Flutter Entertainment moves on Brazil, HG Vora and PENN lock horns, industry abuzz

The gambling industry is abuzz with Casino Guru news, catching up with multiple experts to talk about everything – from product marketing to responsible gambling, and more. In the meantime, some of the biggest companies in the sector are on the move.

Flutter Entertainment is making yet another bold step in the Brazilian online casinos and sports betting market, with the company expanding through a 56%-stake acquisition in NSX Group, one of the foremost operators of iGaming and sports betting products in Brazil, and specifically through the Betnacional brand.

The acquisition has cost Flutter Entertainment $350m, and the company remains confident that this purchase will pay off in the long term, as Flutter already dominates the sports betting space in the United States with its flagship FanDuel brand but seeks to replicate this success in Latin America.

In the meantime, HG Vora and PENN Entertainment remain at each other’s throats. The company responded to recent pressure from the activist investor by issuing a letter to shareholders in which it called HG Vora "self-serving."

HG Vora has long criticized PENN Entertainment’s top management and the decisions made at the top of the company. The activist investor has repeatedly accused PENN Entertainment of mismanagement, which has cost billions of unrealized value because of wasteful mergers and acquisitions conducted by PENN Entertainment.

A shareholder meeting on June 17, 2025, will seek to bring clarity, with shareholders getting to back one side more firmly. PENN previously said that it is on path of recovery but that the sustainability of ESPN Bet is still subject to debate.

Business and Finance

BETER has appointed Adam Conwayas General Manager of Esports Business Division. His appointment comes at a particularly important time for the company, as BETER is seeking to expand its esports betting vertical by offering a more comprehensive product that is poised to expand with new categories in the near future.

Sportradar has reported sustained growth in the first quarter of its financial year, with the company posting a nearly 20% year-over-year revenue increase, with Sportradar’s Betting Technology and Solutions responsible for the lion's share of the revenue or a total of €250m.

Caesars Entertainment has launched its first proprietary online casino game, Caesars Palace Signature Multiband Blackjack Surrender, developed by the company’s in-house division, Empire Creative. Caesars continues to seek differentiation at a time of increased competition in the online casino vertical in the United States.

Super Group was another winner this week, with the company reporting steady results for the first quarter of its financial year. Notably, Super Group's revenue soared to$516.8mfor Q1 2025, the latest unaudited report reveals.

Compared to the $411.9m reported for the corresponding period last year, the recent resultshows a significant increase of 25%.

Responsible Gambling

The Danish Gambling Authority reported that, on its recommendation, a Twitch streamer promoting unregulated gambling sites was fined DKK10,000. This is the second case in which the regulator has been successful against streamers in particular.

Sportradar, which recently won a pair of accolades from the SBC Awards Americas, has signed a partnership with Brazil’s Ministry of Sports to help contribute to the sports industry’s integrity and safety by offering its monitoring services and flagging any betting activity that could point to foul play.

In the meantime, scammers in Mississippi are trying to convince unsuspecting citizens to place an online wager with popular sportsbooks. The scammers are using the branding of existing land-based gaming operations. However, Internet sports betting is prohibited in Mississippi.

The Voice of the Industry

This week, Casino Guru News had the opportunity to speak with a multitude of industry insiders. The publication caught up with Duncan Garvie, a passionate responsible gambling advocate and the Founder and Trustee at BetBlocker with whom we discussed the upcoming Casino Guru Awards Live Ceremony due to take place in June.

Garvie spoke about the need to fundamentally change the way we talk about safer gambling. Find out more about what he thinks in his full interview here.

We had a similar conversation with Tracy Parker, another prominent figurehead in RG, and a judge for the Casino Guru Awards, who urged the industry to lean into research to strengthen player protections. You can catch up on Parker’s thoughts here.

Moving on, Casino Guru News spoke with George Olekszy, Play’n GO’s Head of Game Retention, with whom the publication discussed the success of the Rich Wilde franchise and the possibility of the game turning into a crash title one of these days. You can catch up on that conversation here.

Casino Guru News also spoke with Marina Ostrovtsova, discussing the company’s track record when it comes to social responsibility. As Ostrovtsova put it, this is not something you talk about – it’s something you live by. Check out what she had to say in her full interview.

Next up, Casino Guru News also spoke with Yaroslav Klymenko, PIN-UP Chief Product Marketing Officer, who spoke about his company’s innovative approach to iGaming - from AI-driven personalization and robust security measures to a fully integrated product ecosystem. Read the full interview with Klymenko here.

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