Nothing to declare
Questions continue for Sorare as it puts its French regulatory dossier together
Hello, on Gaming&Co today:
Sorare keeps industry waiting with regulatory declaration
Prediction markets grab the headlines as more suspect trades appear
Don’t even try it: hacker tells Malta regulator to forget extradition
NIBS: Allwyn, Betclic, Sportradar, Better Collective
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Sorare - nothing to declare?
Cycling revolutions: The move by CyLimit, a cycling-focused web 3 startup, to become the first JONUM operator to make its regulatory declaration to France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux has shone a light on a company that most industry observers would have expected to be at the front of the queue, but isn’t.
Of course that company is Sorare and, as the JONUM legal framework finally gets going in France, SBC-Gaming&Co wanted to find out why the leading company in the space was not first to submit a regulatory declaration so it could operate as quickly as possible in full compliance with the regulations of its ‘home’ country.
A Sorare spokesperson said the group was “taking the time to finalise the dossier properly and we will make the JONUM declaration promptly”, but a number of questions loom over the company.
The first is a case brought against it by the UK Gambling Commission, another revolves around whether it is exempt from the European eCommerce Directive.
Finally, there is also the simple issue of whether the market for NFT-based crypto fantasy betting products is really there. Read the full feature on SBC News.
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Predictions drama shows no sign of stopping
Official league deals, legal troubles and insider trading allegations
Impossible to predict: Prediction markets continue to drive positive and negative headlines in the US, but ultimately nothing may be harder to predict than the future of the sector itself, as investor excitement and soaring profits face-off against legal troubles and alleged political corruption.
First the good news: Major League Baseball (MLB) has signed a deal allowing Polymarket to access its official data, in what the league says is an attempt to stave off concerns over match fixing. The move follows similar efforts by the National Hockey League (NHL) and comes days after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) inked an MoU with MLB on integrity.
Not so fast: A new bi-partisan bill has been introduced to stop prediction markets contracts that resemble sports betting or casino games and there will be no MLB-backed predictions for Kalshi in Nevada after judges approved a Gaming Control Board (GCB) request for an injunction temporarily banning the operator from taking bets in the state.
This is the latest escalation in an ongoing legal war between Kalshi and the GCB. The regulator is seen as an ally to Nevada’s many land-based casino giants, who uniformly despise prediction markets and their disregard for traditional state-by-state US gambling regulation.
That’s not all: Kalshi also finds itself on the receiving-end of a federal class action lawsuit alleging it has acted in bad faith by allowing sports event contracts on its platforms.
In a suit filed in Georgia against the operator and its co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, lawyers alleged that Kalshi admitted in an earlier case that sports event contracts amounted to “gaming”, something expressly prohibited by rule 40.11(a)(1) of CFTC rules on prediction markets.
No let up: Polymarket has not escaped its own drama, as anonymous traders continue to make huge profits on bets related to the Iran war. In one of several cases, a brand new account placed a bet of $70,000 on a US-Iran ceasefire hours before President Trump issued a statement citing “talks” to end the conflict. Experts say it looks suspect. Polymarket then released updated terms and conditions in an attempt to limit insider betting.
On the other hand: There is a growing sense that insider trading issues currently blighting US prediction markets may actually be a symptom of a more sinister problem with the Trump government.
Systemic: Several trades on more conventional stock or futures markets in recent days suggest that the administration is either riddled with leaks or has little interest in enforcing rules designed to prevent those with privileged knowledge from enriching themselves.
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Malta Gaming Authority hacker reveals her identity
Ethical hacker claims to have found damning data
White hat: German hacker and security researcher Lilith Wittmann has taken responsibility for a data breach at the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), claiming that information she extracted from the regulator reveals links to organised crime.
Hands off: Wittman is yet to release specific details and has warned that any efforts to extradite her to Malta, where she could face a jail term of up to 10 years, will result in the immediate publication of all the iGaming-related data she has collected.
“I am certain that the information obtained is so valuable for the public discourse that obtaining it will one day, in the not-too-distant future, be seen as a justified necessity,” Wittman said.
Pushing back: The MGA said that the as-yet vague allegations are “unsubstantiated” and it condemned the unauthorised access to its systems. The regulator said it had taken “all necessary containment and mitigation measures” in response to the data breach and is conducting an internal investigation.
Me again: Wittman has form with the gambling industry, having hacked Merkur Group in 2025 to expose privacy vulnerabilities, ultimately working in partnership with German gambling regulator the GGL in an investigation that triggered multiple enforcement actions.
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News shorts
Allwyn has completed its merger with OPAP and in the process has created “the second‑largest listed lottery and gaming operator” as part of the €16bn deal announced by the two companies in October. The transaction was approved by OPAP’s shareholders at its EGM in January 2026 and 93% of OPAP’s share capital has remained invested in the combined company.
Betclic has launched Smash KO tournaments on its poker platform. First introduced by Winamax in late 2024, the MTT format enables players to win random bonuses that can be worth up to 50 times their initial value. Every time a player is eliminated, those still in the game earn a bonus whose amount is determined randomly. Betclic said the format offers more opportunities to win big bonuses and strengthens its position as a leading poker operator since moving to its proprietary platform.
Sportradar’s new online casino content studio Playradar has gone live under the leadership of Edo Haitin, the former CEO of Playtech Live. The new games developer will leverage Sportradar’s sports data and streams to combine them with casino games and “create unique and proprietary products featuring live and historical streaming sports/casino hybrid content and premium iGaming content”.
Thomas Plenborg has been appointed as Better Collective’s new board chairman following the decision of Jens Bager not to seek re-election after nearly 10 years of service. Plenborg is currently serving as a Professor at the Department of Accounting at Copenhagen Business School and as Chair of the Board of the transport and logistics company DSV.
Calendar
Results: Mar 26: Banijay strategic update, Mar 30: Gaming Realms
Contact
Get in touch with Jake Pollard to find out more about Gaming&Co: jake@gamingandco.info