Betting News – FairOdds Network

July 7, 2026

Indictment against ex-college hoops star contains wire fraud charges, but none on point shaving

The arrest of Kerr Kriisa by the FBI initially raised suspicions on potential match-fixing activities, but there were no such charges in a multi-count indictment.

Kerr Kriisa, a former University of West Virginia guard, has been charged with five counts of wire fraud stemming from a $2.2 million fraudulent scheme, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday in the US District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

While reports surfaced over the 4 July holiday that Kriisa faced charges on bribery in sporting contests, he was not charged for any infractions related to point shaving in the indictment. Kriisa appeared in 19 games for the University of Cincinnati during the 2025-26 season, the last of his six seasons in NCAA Division I college basketball.

A native of Estonia, Kriisa signed with Tartu Ülikool of the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League after his departure from Cincinnati. Kriisa spent three seasons with the University of Arizona from 2020-23, before completi..

July 7, 2026

Italian parliamentary bill proposes 2% levy on domestic football bets

The proposed levy will be distributed between youth development programmes, women's football and problem gambling prevention.

A new parliamentary bill introduced in the Senate has proposed imposing a 2% levy on all domestic football bets to establish a dedicated funding stream for Italy’s football system.

Bill 1902, tabled by Senator Paolo Marcheschi on 14 May 2026 as part of a broader Disegno di Legge, aimed to tackle what lawmakers describe as ongoing crises in Italian football. This included rising club debts, diminishing competitiveness and challenges in youth player development.

It was assigned to the 7th Standing Committee in its drafting capacity on 2 July 2026 and would come into effect on 1 January 2027.

The levy will apply to all domestic football bets placed within Italy, both in physical betting shops and online. It will apply to matches organised by the Italian Football Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, FIGC) and its affiliated professional and amat..

July 3, 2026

Esports betting insights: Key takeaways from latest report

iGB looks at the key takeaways from Oddin.gg's latest esports betting report and the emerging narratives within the vertical.

Key learnings from Oddin.gg’s State of Esports Betting report:

Esports average bettor stake 7x higher than traditional sports

Betting volume grew a median of 31% YoY

€77 average stake at esports’ most important event

Live betting dominated vast majority of betting activity

Sophisticated betting markets are growing

Esports betting is a valuable but comparatively poorly understood vertical of the wider sports betting sector.

The phenomenon of watching esports events has long been popular but it accelerated in popularity significantly around the Covid-19 pandemic. It continues to attract a highly-engaged global audience both online and within physical arenas across the world. Top tournaments regularly manage to attract millions of concurrent viewers, according to data from Esports Charts.

However, tracking esports betting can be harder. One of the ma..

June 30, 2026

The industry we didn’t expect

As the industry prepares to gather at iGB London, conversations are increasingly shaped by data, market signals and long-term strategic thinking. Yet the most important shifts are not always the ones making headlines.

With unique visibility into the market from different vantage points, Robin Harrison of Worldgaming (formerly Clarion) and Alexandra Kavelich of SOFTSWISS come together to discuss how trends emerge, how businesses distinguish meaningful change from noise and what today’s industry should be paying closer attention to.

1. Worldgaming (formerly Clarion) and SOFTSWISS observe the market from very different vantage points. Because you see the industry through different lenses, I’m curious: what are the earliest signs of change that you’re noticing today?

Robin

Robin harrison, global content director b2b at worldgaming

There are a few different ways to interpret this question. This might be quite obvious, but the centre of gravity for the industry is shifting. Much of the ..

June 26, 2026

From player protection to channelisation: Why Europe’s World Cup gambling warnings have changed

As regulators warn of a surge in illegal betting during the World Cup, a deeper shift is taking place in how they think about consumer protection.

Every major football tournament brings a familiar set of anxieties. A decade ago, regulators approaching a World Cup or European Championship would typically focus their messaging on gambling-related harm, excessive advertising and the risk of vulnerable consumers being swept up in a month-long betting frenzy.

