Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) for May is forecast to reach MOP22.5 billion ($2.79 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 6 percent, supported by major non-gaming events scheduled in the second half of the month, according to a report by Citigroup citing industry sources.
The investment bank has conservatively maintained its monthly projection, which implies that average daily GGR will need to reach approximately MOP704 million ($87.2 million) during the remaining days of the month to meet the forecast.
Citigroup highlighted upcoming entertainment events as potential drivers of gaming demand. Sands China is scheduled to host the IVE concert at the Venetian Arena, while Galaxy Entertainment will organize the EXO concert and UFC Fight Night at the Galaxy Arena.
Analysts note that these major events are expected to support gaming demand during the second half of May, helping sustain the projected monthly performance.
Gaming revenue in the first 17 days of May is estimated to have reached approximately MOP12.65 billion ($1.57 billion). Average daily revenue in the previous week stood at about MOP693 million ($85.9 million), representing a decrease of roughly 11 percent compared with the daily average of about MOP780 million ($96.7 million) recorded in the first 10 days of May, a period that included the Labor Day holiday.
Despite the week-on-week decline, the figure reflects an increase of approximately 1 percent compared with the daily average of about MOP684 million ($84.8 million) registered during the same period in May of last year.
Playson has strengthened its foothold in Switzerland by launching with Admiral.ch, one of the country’s newest regulated online casinos, delivering a portfolio of over 1,600 games alongside advanced loyalty features to boost player engagement and retention.
Recognised for their vibrant themes, data-proven mechanics and consistent performance across regulated markets, each of Playson’s integrated titles is set to offer a new pool of Swiss players a memorable gaming experience.
With this latest launch, Playson builds on its stellar reputation in the Swiss market, where it has partnered with several of the country’s top operators and has enjoyed significant year-on-year growth.
Blanka Homor, Sales Director at Playson, said: “Collaborating with Admiral.ch allows us to bring a selection of our proven titles already popular in the market to a fresh audience, and we are confident that their refined gameplay mechanics and reliable performance will resonate well with Admiral.ch’s player base. We look forward to building a successful, long-term relationship together.”
“Partnering with Playson marks an exciting step in expanding our content offering with high-quality, results-backed titles across regulated markets,” added Alessandro Werlen, Managing Director / CTO at Admiral.ch. “The supplier’s portfolio aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing engaging and rewarding experiences for our players, and we are positive that these new additions will further enhance our platform’s appeal.”
Thailand‘s cabinet on Tuesday approved terminating the 60-day visa-free program for foreign visitors, reverting to a stricter framework as authorities seek to curb the rise of foreign-run businesses and criminal activity linked to extended stays.
As per repotted by the Bangkok Post, Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said the decision returns immigration rules for all countries covered by the scheme to those in place before the 60-day program took effect.
The change will come into force 15 days after an official announcement is published in the Royal Gazette, according to Mungkorn Pratoomkaew, director-general of the Consular Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No firm effective date has been set.
Thai authorities have for months signaled that the 60-day exemption, introduced to support the country’s post-Covid tourism recovery, had produced unintended consequences. Chief among them was an increase in foreign nationals settling in Thailand to run businesses or engage in criminal activity — concerns that have intensified amid wider regional scrutiny of grey-market and illicit operations often associated with gaming, scam compounds, and unlicensed enterprises.
Under the updated framework, each country or territory will be limited to a single visa exemption category, and the 60-day exemption will be revoked for all 93 eligible countries. Eligibility for the 30-day visa exemption will be reduced from 57 to 54 countries, with Mr. Mungkorn declining to identify the three to be excluded. A 15-day exemption will be introduced for Seychelles, Maldives, and Mauritius, while the visa-on-arrival scheme will be streamlined and reduced from 31 to four countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Serbia, and India.
Bilateral agreements remain in place, including 30-day exemptions for China, Hong Kong, Macau, Russia, and Vietnam, among others, and 90-day exemptions for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and South Korea.
Thailand Tourism
The Visa Policy Committee, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will determine which countries may benefit from eased measures in the future, weighing security and economic factors. Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkaeow said authorities would also review the broader visa framework to assess whether the current number of categories remains necessary.
Foreign tourist arrivals as of May 17th were down 3.3 percent year-on-year at 12.9 million. Arrivals fell 7 percent in 2025 to 33 million, and the National Economic and Social Development Council projects a further decline to 32 million this year.
Visitors already in Thailand or arriving before the new measures take effect will be permitted to remain under their existing visa conditions until their authorized stay expires.
The Mill Adventure, a technology-focused platform provider, has earned the globally recognized GLI-19 certification, marking an important milestone in its North American growth plans ahead of market entry in Ontario.
