Rank Group suffers from a payment accident, FanDuel launches prediction markets

What a year it has been, with the last annual weekly update for 2025 brought to you by Casino Guru News, and catching you up on the most recent developments in the industry.

The past week was one of relative holiday lull, but a few big developments did pop up on the radar. Notably, Rank Group reported an incident affecting its Spanish business.

The company was the victim of a €7.1m fraudulent payment security incident, with an investigation launched both internally and by an independent law firm. Rank Group has also notified the police, but no fresh details have been revealed yet.

This comes at a time when Rank Group is battening down the hatches in the United Kingdom and preparing for a new tax regime that would have a significant impact on its operating profit.

In a statement regarding the incident in Spain, the company said that it did not affect its cash position.

This is hardly the only big development this week, with FanDuel finally catching up to its rivals, Fanatics and DraftKings, and pulling the trigger on its own dedicated prediction market platform.

There have also been a series of last-minute content deals throughout the week, with suppliers strengthening their presence in key regulated markets across the world.

Wazdan, for example, expanded with Admiral.hr in Croatia, strengthening its content footprint in Europe.

"Admiral is a highly respected brand with a deep understanding of its players, making it an ideal partner for showcasing our proven portfolio and engagement-driven mechanics. We are confident this collaboration will deliver strong performance and long-term value for both parties," Wazdan said, welcoming the partnership.

Swintt has also bolstered its footprint in the United Kingdom, with the company partnering with bet365, adding its Elisium Studios games, and expanding its content clout in the country. Swintt and bet365 have been working together across multiple jurisdictions.

Speaking of content, Yggdrasil also expanded its cutting-edge YGG Masters program with the addition of Lakka Studios, another independent content-creating powerhouse.

Yggdrasil has been scaling up its partnerships with cutting-edge studios and leveraging its own platform and ecosystem to deliver outstanding online casino experiences globally.

Not least, Greentube has strengthened its presence in Brazil, with Brazino777, expanding its content reach in the country, and strengthening ties with one of the leading iGaming brands.

Business and finance

The American Gaming Association (AGA), a trade group, has something to regret this year, with three of its members withdrawing from the association. FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics are all embracing prediction markets.

This has put them at odds with AGA’s own antagonistic stance against the vertical, causing a rift. AGA, though, chose to focus on the positive in its annual address, hailing the US Department of Justice’s action against the offshore gambling market.

Similarly, the agency hailed the passage of a new law that changes the reporting threshold for slot machines, upping the amount to $2,000 from $1,200 presently, effective from January 1, 2026.

"Recent high-profile betting scandals have reinforced that the regulated market works. Collaboration between licensed operators, leagues, state regulators, and law enforcement continues to detect suspicious activity and drive swift enforcement action," AGA said, outlining its plan to also strengthen the regulated gambling market in the coming year.

In other news, Brazil is still struggling to turf out offshore and illegal gambling operators. While the beginning of the year saw the regulated market control 55% of the market, this percentage has dropped to 45% presently, effectively giving unregulated operators the upper hand.

Regulations and laws

As the year draws to an end, the Dutch Gambling Authority has issued a final enforcement action, this time against LeoVegas, a respected gaming and betting brand. The company was hit with a €500,000 fine over alleged failures to uphold the prerequisite duty of care.

LeoVegas has objected to the penalty and has appealed the decision, arguing that it had prioritized responsible gambling practices in the country and disagreed with the regulator’s overall verdict.

In other news, a man from Florida has been sentenced in a $60m gambling fraud scheme, one of the largest busted by the state. The criminal case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Peresie and Ross Roberts.

Responsible gambling

For a growing number of Americans, sports betting is increasingly associated with corruption in sports. In the wake of major NBA and MLB scandals that implicated prominent figures from the leagues, an NBC News Decision Desk Poll revealed growing skepticism towards the activity.

70% of respondents agreed to some extent that sports betting damaged the integrity of sports games and outcomes, although only 34% said that they "strongly agreed" with another 36% acquiescing that they "somewhat agreed."

Regardless, skepticism about sports betting and game integrity is evidently growing in the United States, calling for further scrutiny of the rules that safeguard the impartiality of athletic contests.

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