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Spasov had been the supplier’s interim managing director since December 2019, and will now take on the role on a permanent basis. He has previously held several executive positions, including chief executive, at other companies with links to the igaming business

“I am very excited about the multitude of opportunities that lie ahead for BtoBet,” he said.

“In the past year alone, the company has proven its resilience despite external pressures, and I have no doubt BtoBet will continue to establish itself as a major player in the industry.’’

Dima Reiderman, meanwhile, joins BtoBet as chief operating officer from the supplier’s parent company, Aspire Global. Reiderman served as Aspire’s chief operating officer for more than two years.

The supplier said Reiderman has played an integral role in the growth and success of Aspire Global during his seven-year tenure with the company.

Reiderman said: ‘’My main aim is to not only ensure that BtoBet excels with its sportsbook product in new markets but to maintain leading positions in emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America.”

BtoBet was acquired by industry supplier Aspire Global in September 2020, in a deal worth €20m (£17.5m/$24.0m).

Aspire’s chief executive Tsachi Maimon said the acquisition meant the business would be involved in all major areas of online gambling, thanks to access to BtoBet’s Neuron 3 sports betting platform.

Commenting on BtoBet’s new appointments, Maimon said: “Zoran and Dima’s addition to BtoBet’s top management is intended to maintain the company’s current growth momentum and aggressively expand its technologies into new markets, with Europe and the US being high on the agenda.”

“I am more than confident that Zoran and Dima will be an invaluable asset for BtoBet in executing the company’s vision.”

The supplier signed a number of high-profile supply deals in 2020, including with operators William Hill and Betfair, both of which entered into the Colombian igaming market in early 2021.

Hernando will join Greece-based Kaizen from William Hill, where he had most recently been serving as chief marketing officer and managing director of the operator’s international business.

In the role, which also covered the Mr Green segment, Hernando was responsible for the 12 markets outside the US and the UK where William Hill operates.

Kaizen said the appointment forms part of its strategic plan to add international experience to its management, to support expansion plans for its Betano brand.

Betano operates in Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Romania, Greece and Cyprus.

“I’m looking forward to contributing to our ongoing success in positioning Kaizen as a leading player in our operating markets, and in leveraging the international opportunities and challenges that will no doubt arise, in our pursuit to continue growing aggressively our foothold in the international GameTech arena,” Hernando said.

Kaizen chief executive George Daskalakis added: “I am confident Julio’s experience, talent and drive along with his positive character and team spirit will contribute to our ongoing effort to establish ourselves as one of the leading companies in the industry on an international level.”

The appointment comes after Kaizen last month also named Claus Jansson as its new head of affiliate marketing and media buying.

Sazka-owned OPAP has a 36.75% stake in Kaizen’s business, and in November acquired a further 15.48% stake in Stoiximan Group’s Greek and Cypriot operations from Kaizen, bringing its stake in this part of the business to 84.48%.

The original deal, signed in September 2019, was limited to the US, but the new arrangement will see the sponsorship deal extended to Canadian fans.

DraftKings has served as the exclusive sponsor in the NFL’s DFS category since entering into the partnership in 2019. This has also allowed DraftKings to access NFL branding and collaborations on product and content offerings across the DraftKings app and NFL Media properties.

“The popularity of Daily Fantasy in Canada continues to rise, providing a great point of connectivity for our fans to engage with the NFL,” NFL Canada director of corporate partnerships Gavin Kemp said.

“As the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL in Canada, this partnership with DraftKings will enhance the Canadian fan’s experience with unique and innovative gaming experiences.”

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the deal, GiG will provide its igaming platform technologies to PlayStar, which plans to go live in New Jersey during the fourth quarter of this year.

Earlier this week, PlayStar announced it had partnered Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino Resort to secure market access in the state. It then aims to expand into other markets from 2022.

“PlayStar Casino is setting out to offer an online casino experience with a difference that will stand out from the current offerings in the market,” PlayStar co-founder and executive vice president Adam Noble said.

“GiG has earned a reputation for being a very formidable and trusted technology partner in Europe, so when we were assessing platforms for our market entry into New Jersey, we’re very confident in selecting GiG as our platform partner.”

