Press Releases
GambleAware publishes new research
• Exposure to gambling advertising, including on social media, can have an impact on attitudes towards the prevalence and acceptability of gambling, and in turn the likelihood that a child, young person or vulnerable adult will gamble in the future.
• The attitudes and gambling behaviours of peers and parents are critical in shaping gambling activity; they were significantly associated with both a young person’s exposure to brands and advertising, as well as with current gambling amongst those aged 11-24.
• In the report, researchers identified a number of recommendations, including the need for clearer safer gambling messages and campaigns; a requirement to improve education initiatives; a reduction in the appeal of gambling adverts to children and improved use of advertising technology, to minimise the exposure of such content to children, young people and vulnerable adults.
GambleAware has published the findings of the research commissioned to examine the impact of gambling advertising and marketing on children, young people and vulnerable adults.
The programme of research was conducted by two separate consortia, led by Ipsos MORI and the Institute for Social Marketing at the University of Stirling. The synthesis of findings across the research was written by Ipsos MORI. The research shows that regular exposure to gambling promotions can change perceptions and associations of gambling over time for children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Among those who don’t currently gamble, exposure to gambling promotions was one of the most significant associations with whether someone was likely to gamble in the future. However, the attitudes of peers and carers was also critical when looking at whether an 11-24-year-old was a current gambler. The report reveals that if a child or young person has a close friend or carer who gambles, that individual is six times more likely to be a current gambler, than those without such a connection.
However, when specifically looking at exposure, researchers observed that almost all (96%) of the 11-24-year-old participants had been exposed to gambling marketing messages in the last month. Furthermore, participants in the qualitative research were shown snippets of gambling logos and when asked to identify them, correctly identified an average of eight out of ten.
By using an age classifier on Twitter, researchers also found clear evidence of children following and engaging with gambling related accounts. It was estimated that 41,000 UK followers of gambling-related accounts on the social media platform were likely to be under 16 and 6% of followers of ‘traditional’ gambling accounts were found to be children, a figure that increased to 17% when looking specifically at eSport gambling accounts.
Researchers concluded that the rise of new forms of gambling marketing through social media have increased the ways in which children, young people and vulnerable adults can engage with gambling brands, which in turn helps to establish brand loyalty. One of the recommendations from the report was that more could be done to work closely with social media platforms to improve age screening tools, before individuals are allowed to follow accounts that promote gambling.
However, when examining where children and young people came across gambling in the past month, TV remained the most common source of exposure:
• More than four out of five (85%) aged 11-24 reported seeing gambling advertising on TV (including national lottery adverts).
• 70% of children and young people noticed gambling adverts in betting shops on the high street, window displays as well as promotions on shop floors and near tills. However, those aged between 18 to 24 had higher exposure to gambling during sports events, on smartphone apps, through merchandise, gambling websites, emails and from word of mouth.
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• Two-thirds (66%) reported seeing gambling promotions on their social media channels, that were most likely to be in the form of video adverts while watching clips on YouTube or ads appearing while scrolling through Facebook feeds.
Researchers identified a risk that some advertising may play on the susceptibilities of children, young people and vulnerable adults, particularly when their understanding of the risk of gambling may be poor. The appeal of a gambling promotions, for example ones that imply limited risk, or inflated suggestions of winning, may not always result in an immediate bet. Instead, these adverts were successful in eliciting a range of emotional and cognitive responses from children, young people and vulnerable adults. This therefore was likely to shape their attitudes and the likelihood as to whether or not they would consider gambling in the future.
Responding to the research findings, Marc Etches, CEO of GambleAware, has said: “Gambling is an adult activity, but this new research conclusively shows that it has become part of everyday life for children and young people. This constant exposure to it through advertising and marketing, or via close friends and family, has the potential for serious long-term implications for children and young people. The exposure to gambling on social media suggests there is a clear need for social media companies to improve age screening tools and for gambling companies to make full use of existing ones, to help protect children from potential harmful exposure to gambling. We must always be mindful that gambling is a public health issue and it can have serious implications for people’s mental health. This report is an apt reminder for us to ensure that the next generation is made aware of the risks of gambling as well as the help and support that is available via the National Gambling Treatment Service.”
