Author: Maisie Morrison

TLDR Konami Group’s gaming and systems division swung back to profit in the quarter ended June 30, reversing a loss from a year earlier. Revenue in the division rose 64.9% year over year to roughly JPY12.39 billion, or about $75.8 million. The division’s business profit was JPY827 million, compared with a loss of JPY166 million in the same quarter last year. Konami pointed to strong performance from its Solstice 49C slot cabinet and Bomberman game content in North America. Konami Gaming became the first equipment maker to submit a supplier license application in Japan, ahead of the MGM Osaka casino…

TLDR SABA wants prediction markets treated as illegal until South Africa creates rules for them. The group says these markets carry risks similar to peer-to-peer betting exchanges. More than R700,000 was reportedly bet on Johannesburg’s mayoral race through Polymarket. SABA warns the products could raise risks of match fixing, corruption, and money laundering. No South African law currently licenses or oversees prediction market operators. The South African Bookmakers Association is pushing back against prediction markets. The group wants the products treated as illegal until lawmakers write clear rules for them. SABA announced its position on Monday. It said it plans…

TLDR Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi called illegal betting a national security threat. He said illegal gambling costs Turkey $40 billion every year. Çiftçi linked the growth of cryptocurrency and digital payments to money laundering tied to illegal betting. Turkey has blocked over 548,000 illegal betting websites between 2006 and 2025. The global gambling market is expected to reach $205 billion by 2030. Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has stepped up warnings about illegal betting in the country. He called the practice a threat to national security. Çiftçi made the comments in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Habertürk. He…

TLDR NordVPN researchers found a criminal network using fake ads on Facebook and Instagram to impersonate Google, Disney+ and Duolingo. The ads send Android users to fake Play Store pages that install apps linking to unlicensed gambling sites. Over 7,200 gambling pages and 3,100 decoy pages were found, showing the scam was built to dodge ad review systems. Similar scams have used abandoned websites and fake betting brands during major sporting events. Meta is under growing legal pressure over gambling ads, with regulators in Thailand and the Netherlands taking action. Android users are being targeted by a scam that hides…

TLDR BetMGM’s Q2 2026 net revenue grew just 3% to $711 million, missing estimates Adjusted EBITDA fell 14% year over year to $74 million Executives say prediction market operators are hurting customer acquisition Retail sportsbook revenue nearly disappeared, dropping 97% from last year The company pushed its $500 million EBITDA target past 2027 BetMGM released its second quarter 2026 results on July 28. The company is a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Entain. Net revenue came in at $711 million. That is a 3% increase from $692 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA dropped 14% to $74 million,…

TLDR Gabriel Perez, who operated President Trump’s teleprompter, no longer works for the federal government He was previously placed on administrative leave amid a CFTC investigation into alleged insider trading on Kalshi Perez allegedly earned more than $100,000 betting on speech content using advance knowledge of scripts Federal prosecutors reportedly declined to file criminal charges, but a civil settlement with the CFTC may be discussed Kalshi says its surveillance team flagged the trades and referred the case to regulators Gabriel Perez, the man who ran the teleprompter for President Donald Trump, no longer works at the White House. The Associated…

TLDR Caesars Entertainment posted Q2 2026 revenue of $2.99 billion, up 3% from last year, but adjusted EBITDA fell to $920 million. The company skipped its usual earnings call because of its pending $17.6 billion acquisition by Tilman Fertitta. Las Vegas revenue dropped 3.5% while regional casinos grew 9.4%, helped by the recent Caesars Windsor acquisition. Caesars Digital revenue increased, but profit fell as marketing and customer acquisition costs rose. The Fertitta acquisition has cleared early regulatory hurdles and could close in late 2026 or early 2027. Caesars Entertainment filed its final quarterly report as a public company this week.…

TLDR Rockstar Games disabled GTA Online’s casino gambling features for players in Australia this week. The change happened with no announcement, patch note, or public explanation from Rockstar. Dataminer Tez2 found a new geographic flag in the game’s code blocking the gambling tables for Australia. Australia now joins more than 50 other territories, including Poland and Argentina, with the same restriction. The move follows Australia’s updated classification rules for simulated gambling content in video games. Rockstar Games has switched off GTA Online’s casino gambling for players based in Australia. The change appeared this week without warning. Players trying to enter…

TLDR Curaçao’s finance ministry opened a probe into Random Consulting Limited (RCL) RCL is run by Mario Galea, former Malta Gaming Authority chief executive The firm reportedly received 8.3 million Caribbean guilders a year, about €4.1 million Finance minister Charles Cooper said the fee equals more than 35% of online gambling revenue RCL disputed the figures and asked for a correction and an inquiry into a leak Curaçao’s finance ministry has launched an investigation into Random Consulting Limited, a firm run by former Malta Gaming Authority chief executive Mario Galea. The probe centers on payments the company received from the…

TLDR La Banca de Quinielas found fake ads on Facebook and Instagram using its name and logo The ads promoted an unauthorized online casino called “La Banca Casino” Fake prizes and false winner stories were used to make the ads look real Uruguay’s lottery agency plans to use AI tools to find illegal gambling sites Authorities have already blocked thousands of illegal gambling websites Uruguay’s state-run lottery operator La Banca de Quinielas says fake ads are using its name online. The ads appeared on Facebook and Instagram. The ads used the name “La Banca Casino.” They also copied the operator’s…