Latest News

Most controversial VAR decisions revealed ahead of Premier League

Published

5 years ago

August 9, 2021

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Kurt Zouma’s cancelled strike against Manchester United was named the most controversial VAR incident.
30.92% of all English Premier League matches have seen a VAR intervention.
The data also shows a 23.96% year-on-year decrease in average VAR controversy.
The Premier League appears to be tracking UEFA’s roll out, with changes made just 0.62% more frequently in the English top flight.
PGMOL has announced a string of new rule changes.

The Premier League is hoping a string of new rule changes can inject new life into VAR technology when the 30th Premier League season gets underway on 13th August.

From thicker offside lines to new handball rules, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has set out its stall for the 2021-2022 domestic campaign which is almost upon us.

Accidental handballs in the build-up to goals will no longer be deemed an offence, while thicker offside lines will be used in order to eliminate situations where a goal is ruled out due to a toenail being offside.

And following a string of ‘armpit offsides’ last season, FIFA has also clarified that the bottom of a players’ armpit is to be classed as part of a players’ body.

While the technology’s use in the English top-flight has courted more than its fair share of detractors, Credible or VAR-cical by William Hill, can reveal a good level of progress has already been made with average controversy dropping by 29.36% last season.

The controversy rating of an incident, of which there has been 235 in total over the last two seasons, now sits at 5.14 having been 6.76 during its turbulent debut season. That equates to a change made by VAR every 3.23 matches.

Across the 504 matches under UEFA’s jurisdiction, from February 2019 through to the 2021 Champions League Final, there were 157 changes made, or a change every 3.21 matches.

Kurt Zouma’s cancelled strike against Manchester United in February 2020, ruled out by VAR official Chris Kavanagh, is considered the most controversial VAR call in Premier League history, with a controversy score of 10.7.

William Hill’s Credible or VAR-cical analysis has been tracking Premier League VAR incidents ever since Gabriel Jesus was ruled offside by David Coote on August 10, 2019 (the first ever VAR review in EPL history – rated at 7.92).

The data shows that in total, there have been a total of 235 incidents, or interventions, logged, with reactionary metrics such as Tweet volume, sentiment, articles generated and associated levels of engagement, culminating in a bespoke controversy rating being assigned to each.

Across the last two domestic campaigns, Wolverhampton (6.91) are the club which has been embroiled in the most controversial VAR incidents. Chelsea (6.5), Liverpool (6.34), Everton (6.25), Manchester United (6.19) make up the top five.

Brentford-based official Chris Kavanagh, who was promoted to the Select Group of referees in 2017, lands himself the unenviable title of ‘most controversial video assistant referee’, averaging 6.8.

David Coote (6.67), Kevin Friend (6.59), Lee Mason (6.51) and Andre Marriner (6.35) make up the rest of the top 5.

Latest News

E-Service steps up UK distribution of ITL MyCheckr age estimation tech

Published

41 minutes ago

June 29, 2026

Wladimir P.

e-service-steps-up-uk-distribution-of-itl-mycheckr-age-estimation-tech

ITL says uptake is being driven by retail and amusement events and discussions with regional police forces.

E-Service is increasing UK distribution of Innovative Technology’s (ITL) age estimation and access control products, with the companies pointing to growing demand for ITL’s MyCheckr device.

The partnership between ITL and E-Service dates back to 2004, with E-Service operating as ITL’s UK Trading Partner and Approved Service Centre. ITL said the current momentum is “mainly driven by an uptake of Innovative’s MyCheckr age estimation technology.”

Andy Bullock, Senior Business Development Manager for ITL, said, “E-Service are really flying the flag for our MyCheckr device representing the brand at various UK events. The technology has become a real talking point following our recent presence at the National Convenience Show (NCS) in Birmingham and The Amusement & Retail Entertainment (ARE) in Manchester, and earlier EAG shows in London. We have jointly attended a number of regional BACTA meetings recently introducing the capabilities of MyCheckr to the gaming sector to help with compliance and player protection and we are delighted with the feedback and potential opportunities that have arisen. Plus we are in talks with regional police forces about using MyCheckr to help local convenience stores avoid fines or potential closure for selling age-restricted products to minors.”

Bullock added, “Our age verification technology is simple to operate and install. MyCheckr can be easily placed at any 18+ entrance or our other age estimation device, ICU Lite, can be fully integrated into gaming or SCO machines using a simple API. To help operators manage access we have developed MyConnect which sends alerts to staff via an app to notify them of a potential underage play or self-excluded entry which can be remotely granted or denied.”

Paul Scott, Sales Director at E-Service, said, “It’s been a pleasure working with ITL over the past years. Our relationship has always been strong, and we’ve successfully distributed their leading note validation and recycling products including the NV9 Spectral, Spectral Payout and NV22 Spectral throughout the market for several years now. ITL’s expansion into age assurance technology represents a really exciting time for us as we are delighted to be part of this journey.”

