• The proposed deal is worth up to USD 1.3 billion (ca. EUR 1.1 billion). It includes an upfront enterprise value of around USD 1.1 billion (ca. EUR 959 million) and a potential earnout of up to USD 200 million (ca. EUR 174 million). A separate management incentive plan is linked to future performance.
• Underdog operates daily fantasy sports and prediction markets. The company has around one million monthly active users, more than five million depositing customers and over 11 million registered accounts. IG said Underdog is the third-largest US prediction markets venue by regulated notional trading volume.
• Underdog generated around USD 466 million (ca. EUR 406 million) in net revenue in the 12 months to June 2026, up 21% year-on-year. The business also reported USD 46 million (ca. EUR 40 million) in Q2 2026 EBITDA.
• The IG Underdog acquisition would more than double IG’s US revenue and increase its US monthly active customer base by more than tenfold. Underdog will continue to operate as a standalone business after the transaction closes. Underdog’s CEO would report directly to IG Group’s CEO.
• IG expects the transaction to be broadly neutral for adjusted earnings per share in year one and accretive by year three. CEO Breon Corcoran said: “The acquisition of Underdog establishes IG as a leader in US prediction markets.”

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• The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported 76 suspicious betting alerts to the relevant authorities during Q2 2026. Football accounted for 25 alerts, followed by esports with 16, basketball with 10 and tennis with nine. The IBIA integrity report notes that the total may change if ongoing investigations identify additional cases.
• Europe recorded the highest regional share of alerts with 33%, followed by South America with 22% and North America with 21%. Africa accounted for 15% of alerts, while Asia represented 4%. One group of 16 esports alerts was classified as global because the events could not be linked to a single jurisdiction.
• Football alerts were spread across Africa, Europe, Oceania and South America. Kosovo recorded five football alerts, while Cameroon reported three and Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay each registered multiple cases. In basketball, nine of the 10 alerts originated in South America, mainly in Paraguay and Colombia.
• The report also focuses on Canada’s regulated online betting market. According to presented data, Ontario’s online sports betting channelisation increased from 5% of gross gambling revenue in 2022 to 85% in 2023 and has remained above 90% since then. IBIA says the figures show how competitive regulation can move betting activity into regulated and monitored markets.
• IBIA also highlighted its athlete education programme in Canada. Backed by a CAD 300,000 (ca. EUR 187,000) commitment from IBIA and members bet365, Betway and FanDuel, the initiative has already reached nearly 200 Canadian Premier League players and staff before expanding to the Canadian Football League in partnership with Genius Sports. The programme is based on IBIA’s three principles: “Rules, Responsibility and Reporting.”

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• The agreement creates a framework for cooperation between GRAI and the NGCB on gambling regulation and licensing. It is the first memorandum signed between GRAI and a gambling regulatory authority in the United States. The Ireland Nevada MOU reflects a shared focus on supervising online gambling, where betting activity increasingly crosses national borders.
• GRAI CEO Anne Marie Caulfield welcomed the partnership and highlighted the value of Nevada’s regulatory experience. She said: “The knowledge and expertise that the Nevada Gaming Control Board have in terms of gambling regulation are very valuable to us in the GRAI.” She added that consumer protection together with public health and safety would remain central to the cooperation.
• NGCB Chairman Mike Dreitzer said the board looks forward to working closely with the Irish regulator and sharing best practices. The Ireland Nevada MOU builds on discussions between both organisations during ICE 2026 in Barcelona and provides a foundation for future collaboration.

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• ANJ has been investigating Polymarket since November 2024 after concluding that its services fall under France’s gambling laws. The operator, Adventure One QSS Inc., introduced geoblocking, but the regulator said users were still able to bypass the restrictions. As a result, ANJ moved ahead with an administrative blocking order.
• The regulator maintains that prediction markets are not authorised in France. It also raised concerns about consumer protection after allegations that weather-related markets had been manipulated, leading to a cybercrime investigation. ANJ further criticised the platform for lacking effective Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.
• Polymarket continued to attract French users despite the regulatory scrutiny. According to ANJ, the Polymarket recorded 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visitors in June 2026. The authority said the site’s live odds promote an illegal gambling offer, while advertising such services can carry fines of up to EUR 100,000.
• The Polymarket France block is part of ANJ’s wider enforcement campaign against illegal gambling websites. The French regulator blocked 1,290 illegal gambling URLs during 2025 and noted that several European countries, including Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, have also taken action against prediction market platforms.

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• Super Technologies has been appointed to EGBA’s Board of Directors, where it will help guide the association’s strategic direction. The company joins the existing Board members in supporting policies focused on industry standards, consumer protection and sustainable market development.
• Super Technologies operates in several regulated European markets, including Belgium, Greece, Poland, Romania and Serbia, while also maintaining technology hubs across Europe and Brazil. The company was founded in 2008 and has expanded from a betting operator into a technology-focused business.
• Super Technologies Chief Global Affairs Officer Borut Petek said: “Joining the EGBA Board is an important milestone for Super.” He added that cooperation between operators, regulators and policymakers is needed to strengthen consumer protection, market integrity and efforts against illegal gambling. The company said it wants to help shape future regulatory policies for Europe’s gambling sector.
• EGBA Secretary General Maarten Haijer welcomed the appointment and said Super has been an active member since joining the association in 2024. He said the company’s experience will support EGBA’s work to promote high industry standards and a well-regulated online gambling market.
• EGBA represents licensed online gambling operators across the European Union. Its members collectively hold 401 online gambling licences in 22 European countries and account for around 30% of Europe’s online gambling gross gaming revenue.
• Super Technologies is privately owned, with its founders retaining control while Blackstone holds a strategic minority investment. In 2025, the company also completed a EUR 1.3 billion refinancing backed by Blackstone and HPS Investment Partners, now part of BlackRock.

