Industry News
Raffle House response to Lotteries Council demand for parity with prize draws
The Lotteries Council is asking the government to ‘level the playing field’ between charity lotteries and prize draws, but these are two different products. It’s also worth noting that any company currently operating in the regulated gambling space could adapt its model to fall outside the Gambling Act 2005’s definition of gambling by offering a free entry option, as we do.
Comments from James Mieville, Executive Director of Raffle House, in response to the report:
“We fully comply with legislation related to operating under the free draw model and all of our competitions offer a free entry option that is displayed as prominently as the paid entry option, in line with the Gambling Act 2005. We believe this eliminates any potential for players to be misled into thinking we are a regulated gambling product or a lottery, as the report produced for the Lotteries Council suggests may be the case.
“We believe our customers are fully aware of what type of business we are running and do not feel there is any confusion among consumers about the difference between our prize draws and lotteries.
“While some may believe that prize draws pose unfair competition to lotteries, entertainment companies generally face increasing competition from a variety of business models and there’s room for many different types of companies offering the chance to win prizes.
“The report produced by nfpResearch for the Lotteries Council is incorrect in stating that Raffle House entered the market after Omaze. It has been active in the UK market since 2017.
“The nfpResearch report claims that prize draws primarily benefit larger charities. This is completely untrue of Raffle House’s draws. We now have 18 charity partners, almost all of which are small charities. We believe we are, in fact, helping small charities greatly by stepping in to fill a funding gap that has become more acute in recent years due to the cost-of-living crisis and the closure of many grant programmes.
“As a business, we’ve always gravitated towards supporting smaller organisations. Among our reasons is a desire to offer corporate partnerships to charities without the enormous marketing and fundraising resources that are often needed to find donors. We believe the charities we support would suffer if the regulations that govern prize draws were changed, and indeed the report acknowledges this risk.
“The report also states that ‘evidence does not currently support the thesis that prize draws are yet supplanting charity lotteries in the scale of the sector’s fundraising’. In fact, evidence suggests charity lotteries are thriving – earlier this year Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes said large-scale society lottery sales had passed the £1 billion mark for the first time.
“If charity lotteries are doing better than ever and there’s no evidence that prize draws are impacting lotteries’ fundraising, doesn’t it follow that we and other prize draw operators are simply providing additional funds for charities that desperately need them? Isn’t that something to be celebrated rather than shut down, particularly in light of the fact there’s no obligation for prize draw companies such as ours to make any contribution to charities; we do so out of choice. It’s highly likely that all of the policy suggestions set out in the report would lead to less money going to the charities currently supported by prize draws.”
The post Raffle House response to Lotteries Council demand for parity with prize draws appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Evoke, one of the world’s leading betting and gaming companies with internationally renowned brands including William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, announced the establishment of a new Technology Committee of the Board effective immediately.
The Committee will be chaired by Independent Non-Executive Director Susan Standiford. Non-executive Directors Limor Ganot and Ori Shaked will also be members of the Committee.
The Committee will provide Board-level oversight of evoke’s major technology investments and initiatives, ensuring alignment with business strategy, risk management and operational effectiveness.
Jon Mendelsohn, Chairman of evoke, said: “In a world where technology is evolving at break-neck speed and in an industry where technology leadership is a core driver of sustainable success, our Technology Committee will play an important role in strengthening the Board’s governance and long-term strategy development. The Committee will focus on providing transparency and insight across our product, technology, data and operational initiatives as well as informing the Board and executive leadership on technology trends with the potential to shape the Group’s long-term competitive advantages.”
The post Evoke Announces the Establishment of a New Technology Committee appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa has been named the luckiest casino in the US according to a recent study conducted by Casinos.com. The resort claimed the top spot based on an in-depth analysis of Tripadvisor reviews, measuring the frequency of luck-related keyword mentions. With a 25.49% luck rate, Seminole Hard Rock Tampa topped the list thanks to glowing guest feedback, including frequent mentions of jackpots, hand pays and bonus wins. 50 reviews mentioned the word “jackpot,” and 19 even referenced a “hand pay.” Casinos.com tracked keywords such as lucky, luck, won, winning, success, jackpot, hand pay, winner, bonus, profit to determine which U.S. casinos inspired the most winning moments among visitors.
