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Russian gov’t mulling legalizing online casinos to generate tax revenue for war effort: Media

Nelson Moura
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Russian gov’t mulling legalizing online casinos to generate tax revenue for war effort: Media

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has proposed the legalization of online casinos to President Vladimir Putin as the government seeks new sources of revenue to address a growing federal budget deficit.

According to the state-affiliated business daily Kommersant, the Kremlin is exploring options to supplement finances amid declining international oil prices.

Siluanov estimates that revenue from online gambling could contribute around RUB100 billion ($1.3 billion) annually. The proposal suggests establishing a centralized operator to manage online casinos, allowing bets from adults over 21. Additionally, it includes a proposed tax rate of at least 30 percent on all earnings from licensed gambling companies.

Currently, online casinos are prohibited in Russia, with gambling restricted to bookmakers and betting shops. Licensed physical casinos are limited to four designated zones: the Siberian republic of Altai, the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, Krasnaya Polyana near Sochi, and Artyom in the Russian Far East.

The Russian government has come under increased financial pressure due to its ongoing military action in Ukraine, leading it to pursue new revenue streams. Prior to the conflict, Russian military spending in 2021 amounted to 3.6 percent of its GDP, which increased to 7.2 percent in 2025, according to financial reports. Some estimates place the war financing at closer to 10 percent of GDP.

PlayTime and Singapore Pools triumph in Blask Awards 2025 Asia results

AGBrief Editorial
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PlayTime and Singapore Pools triumph in Blask Awards 2025 Asia results

Blask has announced the Asian winners of the Blask Awards 2025, derived from comprehensive demand data across regulated Asian iGaming markets, with PlayTime and Singapore Pools leading the rankings.

Unlike regions where leadership concentrates around a single metric, Asia’s results show a split between demand leadership and competitive efficiency, pointing to structurally different growth models within the region.

In contrast to regions where leadership hinges on one metric, Asia shows a divergence between demand‑driven leaders and efficiency‑driven competitors, signaling distinct growth dynamics.

Asia-wide operator results

Based on cumulative performance across Asian markets:

  • Asia Operator of the Year: PlayTime
    • Awarded for the strongest aggregated Blask Index, reflecting sustained player demand across the region.
  • Asia CEB Leader: Singapore Pools
    • Recognised for the highest Competitive Earnings Baseline (CEB), indicating baseline earning competitiveness within a market, and is aggregated to identify regional leaders.
PlayTime and Singapore Pools triumph in Blask Awards 2025 Asia results

The split between these two awards underlines a key regional insight: In Asia, scale and efficiency do not always converge in a single operator.

What does this mean about Asia in 2025?

Blask data suggests three takeaways for the region:

  • Asia is not a single competitive environment — leadership changes noticeably from market to market.
  • Demand leadership can travel (PlayTime leading both Asia overall and the Philippines), while baseline earning leadership may remain market-specific (Singapore Pools leading both Singapore and Asia-wide CEB).
  • The 2025 results reinforce the importance of market-by-market strategy in Asia rather than assuming one regional playbook.

Seoul survey finds one in five youths exposed to gambling as online access fuels early participation

Viviana Chan
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Seoul survey finds one in five youths exposed to gambling as online access fuels early participation

A survey released by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has found that roughly two out of 10 youths in Seoul have witnessed gambling, indicating a sharp rise in early exposure driven largely by online access and peer influence.

Seoul, South Korea’s capital, is home to around half of the country’s population, pointing to the broader significance of the findings.

According to survey results reported by local media outlet ChosunBiz, 20.9 percent of surveyed students said they had seen gambling activities, nearly double the level recorded a year earlier.

The findings were announced on January 28th as part of the agency’s 2025 Youth Gambling Survey, which was conducted between October 27th and December 9th of last year among 34,779 student youths in Seoul. In a comparable 2024 survey of 10,685 students, only 10.1 percent reported having witnessed gambling.

The share of youths who said they had personally experienced gambling also increased, rising from 1.5 percent in 2024 to 2.1 percent last year. The survey further showed that the age at which students first encounter gambling is declining, with the most common starting point shifting from the first year of middle school to the fifth grade of elementary school.

Online platforms were the dominant channel, with about 80 percent of youths who had gambled doing so online. Smartphones were the most frequently used device or location, cited by 64.6 percent of respondents. Peer recommendations were identified as the main trigger, with 40.3 percent saying they began gambling following suggestions from friends.