The certification reinforces The Mill Adventure’s position as a platform partner capable of supporting operators across regulated North American markets, where technical compliance, extensive reporting and secure player management are critical operational requirements. GLI-19 sets the technical standard for interactive gaming systems, covering key platform functions, reporting processes, KYC measures and geolocation requirements.
The milestone arrives as The Mill Adventure prepares to launch its first client in Ontario, one of North America’s most demanding regulated online gaming markets. Combined with its experience across multiple European regulated jurisdictions, the company offers operators a proven framework for regulated market expansion across North America.
The latest achievement follows a period of continued growth for The Mill Adventure, including the launch of Dutch operator Winz.nl, and further expansion of its player engagement offering through a wider integration with Optimove’s CRM suite.
Bjørnar Heggernes, Chief Commercial Officer at The Mill Adventure, said: “Achieving GLI-19 certification reinforces that our platform and compliance framework are built to support the complexity regulated operators face in markets like Ontario, without compromising performance or scalability. Our focus is not simply on entering North America, but on becoming a long-term technical partner for operators looking to scale efficiently across regulated jurisdictions.”
Hong Kong listed-Century Entertainment International announced on May 19th that its board has formally adopted a new Internal Control Manual, effective May 6th, 2026, as part of efforts to strengthen the gaming company’s compliance and risk management framework.
The move is intended to bring the company in line with the corporate governance requirements of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which set standards for internal control and risk management among listed companies.
According to the announcement, the manual establishes procedures for identifying, assessing, and reporting the company’s disclosure obligations to the market. It also sets out a governance framework with multi-tier approval and compliance monitoring procedures for major transactions and deals involving connected parties.
The manual further addresses risk identification, financial controls, compliance management, internal audit oversight, and whistle-blowing mechanisms. It defines the internal control responsibilities of the board, audit committee, management, and employees, while establishing periodic review, assessment, and update mechanisms.
The company stated that the manual aims to safeguard assets, ensure reliable financial reporting, support operational efficiency, and protect the interests of shareholders and stakeholders across the group.
Trading in Century Entertainment shares has been suspended on the Stock Exchange since June 26th, 2025, and will remain suspended until further notice. The company said it would continue to monitor and review the effectiveness of the manual’s implementation.
Premium slots and table games provider Habanero has gone live with Favbet Romania, bringing its catalogue of slots and table games to one of the market’s most established operator brands.
The agreement sees Favbet Romania players gain access to Habanero’s entire portfolio, which continues to boost engagement and retention across regulated markets throughout Europe and beyond.
The partnership also reflects continued demand for Habanero’s content across markets worldwide, with its games recognised for combining strong mathematics, proven mechanics and immersive themes.
Toni Karapetrov, Head of Corporate Communications at Habanero, commented: “Favbet Romania is a well-respected brand in Europe and exactly the kind of partner we look to work with as we deepen our presence in the market. Romania players have a strong appetite for our content and we are confident our games will resonate well with their audience. Romania is an important market for us, and going live with this operator is another strong step in our continued European expansion across high-growth regulated markets.”
This latest tie-up with Favbet Romania follows a sustained period of European growth for Habanero, with the provider now live in 22 European regulated markets and counting some of the industry’s biggest operator names among its partners, including Entain, Sisal and Betway.
“The collaboration between Favbet Romania and Habanero has been strong from the very beginning, and this co-branded collaboration agreement marks an important step in strengthening our strategic partnership,” said Cristian Sapovici, Head of Casino, Favbet Romania. “Our shared objective is to deliver a more integrated gaming experience for players in Romania, supported by consistent visibility, dedicated campaigns, and a stronger presence of Habanero content within the Favbet.ro ecosystem.”
1xBet has once again underlined its leadership in the sports betting and gambling industry, earning three final shortlist nominations at the SiGMA Europe Awards 2026 in the Multi-Market Sportsbook, Sports Betting Operator, and Affiliate Program categories.
SiGMA summits are rightfully considered the most prestigious in the iGaming industry, and the SiGMA Awards are a clear testament to the brand’s international recognition. 1xBet has previously won multiple SiGMA Europe accolades, including Best Casino Operator 2025, Best Mobile Sports Betting App 2024, Best Sportsbook Operator 2023, and others.
During the selection process, 1xBet successfully passed a highly competitive evaluation against some of the strongest representatives in the iGaming industry. As a result, the brand is nominated for the following three awards:
Best Multi-Market Sportsbook Operator 2026 (1xBet) – awarded to the best multinational bookmaker successfully operating across major global markets.
Best Sports Betting Operator 2026 (1xBet) – granted to the top sports betting operator offering excellent conditions for predicting the world’s most popular sports, along with guaranteed payouts.
