Right to the Source is back after a break for G2E, and it’s diving into all the week’s past controversies, whether that’s NBA gambling scandals or a set-to between Evolution and Playtech. Oh, and Sheffield Wednesday were placed in administration. 

Right to the Source tackles crypto pivots, a tale of two resorts in Singapore and Golden Matrix’s B2C shift.   Ed Birkin and Robin Harrison have a frank exchange of views on Yolo Group’s regulated market pivot to kick off. This hinges on whether the move gives the crytpo giant an unfair advantage thanks to its scale and revenue, or simply follows an ongoing industry cycle. We then discuss the contrasting fortunes of Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, then Golden Matrix becoming a B2C business through its acquisition of Meridianbet.

Right to the Source is back with Ed Birkin beaming in live from Lisbon, and social casino pioneer Zynga, the Congo and Mauritius are up for discussion.

Right to the Source is back and this week Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin are talking Groupe Partouche in the wake of their third quarter results, and the Georgian gambling market.  Groupe Partouche benefits from new casino launches The third quarter results showed Groupe Partouche benefiting from a bigger casino portfolio, with a new venue in Cannes and one further afield in Benin contributing to a 5.3% year-on-year rise in revenue.  That prompts the question: Can French operators leverage shared language to expand into Francophone Africa, much like we are seeing Spanish gaming businesses do in Latin America? And talk of France means talk of iCasino is never far away. Groupe Partouche, with operations in Belgium and Switzerland, could be building up its capabilities. Depending on whether there is any regulatory progress and if it can leverage its land-based database, could it carve out share in France’s future online gaming market? The Georgian gambling market We’re talking the country not the state, but interestingly gambling in Georgia accounts for 3.5% of GDP. That’s the highest level of any country H2 Gambling Capital tracks, Ed points out.  And while attractions such as “Black Sea Vegas” Batumi are designed to bring in the players, online is the real story in Georgia, making up the vast majority of revenue.  Georgian gambling is also dominated by major industry players, with Crystalbet (Entain) and Adjarabet (Flutter) battling for supremacy. However it’s local operator Crocobet growing rapidly.  All this and the usual diversions into the sublime and the ridiculous in the latest Right to the Source!

Right to the Source is back and under the microscope this week is the Belgian gambling market and Zeal Network.  Belgian gambling market shrugs off restrictions In episode 18 Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin start off by discussing why gambling revenue in Belgium continues to grow. Revenue in 2024 rose despite the regulator and politicians constantly tightening controls on the industry.  Considering it has been an early mover with deposit limits, advertising bans and deposit limits Belgian gaming growth may embolden other markets to get strict on their licensees. If the market continues to grow, what's the harm? But Belgian gaming benefits from a unique quirk, and it’s quite a surprising factor that may contribute to that continued growth.  Zeal for change Next up discussion turns to Zeal Network, Germany’s lottery brokerage business that could prove a blueprint for companies looking to transition to more sustainable business models. Having successfully executed a pivot from lottery betting to brokerage, the addition of online slots may be building a formidable business. 

Right to the Source is back after a week’s break and Ed Birkin of H2 Gambling Capital has been saving up some rants for this episode, but we start looking at the Cambodian casino market.  After Cambodian online gambling was outlawed in 2019, the country’s casino market was the only show in town. But Covid-19 and a crackdown on junkets has effectively left operators struggling to return to pre-pandemic revenue levels.  That even affects NagaCorp, Cambodian gaming’s local listed giant with a monopoly on casinos in and within 200km of the country’s capital Phnom Penh.

Right to the Source is back with more data deep dives, debates and diatribes, this week bringing in special guest Jon Bruford to dissect Gordon Brown stepping into the GB gambling tax debate.  The former Prime Minister and Chancellor has thrown his weight behind a proposal to hike gambling duty to 50% of GGR in Great Britain. Only his proposal, and the evidence he puts forward to support it, doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny.  GB gambling tax hike: What do the reformists actually want? Ultimately, he’s pitching gambling as a solution to child poverty. Considering gambling is regularly decried as the cause of poverty by the anti-industry lobby, that’s quite the volte-face. And how can people match up treating gambling as a golden goose with calls for new restrictions designed to reduce gambling revenue in Great Britain? With Bruford, co-host of The Gambling Files podcast, joining to pick apart Gordon Brown’s claims, it gets interesting. And where else will you hear about launching a competing magazine to Runner’s World as part of the conversation? As promised in our last episode, Robin and Ed also talk about gambling in South Korea, and scope for Canadian provinces joining Alberta and Ontario in liberalising their lottery monopolies.  We’ll be taking a break in the coming week, but that leaves you lots of time to listen to this week’s!