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• The Department of Internal Affairs is inviting expressions of interest for 15 online casino licences. The notice took effect on 17 July 2026. Applications must be submitted through the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS).
• Applicants must have access to at least NZD 7.5 million (ca. EUR 3.8 million) in capital and pay a NZD 19,000 (ca. EUR 9,706) application fee. They must also provide details about their ownership, management team, platform and planned brand. These requirements are part of the New Zealand online casino licences process.
• The application also requires disclosures about regulatory history over the past seven years. This includes criminal investigations, regulatory breaches, insolvencies and gambling licences held in New Zealand or overseas. Supporting documents such as criminal record checks and proof of capital must be included.
• The Department will also assess whether applicants or key officers could pose risks to New Zealand’s international reputation, trade interests or the rule of law. Expressions of interest close on 14 August 2026. The notice was signed by Secretary for Internal Affairs Paul David James.

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• Under the proposal, sports clubs, leagues, venues and event organisers in Great Britain would no longer be allowed to accept sponsorship or advertising from unlicensed gambling operators. The ban would also cover shirt sponsorships, pitch-side advertising, naming rights and other commercial partnerships. The UK gambling sponsorship ban would be introduced through changes to secondary legislation under the Gambling Act 2005.
• The UK government said the current rules still allow some offshore operators to sponsor UK organisations if they prevent British customers from accessing their services. However, officials believe these restrictions can be bypassed, creating risks for consumers and undermining the licensed gambling market. The consultation also highlights concerns around financial crime and money laundering linked to unlicensed operators.
• Football is expected to be one of the sectors most affected, following a growing number of sponsorship agreements with offshore betting brands. The government’s preferred option is to introduce the new rules before the start of the 2027/28 football season in August 2027. A second option would allow existing contracts to continue until they expire, with a final deadline of August 2028.
• The proposed measures would apply across all sectors in Great Britain, not only sport, to prevent unlicensed operators from shifting their marketing to other industries. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government intends to “introduce a ban on unlicensed gambling sponsorship and advertising” to strengthen the regulatory framework.

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• Czech authorities say prediction markets work much like traditional betting. Users put money on uncertain events such as elections, sports results, political decisions or even the weather, even if the platforms describe them as contracts instead of bets. Germany, Belgium, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and Brazil have already taken similar action against Polymarket.
• The Czech Institute for Gambling Regulation (https://www.iprh.cz) says changing the terminology does not change the nature of the product. It noted that regulators in the Netherlands, France and the UK have all concluded that prediction markets should fall under gambling rules. Jan Řehola, Director of the Institute, said: “If something looks like betting, works like betting and people can win or lose money on uncertain events, we cannot stop treating it as gambling simply because it is called a contract.”
• The Institute also pointed to the size of the market. It said Kalshi recorded around USD 238 billion in trading volume during 2025, while Polymarket handled about USD 220 billion. According to the Institute, products of this scale should be subject to the same rules on player protection, anti-money laundering and market oversight as licensed gambling operators. Polymarket Czech Republic is expected to remain part of that discussion.
• The Ministry’s decision is expected to serve as a reference point for future cases involving prediction markets. The Institute said other similar platforms are still available internationally and should also be reviewed under Czech gambling law where appropriate.

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• The settlement relates to Evolution game content being available through two operators on six websites that offered games to British consumers without a UK licence. According to the company, this breached its supply terms and the operators actively worked around existing restrictions. During the 18-month review, no wider pattern of unlicensed access to Evolution content in the UK was identified.
• Evolution said it fully cooperated with the UK Gambling Commission throughout the review process. The company also stated that it regularly takes technical, legal and commercial action to prevent unauthorised access to its games. The commercial relationships with the two operators involved were ended as soon as the issue was discovered.
• The Evolution UK settlement also follows further investment in compliance controls. Evolution said it has introduced stronger ring-fencing measures and continues to improve its internal procedures. The company noted that while no system can completely prevent third parties from trying to bypass controls, it will continue investing in compliance standards.
• CEO Martin Carlesund said: “At Evolution, we always want to do what is right, and it is not acceptable that six unlicensed sites offered Evolution content in the regulated UK market.” He added that the company does not want traffic from unlicensed operators and will continue acting quickly if similar situations arise. The Evolution UK settlement closes the review as the company continues working with licensed UK operators.

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• From 14 September 2026, advertisers in all gambling and gaming categories will need to meet Google’s certification requirements before they can advertise. The expanded rules build on certification measures introduced earlier in 2026. Google Ads gambling certification will now apply across all categories covered by the policy.
• Google is also introducing stricter rules for manager accounts (MCCs). Manager accounts that repeatedly lose online gambling certifications, or oversee certified accounts with repeated gambling policy violations, may lose the right to apply for new certifications. Existing certifications may also be revoked.
• The company has repeated several domain ownership requirements already included in the certification process. Websites hosted on free subdomains are not eligible for certification. The advertising domain must be directly owned and controlled by the operator applying for certification.
• Google also clarified that domains unrelated to gambling activities cannot be certified for gambling advertising. These requirements are intended to ensure that certified advertisers use appropriate and verified domains. Google Ads gambling certification applications must comply with these domain rules.
• The certification section of Google’s Gambling and Games policy will be updated when the new requirements take effect on 14 September 2026. The policy update was published on 13 July 2026.

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