Industry News

European Lotteries Adapting to a Post-corona World

Published

6 years ago

April 28, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The lottery executives and industry experts in Europe have met together via an online webinar “Lotteries in COVID-19 Lockdown” to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the lottery sector, the consequences for a post-corona world and the importance of continuing to fund good causes during a pandemic.

The webinar was organised by VIXIO GamblingCompliance in association with The European Lotteries (EL), together with representatives of two of EL Members the SAZKA Group and Veikkaus Oy. The webinar has gathered over 250 participants.

During the webinar, EL Secretary General Arjan van ‘t Veer outlined the situation for lotteries during the lockdown. In their immediate response to the outbreak, the vast majority of EL Members have already taken a series of priority actions to protect players and lottery employees, retailers and providers’ staff. The most common steps included remote working, travel restrictions and regular communication with the players and relevant stakeholders.

On the operational side, Mr. van ‘t Veer noted: ‘‘I have seen many EL Members take necessary continuity measure to make sure operations can continue. In the first days of the lockdown, there was a tremendous drop in sales, as retailers closed their doors and draws were postponed or cancelled. Early on, Members that operate slot machines, EGMs or casinos took their responsibility to close, in order to reduce large public gatherings. As the lockdown spread across Europe, more POSs were closed (some up to 100%) and sports betting took a major hit.’’

However, it is not all bad news. Mr. van ‘t Veer added, ‘‘Over the last few weeks some EL members have reported stable sales. Online games are performing better than expected, scratch cards are doing well, and many lottery campaigns are now focused on good causes to support the health sector and vulnerable people, such as funding for medical equipment or the delivery of daily essential supplies to care homes. Since the Easter break, there has been a positive impact on the sales of (draw based) games. There is still a long way to go but light is at the end of the tunnel. Some POSs are re-opening and Members are reporting preparations to get back to (full) business when possible.’’

Moderated by Andrew Gellatly, Head of Global Research at VIXIO, the discussions moved on to national situations and how lotteries can learn to co-exist with the virus.

Robert Chvatal, CEO of the Sazka a.s. and Sazka Group highlighted the observed “north-south divide,” i.e. differences in impact on lottery business between southern and northern regions of Europe, where for example in the southern countries with very small share of on-line lottery sales and 100% POS closures, the business was hit very hard by the crisis and in opposite, in the northern and central European countries, where the on-line share is much higher and retail was closed only partly, the business impact was much smaller.

“Many lotteries have seen a significant increase in online sales share, due to the retail channel limitations and customers’ willingness to have a chance to continue to play. Fortunately, this is even supported by high jackpots of both, local Lotto games and Eurojackpot/ Euromillions, attracting even occasional players to participate. This is something that lotteries will need to adjust to support, for example, their elderly customers concerned about going to their usual retailer with advice on how to play online. Some of them will probably remain the online customers, benefiting from convenience of on-line channel, which will partially increase the future on-line channel share. Nevertheless, plenty of the players will revert back to play in retail, especially those needing the social contact connected with the play. I believe that the lotteries biggest challenge will be to re-open fully the retail channel, respecting all hygienic rules to protect both customers and retailers, and ramp-up the retail channel performance as soon as possible to start to generate good causes contributions on the pre-corona level,” Chvatal noted.

On monitoring changes in the behaviour of players, Sami Kauhanen, SVP of Betting at Veikkaus Oy highlighted that “in Finland casinos, VLTs and slot machines closed in March, while the retails network remained open and continued to operate more or less ‘normally.’ There has been a slight increase for online casinos, but not to the extent that they are seen as a replace to suspended games such as slot machines. On offshore operators, there are not major changes during the lockdown. There is a traditional loss of the market share for online casinos and betting from these operators, regardless of the crisis.”

On sports betting Mr. Kauhanen added, “Live sport betting is a big thing in our country and with the cancellation of sport events, many are turning towards betting on horse-racing, often with new players who cannot currently bet on their favourite live sport, like football. Virtual betting and e-sports are not so popular in Finland.”