Most youths funded gambling using their own allowance or savings, accounting for 76.2 percent of responses. However, 2.8 percent said they raised money through illegal means such as extortion, fraud, or school violence. The survey also found that 13.8 percent had incurred debt due to gambling, with some resorting to illegal lending, pawning valuables, or violent methods to repay their obligations.

In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it will run a youth gambling intensive prevention and management period from February to April, strengthening intelligence efforts related to youth gambling and blocking illegal accounts. The agency also plans to cooperate with regulators, including the Korea Communications Standards Commission, to shut down illegal gambling sites.

Australian court backs regulator’s decision on OkeBet self-exclusion and inducement breaches

AGBrief Editorial
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Australian court backs regulator’s decision on OkeBet self-exclusion and inducement breaches

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has upheld a decision by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) that Australia-based online bookmaker partner OkeBet breached state gambling laws by marketing to self-excluded individuals and offering prohibited inducements through community sporting clubs.

The ruling affirms disciplinary action taken by the regulator in September 2024, when OkeBet was fined AU$100,000 and formally censured for contravening the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Vic). The VGCCC found that the company had sent promotional gambling materials to people who had opted out of wagering and had used local sporting organizations to encourage new betting account registrations.

OkeBet appealed the decision, but VCAT dismissed the appeal, confirming both the Commission’s findings and its enforcement action.

Suzy Neilan, CEO, VGCCC
VGCCC chief executive Suzy Neilan

In a statement issued on Wednesday, VGCCC chief executive Suzy Neilan said the regulator acted after identifying risks to both vulnerable individuals and community groups. “We were concerned that OkeBet were taking advantage of community sporting clubs and exposing their supporters to gambling harm,” Neilan said. She added that the regulator was also concerned that “self-excluded people were still receiving promotional gambling offers from OkeBet.”

Neilan said the decision reinforced the importance of protecting community institutions from being used to promote gambling. “Local footy and netball clubs are often the heart of their communities, places where people come together to support one another,” she said. “They should not be used as vehicles to promote gambling, particularly where those promotions include inducements that are prohibited by law.”

Under Victorian regulations, wagering service providers are prohibited from offering credit, vouchers, rewards, or other benefits as inducements to open betting accounts and must ensure that promotional material is not sent to self-excluded individuals.

In its written reasons, VCAT found that self-exclusion clearly indicated a lack of consent to receive gambling marketing. The Tribunal also noted evidence that some self-excluded individuals experienced harm after receiving OkeBet’s promotional material, including significant mental distress.

“This decision serves as an important reminder to wagering service providers that they must comply with the law and minimize gambling harm,” Neilan said.

Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Macau VIP play to taper in 2H26

AGBrief Editorial
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Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Macau VIP play to taper in 2H26
Good Morning. Whale hunting. That’s what Macau operators will need to be doing, particularly in the second half of the year, as a new report indicates that China’s most lucrative provinces have already been tapped. Looking at Cambodia, the nation is defending the deportation of scam-linked Chen Zhi to China as a sovereign decision after finding that the Prince Group founder obtained nationality improperly. And Thailand’s casino aspirations appear to have finally stopped twitching, with hopes for a Disneyland-style entertainment complex in the EEC, sans gaming.

What you need to know

On the radar

AGB Intelligence

MACAU

Cotai Strip, Macau 2025

Macau VIP boom to tail off in 2H26 as rich provinces already tapped

Macau benefitted from a significant VIP uptick in 2025, with a final flourish of activity at the end of the year. Analysts at CreditSights see this continuing into the early part of this year, with expectations for strong GGR comps based on both VIP and mass play. However, given that the main affluent Chinese provinces have already been tapped, expectations are for the sector’s contribution to taper in the latter half of the year.

Industry Updates

INTELLIGENCE | ASEAN | CAREERS | EVENTS

The Star shifts financial advisor after Bally’s/Investment Holdings takeover: report

Kelsey Wilhelm
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The Star shifts financial advisor after Bally’s/Investment Holdings takeover: report

Australian casino operator The Star has reportedly changed its key financial advisor after the board shake-up that accompanied its lifeline investment by Bally’s Corp. and Investment Holdings.

According to the Australian Financial Report, The Star Entertainment Group split with its long-tie banking group UBS after the American casino group and Mathieson family-backed investment fund assumed the controlling stake in the Australian gaming company in December.

