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Merkur Spielbanken Beteiligungs GmbH, a subsidiary of Merkur AG has reached an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Société Française de Casinos (SFC).
The development marks a significant move by Merkur to expand its footprint within the French regulated gambling market.
On 27 August, Merkur signed a put option agreement with GPG Groupe Philippe Ginestet and DOFA, enabling the purchase of Casigrangi.
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In a separate case, the ASA examined display advertising for White Hat Gaming’s Casimba and The Grand Ivy Casino brands, which had appeared on HLTV.org – a specialist Counter-Strike 2 e-sports website – in March 2026.
Two banner ads promoted a “100% match bonus up to £100 on 1st deposit” and displayed the mandatory 18+ logo. The ads appeared alongside live match coverage featuring betting odds and sponsor logos, including a link to Casimba’s website.
A complaint suggested that such placements were inappropriately targeted at under-18s.
About 9 Pearls Of Fortune
Notably for highly engaging verticals light online slots, if players are receiving a smaller-than-expected RTP (return to player), or bonuses have been restricted, they could again transition to an illegal offering where there are no such restrictions.
As has been flagged in previous reports, Regulus highlighted that the top 1% of active customers accounts for almost 50% of black market revenue across Europe. This follows a similar trend across licensed gambling as the report highlights “online gambling is a consumer discretionary expenditure item. This means a large proportion of expenditure is concentrated into a relatively small number of players.”
In its market-specific breakdown, the report noted a “rapid reduction in channelling” in the UK, following the increased use of affordability checks.
