Stake added a new Ambassador, Betano created an AI Live Game, and Egypt to Criminalize iGaming & More Weekly News

Are you ready for some of the hottest iGaming news from the past week? We read tons of interesting news over the last couple of days, so it’s time for me and the team at Nostrabet.com to share everything about it. Some of the information you are about to see could change the industry as we know it in the future, so let’s dive deep.

Nine European Countries Coordinate Their Efforts to Battle Prediction Markets

Prediction markets are some of the hottest betting options right now in many parts of the world. It seems like many countries in Europe are not happy about that because some have decided to join forces. The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, France and Belgium announced a joint initiative against unlicensed prediction market platforms.

While the USA is still uncertain whether these kinds of sites are gambling platforms, Europe has a firm position. Regulators here consider these kinds of sites as unlicensed gambling. All of the regulators mentioned above highlighted distinct consumer protection and market integrity risks associated with these platforms.

This is definitely one of the more interesting cases we’ll follow in the next couple of months. Prediction markets are incredibly popular in many parts of the world, but they blur the line between gambling and financial speculation. We would not be surprised if new regulations specifically target these kinds of sites.

The Regulated Betting Market in Brazil Expands Even More

According to the Federal Revenue Service, Brazil’s revenue from licensed gambling companies for the first four months is 2x that of 2025. The data show that tax revenue exceeded $850M between January and April this year.

An interesting fact is that revenue is close to what Brazil receives from the tobacco and agricultural sectors. The analysis also reveals that the performance of betting companies depends on different aspects. For example, it rises sharply during major football tournaments. With the FIFA World Cup 2026 underway, we can only imagine what the stats will look like later this year.

Since 2025, regulators in Brazil have issued a total of 85 licenses to different companies. These brands operate a total of 187 different websites. This explains why the stats show that 25 M individual taxpayers placed bets in 2025 alone.

Based on the late 2025 stats, 10 brands are responsible for around 68.8% of the market. Betano is in the driving seat as it generated more than 23% of all bets in Brazil in 2025 alone. The operator is closely followed by Bet365 and SportingBet, as well as several other big names.

Brazil was one of the most interesting countries in 2025 when it comes to betting and it seems like it will also be the case in 2026. We will have to wait to see this year’s results once they arrive.

Brazilian Authorities Revealed an Illegal Betting Scheme

On the topic of Brazil, local authorities revealed an interesting joint action between the prosecutors’ office and the Federal Revenue Service. The action is against an illegal betting scheme that included 38 differnet companies. Based on the stats, these companies earned close to $9.7B.

Once the operation began, the authorities executed 14 search-and-seizure warrants. Once it became clear there was enough evidence, the court ordered the freezing of millions in assets.

The Gambling Tax Increase in the Netherlands Did not Provide the Expected Results

The Netherlands became one of the many countries that decided to increase the gambling tax a few months ago. All authorities expected the new legislation to provide much higher results, but this did not happen.

Those of you who did not follow the action probably don’t know that the gambling tax rise happened in two separate phases. Overall, the tax rate is at 37.8%, which is 7.3% more than it was in January 2025.

Tanzania to Add a 5% Excise Duty on Betting Stakes

There are a couple of countries in Africa with a highly developed iGaming market and Tanzania is usually not one of them. However, it seems like things are slowly changing.

Tanzania’s authorities decided to add a 5% excise duty on stakes. According to the local government, this measure will add around $28.4M in revenue. The announcement came from the country’s Minister of Finance a few days ago.

10% of the revenue generated by the tax will go to the Gaming Board of Tanzania. An interesting fact is that some people believe that gambling actually led to a decline in the country’s workforce. Some people in the government believe that many young people prefer to engage in betting instead of working.

A quick overview of Tanzania’s current gambling market shows that the country generated $463.3M in 2025. The stats predict that the country’s revenue should exceed $1B by 2031. What’s impressive is that online gambling should account for around $918.9M of that figure.

Austria’s Online Market will have a cooling-off period when it launches in 2027

As I have reported many times over the last few weeks, Austria is slowly moving towards opening its iGaming market. The long-held monopoly will be over soon, but we are not fully sure what things will look like once it is live.

Based on recent news from a local newspaper, there will be a cooling-off period. This will affect these operators who have been working in Austria illegally – they won’t be able to operate for 18 months after the new legislation becomes a reality. An interesting fact is that this ban will increase to 24 months from 2030 onward.

Some people support these measures, but others believe they are excessive. According to some, the cooling-off period will push some players into the offshore market. If that happens, it will ruin the government’s efforts to legalize it.

The Parliament in Egypt is Preparing to Criminalise Online Betting

Egypt is definitely not one of the “gambling-friendly” countries out there, and it has proven it once again. The parliament is preparing special amendments to the Cybercrime Lab. According to it, the government will criminalize online betting apps and add severe penalties.

Gambling has never been legal in Egypt, but the current rules only apply to physical venues. Online gambling is also illegal for locals, but it was hard for the authorities to regulate it. People used VPNs and other services to access offshore bookies.

It seems like the local regulators will put an end to everything because they will introduce very strict penalties. Depending on the violation, people could receive life imprisonment, which would make Egypt one of the countries with the strictest gambling legislation.

With that said, we will have to wait and see if the authorities can actually control the VPN access.

Colombia’s Court Suspended the Advertising Rules for Online Betting Operators

Brazil might be the biggest iGaming market in South America, but there are a few other countries that are coming close and Colombia is among them. Just a few days ago, the country’s highest administrative body suspended the 2023 Coljuegos resolution. The latter imposed very strict advertising, promotion, and sponsorship requirements that operators had to comply with.

Now that the regulation is no longer in place, there is no advertising spend cap. Previously, operators could spend as much as 20% of their GGR. According to the court, these financial restrictions interfered with economic freedom.

Stake to Partner with Nyjah Huston

Stake decided to bring in another ambassador by signing another sports star. This time, the company added Nyjah Nuston, a skateboard icon. Based on the information provided, he will represent Stake globally starting in June this year. This is just a few days before the beginning of the X Games Summer League Championship.

Nyjah Huston is huge when it comes to skateboarding. In fact, many people regard him as one of the best of all time because of his amazing career in the mid-2000s. The living legend has won countless awards over the years, including a 7 SLS Super Crown World Championships. He also has 15 X Games gold medals. He even claimed an Olympic bronze medal in 2024.

Betano added a Live Trivia Game in more than 20 countries

Live casino games are very popular and people love them. It seems like Betano, one of the largest iGaming operators in the world, has been paying close attention to that because it released a revolutionary game. Kaizen Labs, the company behind it, created an AI-powered Live Trivia. This is a unique game that is free to play and it includes generative AI tech.

The idea behind the trivia is to test people’s knowledge across multiple topics. Based on the information, the new game will be available in over 20 different countries.

This is a very important step for Betano, as the company will closely monitor how this game performs. If everything goes well, we would not be surprised if there are more games like that in the future.