Best Affiliate Program 2026 (1xAffiliates) – recognized as the best affiliate program consistently attracting new users into the brand ecosystem while allowing affiliates to earn substantial commissions.
The final shortlist for the 2026 SiGMA Europe Awards was announced on May 11. Voting by both the jury and the public will continue until May 18, while the awards ceremony will be held on May 27 at the luxurious Casino Maltese in Valletta.
To support 1xBet and its partner program 1xAffiliates, head over to the official SiGMA voting page and cast your vote. Be sure to follow the results of the SiGMA Europe Awards 2026 ceremony on May 27, 2026!
Asia Pioneer Entertainment Holdings (APE) has signed a distribution agreement with Germany-based CountR GmbH to bring the latter’s automated cash-handling kiosks to casino operators across Asia.
Under the agreement, APE will distribute CountR’s cash redemption kiosks throughout Asia, with Southeast Asia identified as a planned rollout market. The kiosks enable players to redeem credits from tickets, chips, and cash, offering operators a more efficient way to manage cash operations on the gaming floor. The partnership was unveiled at the G2E Asia expo, held at Cotai Arena in Macau, where both companies showcased their integrated solutions.
Founded in 2003, CountR brings more than 20 years of expertise to the agreement and has deployed over 10,000 machines across integrated resorts, cruise ships, and gaming floors worldwide. The company specializes in integrated systems connecting retail, gaming, and entertainment operations.
Maria Garcia, Executive Director and Sales Director of APE, said: “We are truly honored and excited to be the distributor for CountR across Asia. CountR is widely recognized for its versatile, innovative, and reliable payment solutions in global markets. Through this collaboration and our existing product offerings, we can now provide a broader range of products and services that address most casino operational needs.”
Tamara Sawyer, Regional Sales Manager of CountR, added: “Partnering with APE opens the door to Asia’s fast-growing casino market. Together, we’re ready to bring proven innovation to the region and unlock new opportunities for growth.”
The CountR deal follows the launch earlier in May of BEE Macau, the city’s first playing card factory. APE’s expanded portfolio now combines electronic gaming equipment such as slot machines and electronic table games, table game solutions including playing cards, dealing shoes, and smart trend boards, and cash management solutions powered by CountR kiosks.
APE CEO and Executive Director Herman Ng commented: “APE’s strategy is shifting from being primarily a supplier of electronic gaming equipment to delivering comprehensive gaming operation solutions. The new model focuses on integration, cost efficiency, and flexibility, allowing APE to serve both large integrated resort casinos and smaller niche casino floors effectively.”
Macau-based casino technology firm LT Game Ltd is targeting June for the BMM Testlabs certification of ‘Black Coral‘, its new live multi-game (LMG) software platform, as the company prepares for the expiration of a key patent that has underpinned its position in Macau’s live-dealer electronic table game (ETG) segment.
The certification will be followed by submission to Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) for regulatory approval before the product can go live.
LT Game is a brand under Hong Kong-listed Paradise Entertainment, a former Macau satellite casino operator. The group ran Casino Kam Pek Paradise under the license of SJM Resorts Ltd until December last year, when the operation ceased as part of Macau’s transition away from the satellite-casino system.
Chief Operating Officer Eddie Au disclosed the ’Black Coral‘ timeline in an interview with AGB on the sidelines of G2E Asia 2026, held at The Venetian Macao from May 12th to May 14th.
Au said ’Black Coral‘ was “nearly ready” at the start of this year, but the firm decided to delay the release after collecting feedback from casino operators during roadshow demonstrations. “We thought, let’s revise it before we release it. So we gathered their input and then proceeded,” Au said. The software is now in the testing laboratory stage, with BMM certification expected in June.
Black Coral has been in development for more than two years and represents a full overhaul of the back-end software for LT Game’s LMG product, Au explained. The previous platform has been in the market for more than a decade and has received at least two to three version updates per year. Black Coral consolidates those incremental changes into a single rebuilt platform.
“The gameplay is the same, but we have rebuilt many things behind the scenes,” Au said. “Because we kept modifying it, those changes might not have been consistent with the original design. So we consolidated everything and built a new system.”
He compared the generational gap to mobile operating systems, saying LT Game had effectively “jumped over a decade” with the new platform. The result, he said, is improved stability and smoother operation.
Black Coral will be paired with the Speedwave cabinet, which has already received hardware certification. The full product is expected to go live by the end of the year.
Preparing for the post-patent era
The timing comes at an inflection point for LT Game in Macau. The patent underpinning the firm’s LMG product, known as I/380, was filed in October 2006 and is due to expire in October this year under Macau’s 20-year patent protection.
