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Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)

Baltics

The importance of reg-tech for new market expansion

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Mark Chakravarti, Investment Director at SportingWin, talks about the operator’s experience of securing a licence in Bulgaria and how it will now use its in-house regulatory platform to enter additional European markets  

I would argue that a proprietary regulatory platform is the most important thing for operators looking to drive European market expansion.  Without a modern, agile platform that provides the insight that regulators require, licence applications will be drawn out for months and even years.

At SportingWin, we came to learn this the hard way.

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When we started the business back in 2019, we identified Bulgaria as being a market of huge potential and one that we were keen to make our debut. Based on our assessment, AGR would hit 20% a year for the next five years, leading to a market value of €500m per year.

We then set about compiling the legal paperwork required by the National Revenue Agency for the licence application – this was a significant task in its own right, but we would soon learn that this was just the very start of the process.

The Bulgarian regulator is one of the most stringent in the world, which of course is a good thing. It ensures that the operators that do secure approval to enter the market are of the highest calibre especially when it comes to responsible gambling.

Under its requirements, operators must be able to deliver certain insights and information to the regulator in real time and this in turn requires a powerful, agile regulatory platform. Ultimately, we took the decision to develop this technology in-house.

While this was the right course of action, it significantly slowed down our licence application process while the regulator and our in-house development team worked together to ensure that it was fully compliant with its requirements.

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We eventually reached the point where the National Revenue Agency was happy with the paperwork we submitted and our proprietary reg-tech platform, giving us the green light to enter the market in January 2021. Since then, we have gained incredible traction with players.

As with most operators, we are now looking to take SportingWin into additional markets and our in-house developed regulatory platform will be the foundation for building out our presence across the region. It really is impressive and now that it has been certified in Bulgaria, it can be used elsewhere.

We have identified Romania as our next market and while we have yet to submit our application to the regulator, our proprietary regulatory platform will ensure it is a much easier – and faster – process than that in Bulgaria.

This is for several reasons. Given just how stringent the National Revenue Agency is with its standards and enforcing them, other jurisdictions are happy to approve our platform without subjecting it to the same level of scrutiny again.

The same applies to a lot of the paperwork that we completed as part of our application in Bulgaria – for example, the Romanian regulator is happy to carry this over as well as the technical and software certifications that we were granted.

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Of course, local regulators will still carry out their own investigations and will want to test certain aspects of our platforms, tech and software, but much of the hard work has already been done and this will allow us to enter additional markets at pace – we anticipate being live in Romania in H1.

In addition to an in-house regulatory platform, approved paperwork and the experience of having been through a licence application, the final piece of the puzzle operators need is a European trademark for their brand/brands.

We have recently secured this for SportingWin and it really does put us in the driving seat to identify and enter regulated European markets with an incredibly strong brand, superior product offering and a powerful regulatory platform running in the background.

Because of this, SportingWin is an attractive proposition for investors looking to join our success story. Due to the technical foundations we have in place, the investment we secure is pumped into marketing our brand in each country, which in turn allows us to generate significant share quickly.

Despite having been live in Bulgaria for only a year, we have a large and loyal player base and in Q4, generated €500,000 in NGR. This is set to grow significantly off the back of our recently-announced partnership with Pinnacle, allowing us to add a betting exchange to our offering for the first time.

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As with most small to medium-sized operators, the team behind SportingWin has a long-term plan for the business and that is to grow it into an exciting acquisition opportunity for one of the power players looking to build their presence in regulated markets across Europe.

Without our proprietary regulator platform, European trademark and growing collection of licences, SportingWin would simply not be on the radar of these organisations, let alone be considered a serious M&A opportunity.

Of course, there is still a lot of work to do before we reach that chapter of our story but given that the founders of SportingWin have built and sold betting businesses before, it is one that I am confident we will write in next to no time at all.

Meanwhile, we will continue to use our regulatory platform to launch our player-favourite brand and superior betting experience into markets across Europe, generating substantial revenues from each of the jurisdictions we target.

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Baltics

iDenfy and 7bet team up to stop multi-accounting with AI-powered ID verification

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iDenfy’s advanced KYC tools will help streamline the onboarding process for 7bet’s gaming platform, minimizing multi-accounting or promo abuse rates

iDenfy, a Lithuania-based RegTech company specializing in AI-powered ID verification and fraud prevention solutions, partnered with 7bet, a leading Lithuanian iGaming operator offering sports betting and iGaming services. iDenfy’s Know Your Customer (KYC) software will help 7bet’s gamers access the platform quicker while ensuring legal compliance and minimizing fraudulent accounts, such as those who abuse the bonus system or want to overcome bans using multi-accounting.

In 2024, the iGaming industry witnessed a significant surge in fraudulent activities, with overall fraud increasing by 64% compared to previous years. Much of this fraud is due to duplicate accounts, commonly known as multi-accounting. According to Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy, e-commerce marketplaces and iGaming establishments are the leading industries for multiple account fraud. This is part of the convenient nature of such services: you can access games or shop multiple items easily online.