The post E-Service steps up UK distribution of ITL MyCheckr age estimation tech appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

card-payments

Paysafe integrates with Primer to handle card payments for merchants

Published

41 minutes ago

June 29, 2026

Wladimir P.

paysafe-integrates-with-primer-to-handle-card-payments-for-merchants

Paysafe is live on Primer’s Primer for Partners program and is already processing transactions for merchants across North America, Europe and Australasia.

Paysafe (NYSE: PSFE) has integrated with Primer, connecting to the payment orchestration platform via Primer’s no-code Primer for Partners program to provide card payment processing for online merchants using Primer globally.

The companies said the integration allows merchants on Primer to route credit and debit card transactions to Paysafe as a payment service provider. Paysafe said it is already processing payments through Primer for merchants with a presence across North America, Europe and Australasia.

Paysafe said it tailored the integration to support international merchants across industries including iGaming, social gaming, financial trading, eCommerce and travel. Primer for Partners, which Primer launched in December 2025, allowed Paysafe’s tech team to manage the integration “without the need for any coding,” according to the companies.

Rob Gatto, Chief Revenue Officer at Paysafe, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Primer, whose Primer for Partners solution empowered Paysafe to develop a bespoke integration, streamlining the payment journey for Primer’s merchant partners and their customers. We look forward to strengthening our offering within the Primer infrastructure and growing our presence across the broader payment orchestration space.”

Gabriel Le Roux, CEO and Co-founder of Primer, commented: “Paysafe joining Primer for Partners is exactly what this solution was built for. The company came to us, built its own integration from the ground up, and Paysafe is already live and processing payments for our merchants. That’s the paradigm shift we set out to create. For our merchants, having Paysafe accessible through Primer means more choice, better coverage, and faster access to a payment provider that’s been optimizing card performance for decades.”

Paysafe said it plans to expand the integration over time, including adding local payment methods such as Skrill and Neteller, plus PaysafeCard and PaysafeCash.

The post Paysafe integrates with Primer to handle card payments for merchants appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Andy Bullock Senior Business Development Manager for ITL

E-Service bolster distribution of ITL’s age verification solutions

Published

41 minutes ago

June 29, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

e-service-bolster-distribution-of-itl’s-age-verification-solutions

Innovative Technology’s (ITL) UK Trading Partner & Approved Service Centre, E-Service, are gaining traction in the UK with increased distribution of their solutions.

The collaboration dates back to 2004 and this recent success is mainly driven by an uptake of Innovative’s MyCheckr age estimation technology.

Innovative Technology provide both cash validation devices and AI-powered age estimation & access control technology to the global gaming, amusement and convenience industry. MyCheckr is their latest innovation – a simple to use hardware device which provides anonymous age checks and secure access control.

Andy Bullock, Senior Business Development Manager for ITL said, “E-Service are really flying the flag for our MyCheckr device representing the brand at various UK events. The technology has become a real talking point following our recent presence at the National Convenience Show (NCS) in Birmingham and The Amusement & Retail Entertainment (ARE) in Manchester, and earlier EAG shows in London. We have jointly attended a number of regional BACTA meetings recently introducing the capabilities of MyCheckr to the gaming sector to help with compliance and player protection and we are delighted with the feedback and potential opportunities that have arisen. Plus we are in talks with regional police forces about using MyCheckr to help local convenience stores avoid fines or potential closure for selling age-restricted products to minors.”

Andy continued, “Our age verification technology is simple to operate and install. MyCheckr can be easily placed at any 18+ entrance or our other age estimation device, ICU Lite, can be fully integrated into gaming or SCO machines using a simple API. To help operators manage access we have developed MyConnect which sends alerts to staff via an app to notify them of a potential underage play or self-excluded entry which can be remotely granted or denied. “

E-Service joined ITL’s network of supplier partners over 20 years ago and are a long-standing distributor of their cash validation equipment. They more recently have started to support the company’s AI technology range and also gained Approved Service Centre status last year.

Paul Scott, Sales Director at E-Service said, “It’s been a pleasure working with ITL over the past years. Our relationship has always been strong, and we’ve successfully distributed their leading note validation and recycling products including the NV9 Spectral, Spectral Payout and NV22 Spectral throughout the market for several years now. ITL’s expansion into age assurance technology represents a really exciting time for us as we are delighted to be part of this journey.”

Concluding Andy said, “Paul and the E-Service team are a joy to work with, forward thinking, proactive and a real collaborative trading partner in the UK. Together the team are all looking forward to seizing the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The post E-Service bolster distribution of ITL’s age verification solutions appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.