Welcome to this week’s roundup of iGaming news! We at Nostrabet.com will examine the latest developments in the industry and share all of the key things you need to know. It took us a lot of time to analyze everything new and summarize it, so let’s begin.
The Indian Parliament Banned Online Money Games
The Indian parliament decided to introduce the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill. According to it, all forms of online gambling involving money are banned, meaning the legislation prohibits advertising and the usage of online games that offer real money.
According to the Indian government, this step was necessary to protect the public from the risks associated with money gambling. Based on some stats, people lose more than Rs 20,000 crore annually thanks to these kinds of platforms.
It probably does not come as a surprise that the gaming industry reacted strongly. According to them, these laws will cost India 200,000 jobs. People who violate the law can get up to three years in prison and huge fines.
After this decision, Dream11, one of the big iGaming brands in India, forfeited its $41M sponsorship related to Indian cricket. One of the biggest fantasy sports operators in this part of the world will no longer fund the local league because it had to pause its operation. It will be interesting to keep an eye on what’s going to happen in India. We may see even more operators who will stop working there.
A23, a famous iGaming company in India, became the first brand in the industry to challenge the government’s new rules. The case will take place in the Karnataka High Court on August 30, and the petition argues that the legislation unfairly criminalizes some things, such as skill-based games.
Nina Drama Becomes Spribe’s Brand Ambassador
Nina Drama is one of the big names in the UFC and the online content creation space. Interestingly, she will become the new brand ambassador for Spribe’s Aviator. This decision comes after the MMA star created a massive online following in the last couple of years.
Aviator is one of the UFC’s biggest sponsors, and it recently secured a multi-year partnership deal with the organization. In fact, this is not the only sponsorship deal they have because Spribe also works alongside Merab Dvalishvili and Alex Pereira.
In terms of Nina Drama, she has more than 14M followers across her profiles. The stats reveal that her fanbase mainly consists of Gen Z and Millennials, which will help Spribe’s Aviator because it will target these kinds of potential clients.
BC.Game Will Sponsor Kwara United FC
BC.Game announced that it will sponsor a popular Nigerian football club, Kwara United FC. According to their information, the sponsorship will last for the 2025/26 Nigerian Premier Football League Season.
Most people who follow the brand closely are not surprised by this move. BC Game has been considering expanding into Africa for some time now. In fact, it secured a license in Kenya and will use Blockdance Africa, its subsidiary, to work in the country.
As a result of the new sponsorship deal, BC. Game’s logo will appear on the club’s shirt. The football club itself just got promoted to Nigeria’s top league, so it will be interesting to see how they will perform.
An interesting fact is that BC.Game can extend its partnership deal for the next season if it decides to do so. The company recently removed its Curacao license, and it seems like these sponsorships are part of a much broader effort to make the platform more popular.
Romania Blocked 30 Ulicensed Gambling Sites
Romania has one of the most appealing markets for iGaming operators, which explains why you can find all kinds of companies there. That said, the country’s national office for gambling decided to add 30 websites to the official blacklist because these operators did not have a license. This decision is part of a regulatory procedure that blocks websites that operate in the country without the needed permit.
Following this decision, the Romanian internet service providers have to redirect the traffic from those sites to different ones.
DraftKings Decided to Run a Responsible Play Campaign
No one can deny that DraftKings is among the biggest names in U.S. sports betting. The company continues gaining new clients, so it launched a new campaign to promote responsible play. These actions are part of the so-called Responsible Gaming Education Month.
The entire initiative will last a month, and to stimulate people to be responsible, those who’ve used different tools during the promo period can win NFL tickets and even a ticket for Super Bowl LX. Speaking of promo tools, DraftKings refers to these two:
- My Budget Builder
- By Stat Sheet
Both have millions of users across the country. DraftKings has also introduced technology-driven tools and programs to promote responsible gaming.
The Authorities in Indonesia Froze $9.5M Related to Illegal Online Gambling
In the latest news from Indonesia, the country’s authorities decided to block funds in 811 bank accounts because they were linked to illegal online gambling. The total amount is close to $9.5M and the police suspect they were related to processing bets or storing gambling proceeds.
As of yet, online gambling continues to be illegal in the country. In fact, there are ongoing campaigns against it, and thanks to things like the Financial Services Authority, banks have suspended thousands of accounts with funds related to online gambling.
The Indonesian authorities firmly believe that gambling targets low-income individuals and can push them into debt. As a result, it is doing everything possible to fight against these kinds of sites.
Bet9ja Partnered With Balmoral Group
Nigeria’s leading iGaming operator, Bet9ja, decided to sign a multi-year sponsorship deal with Balmoral Group Promotions. The latter is one of the big names in boxing, which means the Nigerian bookie continues to focus on the sport. In case you don’t remember, the company partnered with Moses Itauma, one of the most talented heavyweight boxers in today’s world.
The collaboration between Bet9ja and the Balmoral Group will debut on October 1. In fact, this is when we will see the Chaos in the Ring event. The latter will allow us to watch Brandon Glanton, Rocky Fielding, Richard Commey, Shiloh Defreitas, and more.
Australia’s Prime Minister is against a Full Gambling Ban
Australia is one of the many countries trying to “tighten” control over iGaming activities. There have been calls for a full ban on gambling, but according to Anthony Albanese, the country’s PM, this is not a good idea.
Albanese recently said that his government does not want to support a ban on gambling because he believes that this will push players into using offshore sites. Instead of that, he believes the country is taking adequate measures to promote responsible play.
That said, the Australian Communication and Media Authority remains vigilant and bans all unlicensed iGaming operators that accept clients from the country. Hundreds of domains have been banned, but the number seems to keep growing.
EvenBet Gaming Joins Forces with Hollywoodbets in South Africa
Hollywoodbets is the most popular iGaming operator in South Africa, so it’s no surprise that other companies want to work with it. EvenBet Gaming seems to be one of them because the brand will offer its online poker platform with this operator. Following this agreement, this will become among the first fully operational online poker services in the country.
Hollywoodbets is a household name in the country and is famous for offering sports betting and casino games. After this deal, it will also have poker, putting it one step above many of its counterparts.
Keep in mind that online poker is still in its early stages in this part of the world. Only a handful of sites have this option, so we expect it to become even more popular.
Yggdrasil to Partner with bet365 in Italy
Yggdrasil is one of the leading software suppliers, and it is available worldwide. Recently, the brand decided to partner with bet365 in Italy, which means that local clients can now access all of the operator’s amazing slots. Yggdrasil is behind many fan favorites, like Vikings and Valley of the Gods, for example.
It’s worth noting that this is not Yggdrasil’s only European collaboration. The brand also expanded its services in Finland and will now try to focus on the Italian market.
The Netherlands Continues to Focus on its Gambling Harm Prevention Program
The Netherlands is one of the countries in Europe that does everything possible to ensure people stay safe while gambling. As a result, the country is reinforcing its gambling harm prevention tactic by expanding the Prevention of Gaming Addiction program.
The initiative, led by the Dutch Gaming Authority, will last between 2025 and 2030. Its goal is to fund research into different areas of gambling-related harm. We can expect to see results in player vulnerability and behavior, treatment practices, early detection, living experiences, and more.
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