Cyprus’ betting sector witnessed growth in 2023, with the gross betting revenue reaching €1,109,209,082. This represents a 16% increase compared to the previous year (€959,557,906). The rise in revenue can be attributed to various factors, including the rise in both land-based and online betting activities. The betting industry in Cyprus is divided into two categories: Class A (land-based betting) and Class B (online betting). In 2023, Class A recipients generated a total gross revenue of €90,487,835, while Class B recipients accounted for €235,113,629. These figures indicate an 8% incr ..read more

 Spanish consumers must declare profits from online gambling winnings in 2023 self-assessment income tax returns. The directive comes from the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT), the Tax Agency of Spain’s Ministry of Finance, where Director General Soledad Fernández is increasing scrutiny on profits from online gambling, cryptocurrency transactions, property rentals, and foreign income. Before the 2023 income tax filing period, AEAT issued approximately 2.9 million notices to taxpayers, ordering them to declare profits from these activities. This includes the first-ever notices concerning onlin ..read more

Newcastle United footballer Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct over alleged breaches of the Football Association's betting rules. The Italian midfielder is alleged to have broken regulations 50 times by placing bets on football matches between 12 August and 12 October last year, the FA said. The Italy international, who joined the Magpies last summer for £55m from AC Milan, has until 5 April to respond, the FA added. The 23-year-old Italy international is currently serving a 10-month football ban after breaching betting rules in his home nation. He was also fined £17,000. In a ..read more

888 Holdings recently announced shifts in its business strategy, with a major rebrand and a new action plan. This comes in the wake of a 25% decrease in earnings for the fiscal year 2023 (FY23). Despite this setback, the company remains optimistic about its future prospects. 888 Holdings posted an adjusted EBITDA of £308.3m for FY23, marking a noticeable increase from the £217.9m reported in 2022. Moreover, the revenue for the full year surged to £1.70bn, up from £1.24bn in the previous year. However, the net loss stood at £56.4m, albeit lower than the £120.5m recorded in 2022. Despite an in ..read more

The MGM Grand have denied that Bruno Mars reportedly owes the casino $50million (£39million) in gambling debt. Mars is set to enter his ninth year performing a residency in Las Vegas, however earlier this week saw News Nation report that the singer is paying off his debts to MGM. A “well-placed Vegas insider” reported that Mars “owes millions” to them from gambling, alleging the total comes close to $50milion. “(MGM) basically own him,” they added. They went on to say that Mars apparently makes $90million off the deal he makes with the casino, but after paying off his debts and taxes, takes ..read more

The 2024 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are here. That means it’s time to fill out a bracket, to suddenly become the biggest fan of a school you’d never heard of before this week, or to coat your body in team colors before every game (depending on your obsession level, of course). For many Americans, it’s also time to place some bets. This is “the most mainstream betting event of the year,” says David Forman, vice president of research at the American Gaming Association (AGA). “It used to be office pools and squares contests.” Now, with the explosion in legalized gambling across ..read more

The company behind the national lottery was borrowing millions from Kremlin-owned banks when it won the UK’s largest public-sector contract, the Guardian can reveal. Russia’s two largest lenders, VTB and Sberbank, were part of a syndicate that agreed to lend up to €640m (£545m) to Allwyn in 2020, two years before the pan-European gaming specialist was named the “preferred bidder” for the £6.5bn lottery contract. While Allwyn repaid the portion of the loan attributable to the two Russian banks in response to the invasion of Ukraine, the funds appear to have helped support the group during the ..read more

The Italian Communication Authority (Agcom) has issued significant fines to Google and Twitch after the two companies were found to be in breach of rules preventing advertisements for online gambling in progammes targeting Italian audiences. The legislation was introduced on 5 December last year. Google Ireland Ltd (YouTube) was fined a total of €2,250,000 while Twitch Interactive Germany GmbH received a fine of €900,000. The Authority said Google and Twitch were held responsible as “owners of the means of video dissemination published by third parties with whom they had specific commercial ..read more

The Spanish National Police, in collaboration with Europol, Interpol, and the Spanish Tax Agency, arrested 53 individuals involved in a criminal organization responsible for manipulating sports events. The investigation, conducted from 29th January to 1st February, revealed that the syndicate orchestrated match-fixing schemes in football, tennis, and table tennis across more than 20 nations, including Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, and Bolivia. The suspects, known as “betting mules,” played a crucial role in facilitating the criminal network’s operations by selling their personal informat ..read more

DraftKings has filed a lawsuit against its former head of VIP operations. The legal battle between DraftKings and its former employee has gained significant attention in the industry. DraftKings alleges that its former head of VIP operations, whose name has not been disclosed publicly, engaged in a series of actions that violated his contractual obligations and harmed the company’s reputation. The specific allegations include: 1. Unauthorized Access to Sensitive Data: According to the lawsuit, the former head of VIP operations gained unauthorized access to sensitive customer data, including ..read more