The AFR cites individuals familiar with the arrangements but unauthorized to speak publicly.

UBS has been replaced with MA Moelis Australia’s restructuring team, which had advised Bally’s ahead of its investment in Star.

AFR indicates that MA’s first priority will be to rule out yet another refinancing of Star’s debt facilities, a move which sources told Street Talk UBS was already commencing before Christmas.

The ASX-listed operator currently has nearly AU$346 million ($242.11 million) in borrowings across a syndicated facility due to mature in December of next year.

The group is also facing a AU$400 million ($279.9 million) fine from Australia’s financial watchdog AUSTRAC. Star has attempted to negotiate the figure closer to AU$100 million ($69.97 million).

The Star saw significant management changes and cost-cutting measures after the Bally’s/Investment Holdings investment, including the appointment of Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim as Chairman, Bruce Mathieson Jr. as CEO (following Steve McCann’s resignation) and other board changes.

The group also indicated it would close its corporate office, cut jobs and shift more responsibility to each individual property under its portfolio (Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast).

US authorities attempt to block release of former IPI Chair Lijie Cui

Kelsey Wilhelm
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US authorities attempt to block release of former IPI Chair Lijie Cui

Former Imperial Pacific Chairwoman Lijie Cui could remain in custody, as the US Department of Homeland Security as attempting to block her release on bail.

According to the Mariana’s Variety, the department intends to appeal a Saipan immigration judge’s granting of a $10,000 bond for her temporary release.

Cui was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) early this month, with her bond granted on Tuesday and a further hearing scheduled for February 18th.

Cuijie Li, Imperial Pacific International, IPI
Courtesy: Marianas Variety

The judge ruled that Cui does not pose a danger and that the bail amount was appropriate, ordering her to be released after posting bond, attend future hearings and report to the DHS as mandated.

Cui’s legal representative argued that she was pending a petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services which, if approved, could let her pursue legal permanent residence status.

Cui was detained by ICE for allegedly overstaying her E-2C long-term investor visa.

An attorney for the DHS has objected to Cui’s release, citing a previous contempt order linked to a labor case against IPI.

Imperial Pacific operated a casino in Saipan for four years before closing in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently filed for bankruptcy in April 2024, reporting liabilities exceeding $165.8 million.

In August, Team King Investment (CNMI) LLC successfully completed the acquisition of Imperial Pacific International (IPI) casino assets with a $12.95 million bid.

ELA Games shines at ICE Barcelona 2026 with Wealth of the East debut

AGBrief Editorial
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ELA Games shines at ICE Barcelona 2026 with Wealth of the East debut

ELA Games has concluded a memorable week at ICE Barcelona, solidifying its position as a leading center of creative excellence at the industry’s premier gathering.

The show gave the perfect stage to present the company’s latest creative achievements, connecting with partners and players through an immersive stand experience that made its gaming universe a reality.

The ELA Games booth was a central attraction, designed to physically recreate the atmosphere of the studio’s latest headline title, Wealth of the East. Visitors were greeted by a huge dragon figure, which became a prime photo opportunity and a visual anchor for the stand.

ELA Games shines at ICE Barcelona 2026 with Wealth of the East debut
ELA Games shines at ICE Barcelona 2026 with Wealth of the East debut
ELA Games shines at ICE Barcelona 2026 with Wealth of the East debut

The team enhanced the eastern experience by distributing exclusive tea ceremony gift sets and custom fortune cookies, offering guests a genuine taste of the game’s festival theme. Other games from ELA’s portfolio were also represented at the event, including an interactive Cash Crab claw machine, which drew steady crowds as visitors tested their luck for a chance to win prizes, adding to the overall buzz on the floor.

Alongside the visuals and games, the stand was a hub of activity where team members showcased live demos of the games, walking operators through the unique mechanics and features that define ELA’s “for players, by players” philosophy.

Importantly, the debut of these games started conversations with operators that align perfectly with the studio’s initial creative vision, effectively opening doors to showcase these titles in key markets. Giving them a global platform has confirmed that this direction is the right one, paving the way for more of the inventive mechanics and original ideas that ELA Games intends to develop next.

