NEXT.io News

🇦🇺 Australian sports betting operator Betr Entertainment posted a statutory loss of A$40.2m for FY26, after spending heavily on its brand relaunch and platform integration. The ASX-listed bookmaker recorded A$1.59bn in customer turnover for the year to 30 June, 12.3% above FY25. Net win rose 7% to A$158.1m, while gross win increased 10.1% to A$215.7m. The higher turnover did not produce a full-year profit. Betr reported a normalised EBITDA loss of A$7.1m, compared with a A$7.2m profit a year earlier. Betr CEO Andrew Menz explained: “FY26 was a year of deliberate investment followed by disciplined execution. In the second half we converted that investment into delivery with a A$19.3m EBITDA turnaround between H1 and H2.” Sponsored message South Africa's GGR grew 25.7% in a year, to €3.1bn — Africa's most mature betting market. Get the detail in our free Market in Focus: South Africa report.

📈 Allwyn reported net revenue of €1.2bn for the second quarter of 2026, up 27% year-on-year, as the lottery and betting operator continued to benefit from momentum in continental Europe and its acquisition of PrizePicks. Adjusted EBITDA rose 29% to €458m, giving the group a margin of 37%. Excluding PrizePicks and higher gaming taxes in Austria, underlying net revenue growth was 5%, in line with the first quarter, against a strong comparative period. The results mark another quarter of expansion for Allwyn as it integrates PrizePicks, acquired in January, and completes its combination with Greek operator OPAP, with digital growth, sports betting and improved UK performance cited as the main drivers of underlying gains. Sponsored message Looking at Kenya? ~8M players, mobile-first payments, and brand-new 2025 regulation — the full picture's in our free Market in Focus: Kenya report.

📢 Flows, the orchestration platform for iGaming, has announced that LCKY Group selected Flows to power innovation across its entire technology stack. The deal sees Flows become a connective layer across LCKY Group’s six online casino brands and B2B game studio, giving teams across the Group the ability to innovate, launch and build faster across every part of the business. James King, CEO at Flows, said: “For a huge group like LCKY, this is about giving genuinely great management and teams the tools to move as fast as their ambition. It’s not just orchestration and it’s not just gamification, it’s about accelerating what LCKY can build across the whole business. I’m excited to be working with Alex Manning again and with the wider LCKY team, as they continue to innovate and grow.” Sponsored message Connect now with the #1 Casino Game Aggregator

👀 Tabcorp’s annual report demonstrated stable revenues alongside significant improvements in profitability, though regulatory risk remains a looming threat as the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) investigation progresses. Tabcorp’s debt leverage has fallen to 1.2x earnings, well inside its target range, and the company’s net profit after tax rose year-on-year by just under 44% to A$71.1m. But with the AUSTRAC investigation still at an early stage, the company’s published full-year 2026 results show that it is still unclear what action may be taken. That means those positive financial trends could yet be stymied, given the “serious concerns” identified over Tabcorp’s ability to manage money-laundering and terrorism financing risks properly. Sponsored message Fully regulated since 2024, ~3M players, and primed for M&A — Peru is LatAm's most accessible entry point. Get our free Market in Focus: Peru report.

📉 Shares in Gentoo Media dropped 26% today as the business cut its 2026 revenue and earnings guidance, after second-quarter sales fell despite higher player deposits and acquisitions. Revenue fell 9% to €22.9m in the three months to June 30. It was €25m in the restated prior-year quarter. EBITDA before special items rose 5% to €8.9m, however, as the margin widened to 39% from 34%. The affiliate marketing group also reported profit of €2.7m for the quarter, after recording a €0.5m loss a year earlier. Operating profit rose to €5.8m from €1.2m, with lower depreciation and amortisation charges aiding the increase. Sponsored message South Africa's GGR grew 25.7% in a year, to €3.1bn — Africa's most mature betting market. Get the detail in our free Market in Focus: South Africa report.

🤝 GiG Software will acquire an 80% shareholding in 888Africa from an evoke plc subsidiary for €16.4m, the company announced today. The announcement confirms a NEXT.io exclusive from earlier this month, which reported that the B2B supplier was close to confirming a deal for 888Africa, marking a return to operating in the B2C market. GiG’s announcement set out that the €16.4m price tag will consist of an initial consideration of €6m and a deferred consideration of €10.4m. It will acquire the 80% shareholding from Virtual Emerging Entertainment Limited, a subsidiary of evoke plc. The remaining 20% of shares in 888Africa will continue to be held by the brand’s founders, who remain active in the management of the business. Sponsored message Looking at Kenya? ~8M players, mobile-first payments, and brand-new 2025 regulation — the full picture's in our free Market in Focus: Kenya report.

