Latest News
City Bet Club records most bookie-friendly World Cup in history

Tournament of record margins – but early punter wipe-outs have likely impacted overall turnover
City Bet Club, the expert tipster service founded by leading betting industry veterans, has announced that it expects this year’s World Cup to have been the most bookmaker-friendly in recent history.
In what will no doubt prove to be a standout event for years to come, the tournament has likely been the best ever in terms of margin for bookies, with not a single day during the group stages seeing all favourites winning their games.
With early shocks including Saudi Arabia beating Argentina, Germany’s defeat to Japan and Tunisia overcoming France, the bookies saw significant revenue netted far earlier than usual in the tournament.
As well as significant losses in the group stages, higher than expected revenue for bookmakers was compounded further with multiple 90-minute draws during the knockout stages.
As a result, this year’s World Cup is likely to point towards a significant margin-win for betting operators, and early-stage wipe-outs for many punters.
However, with a finite spend for punters, City Bet Club predicts that turnover levels will have been significantly impacted during the knockout stages of the tournament, with publicly listed operators’ January 2023’s earnings reports likely to downgrade many financial analysts’ expectations.
Commenting, David Brown, Co-founder of City Bet Club, said: “In reflecting on this year’s World Cup, and taking my personal industry experience of every tournament since Argentina 1978 into account, this is by far the most bookie-friendly competition in terms of results that I’ve ever known.
“I’m also picking up whispers from around the industry that ‘like for like’ turnover is down significantly on Russia 2018 levels. Now, part of this could be down to the results and timing, but it is also likely to be an effect of the compliance hoops both bookmakers and punters must go through now.
“All eyes are now on the return of the Premier League. City Bet Club can really help to empower recreational punters with pro punter insight. We complete this research so that our members don’t have to, and we can’t wait to keep fuelling a high level of sports betting engagement in the new year.”
Founded in 2022, City Bet Club is led by industry veteran David Brown – who set out to create a member’s club that provides the shrewdest sports betting selections on the market.
By utilising the trading expertise and bookmaking insights of its founding members, its ethos is to provide consistently high-quality insight that is exclusive to City Bet Club members at an affordable subscription price.
Staffed with an expert team of industry insiders who research daily betting opportunities in great depth, the company offers a potent combination of high-quality people, technology, and contacts to put the odds in the punter’s favour.
Powered by WPeMatico
Gambling in the USA
Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape

Xanada Investments, a leading ideological investment fund focused on the iGaming sector, has officially revealed its early-stage investment in Sweepium, a breakthrough B2B platform and game aggregator redefining how sweepstakes casino brands launch, operate, and scale in the U.S. market.
The decision to invest in Sweepium was driven by a clear alignment of vision: a bold team building real sweepstakes infrastructure for an underserved and fast-growing segment, while providing a serious competitive advantage to existing platforms.
Purpose-built for the complexities of the U.S. regulatory landscape, Sweepium delivers a fully integrated, turnkey platform that includes a bank-approved payment architecture, CRM, customer support, content management, game aggregation, and promotional tools. Its standout capability — its bank-approved payment system — the first of its kind in the U.S. sweepstakes sector — enabling operators to process transactions with institutional-grade compliance and reliability.
Over the past year, Xanada’s support extended far beyond capital. Acting as strategic advisors and active mentors, the fund worked closely with the Sweepium team to strengthen their operational and go-to-market strategy to accelerate brand onboarding and commercial traction.
Today, Sweepium is live with multiple operators, supports integrations with over 50 game providers, and enables new clients to launch in just 8–10 weeks from contract to first processed payment — a speed and standard unmatched in the space.
“From day one, Sweepium showed both clarity of vision and precision in execution,” said Vladimir Malakchi, CEO & Managing Partner at Xanada Investments. “Our decision to invest was driven not only by the unique positioning of the platform but by the team’s operational discipline and long-term thinking. Over the past year, we’ve worked closely with Sweepium to evolve their business infrastructure, guide strategic decisions, and help unlock market growth — and the results speak for themselves.”
Daniel Mitton, Founder & CEO of Sweepium, commented: “Partnering with Xanada Investments brought more than capital — it brought strategy, structure, and scale. Their team helped us align operations with long-term growth goals, navigate licensing, and open doors commercially. With Xanada’s support, we’ve accelerated our market readiness and laid the groundwork for sustainable expansion.”
As Sweepium enters its next phase of growth, the company is focused on expanding its partner base, deepening product capabilities, and continuing to lead in compliance-first innovation within the U.S. sweepstakes space.
About Xanada Investments
Xanada Investments is an ideological investment fund targeting PreSeed, Seed, and Series A funding rounds for innovative projects and leaders in the iGaming industry. With a focus on long-term success, Xanada is committed to providing not only capital but also strategic guidance and support to help businesses scale quickly and efficiently.
About Sweepium
Sweepium is a B2B platform and game aggregator enabling the launch of sweepstakes casino brands under a white-label model. The company supports over 80 game providers, offers full operational setup, and is the first provider of bank-approved white-label payments for sweepstakes in the U.S. market.
The post Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Balkans
BEGE Expo Announces “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” — A Premier Opportunity for Gaming Innovators

