Latest News

GambleAware Commits £4M for Britain’s First Academic Research Hub Specialising in Gambling Harms

Published

5 years ago

August 18, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

GambleAware has begun an eight-month grant award process to establish the first Academic Research Hub in Great Britain specialising in gambling harms research.

The ambition is for the Academic Research Hub to have a significant impact on the whole gambling research landscape, both within Great Britain and across the globe, through the inclusion of new and diverse areas of research. The Hub will contribute to GambleAware’s overarching vision of creating a society safe from gambling harms and help deliver the charity’s strategic objective to actively build academic research capacity. To ensure longevity, it is also expected the successful institution will secure alternative funding to allow continued growth and development beyond the initial grant award.

In Great Britain at present, most gambling research is from a social science perspective and is delivered by a small number of academics. However, the new Hub seeks to broaden out the range of academic disciplines engaged with gambling harms research in Great Britain. With the application of a public health lens, the successful institution will dictate its own research focus and will support and inform the wider system of treatment providers, organisations and agencies working to prevent and reduce gambling harms.

A select number of universities have been invited to apply for the grant and were chosen based on multiple university rankings, including those rated highly for research areas relevant to gambling behaviour and harms prevention. Whilst the grant will be awarded to a single university, it is expected the successful institution will take a highly collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach both within its own institution and externally with other academics and partners, including internationally.

GambleAware is encouraging applications from those with a strong academic track record in adjacent disciplines, including but not limited to public health, mental health, health inequalities, health economics, epidemiology, clinical health and/or psychology.

Alison Clare, Research Director (Interim) at GambleAware, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for a British university to develop and innovate in a relatively under-researched field, bringing to bear a much wider range of academic disciplines than are currently engaged in gambling harms research. With this significant investment, a British university and its partners will have the chance to create a step change in building knowledge in an area which links and overlaps with many other subjects and fields.

“It’s a different type of grant award to the smaller projects and programmes in our current research portfolio, with GambleAware taking a much more arm’s length approach in guiding the area of research focus. Our main criteria is that universities apply a multi-disciplinary, public health lens in setting out the rationale for their chosen research area. From our early discussions with selected universities, we’re expecting some very creative and innovative proposals at the initial Expression of Interest stage.”

ClearStake

Star Sports adopts ClearStake’s bank-based solution for player verification

Published

25 minutes ago

February 26, 2026

Wladimir P.

star-sports-adopts-clearstake’s-bank-based-solution-for-player-verification

Independent bookmaker Star Sports has partnered with ClearStake to enhance its player verification and compliance procedures using secure bank-driven verification technology.

The collaboration will enable Star Sports to incorporate ClearStake’s newly-introduced ID by Bank solution.

The product enables users to confirm their identity in seconds through their banking app, eliminating the requirement for document submissions and manual assessments. It results in a notable rise in the success rate of verification processes, which consequently boosts the number of depositing players while decreasing fraud and operational costs.

Star Sports will utilize ClearStake’s current affordability and source of funds technology.

Flynn Goward, Managing Director of Star Sports, said: “We’re always looking for ways to make the player journey smoother without compromising on compliance. ClearStake’s technology gives us exactly that balance. It’s been simple to integrate and we’re already seeing faster verification and fewer hurdles for genuine customers.”

Martin Burt, CEO of ClearStake, added: “Star Sports is one of the most recognised and trusted betting brands in the UK, so we’re thrilled to be helping them enhance their verification processes. By adopting ID by Bank alongside our affordability and source of funds tools, they’re setting the benchmark for what modern player verification should look like.”

ID by Bank has been implemented by several other major UK operators in recent weeks and is transforming the way operators authenticate players online, resulting in significantly improved pass rates, lowered operational costs and fraud, as well as enhanced FTD conversion rates.

The post Star Sports adopts ClearStake’s bank-based solution for player verification appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

iGaming

Menace sets new retention benchmark

Published

25 minutes ago

February 26, 2026

Wladimir P.

