Leading sportsbook technology provider grows European footprint with major local operator

Altenar, a leading sports betting and iGaming software provider, has signed an agreement to provide its fully-managed sportsbook solution to Czech operator MerkurXtip.

The Merkur brand, formerly known as the Gauselmann Group, was founded in the 1970s. Its Czech online brand MerkurXtip CZ launched in 2022 and provides more than 200 slots and sports betting across a wide variety of sporting events..

Altenar’s sportsbook solution will replace the existing sportsbook product on the operator’s merkurxtip.cz website, providing a range of innovative features to elevate the betting experience for players, enhance retention rates and increase revenue.

The agreement strengthens Altenar’s position in the Czech market, where it secured its first deal in 2024. It has enjoyed successful ongoing partnerships with Kingsbet CZ and DATA.BET.

Sam Hill, Sales Director at Altenar, said: “The Merkur Group is a fantastic business with real heritage across the industry.

“To be trusted to take their brand forward in the Czech market is testament to the quality of product and service that Altenar provides today across numerous regulated markets. We can’t wait to get started and look forward to the development of our partnership with the Group.”

Stanislav Sopko, CEO of MerkurXtip CZ, said: “This collaboration marks the start of a promising journey together. Through this partnership, we aim to provide MerkurXtip’s customers with exceptional sports betting products from Altenar and deliver the best-in-class gaming experience in the market.

“We will combine our strengths and expertise to create new opportunities, improve offerings, and drive forward innovation. Stay tuned for more updates as we embark on this exciting venture together. We look forward to achieving great things in the months and years ahead.”

The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has published its Match-fixing Trend Analysis for 2024.

In 2024, there were 13 reports from license holders, compared to 6 reports in 2023. The reports concern striking betting patterns, risky matches and striking changes in odds. Following the investigation into these signals, the KSA has issued 4 warnings and a guideline with guidance for the market will follow shortly.

In the Trend Analysis Match Fixing 2024, the KSA provides an overview of the reports it received in the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. It concerns 13 reports of possible match fixing, originating from 8 different license holders. Compared to the trend analysis for the year 2023, the number of reports has more than doubled. Possible explanations are efforts by the KSA to create more awareness of the reporting obligation among licensed providers or a global increase in reports of match fixing. A number of the signals were reason for investigation. Based on this, the KSA issued 4 warnings.

The KSA will make even more efforts to point out to licensed providers their legal obligation to inform the KSA without delay of indications that point to an increased risk of manipulation of an involved match. Guidance for the market in the form of a guideline will follow shortly. In addition, the KSA will continue to monitor the signals.

One of the goals of the Gambling Act is to combat gambling-related match-fixing at licensed providers of sports betting. The KSA has no legal task in detecting match-fixing, but examines whether licensed providers do enough to prevent match-fixing.

For this purpose, the Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) was established within the KSA, a reporting point for signals of possible match-fixing in gambling.