Press Releases
Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling publishes literature review
An academic literature review has revealed a dearth of knowledge worldwide about the links between crime and problem gambling – so the Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling is to embark on a new research programme.
The Commission, set up by the Howard League for Penal Reform, began looking into the issue last year and carried out a literature review, which was published on Monday, 1st of June. The review found that, while millions of people are affected by gambling either directly or indirectly, there appear to be fewer than 50 peer-reviewed papers in the last 25 years that address the links between problem gambling and crime specifically.
In response, the Commission intends to conduct its own research, in three strands: the first project will look at the prevalence of gambling-related crime; the second will consider the lived experience of people caught up in the system; and the third will explore sentencers’ awareness of the issue.
Chaired by Lord Goldsmith QC, the Commission seeks to establish what the links between problem gambling and crime are; what impact they have on communities and wider society; and what steps could be taken to reduce crime and make people safer.
Lord Goldsmith QC, Chair of the Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling, said: “Concern about harmful gambling activity has been growing for some time, but this is the first commission to focus specifically on the relationship between problem gambling and crime.
“From people getting into debt and defrauding family members or employers, to domestic violence and other crimes relating to gambling-related stress, we know anecdotally that police stations, courts and prisons see significant numbers of cases – but only a handful of academic studies have looked at this across the globe.
“The criminal justice system itself does very little work to capture the scale of the challenge and even less in terms of offering interventions like those we see for alcohol or drug problems. This has to change and our Commission can play a key role in improving the response to disordered gambling and crime.”
The literature review covers jurisdictions including Australasia, the US, Canada, Germany, Scandinavia and the UK. It reveals that, while the overall quantity of research is not huge, there is a consistency in findings across all jurisdictions.
Researchers have found high prevalence rates of people committing crimes to fund their gambling. A wide variety of crimes are committed as a result of gambling addiction; not just ‘white collar’ crimes such as theft and fraud, but also offences that occur in public spaces such as street robbery. There is significant evidence of domestic abuse and child neglect linked to problem and pathological gambling.
Studies have indicated that the more complex, prolonged and persistent a gambling problem is, the more likely it is that a crime will be committed and, indeed, that many crimes may result.
Although there has been a growing understanding that gambling addiction is a behavioural disorder, little of this has been translated to sentencing; problem gambling is not considered to be a mitigating factor in sentencing in the way mental health problems or drug and alcohol addiction are.
Research suggests that, in spite of extremely high rates of gambling addiction among prisoners, prisons offer only limited treatment. There is evidence of resistance to undertaking treatment among prisoners.
Several of the studies reviewed agreed that a custodial sentence, especially when no treatment is available for gambling addiction, was not a cost-effective way of avoiding further harm to the individual or society once the sentence is completed.
A small number of specialised gambling courts have been established in the US, with the aim of ensuring that people with gambling addictions who are in trouble with the law receive appropriate treatment. There is limited data on the success or otherwise of these initiatives.
Research is needed into the potential effect of gambling addiction treatment on the rate of recidivism, as well as more general research on how best to help vulnerable populations avoid the criminal justice system.
The literature review was written by Sarah Ramanauskas, Senior Partner at Gambling Integrity, who sits on the Commission.
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Mindway AI, the award-winning safer gambling software company, has enlisted the skill set of BetComply, iGaming’s most trusted technical and regulatory compliance firm, as it looks to further develop its product offering and support more operators.
The partnership will see BetComply’s Safer Gambling & Sustainability Specialist Jez White and his team advising Mindway AI on how its solutions can be best incorporated into operators’ safer gambling functions.
BetComply will also provide support on Mindway AI’s product roadmap and new business opportunities, with a focus on GameScanner, an advanced software solution that helps gambling operators boost player protection and intervene early to prevent at-risk gambling behaviour.
BetComply’s Safer Gambling & Sustainability Specialist Jez White said: “Mindway AI is at the cutting edge of safer gambling technology, and we’re excited to support their mission to raise the industry standard. Our goal is to help bridge the gap between innovation and implementation, ensuring operators can fully harness tools like GameScanner to deliver more effective, proactive player protection.”
Mindway AI’s CEO Rasmus Kjaergaard added: “We’re thrilled to be working with BetComply, where Jez and his team’s vast operational experience will be a huge asset as we continue delivering our award-winning software to more clients. We’re excited about what we can achieve together.”
In March, White joined BetComply as the firm’s first Safer Gambling & Sustainability Specialist, following more than eight years at Entain, where he served as Director of Player Protection Systems and Analytics.
The post Mindway AI partners with BetComply to scale safer gambling support appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
EveryMatrix has kicked off 2025 with powerful momentum, reporting a standout first quarter of exceptional revenue growth and profitability.
The tier-1 iGaming technology platform supplier delivered a very strong first quarter performance, with net revenue reaching €54 million, up 39% Year-on-Year (YoY), and EBITDA increasing to €28m, up 27% YoY, driven by strong growth from existing clients and innovative product launches.
EBITDA margin reached 52%, making it the eighth consecutive quarter above 50%, as the company continues to scale its platform and casino content technologies while maintaining strong financial discipline.
The last twelve months’ EBITDA reached €107m, up 50% YoY, building on 2024’s milestone achievement of surpassing €100 million in annual EBITDA.
Q1 MILESTONES SIGNAL POWERHOUSE YEAR AHEAD
A highlight of the first quarter was the successful migration of Bet600 – the first full turnkey FSB Technologies customer in the UK – to the EveryMatrix platform. The company aim remains to have all clients fully migrated in 2025 thereby realizing large cost synergies from this key acquisition.
