iGaming News – Episode #20 // 1win and Mellstroy launch an online casino // iGB & ICE sold // UKGC scandal

1win and Mellstroy launch an online casino and affiliate program

1WIN and Mellstroy are launching their own online casino and affiliate program.

To write a post about this news for iGaming News, I watched a whole hour and a half stream.

Let’s quickly go over the timeline of events and the main info in case you were at MAC in Yerevan or for some reason missed the event. Mellstroy will be responsible for creatives, overall concept, and RTP.

Yes, Andrey will personally decide how much to give back to you. I’d like to make a small remark here: his partners 1win love to play around with RTP, at least in Hacksaw Gaming slots. It’s kind of a double-edged sword.

The product seems to have more money for development, but on the other hand, the player isn’t entirely happy.

Andrey also promises a sports betting line, instant deposits and withdrawals in crypto and fiat, and a $2K max bet in slots, just like on Stake.com.

There will be a $50 promo code, for 20,000 activations with a x0 wager, so bonus hunters are probably already marking their calendars.

But Mellstroy won’t be streaming his project because he says it’s cringe, since every win would raise suspicions like whether he gave himself fake money or tweaked his RTP with some provider.

Affiliates are promised top conditions, a clean base, and his own massive media presence, which he’s been building for years.

TikTok, Shorts, and Reels creators will also be channeled through Andrey’s affiliate program so his audience can earn not only a fixed amount per view but also receive Revenue Share from the players they bring in.

My highly respected colleague Maksim Dovolny thinks it’s obvious that this collaboration is Andrey’s way to repay a debt to 1win, which he accumulated due to a series of losses and loans last year.

Mellstroy himself claims: “As an experienced gambling addict, with the right opportunities and team, I can really create a great casino.” Well, let’s see.

I suggest the name Mellbet with two Ls. I think the folks from Melbet Partners will be thrilled.

Honestly, in that office, they move with such, like, fuck, mutual respect, it’s really intense as hell. Really. And, damn, it even kind of motivated me—like, wow, people can actually communicate like that. So look, if the project scales, it’s totally possible I’ll just, fuck it, collab with Drake. Whatever.

Influencers play blackjack on a refrigerator

American influencers The Blanco Boys are bringing the content and playing Blackjack on a fridge right in a store showroom.

At stake is a Samsung fridge with an Android panel worth $3200. The guys are playing on Rainbet Blackjack, from the operator of the same name.

Today marks the 13th day of their challenge, and they have only about $1000 left to reach the desired Samsung fridge.

Among the unusual devices, the guys have played on a Rode Elite X gaming console, but the fridge became their most viral performance.

This is it, the future of iGaming — slots, roulette, blackjack on a fridge instead of fridge magnets.

I hope the fridge finds a new home, and the guys don’t hit a losing streak that ruins their brilliant plan.

I’m not an expert in land-based casinos, but it seems like buying a $3200 fridge is more cost-effective than buying an $8000 slot machine, since you can even store food as a bonus.

iGB & ICE sold for £2 billion

Clarion Events, the largest organizer of industry conferences, is preparing for a sale.

If you’re hearing this name for the first time, that’s okay. You probably know them from events like IGB and ICE conferences that took place in January in Barcelona.

But the company doesn’t just handle gambling exhibitions and conferences; they also run science fairs, energy expos, and, most surprisingly, furniture expos.

I think we underestimate furniture expos. I believe those folks earn more than in gambling.

Personally, I recommend everyone working in iGaming to attend these conferences at least once in their life, because in my experience, they are the most massive, most impressive conferences out there.

Investment fund Blackstone bought Clarion back in 2017 for £600,000, and today the company is valued at about £2 billion, which is nearly 3 times more and corresponds to a 12x EBITDA multiple.

Major investment companies have already shown interest in the deal, but nothing is guaranteed yet. It feels like they’re just testing the waters, seeing who might want to buy, what offers they might get — or maybe they’ll decide not to sell after all.

Our good friends from the R2B channel published the phone number of Blackstone, so if you have £2 million and a big love for conferences, please call, buy, make offers.

UKGC covered up operator violations in exchange for £2 million in donations

A loud scandal erupted with the UK regulator UKGC. According to an investigation by the reputable outlet The Observer, UKGC secretly settled with 38 organizations over the past 5 years and hid their names in exchange for charitable donations.

In total, operators donated more than €2 million to charities dealing with gambling addiction. However, these companies generated a staggering $15.6 billion in revenue, so it’s a case of operators effectively buying their reputation from the UKGC.

The most prominent case is Betfair, part of Flutter Entertainment Holding, who donated over £635,000.

Experts are already questioning whether this scheme is a legal way to buy off responsibility, considering operators earn millions and billions, while fines are just a few hundred thousand.

UKGC is now under pressure from politicians, media, activists, and organizations, which makes sense, and everyone is calling for a revision of practices and approaches to responsible gambling.

This could seriously change the rules of the game in one of the toughest regulated markets in Europe.

Gambling banned in Bangladesh

The government of Bangladesh has officially gone on the offensive against online casinos, online betting, and has once again banned all forms of gambling in the country.

After the decision to block all gambling sites for 30 days, the government issued a new cybersecurity decree banning all gambling nationwide.

Now, under Article 20 of this document, any involvement in organizing, promoting, or simply participating in gambling is considered a criminal offense.

Violations are subject to harsh penalties: you can be jailed for up to 2 years or fined up to $82,000, or both in some cases.

Authorities have already blocked over 1,000 mobile bank accounts, launched over 1,100 criminal cases against iGaming intermediaries and agents, and new clauses 21.22 prohibit any financial transactions even remotely tied to gambling.

I think this news sends a clear message to the whole market — it looks like the carefree era of iGaming in Bangladesh is coming to an end.

According to a petition, 50 million Bangladeshis are involved in online gambling. Remember, the country’s population is 175 million, so nearly a third are players.

Apple and Google block legal bookmaker apps in Brazil

Colleagues, not the most pleasant news is coming from Brazil, especially for those who paid big bucks for a local license.

Despite the legalization of iGaming in January 2025, for some reason Apple and Google still won’t allow legal bookmakers’ apps into their stores.

Only state-owned apps, lotteries, and horse racing are allowed in Google Play, while Apple Store allows nothing at all.

So users have to go online to find the app, may stumble upon a phishing site, enter their data, and lose their account.

Or the player ends up on an offshore operator’s site and happily waves at the entire legal Brazilian sector.

In effect, Apple and Google are hindering the development of the legal iGaming sector in Brazil. Guys, come on — people paid billions for licenses. At least let them publish a legal app.

The Brazilian Betting and Fantasy Sports Association has already sent an official request to the Ministry of Finance asking for help.

But the government remains silent, leaving operators to battle the IT giants on their own.

Experts say it will be much harder for operators to compete for legal traffic and build trust with the local audience without official apps.

Clearly, if nothing changes, the legal sector will stay at a loss, and offshores will benefit—maybe even reigniting Brazilian mobile traffic.

Thanks a lot for watching. This was me, the Editor-in-Chief of iGaming News, Anton Drozd, the traffic giraffe. If you liked the episode, leave a comment, and hit the bell.

And if you missed our iGaming Slots 2 and the first interview from MAC in Yerevan, they’re probably already waiting for you on our channel.

In case you didn’t know, this is the 20th episode of the iGaming News digest, a big anniversary for us.

Thanks for staying with us. We hope you’re enjoying everything — we’ll keep improving our content. Not saying goodbye, see you in two weeks.