✋ SkyCity Entertainment Group has acknowledged it rejected two unsolicited acquisition proposals in May, including a NZ$0.70-per-share cash approach from an Oaktree Capital Management special situations fund. The disclosure followed media reports that linked SkyCity to discussions with Oaktree. The casino operator also revealed that a second, unnamed party had proposed a separate NZ$0.75 per share offer. Both approaches were confidential and non-binding. Based on SkyCity’s 1.103 billion ordinary shares, the Oaktree proposal valued its equity at about NZ$772m. The other bid implied roughly NZ$827m. Sponsored message Connect now with the #1 Casino Game Aggregator

👀 Citizens analysts have cast doubt on Bally’s Corporation's ability to complete its ongoing projects. Bally’s recently published a 10-Q filing with the SEC, in which it expressed doubts over its ability to continue as a going concern. Jordan Bender and Isabelle Slavin of Citizens have in part ratified those doubts, claiming that the operator’s current pipeline is ambitious. That pipeline includes the opening of a downstate casino in New York in 2030, a Chicago project set for early 2027, and a Las Vegas development. The analysts said: “The situation does not appear dire, and the company reiterated that it is working to secure outside funding for New York, but we do not believe the company has the ability to finish all of its projects without selling or bringing in a development partner at its current leverage levels.” Sponsored message Multiply your reach. Tap into NEXT.io Media.

📈 Affiliate group Acroud reported €12m in revenue for Q2 2026, representing a 9.4% improvement year-on-year. Acroud said the 2026 FIFA World Cup had helped deliver the improvements in revenue and NDCs during the quarter. The business described the opening stages of the tournament as a “significant acquisition opportunity, which our team executed strongly upon.” It noted, however, that monetisation during the tournament was below its expectations, due to a large proportion of customers being located in European time zones not aligned with match schedules, with the tournament taking place across the US, Mexico and Canada. Sponsored message Mexico is shaping up to be Latin America's biggest iGaming market. See where the opportunity sits in our free Market in Focus: Mexico report.

🇦🇺 New South Wales has announced its most comprehensive gambling reform package to date, targeting the state’s 87,000 poker machines with facial recognition technology and tighter marketing rules. The Minns Labor government revealed the measures today. They form part of a 2023 election commitment to curb gambling harm, and come as the federal government is also preparing its own tranche of gambling reforms. At the centre of the NSW package is a statewide exclusion register. Families, friends, police or venues will be able to initiate bans for problem gamblers across every hotel and club with gaming machines. Sponsored message Fully regulated since 2024, ~3M players, and primed for M&A — Peru is LatAm's most accessible entry point. Get our free Market in Focus: Peru report.

✍️ Nebraska voters will be asked in November whether to open a mobile sports betting market tied to the state’s licensed racetracks. The Secretary of State’s office said Friday (21 August) that two related petitions had cleared their signature and county-distribution requirements. The measures are slated for the 3 November general election, though the office must certify the full ballot by 11 September. If approved, operators and their providers would submit operating controls to the State Racing and Gaming Commission for approval. The commission would have until 1 June 2027 to write rules, and the statutory measure would take effect 1 January 2027. Sponsored message South Africa's GGR grew 25.7% in a year, to €3.1bn — Africa's most mature betting market. Get the detail in our free Market in Focus: South Africa report.

🤝 Online betting and casino operator Midnite has appointed Dale Tang, formerly of FanDuel and OLG, as general manager of its Canada business. Tang announced the news in a LinkedIn post, confirming he had commenced his new role at Midnite. He will now lead the operator’s launch and expansion into the Canadian market. Prior to joining Midnite, Tang worked at FanDuel for five years, all of which were spent in its Canada-facing business. Most recently, he was senior director for commercial, analytics and retention in Canada. Sponsored message Looking at Kenya? ~8M players, mobile-first payments, and brand-new 2025 regulation — the full picture's in our free Market in Focus: Kenya report.