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Sanders will appear in BetMGM marketing campaigns, as well as “a variety of events” involving the operator’s customers.

“It’s an honor and surreal moment for all of us at BetMGM to team up with Barry Sanders,” BetMGM chief revenue officer Matt Prevost said. “Adding Barry to the BetMGM family brings a new level of excitement and the potential for us to create unique experiences for our customers.” 

The deal builds upon BetMGM’s existing partnership with Michigan NFL franchise the Detroit Lions.

Read the full story on iGB North America

Senate Bill 5212, was filed in January by Republican Senator Curtis King and his Democratic counterpart Marko Lilas. 

It subject of a hearing in the chamber’s Committee on Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs yesterday (4 February).

The bill aims to permit cardrooms and racetracks to offer in-person and online wagering to patrons aged 18 and above. Operators will be required to pay a $100,000 (£73,062/€83,474) licence fee, then a 10% tax on gross revenue. 

Each property would be allowed to partner a third party provider to launch a single online offering. This third party must to secure a Casino Service Industry Enterprise licence. 

At yesterday’s hearing the legislation was strongly opposed by the Washington Indian Gaming Association. 

Its executive director Rebecca George suggested that the bill would in fact permit statewide mobile betting. This would contravene the state’s strict prohibition on gambling online, she explained. 

She urged lawmakers to reject the bill, and limit the state’s sports betting market to tribal venues. This was facilitated by a bill signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee in March last year, amid vocal complaints from the state’s largest cardroom operator Maverick Gaming. 

No tribes have launched sports betting to date, though George said negotiations to amend tribal compacts were ongoing and must be completed before the first bets could be placed.

However Eric Persson, chief executive of Maverick Gaming, argued the bill would allow the operator to create 10 jobs per cardroom, and preserve existing roles at its properties. He was supported at the hearing by testimonies from employees and unions. 

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The regulator said some improvements had taken place since the last survey, which took place in 2019 and whose results were published in April 2020, but further work was still required from operators to prevent regulatory intervention.

It pointed out that it is the licensees’ responsibility to ensure they keep up to date with the relevant regulatory requirements, and that the shortcomings noted in the survey may lead to intervention from the regulator.

Most of the sites reviewed showed responsible gambling logos in both logged-out and logged-in mode, and had a sufficient reference to an independent gambling helpline, unlike in previous reports, the regulator said.

It emphasised that such features are of great importance for consumer protection and that all websites licensed for online gaming must meet these requirements.

However, it said that many of the websites lacked sufficient information about the licensee, for example, several did not have a telephone number and email address listed.

Many of the websites also lacked information on licence durations, and failed to state that Spelinspektionen is both a licensing and supervisory authority.

With regard to gambling-related risks, the regulator said that there are still major shortcomings in the industry.

For example, in order for its requirements to be fulfilled, information on the specific risks of gambling together with concrete examples of the negative consequences gambling can have upon an individual must be provided.

Shortcomings were also identified with regards to the provision of links for Sweden’s self-exclusion scheme, Spelpaus. A marketing campaign to promote the scheme was created in June 2020, after Spelinspektionen found that player awareness of the system was limited.

The Spelpaus scheme has been live since January 2019, when Sweden opened its regulated online gambling market. Suspensions via Spelpaus can last for one, three or six months, or can be applied indefinitely.

Earlier this week, Spelinspektionen awarded its 100^th online operating licence to casino operator Mr Vegas.

The online casino brand’s new licence allows it to launch to customers across MGA markets, with a selection of slots, live casino and jackpot games.

The site’s Pay’n’Play registration option provides instant deposits and withdrawals via Trustly, which Soft2Bet said significantly enhances the safety and convenience of the site for end users.

Soft2Bet’s portfolio of brands has continued to integrate content from a range of suppliers in recent months, the operator said, as well as making a number of additions to its portfolio including travel-themed sportsbook brand Betinia.

“We are thrilled to announce that Frumzi has become the latest world-class addition to our MGA-licensed operator portfolio, joining a hugely popular selection of premium quality brands,” Boris Chaikin, chief executive of Soft2Bet, said.

“Recent weeks have demonstrated the strength of our compliance credentials, having netted a prestigious PCI DSS certification, and there will be plenty more to come throughout the rest of the year.” 

