Great Reef

About Great Reef

Some politicians stated their opinion that the legal gambling age in the Netherlands should be increased to 21 from the current barrier of 18 years old.

This isn’t the first time this policy has been mooted in the Dutch parliament. A 2025 bill proposed raising the age for “higher-risk” activities like online slots.

Van Bruggen insisted more time was needed to establish whether an age limit hike to 21 would actually have the adverse effect of pushing young people in the Netherlands towards unlicensed offerings.

About Great Reef

Lottomatica and Cirsa have agreed a blockbuster merger that would create the second-largest listed gaming and sports betting operator in the world.

Announced on Wednesday, the all-share deal is expected to close in Q2 2027, forming a combined group with a pro forma adjusted EBITDA of around €2 billion ($2.3 billion).

Cirsa’s implied pro forma value, before synergies, corresponds to an multiple of approximately 6x its expected 2026 EV/EBITDA which will be between €800 million and €820 million, according to the operator’s most recent earnings.

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Several operators have announced shop closures over recent months, including Entain and Flutter, citing a rising tax burden.

Online casino games remained the largest segment of the remote market, generating £5.7 billion ($7.6 billion) in GGY, with slots accounting for £4.8 billion ($6.4 billion) of that total.

Remote sports betting generated £2.4 billion ($3.2 billion), led by football at £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) and horseracing at £769.3 million ($1.03 billion).