Press Releases

Swedish online casino shutter would cause instant ‘black-market boom’, says BonusFinder MD

Published

6 years ago

April 9, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Government considers ‘extreme measures’ as activity rises amid COVID-19 restrictions but closures would drive more players to unlicensed sites instead of protecting them

9th April, 2020 – The Swedish government’s threat to temporarily shut down licensed online casinos would have a disastrous effect on the industry and drive thousands more players to the black market, BonusFinder.com has warned.

The minister in charge of gambling policy, Ardalan Shekarabi, this week warned that “extraordinary measures” would be implemented if operators do not take action to slow the increase in igaming activity seen in the last two weeks, as people are told to stay at home because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to new data from Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, there has been a 33% increase in registrations and logins to play online casino games with 17 of the 60 licensed operators in the country in the last 14 days.

Last month, Swedish market research carried out by BonusFinder.com found that almost a third of Swedish online casino players are searching for ‘unlicensed casinos’, with growing numbers turning to black-market brands due to the market’s restrictive gaming regulations, introduced in January 2019.

Instead of protecting players, a shutdown of online casino brands, however, is likely to lead to thousands more players searching for and depositing funds on unlicensed sites, as well as causing further financial damage to licensed operators, according to BonusFinder.com.

Fintan Costello, Managing Director, Bonusfinder.com, said: “The Swedish government will make a colossal mistake if it chooses to temporarily close down online casino sites in an attempt to protect players. As our research has shown, almost a third of online casino players are already looking to the black market for a more attractive offering since restrictive rules were imposed in January 2019. These latest plans would create an immediate black-market boom.

“Swedish legislation requires operators to have strict responsible gambling procedures in place, therefore the right measures are already there. The focus should instead be on ensuring these are adhered to rather than taking a knee jerk reaction to close down all legitimate brands and forcing even more players to unprotected sites.”

Latest News

TrafficGuard Launches in the United States to Help More Businesses Combat Growing Ad Fraud and Invalid Traffic

Published

2 hours ago

February 17, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

trafficguard-launches-in-the-united-states-to-help-more-businesses-combat-growing-ad-fraud-and-invalid-traffic

The New York expansion strengthens TrafficGuard’s ongoing commitment to reducing global advertising fraud and non-genuine digital traffic, as U.S marketers demand greater transparency, control, and performance certainty amidst AI boom.

TrafficGuard, a leading platform for digital ad verification and fraud prevention, has announced the launch of operations in the United States to support its global growth strategy. TrafficGuard CEO, Mathew Ratty, has relocated to TrafficGuard’s New York office, formalising and accelerating the company’s existing U.S presence to further serve evolving invalid traffic and ad fraud prevention demands in the U.S, and support its growing channel ecosystem. With commercial and customer-facing teams already operating in the United States, this move reflects a deliberate step to scale local leadership, support, and go-to-market execution.

Ratty will support the next phase of U.S growth by meeting with customers and partners in the United States. His presence demonstrates TrafficGuard’s commitment to gathering first-hand feedback on customers’ traffic quality, invalid behaviour, and ad performance challenges across complex, high-spend media environments. He will leverage these insights to boost data integrity, optimisation confidence, and campaign resilience for US businesses with the most efficient solutions to monitor, detect, analyse, and respond to invalid traffic, including but not limited to fraud.

“We’re seeing a rapid increase in sophisticated ad fraud alongside high volumes of non-genuine and non-incremental traffic in the United States, with impacts on budgets becoming much more frequent,” said Mathew Ratty, CEO of TrafficGuard. “For U.S advertisers operating at scale, it’s no longer just about blocking bad clicks. It’s about protecting decision-making, optimisation models, and growth efficiency. That’s where TrafficGuard’s enterprise-grade approach stands apart. We remain committed to building resilience to protect brands across the globe. With an expanding U.S team and accelerated product innovation, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for TrafficGuard.”

In 2025, TrafficGuard strengthened its executive leadership team with the appointment of Miguel Lopes as Chief Product Officer, based in the United States. With deep experience building and scaling enterprise technology, Lopes is fast-tracking new product development and unlocking additional acquisition channels, ensuring TrafficGuard continues to meet the demands of high-spend, multi-channel advertisers and enterprise media teams.

TrafficGuard is a multi-award winning platform that detects, mitigates, and reports on digital invalid traffic and ad fraud before it hits advertising budgets, trusted by thousands of global businesses including enterprise brands operating across highly competitive verticals such as finance, eCommerce, travel, and gaming. This strategic move will further strengthen TrafficGuard’s presence in the United States as its U.S customer base continues to grow and more brands seek locally supported, enterprise-ready solutions. The company is riding a robust growth pipeline, with plans to significantly expand its team in the region and enable brands to boost their revenue and confidently scale advertising campaigns by eliminating non-genuine, non-incremental, and wasteful traffic across paid media.