Just three months after its launch, disruptive new iGaming brand Menace is reporting performance data showing player loyalty well above established market benchmarks.

Menace’s flagship crash game has delivered an average day 1 retention rate of 26%, exceeding the top end of market benchmarks of around 20–22% for comparable titles.

Player loyalty extends beyond initial engagement. During peak months in December and January, Menace recorded day 7 retention of 24–25%, placing it at the very top of industry performance ranges.

The success is partly attributed to Menace’s integrated games studio, Ebaka Games. Around 80% of Menace users played an Ebaka title during a three-month period of exclusivity.

Menace founder Dmitry Belianin said:

“From day one, our goal was not just to launch another operator but to build an ecosystem where content and platform are engineered together for long-term engagement. The early retention data shows that when a studio and an operator act as one product organisation, you can achieve loyalty levels that traditional integration models struggle to reach.”

Ebaka Games content was first launched exclusively with Menace alongside a major brand awareness campaign. Following its proven performance, the content is now available to third-party operators.

These metrics place Menace among the sector’s stickiest operators, with players returning at unusually high rates for a newly-launched brand.

The post Menace sets new retention benchmark appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

AI

BetConstruct AI Charts a New Course for Brazil’s iGaming Market at SBC Summit Rio 2026

Published

25 minutes ago

February 26, 2026

Wladimir P.

betconstruct-ai-charts-a-new-course-for-brazil’s-igaming-market-at-sbc-summit-rio-2026

BetConstruct AI is thrilled to share its involvement in the SBC Summit Rio 2026, taking place from March 4-5 at the Riocentro in Rio de Janeiro. As Brazil enters its second year of complete regulation, BetConstruct AI emerges at this critical market moment to present a vision of technological empowerment and strategic independence.

At Stand A230, attendees will find an extensive range of AI-powered solutions tailored to satisfy the expectations of the Brazilian crowd. The exhibition highlights the top-tier Sportsbook and Casino Platforms, designed to expand quickly while ensuring peak performance levels.

Apart from the main platforms, BetConstruct AI supplies the necessary framework for a leading online brand. This encompasses CMS Pro, a tailored content management system that enables operators to oversee their complete business from one unified platform, and SpringBuilder X, our mobile-centric, SEO-focused drag-and-drop website creator that removes the necessity for technical expertise. Advancing customization, BetChain AI provides an innovative method to design and develop iGaming sites more efficiently and intelligently, granting partners complete creative authority. These essential tools are crafted to operate in complete synergy with our advanced intelligence layer, establishing a smooth connection between an impressive user interface and intricate back-end automation.

At the heart of the exhibition lies the BetConstruct AI Suite, an advanced set of tools designed to streamline and enhance the operator’s experience.
This encompasses:

●CRM AI: Delivering deep behavioral insights to enhance player retention.
●Umbrella AI: Providing real-time risk management and automated player protection.
●AI Game Recommendation System: Ensuring personalized content delivery to maximize engagement.
●Betting Mate: An intuitive AI companion that elevates the player experience with real-time stats and insights.

Demonstrating its dedication to the long-term success of the Brazilian market, BetConstruct AI will emphasize its unique “The Choice to Grow” initiative. This performance-driven program aims to incentivize partners that reach a 16.67% growth in GGR each quarter. Achieving these goals across a wide array of products – such as Sportsbook, Virtual Sports, and partner brands like PopOK Gaming and CreedRoomz – enables operators to receive a 51% invoice discount every third month, plus exclusive service advantages and tournament participation.

BetConstruct AI encourages all industry stakeholders, operators, and media representatives to stop by Stand A230 at Riocentro. The team will be present during the summit to showcase how a connected, AI-driven ecosystem enables partners to select the route of innovation, efficiency, and market leadership in the Brazilian market.

The post BetConstruct AI Charts a New Course for Brazil’s iGaming Market at SBC Summit Rio 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.