News Summary: July 2020

Fast Offshore brings you the top news from Gambling, Fintech, and Crypto News in July 2020.

iGaming News

Revenue Fluctuates Across Different States in Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic

As the pandemic takes hold internationally, the iGaming market has reacted differently in different markets. Instead of seeing across the board increases or decreases during the lockdown, some jurisdictions have fared worse than others.

In Greece, online gambling revenue for the first five months of 2020 fell by 40% according to the Hellenic Gaming Commission. Between January and May, EUR 150 million was generated from online casinos. This is almost half as much as during the same period last year.

In New Zealand however, revenue has been on the rise. Online lottery and sports betting is legal and witnessed a big spike during the lockdown period this year. GVC, one of the world’s largest online gambling companies noted a 21% increase in revenue during the Q1 2020.

Crackdowns on Online Gambling in UK and Indonesia

The Indonesian government announced plans to develop a web application to stop citizens from accessing online gambling sites. The web crawler called Cyber Drone 9 is used to seek out what the government deems unsuitable content and block it from Indonesian IPs. Indonesia is a very religious country and any form of gambling is banned. Many citizens still access online gambling sites based outside of the country.

Meanwhile, in the UK, MPs have called for a complete ban on online gambling advertising in the country. Restrictions were placed on advertising during the COVID-19 crisis. Some parliamentarians now want this to be enforced permanently and extend to all kinds of online casino and betting adverts. Under the proposed changes, such advertising would be banned on TV and the internet.

Fintech News

Mastercard and Microsoft Pair Up to Revolutionise Digital Commerce

A spokesperson for Mastercard said that strategic collaboration will spark innovation and allow them to focus on new client segments, technologies, and trends as they work to build the future of commerce.

Two giants in finance, payments, and technology- Mastercard and Microsoft have teamed up on a new collaboration that is set to revolutionise the fintech sector. The partnership will see the two companies harness the power of the cloud, Azure, and artificial intelligence to explore new opportunities. 

Transferwise Announces its New Value: $5 Billion

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, investors have been more interested in the online payments industry. Growth has occurred exponentially due to an increase in the demand for the digitalisation of finserv. 

Transferwise, the UK-based money transfer company announced it’s now worth $5 billion. This is a significant increase from its value last year of just $3.5 billion.

Currencycloud Branches Out Into Europe with New License

Payment platform Currencycloud has announced it has been granted an e-money license from the Central Bank of the Netherlands.

This means it is now allowed to operate an e-wallet and store money on behalf of its clients in Europe. Currencycloud is one of seven entities that have been issued the license. It comes at a time of an accelerated rush towards digital payments, fueled by the pandemic.

Crypto and Blockchain News

A state-backed blockchain project is set to place China at the forefront of blockchain adoption when it launches next month. The Blockchain-Based Service Network was created with the support of Google, Microsoft and Amazon. This happened despite escalating tensions between the US and China.

BSN will integrate with 40 public blockchain over the next year and has already onboarded 6000 enterprises and individuals. The network will be a connection point for all blockchain networks and protocols, having just one single gateway for developers.

Diginex Opens New Crypto Exchange Prior to NASDAQ Listing

Diginex has launched its EQUOS.io cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore after it was granted permission recently. Most of Diginex’s operations are in Hong Kong but they chose Singapore due to a more flexible approach.

The company is also due to list on NASDAQ following a reverse merger with 8i Enterprises worth some $300 million.

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