Researchers at Ipsos MORI identified a number of recommendations to help protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from experiencing gambling harms. These included:
• The need for clearer safer gambling messages and campaigns, to increase the awareness of risk of gambling to children and young people.
• Improving safer gambling education initiatives, that extend to parents, as well as children and young people.
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• Reducing the appeal of gambling advertising, by addressing specific features that may appeal to children, for example the use of celebrities or humour, while also avoiding references to confusing financial incentives.
• Improved use of advertising technology and age screening tools, to minimise the exposure of such content to children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Steve Ginnis, Research Director at Ipsos MORI, has said: “The research points to the ubiquitous nature of gambling advertising, beyond sports and beyond television; and further demonstrates that the impact of exposure goes beyond traditional selling techniques that elicit an immediate response. The evidence captured in this research suggests that there is value in taking further action to reduce exposure and appeal of gambling advertising, which in turn is likely to help mitigate against the plausible risk of gambling-related harms among children, young people and vulnerable adults. Our recommendations are intended to help stimulate collective discussion and action.”
Fresh from participating at SiGMA Asia, Groove is now setting its sights on the Americas. The award-winning platform and aggregator will touch down at SBC Summit Americas 2026, bringing a global strategy forged across three continents to the fast-growing markets of North and Latin America.
The event, running June 9–11 at the Broward County Convention Centre, will see Groove’s leadership team, including Co-Founder and CEO Yahale Meltzer and Business Development Director Giusy Campo, engage with operators, regulators, and affiliates from across the hemisphere. Their arrival in Fort Lauderdale is no mere conference stop. It is the next chapter in a year of deliberate, multi-continental expansion.
Groove enters Florida on the back of a transformative 2025. The company secured a license to operate in Brazil, established regulated activity in Argentina, and deepened its footprint across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Recent shortlistings validated a strategic pivot: from content provider to comprehensive growth engine. Now, the Americas beckon.
Giusy Campo, Business Development Director at Groove, who joined the company in 2025 to lead its charge into regulated markets, has been at the centre of this global push. She will be on the ground in Fort Lauderdale, continuing conversations that began at SiGMA Asia just days earlier: “When we move into a new region, we don’t arrive empty-handed,” said Campo. “We come with a platform built on structural resilience: predictive auto-scaling, atomic transactions, and a real-time compliance mesh that adapts to jurisdictional demands, not the other way around. Operators in the Americas face many of the same pressures as their counterparts in Asia: banking scrutiny, shifting regulations, and the need for flawless execution. Our ‘Unseen Architecture’ was built for exactly this moment.”
Campo will be meeting with operators seeking more than a game list. “They need a partner whose platform won’t introduce compliance or operational risk into their business,” she added. “That’s what we deliver. From Manila to Miami, the questions are the same. And we have the answers.”
Groove’s presence at SBC Summit Americas is the mirror image of its recent success at SiGMA Asia. In Manila, the company joined a high-stakes panel on regulatory resilience in the “Jurisdiction Jungle”. In Florida, the conversation shifts to the Americas, where the opportunities are vast, but the regulatory landscape is equally fragmented.
With over 15,000 games from more than 150 providers unified through a single API, Groove offers operators a powerful shortcut to market leadership.
SBC Summit Americas 2026 is expected to draw over 10,000 industry professionals and 400 exhibitors, covering regulation, product innovation, payment technology, cryptocurrency, AI, and cybersecurity. Groove will be positioned at the intersection of all of them, ready to show operators why the platform that just conquered Asia is now setting its sights on the Americas.
Yahale Meltzer, Co-Founder and CEO of Groove, framed the company’s back-to-back summit presence as a matter of strategic discipline: “We don’t do ‘one-off’ events. We build continuous relationships across the markets that matter,” said Meltzer. “Asia was about demonstrating structural resilience in the face of fragmentation. The Americas require the same rigour: a platform that can scale from a single operator in Argentina to a national lottery in Brazil without breaking compliance or trust. Our nomination in Manila wasn’t an endpoint. It was a signal. Now we take that signal to Fort Lauderdale, where the real work begins.”