An audience poll was conducted during the webinar on what changes there will be in lottery player behaviour in the post-corona era. Most participants said players would revert to their existing retail/online preferences, followed closely by players staying online and retail lotteries becoming less relevant.

Source:

AI

Despite AI’s Rise, Fraud Teams Keep Growing — SEON 2026 Report

Published

4 days ago

March 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

despite-ai’s-rise,-fraud-teams-keep-growing-—-seon-2026-report

SEON, the command centre for immediate Fraud Prevention and AML Compliance, has unveiled AI Reality Check: 2026 Fraud & AML Leaders Report, the second iteration of its sector research, derived from a worldwide survey of 1,010 leaders in fraud, risk, and compliance spanning payments, fintech, financial services, retail, eCommerce, and gaming.

The figures reveal an unforeseen narrative: AI is ubiquitous, yet operations are not becoming easier to manage. Currently, 98% of organizations utilize AI in fraud and AML processes, with 95% expressing confidence in its effectiveness; meanwhile, headcount plans rose from 88% to 94% year-over-year, and 83% anticipate budget increases in 2026.

Complexity Is Surpassing Automation

AI has not lessened the workload — it has revealed the extent of work that has always existed. Fraud losses are increasingly approaching revenue growth, threats are advancing more rapidly, and disjointed systems restrict the true potential of AI at scale. Key year-over-year shift:

Leadership’s confidence in their teams’ performance is lagging. The number of leaders who disagreed with the statement, “fraud losses are growing faster than revenue,” dropped by almost 40% from the previous year

Inside the Numbers:

AI is baseline, not experimental

98% already integrate AI into daily workflows (only 2% still planning)
95% are confident AI can detect and prevent fraud (52% very confident)
Top use case: AI/ML for transaction monitoring (30%)

Fraud and AML investment keeps climbing

83% expect fraud/AML budgets to increase in 2026
94% plan to add at least one full-time hire (up from 88% in 2025)
85% plan to add a vendor, 49% plan to replace one

Fragmentation is the bottleneck

95% claim “some integration” between fraud and AML systems
Only 47% run fully integrated workflows; the rest rely on partial connections
80% say getting a unified view of data is challenging

For many, time-to-value remains slow

Only 10% go live in under two weeks
38% take 1–3 months, 24% take 4+ months
When implementations run long, top impacts include increased costs (52%) and prolonged fraud exposure (47%)

Teams are growing, not shrinking

94% plan to increase headcount despite automation gains
85% see AI agents as support/augmentation, not replacement (only 12% see eventual replacement)

Top fraud threats reported:

Account takeovers: 26%
Promo/discount abuse: 18%
Return fraud: 18%

“Fraud and financial crime were supposed to become more manageable as AI matured,” said Tamas Kadar, CEO and co-founder, SEON. “Instead, 2026 is the year leaders are confronting a more complicated reality. AI adoption is real, confidence is high, but the scale and pace of fraud — compounded by fragmented systems — continue to drive increased investment rather than reduced overhead. The bottleneck is no longer whether AI works. It’s everything around it: disconnected data, siloed teams, slow implementations. The organisations that pull ahead will be the ones that unify fraud and AML intelligence, shorten the distance between threats and controls, and treat integration as strategy, not plumbing.”

Fast-Growing Companies Invest in Integration Early

Organisations growing 51%+ are nearly twice as likely as slower peers to report that achieving unified visibility is “not very challenging.” They treat integration as infrastructure, not an IT project.

What’s Next: From “Does AI Work?” to “Can We Trust It?”

With adoption near-universal, the conversation is shifting to governance, explainability and accountability:

78% say decentralised digital identity will become central to fraud/AML
33% cite data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) as the biggest external force shaping AML
25% point to criminals’ advancing use of AI and obfuscation techniques

The post Despite AI’s Rise, Fraud Teams Keep Growing — SEON 2026 Report appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Ashley McCulloch Vice President North America at Evoplay

Evoplay Names Ashley McCulloch Vice President North America

Published

4 days ago

March 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

evoplay-names-ashley-mcculloch-vice-president-north-america

Evoplay, the acclaimed game development studio, has named Ashley McCulloch as Vice President North America, strengthening its strategic emphasis on growth throughout the US and Canada.

