad implementation of responsible gambling features all the way to unscrupulous casinos outright scamming players.”

“If an increasing number of players leave the regulated market and go for foreign alternatives, they may be subject to a higher risk of developing problem gambling and losing money to foreign websites, some of which can have unscrupulous tendencies. This seems like a good enough reason to seriously consider the risk of rising use of black-market gambling websites by UK players,” he added.

While the GC is examining evidence presented by stakeholders and working towards updated gambling regulation, it remains to be seen how the situation ends up being handled and what new rules get implemented. Only time will tell whether tighter regulation really does increase the use of black-market sites or not, and whether the benefits will outweigh possible drawbacks.

Danny Gordon Head of Studio at DEGEN Studios

DEGEN Studios unleashes the Plague City chase

Published

48 minutes ago

July 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

degen-studios-unleashes-the-plague-city-chase

DEGEN Studios has launched Plague City, a Scatter Pays slot built around visible progression, escalating features and a 10,000x max win chase. Every winning combination spreads infection across the reels, creating bigger setups as players build towards Plague Wave Respins, Plague Breakout Free Spins and Super Free Spins.

During the base game, any position that forms part of a winning combination becomes infected, and as wins and cascades continue, the outbreak can spread across more of the reels.

A Med Kit should stop the outbreak. In Plague City, it starts the next stage. Landing a Med Kit while infected positions are active triggers Plague Wave Respins, where infected positions remain active, Wilds become sticky with multipliers, and Respins continue until every infected position has been healed or no further wins occur.

Every Sticky Wild begins with three lives. Each winning cascade reduces a Wild’s life by one, while every newly landed Wild increases the multiplier value of all active Wilds, allowing multiplier chains to continue growing throughout the feature.

The chase escalates further in Plague Breakout Free Spins. Triggered by four, five or six Scatters, every Free Spins feature begins with eight Free Spins. Scatter symbols are replaced by Vaccines, which award retriggers and upgrade the Starting Wild Multiplier, allowing future Wilds to land with increasingly higher multiplier values.

Land six Scatters and the outbreak reaches Super Free Spins, where every newly landed Wild increases the multiplier value of all active Wilds by +2x. From there, the max win chase becomes a race to collect Vaccines, extend the feature and continue landing new Wilds as multiplier chains grow towards 10,000x the bet.

For players looking to accelerate the chase, Buy Bonus and Activate options offer direct entry into Plague Breakout Free Spins, Mystery Buy, or boosted chances of triggering both Free Spins and Plague Wave Respins.

Danny Gordon, Head of Studio at DEGEN Studios, said: “At DEGEN, we’re obsessed with building gameplay that players can actually follow. In Plague City, every mechanic has a purpose. The infection spreads, Vaccines extend the feature, Wild multipliers continue growing and every step brings the max win chase closer.”

The post DEGEN Studios unleashes the Plague City chase appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

AccaMAX

Hub88 adds AccaMAX slots and crash games to its aggregation platform

Published

48 minutes ago

July 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

hub88-adds-accamax-slots-and-crash-games-to-its-aggregation-platform

SlotsMAX and CrashMAX titles roll out via one-click access for Hub88’s operator partners, alongside tiered progressive jackpots.

Hub88 has signed a content distribution deal with AccaMAX to add the studio’s slots and crash portfolio to its aggregation platform, making the content available to Hub88’s operator partners via one-click access.

Under the agreement, AccaMAX’s catalogue will be delivered through Hub88, including the provider’s SlotsMAX and CrashMAX collections. The companies said the integration will also include AccaMAX’s four-tier progressive jackpot network.

Hub88 said AccaMAX’s titles are tested for “fairness, performance and regulatory compliance across all major jurisdictions,” positioning the content for multi-market operator rollouts.

Ollie Castleman, Managing Director at Hub88, said: “AccaMAX has been making waves over the last year, since the launch of its SlotsMAX library in 2025. With a broad range of themes and a highly motivating jackpot system, the supplier is a welcome addition to our platform. We are excited to deliver their portfolio and see what other surprises await in their roadmap this year.”

Christo Bezuidenhout, CPO at AccaMAX, said: “Partnering with Hub88 means operators can enable our entire product offering in a single step, with none of the usual integration overhead. Every title we ship is crafted for entertainment value and tested for compliance across major markets, and this partnership puts that quality in front of operators worldwide. We’d encourage anyone already on the Hub88 network to switch us on and see the difference for their players.”

The post Hub88 adds AccaMAX slots and crash games to its aggregation platform appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Canada

Gaming Corps expands Entain deal with Ontario live and Alberta launch planned

Published

48 minutes ago

July 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

gaming-corps-expands-entain-deal-with-ontario-live-and-alberta-launch-planned

Supplier content is already live on BetMGM in Ontario, with Party Casino & Sports Interaction lined up ahead of Alberta’s July iGaming opening.

Gaming Corps has expanded its partnership with Entain, extending distribution of its casino content across more Entain brands and markets, with Canada positioned as a key near-term focus.

The supplier went live with Entain’s joint venture BetMGM in Ontario in December 2025, followed by a wider Entain rollout in the province in March 2026. Gaming Corps and Entain are also preparing for Alberta’s regulated iGaming market opening in July, with Gaming Corps content “ready to go live from day one with BetMGM” and Party Casino & Sports Interaction to follow.

Outside Canada, Gaming Corps said it completed a full content launch in Brazil with Sportingbet and Betboo in May, and launched 3 Pigs of Olympus exclusively across Entain’s UK-facing Ladbrokes, Coral Gala and Foxy brands in June. The company also said additional launches are being prepared for Portugal, Spain and New Zealand.

The latest phase includes football-themed titles such as Penalty Champion, Goals to Glory: Football Fever and Goals to Glory: Instant Blitz, alongside the supplier’s 3 Pigs IP. Graham Greensmith, Chief Commercial Officer at Gaming Corps, said: “For Gaming Corps, this is a huge milestone. Entain is one of the biggest names in global gaming, so to see our relationship grow in this way is a clear sign of the trust, performance and commercial value we have built together.

“What makes this particularly exciting is the scale of the opportunity. This is not a single-brand launch or a one-market rollout. Entain is continuing to take Gaming Corps content into more territories, across more of its brands, and that says a lot about where we are as a business.

“We have worked hard to build a portfolio that gives major operators real flexibility, from high-performing IP to timely, event-led content and new game formats. To see that strategy being recognised by a partner of Entain’s calibre is incredibly rewarding, and we are very excited about what comes next.”

Obdulio Bacarese, Global Gaming Director at Entain, added: “Gaming Corps has been a valuable partner over the last four years. The strength of the relationship lies in how easily the content can be activated around different commercial priorities, from supporting new market entries to adding timely releases around key calendar moments. The studio understands the need for content that is flexible, relevant and easy to position locally, and we are pleased to continue building on the partnership.”

The post Gaming Corps expands Entain deal with Ontario live and Alberta launch planned appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.