Meltzer emphasised that Groove’s global footprint with offices in Israel, Georgia, and Malta, and a 24/7 multilingual support team, is the operational backbone of this expansion.
“When an operator in São Paulo has a question, they get an answer from someone who understands their market context, not just their technical issue,” he said. “That is the difference between a platform and a partner. We are here to be the latter, for the Americas and beyond.”
The post From Manila to Miami: Groove Brings Its Global Momentum to SBC Summit Americas 2026 appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Global entertainment group SkillOnNet today announced the launch of Konami Online Interactive’s iGaming portfolio in Mexico, bringing a selection of internationally recognized casino titles from Konami Gaming, Inc. to players through its flagship Spanish-language iGaming site, PlayUZU.
Mexico is the first market in a broader multi-country rollout planned over the coming months, as SkillOnNet and the Japanese gaming giant expand their partnership across additional regulated jurisdictions.
PlayUZU players in Mexico can now enjoy iconic Konami slot titles like China Shores
, All Aboard, African Diamond and BOMBERMAN BLAST, a game inspired by Konami’s legendary BOMBERMAN video games.
Although Konami is best known for its video gaming and land-based casino heritage, its digital casino offering has built a built a strong reputation for bringing iconic slots titles to regulated iGaming markets worldwide.
The partnership highlights the increasing importance of Latin America as a growth region within the global online gaming industry, with Mexico emerging as a key regulated market – and it reinforces SkillOnNet’s commitment to delivering top-tier, localised gaming experiences to players across the globe.
Jani Kontturi, Head of Games at SkillOnNet said: “Konami Online Interactive has developed some of the industry’s most recognisable casino titles, and we’re proud to partner with them to introduce this content to our players in Mexico. These are iconic games with proven appeal both on land and online.”
Eduardo Aching, Vice President of iGaming & International Gaming Operations at Konami Gaming, Inc. said: “SkillOnNet’s proven track record makes them an ideal partner as we continue to grow the reach of Konami content internationally. We are excited to expand our games with players in Mexico through this collaboration and further strengthen our presence in Latin America.”
The post SkillOnNet and Konami Online Interactive Begin Multi-Market Rollout in Mexico appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Casino games aggregator and full-service technology provider St8 has partnered with RubyPlay to further expand its Ontario offering, adding the studio’s popular slot portfolio to its growing aggregation platform across the Canadian province.
As part of the agreement, operators in Ontario will gain access to a range of titles from across RubyPlay’s studio ecosystem, including content from RubyPlay Studio, Koala Games, Mad Hat Games and Firerose, through St8, with upcoming releases from Xslots also expected to go live through the platform. Standout games include J Mania® Lucky Pyggs, Mad Hit® Mr. Coin and Diamond Explosion® 7s SE. The integration strengthens St8’s content portfolio with a range of proven, high-performing slot titles tailored to the region.
RubyPlay has continued to grow its footprint across regulated jurisdictions through its studio-based ecosystem and tailored content strategy, earning key tier one recognition for developing high-performing games that resonate with players in key markets worldwide. The supplier’s games offering has proven appeal in Ontario, resonating well with local players in the region.
The partnership strengthens St8’s proposition in Ontario, a market that has quickly become a key part of the company’s growth strategy as it continues to establish itself as a leading technology provider around the globe.
David Fall, Business Development Manager at St8, said: “Partnering with RubyPlay in Ontario is an exciting addition to our growing content offering in North America.
“The supplier has built strong momentum across regulated markets through its engaging portfolio and player-focused approach, and we are delighted to bring its high-performing content from across its studio ecosystem to operators in Ontario through the St8 platform.”
Dima Reiderman, Chief Commercial Officer at RubyPlay, said: “Ontario is a market we have been focused on for some time, so teaming up with St8 feels like a natural step in our North American expansion.
“St8’s aggregation platform provides an excellent route for our diverse portfolio of content to reach more operators in Ontario. Through our studio ecosystem, we are able to deliver a broad range of experiences tailored to different audiences and market needs, making this partnership a strong fit for both companies”
The post St8 cements Ontario content offering through latest partnership with RubyPlay appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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