Right to the Source is back and Ed Birkin is on his soapbox as he takes aim at those talking up the size of Brazil’s illegal gambling market and estimates on the scale of the crypto gambling sector! A reality check for Brazil gambling licensees Robin Harrison tries (and fails) to stem the tide amid Ed’s diatribes in this episode, but this reality check, for Brazilian gaming licensees in particular, is important. By constantly talking up how prevalent illegal gambling in Brazil is, the industry may be setting itself up for higher taxes, further restrictions on marketing and product, and ultimately turn the conversation into a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Welcome back to Right to the Source, where Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin are digging into the Slovenian gambling market and discussing stalled progress of online gambling in Chile.  Land-based gambling in Slovenia rules the roost First to Slovenia, where online gambling licences are linked to brick-and-mortar properties, meaning online remains far smaller than casinos and gaming halls. Land-based gaming, with 12 casinos in Slovenia and 25 gaming halls, continues to perform well, and Ed has the figures to shed more light on how it’s doing. But the online tethering and small market size is stunting online growth. Where other Eastern European gaming markets are transitioning into ominichannel operations, Slovenian gambling remains an in-person proposition.  Why can’t Chile regulate online gambling? A long-haul flight late, we touch down in Chile, where legislative progress for online gambling has stalled. A bill introduced in 2022 and passed by the Chamber of Deputies in 2023 is now stalled in the Senate. As ever, offshore operators are thriving, with potential licensees unable to gain a foothold.  We’ve also got rap beefs and New York downstate casinos, a few words on Brazil, and Ed complaining about Sheffield Wednesday falling into disrepair. 

Right to the Source is back and trying desperately to stick to formats as Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin talk through casinos in Liechtenstein, the potential of the Panama online gaming market and why Italian betting and gaming remains resilient.  The choice of markets may seem somewhat random, but it’s at least somewhat deliberate. We want to offer listeners a truly global view of the gaming market with the numbers to back it up. 

Right to the Source is back, and this week Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin are discussing the Peru online gaming market and whether Brazil casino regulation can be salvaged.    This week Ed is testing formats, so from last week’s random country generator Peru and Niger are up for discussion. Peru online gambling regulation passed last year, and while Brazil stole the spotlight, it’s a stable market and even the introduction of a 1% tax on turnover was shifted to GGR. However there’s a big presence from local brands, so can international operators carve out share without M&A activity? The Niger gambling market, after some hasty research, is reasonably sized but suffers from the same drawbacks that hold back other African countries’ gaming markets, namely a lottery monopoly.  And last week Brazil’s omnibus bill to legalise a range of land-based gaming products, namely jogo de bicho, bingo halls and casinos failed to progress to a Senate vote. Does that mean the dream of regulated casino gambling in Brazil is dead?  Our special guest says in its current form, yes. Legislators supporting Brazil casino legalisation are now likely to apply what worked for sports betting, namely splitting out the casino proposal from the omnibus bill. But will that push things forward any time soon? Don’t hold your breath.  Watch on iGB: https://igamingbusiness.com/finance/right-to-the-source-online-gaming-peru-brazil-casino/

Right to the Source hits the big 1-0, as Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin recover from iGB L!VE and discuss changes to the Netherlands gaming market and whether re-regulation in the New Zealand gaming market will be a success.  Once we get through the usual diversions - Ed’s footballing prowess, Christina Aguilera’s first number one single and famous people from New Zealand this time - we get down to the important stuff.  First up is the Netherlands online gaming market, in the wake of a ban on gambling sponsorship in sports and new player data from the Kansspelautoriteit. This leads into a discussion on lotteries, in particular whether a vertical driven by instant win games can be considered totally distinct from commercial peers.  And online casino in New Zealand will be regulated, with a bill introduced in the country’s parliament. But considering there’s a monopoly in place for sports betting, is that going to be enough to limit offshore competition?

