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Third of Swedish players search for ‘unlicensed casinos’, research finds

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Bonusfinder.com data finds ‘channelisation’ strategy failing and growing numbers of players looking for black market sites

– Warning to German regulators to reconsider recent restrictive proposals

 Almost a third of Swedish players are searching online for ‘unlicensed casinos’, with growing numbers turning to black-market brands due to the market’s restrictive gaming regulations, according to data produced by customer-first affiliate brand Bonusfinder.com.

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Research carried out by BonusFinder.com monitoring the Swedish market since it regulated in January 2019 has uncovered a spike in Swedish players searching for a basket of black-market keywords.

Up to 30% of players have searched for terms such as ‘unlicensed casino’ (casino utan licens). This reinforces the theory that aggressive restrictions on licensed operators drives players to search for, and convert to, unlicensed black-market brands.

According to recent official data from the Swedish regulator (SGA), 91% of gambling is carried out by licensed operators in a market worth more than €1.2 billion.

Data from H2 Gambling Capital estimates Sweden’s ‘channelisation’ strategy towards licensed sites to be 85%, however Bonusfinder.com research shows the proportion of Swedish players using legal casinos to be closer to 70% with almost a third being diverted to unlicensed brands.

The findings are a stark warning to other newly regulating markets including Germany that is considering even tougher regulations on online casino products.

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German lawmakers recently approved regulations to legalise online poker and casino from 1 July 2021 with punitive measures including slots subject to a €1 per spin stake limit, no auto play and no jackpots, while casino games must be offered separately to table games.

One large operator in Germany, on condition of anonymity said that future licensed brands there could see casino revenues fall by up to 70% with many players flocking to black market sites if regulators passed restrictive proposals.

“With the 16 Federal States in Germany approving the new gambling regulation everyone was anticipating a regulated and safe gambling environment for online and land-based players in Germany.

“The strict policies in the new Interstate Treaty on Gambling, however, will force players and operators into illegal channels and, if this goes ahead, the market with the biggest potential in Europe will have lost its opportunity. For many operators, revenues will drop by 60 to 70%, and on top of that, taxes and fees will make this licence unattractive.”

Fintan Costello, Managing Director, Bonusfinder.com, said: “Instead of misguidedly declaring phase one of Swedish legislation a “success”, regulators should be focusing on the rising proportion of players searching for ‘unlicensed’ brands.

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Equally concerning is that newly regulating markets such as Germany appear to be ignoring their mistakes. There is no regulated market on earth that is proposing such damaging rules, and we would urge them to take heed of Sweden’s rapid plunge toward encouraging unlicensed activity.

“This should serve as a real warning for German lawmakers who have plenty of time to alter their proposals to benefit and protect players and to ensure their newly regulated framework is commercially successful.

“At Bonusfinder.com we aim to give players more choice, presenting them with all the options before they commit to gambling on specific sites. Our aim is to help people “play with more” in a safe environment. Our core principles are built on a common sense approach to regulation that involve honest and open conversations between regulators, operators, affiliates and players. This is exactly the approach German regulators should be taking.”

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Ruud Bergervoet Reappointed as CFO of Holland Casino

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Ruud Bergervoet has been reappointed as CFO of Holland Casino. He will remain financially responsible for the gambling provider for another two years. Bergervoet has already been CFO for two terms of four years, but due to the special circumstances of the company, he has been asked to remain as a director.

CEO Petra de Ruiter said: “I am very happy that Ruud is prepared to stay with us. With his experience and knowledge of the company, he is indispensable at this moment. We have to work very hard in the coming years to keep Holland Casino financially healthy. And I am certain that this is in good hands with Ruud.”

Ruud Bergervoet has been working at Holland Casino since 2017. Before that, he worked as CFO at FD Mediagroep and Sdu Uitgevers, among others.

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During the shareholders’ meeting of April 16, Bergervoet was nominated by the Supervisory Board and his nomination was confirmed.

The post Ruud Bergervoet Reappointed as CFO of Holland Casino appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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The 8th AskGamblers Awards Officially Enters the Voting Stage

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AskGamblers has announced that the final voting stage of the 8th annual AskGamblers Awards has started.

The voting phase kicked off on 28 April, and will last until the award ceremony scheduled for 12 June.

As in previous editions of the Awards, players can cast their votes for one of the top 10 finalists in the following categories: Best Casino, Best New Casino, Best Sportsbook, Best New Slot and Best Software Provider.

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The Best Crypto Casino, Best Partner and Best Manager categories will traditionally be chosen by the AskGamblers team. This year’s edition introduces a new category, the Superstar Award, a crown achievement handed out to one operator that best represents the values of brands, whose laureate will also be chosen solely by AskGamblers.

Another novelty in this year’s Awards cycle is the Forum vote: the votes from the members of AskGamblers Forum will be counted towards the final tally of votes as a separate voting tier.

Commenting on the launch of the 8th AskGamblers Awards voting stage, Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “Now that we have the finalists, we are entering the final stages of preparation for our biggest night of the year. To say that we are excited about the 8th edition of the AskGamblers Award would be an understatement.”

“As everybody in the team is working tirelessly to make the gala ceremony a night to remember, we invite our players to do their bidding: to give a vote to their favourite contestants and help us choose the rightful winners in the five categories that are open to public vote,” Radunović added.

Before the award ceremony on 12 June, AskGamblers will host the traditional Charity Night on 11 June, where the partners will bid for positions on the website, with the money raised allocated to a humanitarian cause.

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The post The 8th AskGamblers Awards Officially Enters the Voting Stage appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024

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Flexion, the games marketing company, has announced that its revenue grew 9% to year-end December 2024. The growth is attributed to the Company’s success in the alternative app store market.

Since its IPO in 2018, the company has built a well-positioned games marketing business around the alternative stores and grown annual revenue 50-fold to almost US$100 million. Its game portfolio represents several billion US$ in gaming IP for alternative market partners like Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, OneStore and Xiaomi.

“With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in Europe and recent legal actions in the US, mobile game developers have felt a new-found freedom to explore their market options. We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything. Developers are looking for alternatives that offer better margins, and additional audiences and revenue. Partnering with Flexion opens up a range of market channels with very little up-front investment,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.

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Flexion currently distributes more than 30 high-profile titles on the alternative stores. Top-tier games in the Flexion portfolio make on average US$ 10 million a year based on Q4 2024 run rate. That’s income in addition to their Google and Apple revenue with a business model that adds little to their costs.

In Q4 2024, Flexion-serviced games were, on average, generating 9.3% through the alternative stores of the revenue they made on Google Play. This is a significant boost for Flexion’s partners without major costs or effort.

“If you scale for the size of the stores, the alternatives massively out-performed Google in Q4 for our games. This is exciting both for Flexion’s business and for the future of the games industry as a whole. We’re seeing the beginning of a sea change in games marketing,” Jens said.

“We’re seeing just the beginnings of a major shift in how top-tier developers address their markets. Using Flexion to access alternative stores is an easy first step into the post- Google and Apple world. Many developers are already looking at their options beyond that and Flexion will be right there with them providing the technology and expertise they need to maximise the potential of their games,” Jens added.

The post Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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