The iGaming industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace and we at Nostrabet.com are here to show you all of the latest news. This week brought notable updates across key sectors and loads of other key facts that you’d probably want to know. Here’s a quick overview of everything important.
Tennessee and Oklahoma’s New Legislation Focusing on Dual-Currency Gambling Platforms
Nowadays, many U.S. states are figuring out ways to deal with the sweepstakes casinos. After Florida and a few other places, we now have Tennessee and Oklahoma, as they are advancing new legislation aimed at these kinds of sites.
In Tennessee, the Senate approved the SB 2136 bill, which classified online sweepstakes games as illegal gambling. The bill defines such games as online activities that use virtual currencies that can be exchanged for prizes, cash, or cash equivalents. By labeling violations as unfair or deceptive business practices, the legislation would give the state attorney general broader authority to investigate and enforce penalties against operators.
When it comes to Oklahoma, local authorities are relying on the SB 1589 bill. This expands the state’s gambling law and it will now include online casino-style games, especially those that use dual-currency systems. What’s interesting here is that violations of the new law will be treated as Class C2 felonies and will carry a fine and/or possible imprisonment. We will have to wait a few months to see if they are approved, as this will start on November 1, 2026.
PokerStars US to Merge with FanDuel
PokerStars is one of the world’s biggest online poker operators, and it’s also available in the US. Interestingly, the company decided to retire its stand-alone North American poker platforms and will merge with FanDuel. Following this move, players in New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania will also have access to the services.
What’s also interesting is that the migration will also include Ontario. Once the merge is ready, players will be able to manage funds through a single account and wallet.
The new merger will allow players in Pennsylvania to also join the pool of players in Michigan and New Jersey. Players can now manage their funds via a single FanDuel wallet and this will make everything more convenient.
It’s no surprise that PokerStars chose FanDuel because the latter has become Flutter’s primary growth company in North America. Given that the iGaming industry continues to grow in the USA, it will be interesting to see whether this change attracts even more people to the platforms.
The Top UK Gamblers Spend Around 745 GBP Per Month
Based on a report from Nationwide Building Society, the top 10% of UK Gamblers spend close to 745 GBP per month on their activity. The survey also shows that almost 68% of those who took part expect to increase their spending in 2026. One of the big reasons for that is the upcoming major sporting events that will take place this year, such as the FIFA World Cup.
The poll shows that many people’s gambling habits are primarily driven by entertainment (53% answered that). 46% of people have responded that they gamble because of the thrill to win, whereas 18% have stated they do it because of boredom. Another 17% responded that they do it because they need more money, and 6% answered that gambling negatively impacted their standard of living.
Another interesting stat is that many people in the UK were not aware that banks offer gambling blocks. This is just one of the many different responsible gambling measures that people can implement in case they have gambling-related problems.
Greek Authorities Cracked Down On Unlicensed Gambling and Recovered 400M EUR
Greece is not one of the countries that’s often in the news when it comes to gambling-related issues. However, it seems like local authorities are intensifying their efforts to suppress illegal and unlicensed gambling activities. Rough estimates show that illegal gambling cost the government close to 400 M EUR in lost revenue last year alone.
Following this analysis, the Greek government has imposed more severe criminal penalties focused on illicit gambling. If the new rules become law, organizers of such activities can face fines of up to 800,000 EUR. That’s not all, because people who advertise or promote such activities can also receive a fine of up to 50,000 EUR. This follows research by the Hellenic Gaming Commission, which found that 10% of respondents discovered specific sites through influencers.
Despite the country’s efforts to regulate gambling, there is still a thriving black market. Many stats reveal that unlicensed gambling has resulted in close to 1.67B in wagers in 2024. In fact, many stats show a grim picture – almost 10% of Greece’s population has been involved in illegal gambling in some way. It is no surprise that authorities are figuring out ways to deal with this problem and one of them is related to blocking domains.
New Zealand to Open its iGaming License Process This July
It looks like New Zealand will become the next country to legalize iGaming. The country is looking to initiate its iGaming licensing process from July, after the Online Casino Gambling Bill will most likely pass in May.
NZ is preparing to reform its online casino market by introducing a new iGaming licensing framework. The initiative comes amid concerns that NZ players spend more than NZ$750 M each year on offshore online casino platforms.
If the legislation becomes law, there will be a three-phase licensing process that begins in July 2026. The number of licenses will be limited to a maximum of 15 operators, which means that we will most likely see some of the biggest companies.
Assuming everything goes according to plan, there will be an initial phase where the NZ arthritis will invite operators who declared their interest in the local market. Once that’s over, there will be a license auction, and it will allow eligible sites to compete for it.
Bear in mind that there will be only 15 licensed operators in NZ, so we can expect to see the best of the best.
The Start of the Year was Not promising for Las Vegas
People who invested in Las Vegas were hoping to leave the bad stats at the end of 2025 behind, but it seems January was no better. The recent stats from Nevada reveal declines in multiple categories.
Based on the info from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the state’s GGR was $1.34B in January. The revenue in Vegas fell 11% and reached $747.6M. This is the largest decline since February 2025 and it shows that something has to change.
The stats for the strip’s baccarat GGR are even more alarming because they plunged 44% to $118.5 M. Visits to Las Vegas also declined slightly, to around 3.2M. The air traffic also had an 8% decline in January and many people believe this is due to the bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines, one of the budget carriers.
MGM and Wynn are On High Alert Following the UAE Military Strikes
The military conflict in the Middle East is disrupting many industries all over the world, nd it seems like gambling is one of them. The UAE is the only place in the Middle East where Wynn Resorts is building a massive casino complex on the island of Ras Al Khaimah that will be worth $5.1B. MGM, on the other hand, is developing a special $1.2B non-gamning resort called “The Island”. Given that both companies are investing large sums of money, they are concerned about what’s happening in that part of the world.
Everyone will be following this situation closely because there is a lot at stake. The legislation governing gaming in the UAE is important to the country’s tourism strategy and will allow it to compete with other Gulf countries.
A Survey in Sweden Shows that 1 out of 6 People Engage in iGaming
A recent survey in Sweden showed some very interesting stats. According to it, around 19% of people in Sweden played online casino games in 2026. When it comes to sports betting, 24% of respondents did so within the same year.
Aside from the number of players, the research also highlighted significant differences in demographics and gender preferences. 62% of people who wagered on sports were men, whereas casino games saw a 55% men audience. In terms of their age, the average was between 30s and 40s.
What’s even more interesting is that 65% of people said they can’t determine whether a given iGaming site is in the “black market” or not. 18% have admitted that they have used unlicensed gambling sites.
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