EveryMatrix launched its cutting-edge proprietary Horse Racing solution by combining FSB’s proven knowledge and experience in Horse Racing with the innovation of OddsMatrix development teams. It provides global horse racing coverage with 10k+ monthly events, full system bets offering with bonusing capabilities and configurations and a purpose-built Horse Racing front end with rich Racecard content & live streaming integrations among some of the features.
A landmark deal was signed to deliver a full casino turnkey platform solution to SkyCity Entertainment Group. SkyCity is one of New Zealand’s largest entertainment companies owning five land-based casinos across both NZ and Australia and the online casino brand SkyCitycasino.com. SkyCity migrates from their current provider to EveryMatrix later this year.
SPORTS SURGE AND STRONG CASINO & PLATFORM GROWTH
Q1 2025 saw the company’s sports division deliver exceptional growth, with quarterly sports turnover rising 30% YoY to €1.7b, while GGR climbing 60% YoY to €154m on the back of continued strong trading margins. The last twelve months (LTM) turnover hit €6.3b, reflecting a 48% YoY increase, with GGR rising by 92% YoY to €505m. Part of the growth came from reaching a record number of nearly 600,000 live events, a 24% YoY increase.
Casino experienced the strongest quarterly financial results to date, with net revenue climbing to €28.6m, up 44% YoY, while EBITDA reached €16.8m, up 29% YoY. Casino GGR reached €753m, a 22% YoY increase, with the LTM reaching €2.9b, a 38% YoY increase.
GamMatrix, the company’s Gaming and Player Account Management Platform, experienced a net revenue increase of €8.6m, up 18% YoY, while EBITDA landed at €2.4m, a 23% decrease YoY. The decrease in EBITDA margin is related to a change in internal revenue allocation.
Ebbe Groes, Group CEO of EveryMatrix, said: “I’m very excited for 2025. Q1 was a solid quarter, a great start, and the rest of the year looks just as promising. We had a phenomenal year in 2024, which will be hard to beat, but thanks to the momentum we’ve set in motion during the last few years, I’m sure we’ll be able to do it.
“Our sports division never ceases to amaze me, breaking record after record. This quarter, we managed to reach 600,000 live events, all thanks to our ability to expand our coverage and add new products and features even while experiencing this much continuous growth.”
Q1 2025 HIGHLIGHTS
- Reached net revenue of €54m, up 39% YoY, with EBITDA at €28m, up 27% YoY, driven primarily by strong growth from existing clients.
- EBITDA margin reached 52%. Last twelve months’ EBITDA reached €107m, up 50% YoY.
- Migrated Bet600 from FSB to EveryMatrix platform, the company’s first such migration.
- OddsMatrix’s brand new Horse Racing product went live with this launch.
- Signed New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment Group to deliver a full casino turnkey platform solution.
- First three dedicated blackjack tables went live, another step up for the business’ PlayMatrix live dealer product.
- Launched OddsMatrix feeds for LeoVegas Group to enhance their global sportsbook offering.
- Won Norsk Tipping’s Casino and eInstant RFP, the largest-ever SlotMatrix deal, delivering aggregation, in-house and bespoke content.
- Launched SlotMatrix casino content with Caesars Entertainment across five U.S. states, expanding U.S. presence (post-quarter).
- Introduced New Odds Models for Football and Handball and enhanced retail Self Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs).
- Introduced real-time Rakeback through LoyalityEngine, the company’s Newly Launched Cross-Vertical Loyalty Program.
- Integrated 14 new casino vendors, now totalling 185+ and 345+ content providers.
- Signed 20 new PartnerMatrix clients.
The post EveryMatrix set for another standout year with strong Q1 performance appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
GR8 Tech, the high-performance iGaming solutions provider, has joined forces with Gaming Operations Academy (GOA) to launch the Advanced Sportsbook Management course for experienced professionals looking to improve their sportsbook strategy.
Designed for decision-makers and senior professionals—from sportsbook managers and marketing leads to founders and C-level executives—the course goes far beyond basics, diving deep into strategies for standing out in a saturated market, boosting player retention, controlling margins, enhancing UX, refining acquisition tactics, designing gamified experiences for next-gen players, and more.
The course is hosted by Kyle Lawson, a seasoned sportsbook manager and business analyst with 10+ years of experience leading pricing strategies, risk management, and sportsbook teams across both crypto and fiat brands. Joining Kyle, GR8 Tech experts—Head of Sportsbook Product Vlad Andrusenko and CRM Product Manager Kateryna Shevchenko—will bring their expertise to the course with exclusive insights and live product demonstrations.
“Many experienced operators reach a point where their current tools limit their growth—they’ve tried a lot but still hit a glass ceiling. GR8 Tech’s sportsbook-driven solutions are built to break through that. From personalized odds and content to advanced player segmentation and journey building, we offer a toolkit designed for sustainable, scalable success. I’m looking forward to diving into these capabilities during the course and showing operators how they can unlock new levels of performance,” said Vlad Andrusenko, Head of Sportsbook Product at GR8 Tech.
To kick off the program, GOA will host a free webinar-style workshop, Advanced Sportsbook Management: Winning the Market, on May 6th. The workshop will tackle some of the industry’s most urgent challenges, including market saturation, player retention, and operational efficiency, and offer a sneak peek into the full training agenda.
Registration for the webinar is now open. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from industry leaders and set your sportsbook up for long-term success in 2025 and beyond.
The post GR8 Tech and Gaming Operations Academy Launch Advanced Sportsbook Course for Operators appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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