The Macau Court of First Instance ruled last year that the patent must be declared null and void, effectively ending LT Game’s exclusive position earlier than scheduled, a decision the company is appealing. International suppliers Light & Wonder Inc and Spintec d.o.o have both confirmed plans to enter Macau’s live-dealer ETG market.
Au said the company had anticipated the patent’s expiration and had been preparing for new entrants. “We started developing ’Black Coral’ two years ago. We also have the new cabinet Speedwave,” he said.
Speedwave cabinet
He argued, however, that LT Game’s advantage extends beyond the new product itself. “Our advantage lies in the intangibles, our experience and our customers’ familiarity with us. Over more than a decade, we have learned what works, what does not, and what customers complain about. That cannot be replicated overnight,” Au said. He added that as an Asian company, LT Game is closer to the tastes of the Asian market than its European and American competitors.
LT Game also introduced a second-generation robot dealer this year, following the deployment of its first-generation model at Lotus Tower casino in Sri Lanka.
Overseas push as Macau approaches saturation
Beyond Macau, LT Game has been expanding overseas over the past two years as the home market approaches saturation, Au said. “We sold many machines two years ago, and at that time we saw that the market was nearing saturation. To sustain the development of so many games and products, we must expand overseas.”
Asia remains the priority. The company’s Philippines office has been operating for one to two years, with all required licenses recently obtained. Au said demand in the Philippines remains present despite a slowdown that began last year, while the Vietnamese market has become noticeably more active. Laos was also identified as a market with potential, though development there will take more time.
In Europe, LT Game is working with a partner to release its games alongside the partner’s titles, supported by one staff member dedicated to the region. The company also expects to enter the United States this year through a partner, with sales discussions already underway.
Au noted that even though the LMG segment is not subject to Macau’s gaming machine cap, replacement cycles for existing terminals are gradual, reinforcing the need for overseas growth. “Macau remains our core, but we cannot focus on a single market.”
On the online side, LT Game’s iGaming brand “Infernoplay” is preparing to add casual games aimed at younger players, expanding beyond its existing slot-dominated portfolio. Au said the new titles, which include digital adaptations of formats such as high-low and minesweeper, are “designed to be gamble or not gamble” and intended to make the games more accessible to younger demographics.
The Infernoplay project, which began late last year, remains at an early stage and is awaiting regulatory approval in the Philippines.
Continent 8 Technologies, a leading powerhouse of managed IT solutions for the iGaming industry, has announced the launch of its fully managed CockroachDB service.
The offering expands Continent 8’s portfolio across AWS Outposts, hybrid cloud, and Kubernetes environments, including AWS EKS – enabling operators and suppliers to deploy distributed, highly resilient data infrastructure.
As the iGaming industry enters a new phase driven by rapid scalability, real-time player engagement, and complex regulatory demands, operators must navigate high-throughput workloads across multiple jurisdictions while overcoming the limitations of legacy monolithic databases in increasingly distributed environments.
CockroachDB’s cloud-agnostic and PostgreSQL-compatible distributed architecture directly addresses these challenges by enabling strongly consistent transactions across regions and hybrid deployments. This allows operators to operate across markets while maintaining strict control over where data resides and how it is managed.
Combined with Continent 8’s global footprint – spanning more than 100 locations across the globe in regulated jurisdictions – the service provides a foundation for deploying infrastructure closer to players without compromising compliance or performance.
“Continent 8 has always focused on delivering infrastructure that meets the unique demands of the iGaming industry – where performance, compliance, and uptime are non-negotiable,” said David Brace, Chief Alliance & Partnership Officer, AWS, at Continent 8 Technologies. “As our customers grow across regulated markets, the database becomes a critical component. Our managed CockroachDB service provides the consistency, resilience, and deployment flexibility required to support that growth.”
As operators scale into new markets and adopt hybrid deployment models spanning on-premises, cloud, and edge environments, the need for integrated, multi-region infrastructure continues to grow. By incorporating CockroachDB into its portfolio of hosting, cloud, connectivity, and cybersecurity solutions, Continent 8 delivers a unified platform designed to simplify operations while supporting massive scale in regulated environments.
“Partnerships like this are critical as operators move toward more integrated, ecosystem-driven infrastructure models,” shared Allen Terleto, VP Global Partners and Ecosystem at Cockroach Labs. “By combining Continent 8’s managed services and AWS expertise with CockroachDB’s distributed SQL capabilities, we’re enabling customers to build and operate modern applications across hybrid environments with greater flexibility and control. It also strengthens the broader ISV ecosystem supporting iGaming, making it easier to bring new services to market on a data platform that can scale with the evolving demands of the industry.”
