Blue Wizard

About Blue Wizard

Lottomatica will absorb Cirsa though an EU cross-border statutory merger, with Lottomatica continuing as the surviving entity.

Once the deal is completed, current Lottomatica shareholders are expected to own around 67.5% of the share capital, with Cirsa’s shareholders owning the remaining 32.5%.

Cirsa shareholders will receive 0.668 newly issued Lottomatica shares for each of their shares in Cirsa.

How to play Blue Wizard

Bet365 noted the impact of the UK government’s near doubling of the remote gaming duty, which increased from 21% to 40% on 1 April this year.

Additionally, a new remote betting duty is set to come in from April 2027, which will raise the effective tax rate on all sports betting products except horse racing from 15% to 25%.

Several other operators have responded to the UK tax hikes by announcing shop closures.

About Blue Wizard

Kevin O’Neal, a DOCV board member, argued the scale of the investigation calls the GGL’s broader black market estimates into question. He cited the regulator’s 2025 activity report, which put the 2024 share at 23% (€547 million in gross gaming revenue), against Nielsen data suggesting a share of around 56%.

The trade body has long been critical over the discrepancy between channelisation estimates made by the regulator, and other independent reviewers.

The DOCV reinforced its calls for a unified federal licensing regime for online casino games and stronger enforcement mechanisms against illegal operators.