For the 16th edition of BEGE, one of the most important events in the gaming industry in the Balkans, the expo proudly brings back the “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” as a highlight of this year’s event. This exciting entrepreneurial competition returns to the BEGE and EEGS stage, offering start-ups a unique platform to showcase their innovations to industry leaders and investors.
The challenge is open to start-ups developing groundbreaking solutions relevant to the gaming industry. Whether your focus is on advanced payment methods, online gaming platforms, cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, security solutions, or cutting-edge game development tools, your innovation has a place here. The competition also welcomes pioneering work in augmented and virtual reality, esports and live streaming, and responsible gaming technologies. In essence, any technology that enhances or revolutionizes the gaming or gambling experience fits the spirit of this challenge.
Participants will have the exclusive chance to pitch their start-up live on the EEGS stage, gaining invaluable exposure during the two-day BEGE exhibition. Beyond the stage, this event provides a vibrant networking environment to connect with potential partners, investors, and key stakeholders across the gaming ecosystem.
To apply, startups are required to pay a nominal participation fee of 100 euros to secure their spot. Selected applicants will receive a short questionnaire and be invited to prepare a concise presentation for the competition.
Don’t miss this opportunity to propel your gaming start-up into the spotlight and join the forefront of gaming innovation.
Apply now and take your place in shaping the future of the industry!
The post BEGE Expo Announces “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” — A Premier Opportunity for Gaming Innovators appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Incentive Games Launches Real-Money Gaming Division, Incentive Studios

Incentive Games Launches Real-Money Gaming Division, Incentive Studios
Incentive Games, a leading name in free-to-play game development, is proud to announce the launch of Incentive Studios, its new real-money gaming (RMG) division.
Built on years of success delivering high-performing free-to-play titles to global operators, and leveraging extensive user psychology and behaviour research, Incentive Studios marks a strategic expansion into the real-money gaming market.
Incentive Studios will focus on creating immersive real-money gaming content, kicking things off by putting a fresh spin on popular game variants like Crash, Tower, and Arcade. These aren’t simple upgrades; they’re complete rebuilds from the ground up, blending captivating gameplay with smart design principles to ensure lasting engagement.
John Gordon, Chief Executive Officer at Incentive Games said, “We’ve spent years refining the art of engagement in the free-to-play world. Now we’re bringing that same level of craft, creativity, and player psychology to our real-money games. Incentive Studios is where innovation meets performance.”
Clients can expect familiar game formats, reimagined with a sharp focus on maximizing re-engagement and long-term play. Every title is built with user-centric design at its core, crafted to engage the next generation of real-money gaming players. With an player-first approach, the games are designed to drive acquisition, retention, and revenue.
With a growing library of original RMG titles in the pipeline, Incentive Studios is set to make its mark on the global gaming landscape. The first wave of games will be available to partners in Q3 2025.
The post Incentive Games Launches Real-Money Gaming Division, Incentive Studios appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Balkans6 days ago
SYNOT Group Showcased its Latest Products at Belgrade Future Gaming 2025
-
EDGE Boost6 days ago
EDGE Boost Launches Social Accountability Program, Adding Peer-based Accountability to its Roster of Responsible Gaming Tools
-
Friday Fireworks6 days ago
Plaza Hotel & Casino to celebrate Fourth of July with a holiday edition of its free Welcome to the Weekend Friday Fireworks
-
Asia6 days ago
New Resort & Casino Selects IvedaAI for Intelligent Video Surveillance Ahead of Grand Opening
-
IL00108261916 days ago
SharpLink Gaming Acquires 176,271 ETH for $463 Million, Officially Becoming Largest Publicly-Traded ETH Holder
-
Africa3 days ago
Jelly Entertainment Enters into Partnership with betPawa
-
Latest News6 days ago
Genius Sports Announces Strategic Partnership with iSpot
-
Canada3 days ago
Maverick Games Launches Sports Betting Operations in Ontario