The operator was also granted a licence by Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen in December 2019.

It first launched its Yoyo Casino brand in the jurisdiction in March 2020, and subsequently launched its CampoBet brand in the Swedish market in July.

Svenska Spel said its new sportsbook allows it to offer customers an expanded range of sports betting, a better customer experience and new features including betbuilder and cash out.

It said the new sportsbook brought a more competitive range of sports odds, better functionality and a more complete gaming experience. The local offer will continue to be handled by Svenska Spel Sport & Casino’s staff.

In September 2019, the operator signed an agreement with SBTech, which was subsequently merged with DraftKings in April 2020, for the provision of a new sportsbook. Since then, it said, work has been done to implement and complete the new sportsbook platform.

“It feels incredibly good to finally be able to offer our customers a new sportsbook with all that it entails,” said Dan Korhonen, head of product sports betting & sportsbook integrity at Svenska Spel Sport & Casino.

“It is very fun to now be able to offer our players new features such as betbuilder and cash out, together with a wider range of sports betting. We will continue to offer competitive odds together with fixed bet limits that apply to all customers.”

Shay Berka, chief international officer of DraftKings, added: “We are pleased to announce that we are now delivering Svenska Spel Sport & Casino’s new sports book with our award-winning B2B solution, a unique and outstanding gaming experience with industry-leading coverage of both local and international markets.”

“Svenska Spel Sport & Casino is the leading operator in the Swedish market and together we will improve the gaming experience for players throughout Sweden”

Results for Q3 2020 published in October showed that Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, despite being affected by Sweden’s SEK5,000 (£435/€494/$594) weekly spending cap, saw revenue increase by 6.5% to SEK490m.

In November, DraftKings raised its full year 2020 guidance after revenue grew strongly in the third quarter.

On a like-for-like basis, revenue for the three months to 30 September increased 98.2% year-on-year to $132.8m , though if SBTech’s revenue was factored into the previous year’s figures, revenue was up 42.3%.

The advisory panel will meet for the first time this week. Among the topics that it will inform on will be the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, which launched in December 2020.

“We are pleased that the Gambling Commission has recognised the importance of listening to people who have been harmed by gambling and welcome their real commitment to ensuring that this can happen,” a panel spokesperson said.

“The creation of this group creates a real opportunity for the voice of those with lived experience to support and influence the work of the Gambling Commission. 

“We are a diverse group of people and bring a wide range skills and personal experience of gambling harm. We take this role seriously and look forward to working together as a group to make progress in tackling gambling harm.”

Gambling Commission chair William Moyes said: “I welcome today’s announcement of the permanent Lived Experience Advisory Panel, which is a positive step towards better understanding harms caused by gambling.

“By collaborating with those with lived experience, friends, families and communities we can make faster progress to reduce gambling harms.”

It takes over from the interim “Experts by Experience” group, a similar body founded in June 2020, also made up of those affected by gambling-related harm. The group provided advice, evidence and recommendations to the Commission, including recommendations related to the controls the Commission introduced for online slot games this week.

“The establishment of this group is a great step forward for us in our work in making gambling safer and building our understanding of harm and its impacts,” Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur said. “As already proven by the input of the interim group, the views and perspectives of lived experience in our decision making is invaluable and is already having a positive impact in our work in addressing gambling related harm.

“Lived experience feedback in our policy work has already led to progress through input to consultations on game design and customer interaction and affordability and strengthened online advertising rules.”

Despite the launch of the Experts by Experience group in June 2020, a report in September of that year commissioned by GambleAware said that there was little evidence that those with experience of gambling-related harm are involved in discussion of the subject. Following the report’s release, GambleAware called for a fully-funded and independent lived experience body.

In addition, the Commission also published the latest update on the delivery of its strategy to reduce gambling harms. The update is now available through an interactive “actions map” allowing stakeholders to more easily view updates within specific areas.

Among the updates made so far in 2021 were the publication of a GambleAware-commissioned study into player-set deposit limits, which found that players are more inclined to set lower limits if they are given a free choice of amounts rather than a drop-down list of suggestions.

Other progress included medical journal The Lancet launching its first commission on gambling-related harm, which it called an “urgent, neglected, understudied and worsening public health predicament”.