Animal Instinct

What is Animal Instinct?

The company reported approximately £3.6 billion of net debt at the end of June, with reported leverage of 3.1x underlying EBITDA. Online underlying EBITDA fell 5% in the first half despite 7% growth in online net gaming revenue. The tax impact has been substantial.

The UK government increased Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) from 21% to 40% from 1 April. Then from April 2027, a new 25% General Betting Duty rate for remote betting will apply, although remote bets on UK horse racing are excluded from the new rate.

Entain said the higher RGD had a £56 million negative impact on first-half EBITDA. In Britain, operators are dealing with government policy and higher taxes. In America, the main threat is competition. The problems are different, but they hit the same group of stocks.

What is Animal Instinct?

Van Bruggen revealed the cabinet was in the process of developing legislation to introduce DNS blocking for illegal sites, with a consultation due for early 2027.

Members flagged the growing issue of illegal gambling sites’ advertising appearing across social media, an issue the sector in Netherlands has sought to tackle directly through legal action against Meta.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Van Bruggen said: “Meta, especially as one of the parties, but also Google, is really open to this conversation.”

What is Animal Instinct?

The move aims to clean up the gaming sector by cutting ties between casinos, cyber-fraud operations and untraceable money flows. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Sokha warned that any casino found breaching the suspension after it takes effect risks licence revocation and further legal consequences.

In August, Cambodia’s state news agency, AKP, reported that authorities had inspected 195 licensed casinos nationwide as part of a broader anti-scam crackdown. This resulted in the revocation of 20 licences and the suspension of 29 others, with an additional 23 licences lapsing naturally. 

Touch Sokhak, deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, emphasised that the operation seeks to prevent Cambodia from becoming “a safe haven or money-laundering base for technology-related criminals”.