The Missouri Gaming Commission has announced that it has officially begun accepting applications for sports betting license. The Commission made the announcement following the unanimous approval of a resolution drafted Tuesday that approved the licensing process. The resolution passed after Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office reviewed it. The licensing period opens roughly six months after Missouri voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment legalising sports betting. The measure passed by less than half a percentage point, with a margin of less than 7500 votes.
Underdog Fantasy has relaunched its draft-style daily fantasy sports (DFS) games in New York, nearly two months after it withdrew all of its DFS competitions from the Empire State. The decision to withdraw all DFS contests from New York in March came after a ruling from the New York State Gaming Commission in which the commission determined Underdog was not in line with the state’s current DFS law. An Underdog Fantasy spokesperson confirmed the company is still working under a temporary license. The New York State Gaming Commission agreed to allow the company to offer its draft DFS games with the temporary license. Most DFS companies in New York operate with a temporary license.
New Partnerships
Pollard Banknote Limited has congratulated the West Virginia Lottery on the successful launch of Royal Court Riches, its first eInstant game from the Pollard Digital Games Studio. Royal Court Riches has already demonstrated strong performance in multiple markets—in its first international launch, it achieved that jurisdiction’s highest tickets sold, total sales and gross gaming revenue within its first 30 days of release. Royal Court Riches is the first in a series of games from the Pollard Digital Games Studio slated to launch in West Virginia this year.
SYNOT Games has announced a new partnership with Caliente, one of Mexico’s top gaming platforms. This collaboration marks an exciting expansion for SYNOT Games, as it brings its acclaimed portfolio of gaming content to the Mexican market. It enhances Caliente’s offerings with an extensive array of high-quality slot games such as Respin Joker, Book of Secrets, Realm of Lions and Forest Maiden, designed to captivate players and boost engagement. Caliente with its strong presence in Latin America, is the perfect partner for SYNOT Games’ expansion into the region. The partnership aims to deliver an exceptional gaming experience, combining SYNOT’s visually rich, innovative games with Caliente’s extensive reach and reputation.
The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 19-25 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry Awards
Betsson Group Nominated in 14 Categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards 2025
Betsson Group has been nominated in 14 categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity & Employee Wellbeing Awards 2025, hosted by Clever Duck Media. These include five company-wide nominations and nine individual nominations for eight of its employees.
These annual awards celebrate excellence in equality, diversity, inclusion and employee wellbeing across the global gaming industry. Since its launch in 2010, the event has solidified its position as one of the global gaming industry’s most respected diversity accolades.
The categories in which Betsson Group and its employees have been shortlisted include:
Company Category Nominations:
Best Diverse Place to Work
Community Engagement
Company of the Year (Operator)
Diversity & Inclusion
Great Place to Work Award
Individual Category Nominations:
Affiliate Leader – Shakyra Jonsson
Employee of the Year (Operator) – Lisa Mifsud
Excellence in Customer Service – Gabriella Larsson
HR Champion (Operator) – Tamara Klibadze
Innovator – Lena Nordin
Inspiration of the Year (Operator) – Lena Nordin
Positive Role Model of the Year (Operator) – Lara Lombardi
Star of the Future (Operator) – Jessica Carrillo Miranda
Young Leader of the Year (Operator) – Chellyanne Cassar
These nominations reflect the company’s ongoing dedication to creating a workplace where employees feel valued, respected and empowered to succeed. At Betsson Group, diversity, equity and inclusion are more than buzzwords; they are embedded in the company’s culture, values and daily actions. In previous years, Betsson has been recognised at the WiG Diversity Awards for Best Diverse Place to Work (2022 and 2024), Company of the Year (2019 and 2022) and for Diversity & Inclusion (2021). For the individual categories, Betsson employees have previously won Excellence in Customer Service, Star of the Future and Young Leader of the Year.
The post Betsson Group Nominated in 14 Categories at the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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