Big Betting Balagan

In our ‘Golden’ 50th episode, Martin Britton, who is the MD for GLI EMEA, joined us to talk through what the future holds for the industry in new and developing markets around licensing and testing requirements. In other news, the guys discuss the continued UK National Lottery licensing fallout between Allwyn and Camelot, along with SPACs, changing faces and controversy at Lottery.com and more regulatory oversight for Entain to deal with down under.

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Jesper Karrbrink, co-founder of Green Jade Games and the former CEO of both Mr Green and Svenska Spel joined us today. He provided great insight into his background, thoughts on the future of slots, social games, and the likely impact of new regulations, as well as updates on the Crypto Casino space and more. In other news, numbers and M&A activity from the likes of Evolution, Playtech, Entain, Flutter and more are covered, along with discussion around the impact on the industry of the cost-of-living crisis and what the LATAM market may hold in store.

Don’t forget to like rate review and subscribe and check out our back catalogue at https://bigbettingbalagan.com/ as well as our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/thebigbettingbalagan.

Leigh Nissim the CEO & Founder of Future Anthem and former IGT and Light & Wonder exec joined us today providing some great insights into his background, career and the innovative things he is up to. In other news, we review the latest M&A activity and recent trading numbers from the likes of Flutter, Caesars, Playtech & MGM / Leo Vegas. Licensing developments in California and Brazil are also covered and we trail some exciting news about forthcoming changes to the Balagan family! Don’t forget to like rate review and subscribe and check out our back catalogue at https://bigbettingbalagan.com/.

Alex Pratt, MD at Clarion Gaming joined us today to update us on the latest plans for the forthcoming and much-anticipated trade show. In other news… results at Playtech, legal challenges regarding the UK National Lottery bid, and potential industry impact due to the energy crisis all get the Balagan treatment. Don’t forget to like rate review and subscribe and please reach out if you would like to meet us at ICE.

CEO of Openbet and former SG / ‘Light & Wonder’ exec Jordan Levin joined us on the pod today for a look back at his career, what makes him tick as well as his plans for Openbet and his thoughts on the industry in general. In a packed news section, we wrap up the winners and losers from Cheltenham.

We also discuss the fallout of Camelot’s failed bid to retain the UK National Lottery License as well as their £3m+ fine for various RG and technical failings. Ontario’s pending launch, and a review of ‘Jackpot’ which is a new book by journalist Rob Davies on the state of the industry in the UK all get the Balagan treatment.

An expert panel of Bingo specialists including Angus Nisbet (Playtech), Andrew Steddy (PlayOJO) and affiliate expert Sue Dawson joined us today examining and educating on this core but often overlooked vertical in the industry. We discuss the value, trends, M&A, technology and global opportunities it is driving in what was a fascinating session. In other news, the Super Bowl, UKGC, Camelot, bet365 and activity in Argentina and across LATAM also get the Balagan treatment.

The Big Betting Balagan turns 2 today (!) and to celebrate we have a bumper edition focussing on iGaming in the US with DC based John Pappas who is a Public Affairs & Government Relations expert. He talks us through activity in New York as well as what to expect in the US in 2022 and beyond, including iCasino and why the rollout has been slow. He also updates on some interesting developments in California. In other news WynnBets pending sale, more activity over at Playtech as well as with UK National Lottery bidders Camelot and Allwyn all get the Balagan treatment. We also discuss the merits of fixed-odds horse race betting in the US, and Lee teases us with a preview to a new book that is being published and which claims will “uncover the sinister inner workings of one of the country's most nefarious industries”…

John Pappas can be reached via Twitter or LinkedIn:

Tw: https://twitter.com/yanni_dc

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-pappas-8741baa8/

In the final episode of the year, we reflect on the major news stories that grabbed the headlines in 2021. This included the many Billions spent on M&A, the rise of the SPAC, NFT and huge numbers being generated in the US, plus our old nemesis COVID. We also look forward to 2022, picking up on iGaming in the US, unsustainable marketing, launches in LATAM, in-house technology and regulatory clarity in the UK and beyond. In more up to date news, activity at Playtech, 888, PlayUp, Clarion and the Gambling Commission all get the Balagan treatment.

Happy Holidays to all our viewers and listeners and we thank you for your ongoing support!

Dan, Lee & Vigne.

Pini Yakuel, CEO of the leading data & marketing company Optimove, and who work with many major brands in the industry joined us today to chat through his background and how AI & Data science is changing everything. In a packed news section Camelot’s latest numbers, the ongoing bidding war for Playtech, further M&A for Flutter and trouble in Florida are all covered. We also discuss the likes of SEGA and ESPN making moves into the space and in a final piece of breaking news Lee defends his racing tipster record!

Recorded in front of a live audience at the recent Betting on Sports conference in London, we were joined by Chris Elliott from Wiggin LLP who updated us on the likely outcome and impact of the forthcoming White Paper on the pending UK Gambling Act review. In other news, we discuss the Aristocrat and Gopher bidding war for Playtech, along with an update on the ‘Safer Gaming Week’ initiative and problem gambling stats. Also, Super Group / Betway strategy of increased soccer sponsorship in the face of media and regulatory pressure to decrease exposure all get the Balagan treatment.