“It’s clear that tackling ad fraud and invalid traffic more broadly is becoming a more urgent priority for advertisers in the U.S, and this is one of the main drivers behind our decision to expand in the region,” said Chad Kinlay, CMO at TrafficGuard. “As AI accelerates automation across media buying, marketers need independent, enterprise-grade validation to ensure performance data can be trusted. TrafficGuard helps brands defend profitability today while building smarter, more resilient growth for the future.”

The expansion reinforces TrafficGuard’s position as a leader in a rapidly evolving ad landscape. The company is enhancing enterprise-grade traffic validation, prevention, and optimisation intelligence and accelerating the rollout of innovative products across the globe to meet the demands of next-generation digital advertising, while ensuring U.S customers are supported by local expertise, local teams, and local insight.

The post TrafficGuard Launches in the United States to Help More Businesses Combat Growing Ad Fraud and Invalid Traffic appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Kaizen Gaming

Player Safety Tips and Tools For International Responsible Gaming Day by Kaizen Gaming

Published

9 hours ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

player-safety-tips-and-tools-for-international-responsible-gaming-day-by-kaizen-gaming

To mark International Responsible Gaming Day on February 17, leading GameTech operator Kaizen Gaming is reaffirming its commitment to safe and responsible play. The company has shared 10 practical tips to help players stay in control, along with an overview of the responsible gaming tools available on its Betano platform.

Responsible gaming is a core pillar of Kaizen Gaming’s strategy, embedded in technology, product design, and customer support. The approach focuses on prevention, education, and early intervention, ensuring gaming remains enjoyable, transparent, and safe.

10 Tips for Safe and Enjoyable Play

Kaizen Gaming encourages players to follow these key principles:

Play for fun, not to earn money
Monitor the time spent playing and take regular breaks
Set a budget and do not exceed it
Stay social and maintain balance with other activities
Play sober
Protect minors and prevent underage access
Do not chase losses
Avoid gambling under stress or emotional distress
When in doubt, stop playing
Use the responsible gaming tools available to you

These guidelines aim to promote awareness and help players make conscious, informed decisions while gaming.

Leadership Insight

Ismini Nasaina, Head of Responsible Gaming at Kaizen Gaming, said:

“Gaming can only stay fun when our players stay in control. Responsible Gaming is not a platform feature for us, it’s a core operating principle that shapes how we design our products and how we support players. Our focus is to help players stay in control through clear information, practical tools, and timely interventions where needed.”

Responsible Gaming Tools on Betano

Kaizen Gaming offers a comprehensive suite of tools to support player safety:

Financial limits – deposit, loss, and wager limits, plus withdrawal cancellation and blocking
Time management – session timers and personal time limits
Self-exclusion – for longer breaks
Time-out features – short, immediate pauses
Access to helplines – for external support organisations
Rigorous age verification – to prevent underage access
Educational content – clear, localised guidance
Self-assessment tools – evaluate gaming behaviour
24/7 specialised customer support – trained in responsible gaming

Ismini Nasaina added:

“Increasing awareness around responsible play and making safeguards easy to understand and use is essential. International Responsible Gaming Day is a good opportunity to reinforce these basics and remind players that protection tools and support are always available. Player awareness and control are what keep the gaming environment safe and sustainable.”

The post Player Safety Tips and Tools For International Responsible Gaming Day by Kaizen Gaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

EEGaming.org

Welcome to the Team: Joe Ewens Joins EEGaming.org

Published

10 hours ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

welcome-to-the-team:-joe-ewens-joins-eegaming.org

Some partnerships take a few emails. Some take a few years. And then there are the ones that quietly build momentum from 2017… until one day you look at each other and say, “Alright, let’s do this properly.”

We’re proud to officially welcome Joe Ewens to the HIPTHER team, where he will play a leading editorial role at EEGaming.org – our premier B2B platform and the definitive Intelligence Hub for industry leaders.

If you’ve been around the European gaming ecosystem for more than five minutes, you already know Joe. Sharp analysis. Direct questions. No fluff. Just substance. The kind that makes boardrooms slightly uncomfortable, in the best possible way.

What Joe Will Be Doing

At EEGaming.org, Joe will:

Deliver weekly articles and breaking news
Cover European market insights, trends, and jurisdictional analysis
Provide structured, forward-looking commentary on regulatory and commercial developments

In short: more signal, less noise.

But that’s not all.

Joe will also take a central role in our iGaming Exchange virtual meetups, where he will:

Act as host and moderator
Bring the latest discussion topics and jurisdictions to spotlight
Help elevate conversations beyond the usual “market update” routine

Expect sharper debates. Deeper dives. Fewer recycled slides.

EEGaming.org continues to evolve as the intelligence layer within the HIPTHER ecosystem—bridging regional heritage with global innovation. With Joe on board, that bridge just got a lot stronger.

We’ve known each other since 2017. We’ve shared panels, conversations, debates, and probably a few industry déjà vu moments along the way.

Now we build together.

Welcome to the team, Joe.

Let’s raise the standard.

The post Welcome to the Team: Joe Ewens Joins EEGaming.org appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.