The top 10 stories of 2025, as chosen by you
Summary
NEXT.io rounds up the ten most-read stories of 2025 in the iGaming sector, reflecting the year’s biggest legal, regulatory and commercial developments. Highlights include the most-viewed investigation — an EY whistleblower alleging the firm ignored organised crime links among gambling clients — and high-profile disputes involving Playtech, Evolution, Malta’s Bill 55 and multiple sweepstakes-related legal fights in the US.
Key Points
- Top story: an EY whistleblower alleged the firm enabled gambling clients with organised-crime links and faced retaliation claims.
- Playtech was revealed as the client behind a controversial Black Cube report linked to Evolution, following a long legal battle.
- The European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Malta over Bill 55 and perceived legal shields for online gaming firms.
- Pragmatic Play stopped supplying games to US sweepstakes operators amid changing regulation.
- Stake.us faced a lawsuit alleging its sweepstakes offering operated as illegal gambling in California.
- GiG launched a sweepstakes casino platform with partner Primero, signalling industry interest in the sector.
- Genting Berhad CEO Lim Kok Thay announced his resignation, marking a major leadership change.
- Evolution’s labour dispute in Georgia continued to draw attention and on-the-ground reporting.
- High 5 Games was ordered to pay $25m in a class-action related to its social casino operations.
- Blackstone was rumoured to consider acquiring Star Entertainment — a story that underlined M&A interest in land-based gambling despite not proceeding.
Content summary
NEXT.io lists the site’s most-read pieces of 2025, which together map the year’s priorities for the iGaming industry: regulatory scrutiny, legal exposures around sweepstakes/social casinos, executive and corporate manoeuvres, and ongoing labour tensions in live-studio operations. The roundup provides short recap paragraphs on each ranked item, linking back to the original coverage for readers who want the full reporting.
The stories signal a year in which regulators and courts repeatedly influenced operator strategy — from content suppliers withdrawing from sweepstakes markets to formal EU action against a major licencing jurisdiction — and where investigative and legal journalism shaped industry debate.
Context and relevance
For professionals in iGaming, payments, compliance and legal teams, this collection is a practical pulse-check. The dominance of regulatory and legal stories shows where risk is concentrated: compliance frameworks, licencing regimes and the evolving status of sweepstakes-style offerings. Corporate governance and reputational risks also loomed large, as exemplified by the EY allegations and the Playtech/Black Cube revelations.
These developments are part of broader trends: tighter enforcement, litigation as a business risk, and suppliers reassessing exposure to contested markets. If you work in strategy, compliance, legal or investor relations in the sector, the themes here should be on your 2026 watchlist.
Why should I read this?
Quick and dirty: this is the cheat‑sheet of what grabbed the industry in 2025. It saves you time — one place to see the legal headaches, regulatory flashpoints and big corporate moves that will shape conversations and decisions next year. Read the links if you want the full receipts.
Author note
Punchy take: NEXT.io’s roundup isn’t just nostalgia — it’s a signpost. The top stories show where threats and opportunities sit for operators, vendors and investors. If you care about compliance, market access or reputational risk, this pack is worth a skim and a deeper read on a few items.
Source
Source: https://next.io/news/features/top-10-stories-of-2025/