Here is a round-up of this week's top headlines and breaking news from the betting industry.

1. Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter International has brought in Mark Shaw as its director of global payments strategy. A veteran of the sector, he has worked for the likes of Visa, Barclays, TSB and Spotify. Writing on LinkedIn, Shaw said: "As a group, Flutter operates some of the world’s most innovative, diverse and distinctive sports betting and gaming brands as part of a globally federated business model – from FanDuel and Paddy Power to #Sportsbet, Betfair , PokerStars , Sisal and more, the scale, growth and diversity of the business is incredible. I’m delighted to be working with the awesome local payment teams to build out the future for payments across the group and look forward to enhancing the growth and efficiency of the business."
2. Guild Gaming announces its unaudited financial results for the six months to March 31. It says financial highlights are a 21% fall in loss before tax to ￡1.8m after a 38% cut in admin expenses and a 537% rise in revenue to ￡586,000 for Guild Studio . Revenue fell to ￡2.1m, "reflecting a challenging macroeconomic environment and a significant, one-off tournament victory in 2013 which increased revenue". "Tournament winnings are booked as revenue although most of the winnings are returned to players," the firm adds.
3. Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter International has been named on Time's list of 2024's 100 most influential companies, in the 'pioneers' section. CEO Peter Jackson said: "I am enormously proud of everyone across our global business for working so tirelessly to make Flutter the fantastic company it is today. Receiving this recognition from Time offers a well-deserved moment to reflect on our recent successes as we fix our sights firmly on our next phase of growth. We are very excited for the future.”
4. The Gambling Commission investigation into the elections betting scandal has widened to include the "family and friends" of senior Conservatives. The probe, sparked by Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain , has seen the commission write to all UK gambling firms to ask for details of punters making bets in excess of ￡20 on the date of the election within days of prime minister Rishi Sunak announcing it. A Tory party spokesman said: "We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission about a small number of individuals. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.”
5. The UK gambling sector could be in for its strongest month for new users because of Euro 2024 and #RoyalAscot coinciding, a study suggests. Thomas Kriebernegg, general manager at SplitMetrics Agency, said: "Our new study shows that major UK horse racing events lead to a dramatic increase in downloads for gambling apps – almost the same number per week as we see for huge global events like the World Cup. The combination of Royal Ascot, the Euros, and the high growth rate of the gambling app industry this year could combine into a perfect storm – generating unprecedented new customer numbers. With the Olympics also coming up, 2024 could easily become the biggest year for customer growth in the smartphone era."
6. Simplebet has recorded major growth during its third #NBA season. It facilitated almost $325m in bets across its operator partner base, seeing nearly 13m bets waged throughout the NBA season across its suite of in-play markets. That's growth of about 75% compared to last season. Simplebet CEO ChrisBevilacqua said: "Our commitment to providing innovative in-play betting options has allowed users to interact with the game in real-time, predicting their favourite players' next moves on the hardwood. With NBA TV ratings rising this season, it's logical that in-play betting has contributed to an enhanced viewing experience. The significant growth we’ve seen underscores the demand for our micro-betting products, and we look forward to continuing to deepen the in-play experience for NBA fans everywhere.”

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