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Banijay to keep gaming-TV under one roof, US sharps turn to predictions, Malta &Co
Hello, on Gaming&Co today:
Keep it in house: No TV-gaming split as Banijay plans to leverage IP library
Sharp focus: Pro bettors turning to prediction markets
Going alone: Malta considers prediction markets regulation
Spinning out of control: Illegal casino searches on the rise
News shorts: Codere, BC Game, IGT, LCKY Group
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Sports DNA to stay as group lays out TV-gaming integration plans
No split, top priority: Banijay has no plans to spin off its gaming or entertainment units, while regulating online casino in key markets such as France and Austria is a higher priority than whether the group is losing players to prediction markets in Europe, François Riahi, CEO of Bectlic and Tipico parent company Banijay Group, told analysts during the group’s strategic update yesterday.
No leaks: Asked if it had seen some of its players move over to prediction markets, Riahi said neither Betlcic or Tipico were “seeing any leakage”.
With analysts asking him if players were attracted to prediction platforms that circumvent state and country regulations in the US or Europe, Riahi said: “You have seen our figures. We have given (sports betting and gaming) guidance that we will grow 10% per year over the next four years.”
US phenomenon: The Banijay boss added that the group had taken note of “what is happening in the US” and that PMs are “a big topic in the US for our industry, but there’s nothing like that in Europe”.
“In all our (continental European) geographies, what you can bet on is very, very strict,” before adding: “You cannot bet on politics, you cannot bet on weather. Even when it comes to football in the countries where we are operating, you cannot bet on who is going to have the next corner or who is going to have a yellow card.”
A number of key EU markets have ordered prediction operators such as Polymarket to stop trading in their markets and Riahi said “the regulation is restricted on purpose. So we don’t believe that there is room in continental Europe for the development of prediction markets”.
Open comms
Banijay’s focus, added Riahi, remains on keeping communications open about iGaming regulation where it is “not regulated - or, where it’s badly regulated (as in Germany), the black market is very significant.”
Riahi also noted that the current Austrian online casino monopoly run by Casinos Austria is under review. As part of a new system, the authorities are exploring opening the market to competition, “which Banijay would support”.
Post-elections: The political setting in France was not favourable to discussions and any talk of iCasino regulation would only happen after next year’s presidential elections, added Riahi.
OSB rebalance: The group pointed out that the Betclic-Tipico agreement announced last year means online sports betting and gaming now represents 42% of its €7.4bn 2025 revenues vs. 33% prior and 55% of its €1.6bn adj. EBITDA vs. 44% before the deal.
Riahi added that Tipico’s leadership positions in Germany and Austria were particularly promising, with GGR per player averaging €18 vs. €30 in France or Poland.
Let me entertain you: With Betclic-Tipico integration work and synergies of €100m to be carried out after the World Cup, Riahi said the TV production and content merger with All3 Media will create a further €50m of synergies and will see Banijay benefit from an expanded footprint in English-language content.
Its IP library, which includes titles like Peaky Blinders and The Traitors, will be developed into iGaming titles, “which will be really important to gain market share”, Riahi added.
Betting DNA: Asked if the group will consider M&A deals outside of sports betting, Riahi said “by DNA we’re a sportsbook company, the demand and interest for sports is growing and from there we cross-sell with success.
“We have nothing against poker or iGaming but we feel comfortable with sports betting. Conversely we wouldn’t feel comfortable operating iGaming in countries where we don’t operate a sportsbook.”
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Lack of limits driving prediction markets appeal
Sharp bettors leading the charge to escape sportsbook restrictions
Fix up, look sharp: Professional sports bettors in the US are increasingly moving over to prediction markets due to the lack of limits, but they still prefer the user experience offered by traditional sportsbook apps. That was one of the key takeaways of a webinar hosted by Citizens, where analyst Jordan Bender discussed the inexorable growth of the vertical with Isaac Rose-Berman, a research fellow specialised gaming and betting at the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM), and Canzhi Ye, co-founder of PY Research.
In a report earlier this week, Bender wrote that prediction markets “present the most competition we have seen in the betting industry since the initial launch of regulated gambling in the US” but added that the platforms “do not offer a superior offering” when it comes to product, other than having better cash out.
The survey says: This point was echoed by Rose-Berman who said on the webinar: “FanDuel and DraftKings are far better user experiences than Kalshi. I have talked to hundreds of bettors. I have not met more than maybe one bettor who is in a state with legal sports betting who actively prefers prediction markets to sportsbooks unless they are like either a very high-volume bettor or a high-skilled bettor who’s been limited.”
