French iCasino CEO arrested in Cyprus
Cresus Casino CEO Grégoire Auzoux questioned and released in Cyprus; France politics, Barrière's Swiss closure, Yolo UAE &Co
Hello, on Gaming&Co today:
Cresus Casino CEO arrested and questioned by Cyprus police
No positives: France’s political turmoil tumbles on
Groupe Barrière to close Swiss iGaming operations
UAE hub: Yolo Group continue its pivot with two B2B licences in Emirates
News shorts: VBet, Codere, Chile
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Cresus Casino CEO arrested in Cyprus
Executive questioned following EU arrest warrant issued by France
Nicked: Grégoire Auzoux, the CEO and owner of Cresus Casino, one of the largest online casino operators that targeted France, was arrested in Cyprus, questioned and then released in mid-September. The arrest was made by Cypriot police after France issued a European arrest warrant for the executive and happened after Cresus Casino, whose offices were based in Cyprus, ceased operating in January after the French gambling regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux placed the company on a blacklist of illegal operators.
Industry sources confirmed to G&Co that the police seized mobile phones and computers on the premises and one affiliate based in France and linked to Cresus Casino has also been contacted by the authorities as part of an intensification of France’s fight against illegal operators.
New sites: Cresus Casino closed its website in January, but G&Co has been told that Auzoux launched other online casino sites and recruited French players via partnerships with affiliates targeting the market. Warned that this was a risky strategy, he allegedly brushed off the fears of his legal representatives and colleagues.
Cresus Casino was one of the largest online casinos operating in France, but the fact that its owner and the affiliate contacted by the authorities are French also invites the question as to whether the authorities are planning similar operations on international groups.
As well as being the former CEO of Cresus Casino, Auzoux is also a well known professional poker player. G&Co tried to contact Grégoire Auzoux to comment on this story but was unable to reach him.
State responsibility
Online operators such as Betclic or Winamax have long called for online casino to be regulated, but politically, French lawmakers are not under pressure - from either the European Union, French casino groups or consumer associations, to regulate it. In addition, the resignation of the Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu on Monday (see story below) means their priorities are elsewhere. However, the illegal iGaming operators that continue to work in the market represent a pressure point for the authorities.
In addition, and more importantly for public bodies, consumer protection is one area for which the state has responsibility - and the prospect of up to four million French players (the estimated number of consumers playing on illegal websites in France) spending money, and potentially losing significant amounts, on websites that are outside of any national framework is a pressure point that can not be ignored.
Stalled: Online casino regulation remains an often-discussed topic in industry circles, but efforts to regulate the vertical have stalled in France following the ousting of the governments led by Michel Barnier last December, François Bayrou and Sébastien Lecornu most recently.
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France government implodes - again
Shortest-lived PM resigns as political chaos continues
Third resignation in 12 months: French President Emmanuel Macron gave his strongest hint yet that he could call presidential elections, nearly two years before his second and final presidential mandate is due to end, following the resignation of his latest Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu (pictured on the left) on Monday evening. Lecornu’s resignation means Macron has lost his third government in the space of 12 months and at just 26 days, Lecornu is the shortest-lived PM in French history.
Lecornu, considered a loyal “monk-soldier” by those close to him, has been tasked with trying to form a government by the end of today (Wednesday). If that fails, Macron “will take his responsibilities”, the Elysée told French media, hinting that he might decide to go to the polls to break the deadlock.
It’s not me, it’s you: Lecornu for his part blamed uncompromising political parties that behaved as if they had “an absolute majority at the Assemblée nationale” and although he was ready to compromise, “each political party wants the other political party to accept its programme in its entirety”, he added.
Macron, for the first time since his dissolution of parliament last summer that created the political impasse he currently finds himself in, faced calls from his own political camp to reassess his position.
Gabriel Attal, ex-PM and General secretary of the presidential party Renaissance, criticised the President’s “stubborn determination to stay in control”, while former PM Edouard Phillipe said Macron should announce that he is “organising early presidential elections” once the 2026 Budget has been adopted.
Businesses hate uncertainty: The political situation continues to leave French gambling operators in uncertain territory. Although tax rises on revenues and media spend are already in force, it leaves any project to regulate online casino in neutral as stakeholders are unsure how the politics will play out. In addition, even if Lecornu manages to form a government by the end of today, it would likely face the same challenges and meet the same fate as its three predecessors.
Any iCasino amendment would need to be added to the Budget that was set to be debated between now and December, but if a budget is not signed off, a special law will renew the 2025 budget until a new one is adopted next year.
Barrière ceases iGaming operations in Switzerland
French group did not hit targets it set itself, says consultant
Swiss timing: Groupe Barrière is set to close its Swiss online casino GAMRFIRST.ch at the end of October. The site launched in 2021, but Vincent Reynaert, an iGaming consultant who worked on the website’s launch at the time, commented on Linkedin that the project did not reach the targets it had set for itself in the market.
The latest closure follows those of Barrièrepoker.fr and more recently Barrierebet.fr and Reynaert noted that the group’s land-based strengths proved to be “much more limited when it comes to conquering the digital world”.
He added that despite having talented individuals, strategic decisions prevented the projects from gaining long term traction. “Operating a land-based casino and operating a digital platform are two very different businesses,” he noted, “and past failures are not always enough to prevent new mistakes.”
Barrière has had a PAM-online sports betting deal with another provider approved for some time and this year recruited former Pokerstars MD Séverin Rasset to head up its digital gaming activities.
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Yolo Group granted two B2B licenses in the UAE
The company continues to pivot toward regulated markets
UAE hub: Yolo Group has obtained two B2B licenses for its companies Live Online Gaming Services and Hub88, which will enable it to operate in the regulated gaming market of the United Arab Emirates. The news follows the announcement by Tim Heath, founder and CEO of Yolo Group, that his group was preparing to close its flagship crypto-gaming brands Bitcasino.io and Sportsbet.io in order to consolidate its activities in regulated markets.
The group also announced the launch of its Fund 3, a €250m investment fund that will target fintech, blockchain, wellness and gaming under the auspices of the UAE institutions the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
Heath said that the new phase marked the beginning of a broader shift for Yolo, “that the future of iGaming lies in best-in-class regulated markets” and that the group will focus its efforts on “the world’s best regulated markets, those that take both consumer protection and unlocking the potential for innovation seriously, particularly through crypto and blockchain. The United Arab Emirates is leading this wave, and we are proud to be part of it.”
News shorts
Polymarket, the Ethereum-backed predictions market platform that rose to prominence during the US presidential elections, has received a $2bn investment from Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. The deal values Polymarket at $8bn, prediction markets revenues could also reach $8bn by 2030, acording to research data.
Betconstruct’s B2C brand VBet has soft launched its online casino site in the Netherlands. The operator has been active in the market with an online sportsbook since 2023 and CasinoNieuws reported that it has partnered with Pragmatic Play for its live casino offering, but not with Evolution.
Spanish group Codere has expanded its presence and licensing setup in Italy with the launch of its Italian OSB and casino Codere.it. The move builds on its established retail operations across gaming halls, bingo and slot networks in the country.
Chile’s Supreme Court has ordered internet service providers to enforce a full block on unlicensed gambling websites that could affect major brands such as Betano, Coolbet, Rojabet or Betsson. The order follows an appeal by Lotería Concepción, which operates Polla Chilena (football pools) and Teletrak (horseracing), and is determined to block foreign remote operators from reaching Chilean players.
Calendar
Results: 15 Oct: Entain, FDJ United, 23 Oct: Evolution, 24 Oct: Betsson
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