Joker Lanterns

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Botswana’s regulated betting market has expanded quickly following the Gambling Authority’s 2023 process to license bookmaker and totalisator operators, including online betting subject to regulatory approval.

In January 2024, before locally licensed online operators were active, the Authority said it had recorded about 510,000 monthly cases of Botswanans participating in illegal online gambling.

Sunbet Botswana launched its online sports-betting platform in February 2025 and reported a 4,700% increase in sign-ups during its first month. As this was an operator-reported figure, the company did not publicly disclose the comparison baseline or absolute number of registrations.

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“These two markets have been growing and will continue to grow very nicely [for] online, Spain even more than Italy,” he commented.

“Cirsa has incredible knowledge of the market, the consumers in general, also of the business. You will see a company with a huge understanding of the market, of the consumers, with an incredible retail platform, which can be leveraged for online.

Cirsa also holds a presence in Italy, and Angelozzi was asked whether this could cause any regulatory discomfort or revenue attrition.

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Jean-Michel Costes has also left the board after concluding his role at France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ). 

Costes was involved with GREF at a time when numerous European regulators, including the ANJ, focused on tightening advertising regulations and boosting player protection frameworks. The forum thanked Costes for his dedicated service.

Replacing Miller as treasurer is Ian Angus, director of policy at the UK Gambling Commission where, since 2020, he has been closely engaged in policy development. This includes the Gambling Act white paper and its recommendations on financial risk assessments.