Marharyta Yerina, Managing Director of ELA Games, commented: “ICE Barcelona is always a benchmark event for the industry, and for us, it was the perfect opportunity to show exactly what ELA Games is capable of. We wanted the attendees at ICE to actually feel and be a part of the games. With the huge interest in the ‘Wealth of the East’ dragon, the excitement around the Cash Crab, and the engagement with our team’s demos, we really feel like we achieved something immersive at ICE. It proves our high-quality games are resonating with the right audience. It was a fantastic few days of connection and feedback that has set a very strong tone for the rest of 2026.”

Brightstar Lottery set to drive innovation for the Wisconsin Lottery

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Brightstar Lottery set to drive innovation for the Wisconsin Lottery

Brightstar Lottery has announced a long‑term partnership between its subsidiary, Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation, and the Wisconsin Lottery to deploy OMNIA, a fully integrated solution set to transform retail and digital lottery engagement.

Following a competitive procurement, Brightstar won the eight-year base contract, which includes an eight-year extension option and four additional one-year extension options.

OMNIA™ solution, IGT

OMNIA seamlessly connects retail and digital lottery channels and is designed to simplify operations and elevate player experiences. Brightstar will also enhance the Wisconsin Lottery’s mobile app to provide more convenience to players and retailers.

Additionally, Brightstar will deliver new retailer equipment including its newest innovations, the Retailer Pro S2 terminal and the GameFlex 48 self-service vending machine. These new products, along with additional retailer solutions including the proven GameTouch 20 and GameTouch Draw S2 self-service vending solutions, as well as the handheld Retailer to Go terminal, will drive player engagement and offer versatility, reliability and convenience, backed by the high performance and integrity of Brightstar’s market-leading central system.

“The Wisconsin Lottery looks forward to working with Brightstar to help us continuously evolve our lottery solutions to maximize player engagement with this new contract,” said Cindy Polzin, Wisconsin Lottery Director.

“Working in collaboration with the Wisconsin Lottery, Brightstar has developed a deep understanding of the growth-driving products and solutions the Lottery needs to fuel and support its business goals,” shared Scott Gunn, Brightstar Chief Operating Officer North America Lottery. “Since our partnership began in 1988, we have supported the Wisconsin Lottery in generating more than $20 billion in revenue, the majority of which has gone back to winners, retailers and Wisconsin homeowners. We are excited to deliver our latest technology solutions, backed by our high-performing and reliable system, that will continue to responsibly propel lottery sales and entertain players.”

Galaxy Gaming and Hasbro launch MONOPOLY Blackjack Progressive across leading UK casinos

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Galaxy Gaming and Hasbro launch MONOPOLY Blackjack Progressive across leading UK casinos

Galaxy Gaming has officially launched MONOPOLY Table Games Progressive in the UK, kicking off with MONOPOLY Blackjack Progressive now live across top Metropolitan Casinos in London, from Metropolitan Mayfair to Empire Casino, The Sportsman Casino, and Park Lane Club.

Galaxy Gaming

This milestone marks the debut of MONOPOLY-branded progressive table games in the UK, bringing one of the world’s most iconic brands to life in the casino pit. Through an exclusive licensing agreement with Hasbro, a leading games, IP, and toy entertainment company, Galaxy Gaming is the sole table games licensee for MONOPOLY, enabling the company to deliver innovative experiences that combine the thrill of casino gaming with the nostalgia of the legendary board game.

“We’re thrilled to see MONOPOLY Blackjack Progressive debut on casino floors in the UK,” said Matt Reback, CEO of Galaxy Gaming. “This launch celebrates our strong partnership with Metropolitan Gaming and their leadership in bringing this exciting new experience to players in the UK market.”

MONOPOLY Blackjack Progressive introduces a dynamic twist to classic blackjack gameplay. At the heart of the excitement is Mr. MONOPOLY, who randomly selects hands and awards multipliers of up to 10x, keeping players engaged and on the edge of their seats. This progressive feature transforms the legendary title into a fresh, immersive experience designed to captivate both seasoned players and newcomers.

Alex Oswald, Managing Director at Metropolitan Gaming, shared: “We’re excited to partner with Galaxy Gaming and introduce MONOPOLY Blackjack Progressive to our UK venues. MONOPOLY is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, and this launch reflects our commitment to delivering innovative, premium experiences that surprise and delight our players. Working closely with Galaxy Gaming allows us to introduce fresh, engaging gameplay, enhancing the guest experience and reinforcing Metropolitan’s position as a leader in casino entertainment.”

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