Daily News: Irish regulator supports Flutter, Online gaming revenue in Lithuania and more

Flutter supports the new Irish regulator

Ireland has recently passed a new gambling law. Companies have been waiting for reforms for a long time, including industry giant Flutter. Flutter’s Chairman Ian Proctor said that the company welcomed the new regulation and believed that player protection should be their top priority.

Flutter has recently reported third quarter earnings. In the UK and Ireland, the company's revenue increased by 3% compared to 2021, and resulted to £509m, of which £443m was earned through the online segment.

Online gaming revenue in Lithuania is up 15%

Lithuania has published a report on the gambling industry for the first nine months of 2022. At the end of September, online games brought the country €86 million, 15% more than at the beginning of the year.

Revenue increased despite tough sanctions from the Lithuanian Gambling Authority. This mainly concerns gambling advertising: many operators have received fines for a number of promotions that are not usually classified as violations.

In August, several companies including Unigames and Betsson, were warned of license suspensions and fined for advertising.

LeoVegas top executive accused of insider trading

On November 10, one of the top managers of LeoVegas and two of his accomplices were arrested. They are accused of revealing insider information about the purchase of LeoVegas by the American giant MGM. The deal took place in August.

The investigation began in July 2022. The Swedish Economic Crimes Authority paid attention to a suspicious purchase of LeoVegas shares just before the official announcement that MGM bought the company. Right afterwards, LeoVegas shares was up 40%. The suspects made millions from insider trading.

The authorities did not disclose the names of those arrested, but it is known that only a top manager was directly connected to LeoVegas. All three plead not guilty.

The ban on broadcasting gambling on Twitch: the results of a tacit cooperation between casinos and streamers

On October 18, 2022, Twitch announced a ban on broadcast gambling from several offshore crypto casinos.

Twitch's decision drew a response among popular streamers who made a career out of the show during their broadcasts. One of them is Rostein, who was found to have a “special relationship with online casinos” that were rumored to fund his streams and profit from it.

Confirmation of this is the sensational video of 2019, when Rostein promoted N1 Casino. He responded to the request of the viewer to start the game for virtual money, but instead of the demo balance, the screen displayed the same balance as when playing for real money. The refusal to show the history of their deposits also aroused suspicion.

Cooperation between casinos and streamers is usually beneficial for both parties. Some get players, others get stable payments. The players, in turn, watch an exciting show, albeit with elements of deception. This is possible under various conditions: either playing for your own money in order to attract players through an affiliate program (a fair way), or under the tacit and “especially favorable conditions”.

But if only this whole illegal scheme is revealed, it is fraught with serious legal proceedings. No regulated gambling site will take risks, no matter how many players a streamer can attract.