This week was busy for the gambling industry, marked by major business developments and regulatory updates, and Casino Guru News offers a quick recap of the biggest stories.

Earlier this week, SBC announced the 2025 Sports Betting Hall of Fame inductees. The prestigious Sports Betting Hall of Fame is a special ceremony part of the forthcoming SBC Summit Americas.

A total of four inductees, whose names will be disclosed at the upcoming ceremony, will be added to the Hall of Fame. They will be joining innovators and visionaries such as Fred Done, Denise Coats and Victor Chandler, among others.

Robinhood, the leading event trading platform, released a new report, highlighting the popularity of event trading contracts. In just six months, the company recorded 1bn event contract trades, a figure that serves as a testament to the interest in event contracts and their growing fame. While event contracts, or betting on real-life events, face regulatory challenges, so far it doesn't look like they can be stopped.

Haliey Welch, the social media star who is popular across the globe by the alias Hawk Tuah Girl, appeared for the first time publicly only recently after the backlash she faced over the $HAWK token.

The aforementioned token hit a $500m market cap before stumbling nearly to zero, raising concerns about it being another "rug pull." The infamous "rug pull" is a type of scam involving crypto that revolves around the artificial boost of a token's value before all funds are withdrawn, causing it to lose its entire value. Welch's first public appearance was at a celebrity poker tournament taking place at Aria in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Elsewhere, in Michigan, a man decided to try his luck with lottery tickets and was shocked by a life-changing $5.5m jackpot. The fortunate 43-year-old man from Van Buren County bought tickets for the Lotto 47 game. While the man didn't expect to win, luck was on his side, considering that he scored the mind-boggling top prize and can now turn his life around.

Business and finance

The award-winning casino games provider, Evoplay, strengthened its management team earlier this week after announcing two new appointments. The company confirmed it selected Olga Pronak for the role of Head of Key Account Management. In addition, Evoplay appointed Anton Gyria, the former Head of Account Management, to the role of Director of Business Operations.

Stake, the leading betting and online casino operator, announced the appointment of its first racing ambassador. The company selected the famous jockey with nearly 40 years of experience, Frankie Dettori, for the major role of Global Racing Ambassador.

Joining Stake's roster of ambassadors, Dettori is expected to help bring exclusive betting content, promotions, racing tips and news, as well as other exciting activations catering to bettors and racing fans alike.

BetComply, the fast-growing regulatory compliance company, recently appointed a new Head of Account Management. The company selected Iliana Lazarova, a former Yggdrasil and Microgaming executive, for the important role. Overall, Lazarova has more than 15 years of experience in the sector and is expected to play a major role in BetComply's future.

The leading online casino games developer, Octoplay, joined forces with BetMGM in Ontario. The collaboration saw the latter tap into the former's Jackpot Blitz opt-in solution. As a result, BetMGM customers will benefit from the jackpot-focused gamification element in one of the most important markets in North America.

Regulation and laws

The regulatory intelligence solutions expert, Vixio, released a new report this week, revealing that European regulators issued fines totaling €36m in only 12 months. The report covered the March 2024 and March 2025 period, revealing that millions in fines were issued primarily due to failures and deficiencies related to anti-money laundering.

In the UK, the country's gambling watchdog, the Gambling Commission, applauded its ongoing collaboration with the Bingo Association. The Commission's executive director, Tim Miller, spoke during the Association's Annual General Meeting, highlighting strategic achievements and potential challenges.

PENN Entertainment was hit with a lawsuit filed by HG Vora, an activist investor. The legal dispute was filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and claims that PENN Entertainment failed to uphold "shareholder democracy."

Per the lawsuit, HG Vora claimed that one shareholder was barred from suggesting and putting forward candidates for PENN Entertainment's Board of Directors. "HG Vora believes that substantial changes are necessary to restore accountability and ensure all options are considered to maximize shareholder value," the lawsuit reads."

BETER has become the latest member of the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC). The leading betting content, data and live streaming company was designated a Tier 1 Anti-Corruption Supporter of the Commission that safeguards competitive video gaming from fraud and crime. The collaboration between the duo further bolstered esports integrity across the globe.

In another move that boosted betting integrity, CopyBet, the leading sports betting platform, became the latest member of the International Betting Integrity Association. The collaboration saw the latter tap into the former's online betting integrity data. As a result, the Association will help monitor betting data and uncover potential fraud attempts.

Responsible gambling

This week, Casino Guru made an important announcement by enhancing its portfolio with a dedicated sweepstakes casino database. The new dedicated sweepstakes casino overview aims to provide valuable information for the fast-growing market.

At the same time, Casino Guru updated its trusted Safety Index to account for the distinct aspects of sweepstakes casinos. The two major announcements, the company said, follow months of research and development.

Earlier this week, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), encouraged Romania to establish a gambling self-exclusion register. The Association's Secretary General, Maarten Haijer, highlighted the importance of such a framework as a way to protect consumers from gambling harm. EGBA made a number of suggestions for an effective gambling self-exclusion framework that can safeguard individuals from gambling harm. Across Europe, 17 countries have established gambling self-exclusion registers.

The voice of the industry

This week, Casino Guru News released an extensive analysis that focused on the impact of regulation across Europe and how it is fueling the gambling black market. The op-ed was provided by Casino Guru's Head of Data & Complaints, Matej Novota.

In a separate publication, Casino Guru News focused on the most influential people in gambling and their lasting legacies. The analysis focused not only on some of the most recognizable and influential people within the gambling sector but also delved into what makes them so unique and part of the industry's Hall of Fame.

This week, Casino Guru News had the opportunity to sit down with Gamban's Co-Founder, Matt Zarb-Cousin, who spoke about the importance of accessing help. The executive discussed a number of challenges to the sector, emphasizing that "language should never be a barrier to accessing help." The interview comes on the heels of Gamban's recent expansion into Finland and Norway.

Casino Guru News also sat down with Karl von Brockdorff, Wicked Games' Head of Brand, who spoke about the company's ambitious goal of producing up to 30 games yearly by 2026. Notably, Brockdorff spoke about the importance of having a strong team, ruthless commitment and a solid plan to achieve such an ambitious goal.

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