🇨🇦 Booming Games (Malta) Limited has been ordered to pay C$70,000 by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for breaching rules on auto-play functionality in the Canadian province. According to the AGCO, Booming Games failed to properly configure, test and monitor certain games before and after launching in Ontario. This meant the games in question went live with prohibited auto-play features for several months. Auto-play allows players to automatically play online slot titles without having to manually initiate each spin. Ontario law does not permit this feature in any game offered by licensed operators in the province. Sponsored message Connect now with the #1 Casino Game Aggregator

✋ Evolution has urged its shareholders to reject a SEK131.7bn (€11.9bn) mandatory cash offer from Candle Lake Limited, the investment vehicle of billionaire Kenneth Dart, saying the bid “does not reflect the fair value” of the business. Candle Lake tabled the offer – valued at SEK695 per share – earlier in August. This came after the billionaire’s shareholding in Evolution passed the 30% ownership threshold in July. Swedish law states that once a single entity holds 30% of a company’s shares, this officially triggers a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in the business. The acceptance period for the offer began on 17 August and is expected to end on or around 15 September. However, Evolution has now advised its shareholders to reject the bid. Sponsored message Multiply your reach. Tap into NEXT.io Media.

🤝 Barry Faudemer has been appointed chairman of the Jersey Gambling Commission (JGC) for a four-year term. Faudemer succeeds Cyril Whelan, who completed his maximum 10-year service last November. Whelan stayed on as the Commission's agent while it recruited a permanent chair. Faudemer first joined the regulator's board in August 2025. The appointment, reported by BBC News, places a financial crime specialist at the head of a regulator with a small, internationally facing remote-gambling sector. Before entering private consulting, Faudemer spent 13 years leading enforcement at the Jersey Financial Services Commission. He was its money-laundering reporting officer and handled regulatory investigations and financial intelligence. Sponsored message Mexico is shaping up to be Latin America's biggest iGaming market. See where the opportunity sits in our free Market in Focus: Mexico report.

💰 Gentoo Media-owned AskGamblers recovered almost $3.4m for players during Q2 of 2026, a new quarterly record for the organisation’s Casino Complaint Service. During the three months to the end of June, AskGamblers received 4,811 complaints, also a new record. It processed 1,563 cases and successfully resolved an all-time high of 1,068 complaints. This, AskGamblers said, resulted in 3,649 users receiving assistance, while 1,160 casinos, sportsbooks and affiliates were involved in complaints handled by the service. Sponsored message Fully regulated since 2024, ~3M players, and primed for M&A — Peru is LatAm's most accessible entry point. Get our free Market in Focus: Peru report.

📈 Better Collective reported a 9% year-on-year increase in revenue during the second quarter, with North America emerging as the main driver of growth as revenue share income in the region jumped 49%. For the three months to the end of June, revenue amounted to €89.1m, up from €81.5m in Q2 2025. Alongside this, EBITDA before special items hiked 20% to €27m, while, as was the case in Q1, the company posted a net profit. The performance was helped by continued momentum in North America where, in addition to revenue share rising, cost per acquisition revenue also climbed 50% to €5m. In particular, Better Collective highlighted strong momentum in prediction markets. Sponsored message South Africa's GGR grew 25.7% in a year, to €3.1bn — Africa's most mature betting market. Get the detail in our free Market in Focus: South Africa report.

👀 Almost half of new online gambling accounts among Dutch consumers aged between 18 and 24 were opened by 18-year-olds, according to a study by the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA). The report, one of three new pieces of research into gambling habits among young people in the Netherlands, analysed 15,761 newly opened online gambling accounts with betting activity in May 2025. Analysts tracked players’ gambling behaviour during their first three months. Of those accounts, 5,244 belonged to young adults aged 18 to 24, with 2,144 – or 41% of those – held by 18-year-olds. Some 11% of these accounts were opened on the customer’s 18th birthday, while 38% were opened within one month of the user turning 18. Sponsored message Looking at Kenya? ~8M players, mobile-first payments, and brand-new 2025 regulation — the full picture's in our free Market in Focus: Kenya report.

🤔 The media-led model adopted by Raketech proved a fruitful avenue of recovery in Q2 2026, as the affiliate improved its profitability for the third consecutive quarter. Looking at H1, the firm’s EBITDA margin has swung year-on-year up from 15.5% to 22.6%. That improvement came despite quarterly revenue shrinking by 17.6% compared to Q2 2025, from €6.8m to €5.6m. “With EBITDA improvement, a stronger margin, and revenue growth across both business areas, we believe Raketech is entering the second half with a stronger foundation for gradual improvement,” said CEO Johan Svensson. Sponsored message Connect now with the #1 Casino Game Aggregator

✍️ Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has sued Stake and VGW, along with their payments partners, widening Florida’s campaign against controversial sweepstakes casinos. The two complaints, filed Wednesday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, also name five financial technology and payment companies. The state alleges illegal gambling and deceptive conduct under Florida gambling laws and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Uthmeier seeks to halt the businesses’ Florida operations, recover gambling losses and secure restitution, disgorgement, costs and civil penalties. Sponsored message Multiply your reach. Tap into NEXT.io Media.