It’s this latter group - the “sharp bettors” who have been restricted by regulated sportsbooks - who are most attracted by prediction platforms, which don’t cap trading amounts, Rose-Berman added.
“You are able to go and trade in a way that you wouldn’t on DraftKings and FanDuel and most sportsbooks,” he said. “And so that’s very appealing for the high-value or high-skilled customer.”
Malta “actively exploring” prediction markets
Move unlikely to go down well in EU countries that have banned platforms
Brick in the water: Malta could be set for a regulatory collision course with other EU countries after a senior government figure confirmed it is “actively exploring the emerging field of prediction markets”. Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said the opportunity to create a legal framework for the rapidly growing vertical had echoes of Malta’s move to regulate blockchain and crypto assets in 2018, years ahead of the EU.
Speaking at the launch of Blockchain.com’s new Malta offices this week, he said: “We recognised early on that users need to feel safe if the industry was going to grow, which means it needed to uphold the highest standards of transparency and compliance.”
All welcome: These hints of a permissive stance towards prediction markets come against a backdrop of a far more restrictive approach elsewhere in Europe. Platforms such as Polymarket have been blocked or banned as unlicensed gambling operations in jurisdictions including Hungary, France, Portugal, Ukraine, Romania and Belgium.
The UK Gambling Commission, meanwhile, said in February prediction markets would fall with its existing framework. The regulator stated that the platforms “would fall within the definition of a ‘Betting Intermediary’”, similar to betting exchanges, adding that the likes of Kalshi and Polymarket “would not be able to classify themselves as non-gambling” as they do in the US.
The UKGC also warned that unlicensed operators “should take steps” to avoid the British market, citing potential criminal liability.
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Sharp rise in searches for illegal gambling sites
Parasite SEO firms continuing to plague organic search results in the Netherlands
No limits: Illegal gambling affiliates targeting Dutch players via “casino without limits” searches are attracting more than 2m monthly visits from Google, according to Dutch affiliate trade group, the KVA. The latest measurement shows a sharp increase from around 1.4m searches recorded in January 2026, highlighting what the KVA describes as the growing visibility of unlicensed operators in organic search.
The study found that traffic is being driven by a network of affiliate websites promoting offshore casinos that bypass Dutch deposit limits. Many of these sites have leveraged legacy domain authority, with platforms such as The Game Room and Playsense repurposed into gambling affiliates using AI-generated content to rank highly on Google.
Three domains alone accounted for more than 1.4m monthly searches, while long-running affiliate CasinoJager continues to attract significant traffic despite prior enforcement action, including a €675,000 fine issued by Dutch regulator, the KSA.
The KVA has previously warned that stricter player protection measures, including deposit limits introduced in October 2024, risk driving consumers towards unregulated alternatives, with search behaviour increasingly reflecting demand for unrestricted play
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News shorts
Spanish operator Codere is reportedly exploring a potential sale that could value the business at more than €2bn. Reports in Spain suggest the group has appointed Jefferies and Macquarie Capital to run the process, with first-round bids expected by mid-May and a deal targeted before August.
The proposed transaction is expected to include Codere’s Nasdaq-listed online division, alongside its land-based operations across Spain and Latin America. The reported sale follows a financial restructuring completed in 2024, when Codere implemented a debt-for-equity swap that transferred control to a group of bondholders and reduced its leverage.
Crypto betting operator BC Game has appointed Kar Kheng Giam as CEO, replacing founder Jerry Li, as the business looks to steady operations following a period of legal and regulatory turbulence. Giam, who has a cross-sector background spanning biotech, fintech and gaming, said BC Game would place an emphasis on “strengthening our presence in regulated markets” and rebuilding trust with stakeholders.
In 2024, a Curaçao court declared entities linked to BC Game bankrupt over more than $2m in unpaid player claims, prompting scrutiny of its financial position. The company has disputed the ruling and is seeking to have it overturned, with reports last year suggesting a reversal may be on the cards. Later that year, BC Game exited the UK after its white-label agreement with TGP Europe was terminated, following enforcement action by the UK Gambling Commission.
Slot machine and gaming technology supplier IGT is laying off around 700 employees worldwide as part of a strategic restructuring. The cuts represent roughly 10% of the company’s global workforce and follow the completion of its merger with Everi and acquisition by Apollo Global Management.
Kambi has launched the LCKY Group’s sportsbook in Sweden, which includes the sports betting offerings for the group’s Vera&John and One Casino brands. LCKY rebranded from its previous name Glitnor in January.
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