McCulloch has over 15 years of experience that includes land-based, VLT, and online gaming. She has occupied high-level commercial positions at IGT and Light & Wonder and most recently worked as Director of Account Management North America at Inspired Gaming Group, where she led strategic account development and assisted with new market entry projects.

In addition to her commercial success, McCulloch serves as a board member for Women in Sports and Events, is part of Global Gaming Women, and was recognized in the 2024 Emerging Leaders in Gaming 40 Under 40, highlighting her influence in the industry.

At Evoplay, McCulloch will lead partnerships, regulatory licensing, product launches, and broader business development efforts as the provider speeds up its growth in the North American market.

Evoplay has secured a significant presence in the area, launching in Ontario via collaborations with prominent operators in the province, such as BetMGM and Caesars Entertainment.

In November 2025, Evoplay made a notable initial move into the United States by joining the lottery sector in Washington DC, establishing a connection to the US online gaming landscape.

With McCulloch’s hiring, the company aims to leverage this momentum and continue its expansion throughout regulated US states.

Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, said: “North America represents one of the most exciting growth opportunities for Evoplay, and Ashley McCulloch’s appointment is a major step forward in realising our ambitions in the region.

“Her extensive experience across land-based and online gaming, combined with her track record in commercial strategy, makes her the ideal person to lead our efforts as we scale.”

Ashley McCulloch, Vice President North America at Evoplay, added: “I’m very excited to be joining the Evoplay team at such a pivotal moment in its growth journey.

“The studio has built a strong reputation for high-quality content, and I look forward to developing partnerships and driving sustainable growth across North America.”

The post Evoplay Names Ashley McCulloch Vice President North America appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Africa

VeliGames Secures SiGMA Africa’s Industry Rising Star Award

Published

4 days ago

March 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

veligames-secures-sigma-africa’s-industry-rising-star-award

VeliGames, a game aggregation platform from VeliTech, has received the Industry Rising Star award at the SiGMA Africa 2026 Awards, highlighting the platform’s swift innovation and significant influence on African iGaming.

The Industry Rising Star award highlights a developing company that displays remarkable potential, creativity, and influence, rapidly positioning itself as a forthcoming leader in the iGaming sector. It emphasizes VeliGames’ dedication to providing not just a content pipeline, but also genuine innovation and a comprehensive growth engine for operators in developing markets.

“Winning the SiGMA Africa Award for Industry Rising Star 2026 is a proud moment for our team. From day one, we built VeliGames with African operators in mind, combining local-fit content, practical tooling, and pricing that makes sense on the ground. We back it all up with hands-on operational know-how from working in the region. That’s what being a true content partner looks like.” Irakli Kakhidze, CEO at VeliGames.

Tailored for Africa’s infrastructure challenges, device characteristics, and user habits, VeliGames provides a performance-oriented casino content layer aimed at thriving in areas where conventional, high-bandwidth aggregation methods struggle. Rather than solely competing based on catalogue size, VeliGames prioritizes the key factors that genuinely contribute to casino success in Africa: speed, accessibility, conversion, and session stability.

The platform delivers content in a highly efficient, mobile-centric setting designed to function dependably amid variable connectivity, restricted device storage, and brief gaming sessions, assisting operators in ensuring seamless gameplay and enhanced player experiences on a larger scale.

Alongside curated third-party titles, the platform includes exclusive in-house content:

VeliPlay: bold, crash-and-fast titles built for immersion, retention, and high replay value
Heaven of 7: high-impact slot content designed for strong engagement, session after session

Visit VeliTech at Stand 096 from March 3-5 to learn why VeliGames was honored as the Industry Rising Star. Discover live game demonstrations, witness performance features in action, and learn how operators can create unique iGaming brands with a platform designed for regional requirements.

The post VeliGames Secures SiGMA Africa’s Industry Rising Star Award appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.