Holiday Season

About Holiday Season

The triumvirate of Netherlands, Germany and Sweden is often held up as an example of how not to regulate, with all three countries haemorrhaging players to waiting illegal operators. So what is public sentiment like towards operators? “My feeling is that if you look at public sentiment, they don’t see really the difference between online and land-based,” says Petra. “If you look into what they’re saying, they’re primarily talking online. But for the general public, there is no difference [between the channels] in that respect.”

She believes the sentiment towards gambling among the Dutch public is comparable to the UK, Finland, Germany, France. “So, very tense,” she says.

However the sentiment towards the Holland Casino brand has remained quite positive, while more generally the sentiment towards gambling is very critical.

What is Holiday Season?

On Monday, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced that Ruth Evans has succeeded Charles Counsell to take on the full time role of Gambling Commission chair.

Counsell took the helm in February 2025 following Marcus Boyle’s departure in January last year.

Evans, who chairs Stop Scams UK, an initiative she founded in 2019 to unite banks, technology companies and telecom providers to combat payment fraud, will assume the position on 30 September, commencing a five-year term.

How to play Holiday Season

– Real App, a social sports app built around live play-by-play, named FanDuel as its first prediction market partner. The partnership brings FanDuel’s odds and contextual markets directly into the app’s live sports experience. Fanatics Sports & Casino is adding some upgrades to its Fair Play offering. Among the changes, Fanatics has added first-half injury protection for player props. The option proved to be valuable for fans in Wednesday’s opener when Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold left the game after the team’s fifth offensive play.

– According to the American Gaming Association, an estimated $40 billion will be wagered on the NFL via prediction markets this year. Last week, on the first full day of the 2026 college football season, Kalshi reported nearly $250 million in trading activity on college football.

Matt is primarily responsible for long-form feature coverage on complex sports betting scandals. He also provides coverage on finance, M&A and other technological developments.