This summer, the tone sounds noticeably different.

Across Europe, regulators and industry bodies have spent much of the build-up to the FIFA World Cup warning consumers about illegal gambling operators. The French regulator, l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), has highlighted the threat posed by prediction markets, illegal affiliates and influencers. The Dutch regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has increased supervision of both legal and illegal advertising. In Britain, industry attention has focused heavily on black market acti..

June 26, 2026

SPA considers regulation of betting in Brazil a success

The Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) points out that the regulated betting environment in Brazil is positive compared to the period without control of the activity. This assessment was made by the deputy secretary of monitoring and supervision of betting at SPA, Carlos Renato Xavier.

While participating in the “Future of Betting in Brazil” panel, Carlos Renato Xavier took stock of the first full year of betting regulation.

In his view, this period demonstrated the measure’s complete success.

“Regulating the betting sector in Brazil is already proving to be a successful solution when compared to the long period without rules,” the undersecretary said.

“The existence of a regulated environment, characterised by ongoing state involvement and the SPA’s focus on consumer protection regulations, the preservation of the public interest and the industry’s health, reduces conflicts and prevents problems from escalating due to a lack of oversight.”

He further noted that since regula..

June 25, 2026

Entain to divest 20% of its CEE business with full exit planned

Entain plans to unlock shareholder value through a gradual exit from its Polish and Croatian businesses.

Entain has agreed to sell a 20% stake in its CEE business, marking the first step in a planned full exit.

On Thursday, Entain made the announcement that it had agreed to sell a 20% interest in Entain CEE to EMMA Capital, its joint venture partner.

The deal features a €395 million ($448.6 million) payment on the completion of the deal, plus an additional payment in early 2027 to reflect Entain CEE’s FY26 performance.

The total cash consideration is approximately €425 million, implying an enterprise value of €2.1 billion for Entain CEE. Entain will utilise the net proceeds to reduce its outstanding debt.

The deal to sell the 20% stake is expected to be completed in Q4 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

Following the conclusion of the deal, Entain’s shareholding will drop from 67.5% to 47.5%, while EMMA Capital’s will increase from 22.5% to 47.5%. The remaining 10% will stay ..

June 24, 2026

Brazilian organisations support federal government crackdown on illegal betting

The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR) and the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) expressed their support for the government's decision to combat illegal betting by suffocating payment institutions.

On Friday, President Lula signed a decree adopting a series of measures to combat illegal betting and strengthen the regulated market in Brazil.

For the ANJL, the measures represent another step forward in protecting the regulated market. They are the result of an ongoing process of institutional cooperation between the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), representatives of the regulated sector and other actors involved in the regulation of the sector.

According to data released by the minister of justice, Wellington César Lima, at a press conference on the subject, 25.2 million Brazilians bet on illegal websites. For the president of the ANJL, Plínio Lemos Jorge, the number shows the scale of the challenge and justifies the strengthening of the anno..

June 24, 2026

Dutch gambling tax rise yields far less revenue than forecast, report finds

The Netherlands' gambling tax hike has raised questions about the limits of taxing a regulated market.

The Netherlands’ recent increase in its gambling tax has fallen well short of the government’s revenue expectations, according to a joint monitoring report by the Ministry of Finance and the gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

The study highlights how regulatory changes and market dynamics have undermined tax revenues between 2024 and early 2026.

Tax rise delivers far less than forecast

The gambling tax rise happened in two phases. It was first increased from 30.5% to 34.2% on 1 January 2025, followed by another increase to 37.8% on 1 January 2026.

The Treasury had predicted these hikes would generate approximately €108 million ($122.6 million) more in 2025, and an additional €216 million in 2026. However, the actual additional revenue was far lower, registering approximately €2 million extra in 2025 and an estimated €57 million in 2026, relative to 2024 levels.

T..