Right to the Source is back and once again it’s taking iGB L!VE! And not with a series of wild diversions into multiple other topics, as Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin bring in Clarion Gaming brand director Jody Frost to keep them on topic.  The show is making its London debut at ExCeL, with the show doors swinging open Wednesday, and Jody joins to explain the work, thought and preparation that has gone into this year’s edition. From replacing Strandzuid with a new dockside networking area to the host of parties taking, he explains that things go beyond the show as London iGaming Week takes over the capital. And as ever, it’s worth throwing in yet another mention of Ed’s panel. He’ll be talking Brazil with Eduardo Ludmer of BetMGM Brazil and Super Affiliados’ Pedro Lucas at 3.40pm on 2 July. Make sure you're registered and we'll see you there! 

Right to the Source is gearing up for iGB L!VE, with Robin Harrison roaming the venue and Ed Birkin taking to the stage for a session on Brazil.  True to form, the conversation quickly diverges, to take in the current state of the Spanish market where GGR continues to go up in spite of advertising spend declining. That of course leads onto Italy, and some arguments around the Premier League’s front-of-shirt sponsorship ban. If this all sounds like Robin trying to catch Ed’s data knowledge out, that’s exactly what it is.  So don’t miss Ed’s session the Brazilian market, where he’ll be joined by Eduardo Ludmer of BetMGM Brazil and Super Affiliados’ Pedro Lucas at 3:40PM on 2 July. Of course to get in, you’ll have to register - but we’ve got you covered, make sure your name’s on the door for iGB L!VE here: https://tinyurl.com/44py9reb

Right to the Source welcomes its very first guest as Mark Flores Martin braves Ed Birkin’s skepticism and Robin Harrison’s flurry of buzzwords to discuss the evolution of AI in gambling.  Mark’s business Xgenia started out using AI to power game development, before pivoting to create “AIs building AIs”. The focus is providing the tools for clients to build their own artificial intelligence, train it and ultimately create something bespoke for themselves.  And for an early adopter he’s remarkably clear eyed on its potential, and skeptical of the wave of products described as revolutionising AI in gaming. The vast majority are just wrappers for ChatGPT, he points out.  That’s not to say he doesn’t believe in the potential. “We’ve just discovered fire, and we’re still learning how to cook with it,” he says.  Will he break down Ed’s skepticism? Can Robin fit a few more buzzwords in? Watch or listen to find out! 

Right to the Source is back with some hasty calculations on Illinois’ tax grab, before Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin with a jazzy new recording setup turn the conversation to gaming regulators.  Robin and Ed discuss how these industry referees are caught between political pressure from lawmakers and industry expectations, and whether regulatory goals actually reflect market realities. There’s also the catch-22 situation regulators find themselves in, when channelisation remains the ultimate goal despite any signs of the overall market growing being met with concern by many stakeholders.  There’s even time to list some of the best referees. Who remembers Uriah Rennie?

Right to the Source is back and as promised Robin Harrison of iGB and Ed Birkin of H2 Gambling Capital are discussing the African gambling market. They talk through the continent's biggest markets and the growth prospects for gambling in South Africa, the rising popularity of virtual sports in Nigeria and why gambling tax in Kenya limits the market. Ultimately it's a look at what holds the African gaming market back. Many in the industry see it as a sleeping giant, but the popularity of withholding taxes in particular is limiting growth.

After a week off while Ed waded through the rain in Miami and Robin wandered around Paris, Right to the Source is back to talk about... the US, Latin America and France. It's not all a story of what the guys did on holiday however, with a deep dive on the fragmented market in Argentina and Mexico's highly competitive nature, before a short hop, skip and a jump across the Atlantic to look at France's prospects of passing icasino legislation.

Everyone is talking about it so it'd be rude for Right to the Source not to consider what's next for Bet365. This episode also has more on other potential power players in the US and some chatter on who's winning in Latin America thrown in for good measure.

Right to the Source returns with Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin talking taxes in the UK, whether Finland is taking the right route with its regulatory model, and questioning the size of the crypto gambling sector.