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Regulated gambling markets had a rare split-screen week. Digital revenue kept moving into territory once dominated by casino floors, while governments debated whether tougher taxes and monitoring systems are protecting consumers or pushing players elsewhere.
This week in the online gambling industry:
- Bulgaria rejected calls for a blanket gambling ad ban and will review its wider gambling framework.
- Colombia proposed keeping 19% VAT on online gambling and raising the tax on gambling winnings.
- Gambling.com Group rebranded as Grandstand after expanding beyond its flagship comparison site.
- Hacksaw reported 31% Q2 revenue growth as its market reach continued to expand.
- H2 warned that UK offshore gambling could keep growing as channelisation declines.
😄 Read last week’s recap to see how ad controls, Polymarket blocking, and shared poker liquidity set up this week’s market-access debate.
😎 Visit this week’s Opinion Corner for the industry debate behind higher taxes, offshore leakage, and the limits of responsible gambling policy.
Here’s the full rundown:
Regulatory & Legal Updates
Bulgaria Rejects Calls for Blanket Gambling Ad Ban, SBC News
Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry has pushed back against opposition proposals to further restrict gambling advertising and raise gambling taxes. Deputy Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova said the government is unlikely to adopt isolated changes without reviewing the country’s wider gambling framework.
Petkova warned that higher taxes could push more players toward the gray market, which she said currently accounts for around 40% of gambling activity. The ministry will instead begin a full review of the Gambling Act, arguing that years of piecemeal amendments have made the law harder to manage.
Brazil Creates Task Force for Betting License Transparency, iGB
Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has created a 15-member task force to improve transparency in the online betting authorization process. The move follows criticism of the government’s earlier decision to keep operator licensing evaluations confidential for up to 100 years.
The task force will identify sensitive data, redact restricted information and prepare licensing documents for public disclosure. It has 120 days to complete its work, after which the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets will report to the Ministry of Finance.
Colombia Proposes Keeping 19% VAT on Online Gambling, iGamingToday
Colombia’s government has introduced a tax reform bill that would keep online gambling subject to 19% VAT. The wider package is designed to raise COP 21.8 trillion in public revenue by 2027, with the gambling sector expected to contribute around COP 1.7 trillion.
The proposal would also raise the tax rate on gambling winnings from lotteries, raffles, sports betting and similar games from 20% to 30%. The reform must still be debated and approved by Congress before taking effect, while gambling prizes will remain taxed at 20% until then.
Financial Performance & Business Moves
Gambling.com Parent Rebrands as Grandstand, NEXT
Gambling.com Group has changed its corporate name to Grandstand, separating the listed company from its flagship Gambling.com comparison and review website. The company said Gambling.com will continue operating under its existing consumer-facing brand.
Grandstand will cover a broader portfolio across sports, gaming, data, media, technology and live entertainment. The company’s Nasdaq ticker is also changing from GAMB to GRSD. Its portfolio includes Gambling.com, Casinos.com, WhichBingo, RotoWire, OddsJam, OpticOdds and Spotlight.Vegas.
Pennsylvania Online Gambling Overtakes Casino Floors, Gambling Insider
Pennsylvania’s regulated online gambling market generated more revenue than retail casino slots and table games for the first time during Fiscal Year 2025/26. Combined iGaming and sports betting revenue reached approximately $3.60 billion, representing 51.3% of all regulated gaming revenue.
The milestone came during a record year for the state. Total gaming revenue reached $7.01 billion, up from $6.39 billion the previous fiscal year, while tax revenue hit $3.10 billion. iGaming remained the main growth driver, increasing 18.4% year-on-year to $2.93 billion.
Hacksaw Posts 31% Q2 Revenue Growth, NEXT
Hacksaw reported a 31% year-on-year increase in second-quarter revenue to €59.3 million. Adjusted operating profit also rose 31% to €48.4 million, while the adjusted EBIT margin remained at 82%.
The company launched 17 in-house games during the quarter and another 17 games from partner studios through its OpenRGS platform. Good Times Studios and Aloha Gaming joined OpenRGS, while Hacksaw’s games became available in newly licensed markets including Slovenia and Paraguay.
Technology & Innovation in Gambling
Kalshi Adds Election Markets Hub Ahead of US Midterms, Yogonet
Kalshi has launched a new Midterms Hub that tracks US Senate, House, and governor races through live prediction markets. The hub displays market odds across a national map, giving users a real-time view of how traders are pricing political outcomes.
The platform also includes polling averages from VoteHub, Federal Election Commission fundraising data, historical election results, and campaign news. Kalshi said many visitors use the platform only to check market odds rather than trade.
ADI Predictstreet Teams With FIRST.bet for LatAm Expansion, SBC News
ADI Predictstreet has partnered with sportsbook technology provider FIRST.bet to expand regulated prediction markets across Latin America. The deal combines ADI Predictstreet’s prediction market infrastructure with FIRST.bet’s B2B sportsbook platform and regional operator network.
The partnership launched around the FIFA World Cup 2026 through a dedicated World Cup Prediction Hub. ADI Predictstreet is powered by ADI Chain infrastructure, which is designed to support millions of concurrent users, and a football intelligence engine built with more than a decade of World Cup data.
Responsible Gambling & Player Protection
Germany Plans Broader Role for LUGAS Monitoring System, SBC News
Germany’s gambling regulator, the GGL, is preparing to expand LUGAS, the central monitoring system used under the country’s interstate gambling regime. The system tracks cross-operator customer deposit thresholds, which are currently set at €1,000 per month across all licensed online gambling platforms.
The GGL said LUGAS processed data from more than 60 licensed operators and around five million registered players in 2025. From 2027, the regulator plans to expand the system’s analytical capabilities, using secure-server data to evaluate policy outcomes, track market trends and support future decisions on Germany’s gambling framework.
H2 Links UK Offshore Gambling Growth to Remote Gaming Duty Increase, iGB
The UK’s offshore online gambling market is expected to keep growing after the increase in Remote Gaming Duty, according to modelling from H2 Gambling Capital. Offshore GGY is estimated to have risen from about £200 million in 2019 to £685 million in 2025, while offshore turnover grew from around £5 billion to £16.6 billion.
H2 expects offshore GGY to reach about £1.4 billion by 2031, with turnover climbing to roughly £36 billion. The report also found that the share of online gambling conducted through UK-licensed operators fell from 97% in 2019 to an estimated 92% in 2025, with channelisation forecast to drop further to 85% by 2031.
- Germany regulates what happens after a player opens a legal gambling account in extraordinary detail, Malta Media on LinkedIn
- Nearly 2 out of 5 New Yorkers say online sports betting is BAD for their state, Stop Predatory Gambling on X
- Sweden’s Gambling Authority has uncovered how unlicensed online gambling operators continue to reach Swedish consumers, iGamingToday on LinkedIn
- Mauritius is set to abolish its hotel casino licence category, iGB on X
Stories from iGaming Forums
- The current state of crypto gambling market, Bitcointalk
- Luckybits stuck on “internal review” for a week now, Reddit
- $1.9M in Fake Bets Drove Polymarket Hype: WSJ, Bitcointalk
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