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However, D. Ciulde stresses that from a business perspective, this results in major financial losses, especially since fraud rings use bots and other techniques to bypass weak authentication measures. In regions like Western and Central Asia, sign-up and welcome bonuses are usually prevalent, which caused a decline rate in new signups due to fraudsters attempting to exploit these promotions through multiple accounts.

iDenfy’s newest partner, 7bet, offers a dynamic platform for sports betting and online gaming, focusing on providing a secure and engaging environment for users. Operating in a high-risk sector, 7bet faced challenges managing suspicious registrations, including users who are attempting to bypass KYC checks with duplicate accounts, fraudulent documentation, or automated bots. To detect multiple accounts, blocklisted users, or simply players who are abusing the promo system more efficiently, the iGaming business understood they needed a fully automated solution. As a result, by integrating iDenfy’s innovative solutions, 7bet has implemented a highly scalable and automated player onboarding process that helps to fully reduce the reliance on manual reviews and boost verification accuracy.

By integrating iDenfy’s identity verification software, 7bet benefits from an innovative system that is capable of recognizing, verifying and extracting data from over 3,000 identity documents across 200 countries and territories. This technology supports global compliance while providing 24/7 expert oversight to minimize fraud and system errors. Additionally, advanced biometric algorithms, including facial recognition and 3D liveness detection, ensure that only legitimate users are granted access. The system prevents attempts to use fake images, 3D masks, or other forgeries in the verification process, offering bulletproof authentication and security.

In addition to that, with iDenfy’s passive liveness checks, the company now ensures a frictionless onboarding experience, reducing duplicate account rates as the innovation evaluates the validity of a user’s selfie without requiring them to perform additional actions, such as turning their head. This dual approach, coupled with document verification, not only saves time for the user but also obscures security processes, deterring potential fraudsters from accessing exploitable information. According to iDenfy, this also works as a way to spot underage users who are trying to bypass KYC checks. “Our solution ensures that only age-appropriate, legitimate players access their beloved games, which is the key to maintaining transparent and fair play in this age-restricted sector,” said Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy.

Justinas Bakšys, the COO of 7bet, highlighted, “Working with iDenfy has revolutionized our KYC procedure, allowing us to onboard consumers easily while guaranteeing regulatory compliance. Specifically, the passive liveness feature has lowered onboarding friction, giving our users a seamless and safe experience while safeguarding the platform against fraud.”

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Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy, added: “We’re thrilled to work with 7bet and bring up-to-date ID verification technology to their platform. Our goal is to deliver secure and user-friendly solutions that build trust while safeguarding the integrity of iGaming operations.”

The post iDenfy and 7bet team up to stop multi-accounting with AI-powered ID verification appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Baltics

Evoplay expands Baltic presence with new Optibet collaboration

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Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, has announced its latest partnership with leading Baltic operator Optibet, part of Entain, marking a strategic expansion in Lithuania and Estonia.

Through the agreement, Optibet now offers over 70 of Evoplay’s premium slot titles to its customers in both markets, including popular games such as The Greatest Catch Bonus Buy, Elven Princesses, and Fruit Super Nova.

Optibet, part of global gaming giant Entain, is a trusted operator across the Baltics, providing Evoplay with a solid foundation to grow its presence in the region.

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This exclusive partnership underscores both companies’ commitment to delivering top-tier gaming experiences and increasing engagement within these key markets.

Ihor Zarechnyi, CBDO at Evoplay, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Optibet, a trusted name across the Baltics, to bring our games to players in Lithuania and Estonia.”

“This collaboration marks an important step in our commitment to expanding in regulated markets and offering tailored experiences that resonate with local audiences.”

Janis Bariss, Entain Head of Gaming Baltics & Nordics, said: “Optibet is dedicated to providing our players with the best in gaming entertainment and partnering with Evoplay allows us to deliver an exciting range of content that adds real value to our portfolio.”

“Evoplay’s innovative approach and diverse game selection will be a fantastic addition to our online casinos in Lithuania and Estonia, and we’re looking forward to seeing the impact it has on our audience.”

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Baltics

Lithuania to Ban Gambling Ads

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The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday approved restrictions on gambling advertising, set to take effect from next July.

The amendments to the Gaming Law, passed with 73 votes in favour and one abstention, will introduce a ban on gambling advertising starting in July 2025. Exceptions will apply to sports competitions and events, as well as sports sponsorships and broadcasts of sports competitions, which will have a transitional period until January 1, 2028.

Next year’s budget for the Media Support Fund earmarks an additional 4 million euros to compensate media organisations for lost advertising revenue.

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Among other things, MPs backed a proposal from the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance to have a transitional period until the end of 2027, allowing up to three betting ad spots of under 15 seconds each per hour on television, radio and online between 06:00 and 18:00 and up to two per hour between 18:00 and midnight.

For online media, betting ads without a direct link to the gaming operator’s website will be limited to 20% of advertising space from 06:00 to 18:00 and 10% until midnight.

The post Lithuania to Ban Gambling Ads appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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