Andrea Behrendt will become Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ZEAL Network SE, the market leader for online lotteries in Germany, on April 1, 2025. In this role, she succeeds Sebastian Bielski, who has informed the Supervisory Board of ZEAL Network SE that he wishes to leave the company to pursue new professional challenges. The Supervisory Board has decided to comply with this wish and to terminate his contract prematurely as of March 31, 2025.

“We are delighted to welcome Andrea Behrendt as a member of the ZEAL Management Board. With her deep financial and long-standing industry expertise, she brings excellent qualifications to support ZEAL in the next phase of growth,” said Peter Steiner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ZEAL Network SE. “On behalf of the Supervisory Board, we would like to thank Sebastian Bielski for his exceptional commitment and his significant contribution to the positive development of the company.”

“I would like to thank the Supervisory Board for the trust they have placed in me and look forward to the opportunity to help shape the future of ZEAL with my colleagues on the Management Board and the entire team,” explains Andrea Behrendt.

Andrea Behrendt is currently VP Group Controlling & Portfolio Management at ZEAL Network SE. She has held various positions in finance at ZEAL since 2012. She is also CFO of the subsidiary LOTTO24 AG. Prior to her career at ZEAL, Andrea Behrendt held various management positions in controlling at well-known companies such as VTG and the Hofmeister Group.

In his role as CFO, Sebastian Bielski was responsible for finance, investor relations and all ESG issues. His term of office included the squeeze-out of LOTTO24 AG in November 2024. To ensure a smooth transition, Sebastian Bielski will complete the current annual report before Andrea Behrendt takes over the role of CFO on April 1, 2025. “I did not take the decision lightly, as ZEAL is an extremely dynamic and attractive company with a great and highly motivated team,” explains Sebastian Bielski.

“On behalf of the Management Board, I would like to thank Sebastian Bielski for his valuable cooperation. We wish him all the best for the future,” says Helmut Becker, CEO of ZEAL Network SE.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has imposed a fine of £1,407,834 on AG Communications Limited for Social Responsibility (SR) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failures.

The operator, which trades as AspireGlobal and runs 58 websites, will pay the money to socially responsible causes as part of a settlement with the Commission.

Social responsibility failures included:

• not having effective systems in place to prevent customers spending significant amounts of money in a short period of time before an assessment was made as to whether the customer was potentially at risk of gambling related harm. This raised concern that velocity of spend was not identified or acted upon quickly enough

• failing to conduct a safer gambling interaction despite one customer losing £6000 in 48 hours. A telephone interaction was attempted but only when the daily loss limit of £5000 in 24 hours was reached

• one customer was able to deposit and lose £7000 in just over four hours in the early hours. This customer was able to play through the backstop in place at the time due to a system error which failed to prevent the customer from depositing above the backstop limit. A manual review of the customer did not identify the fact they had played through the backstop trigger

• one customer was able to open a significant number of gambling accounts despite the fact they had previously self-excluded.

Anti-money laundering failures included:

• AML/Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) policies and procedures were too reliant on financial thresholds

• when customers hit a medium, medium/high or high ML risk score they were not subject to a manual Enhanced Customer Due Diligence (ECDD) check until a financial trigger was hit

• when financial thresholds were reached, there were delays in completing ECDD checks. One customer who reached the financial threshold did not have an ECDD review conducted until a week later

• not following its policy regarding ECDD checks. One customer who reached a financial threshold but did not have a high AML risk score, did not have a manual ECDD review until eight days later. This was contrary to AG Communications Limited’s policy.

This is the second time AG Communications Limited is facing regulatory action – in 2022 the operator paid £237,600 for AML failures.

John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, said: “This case marks the second occasion that this operator has been subject to enforcement action. Its failure to uphold anti-money laundering standards, delays in necessary interventions, and deficiencies in social responsibility measures are wholly unacceptable.

“Today’s outcome underscores the gravity of these breaches. It is essential that operators not only implement and maintain robust anti-money laundering policies, procedures, and controls but also act swiftly and decisively in response to any indications of suspicious activity. Effective social responsibility measures must be in place at all times to ensure that consumers identified as at risk receive timely and appropriate intervention.

“This case stands as a clear warning to all operators that repeated regulatory failings will result in increasingly stringent enforcement action.”

REEVO has announced a strategic partnership with Upgaming, a premier iGaming solutions provider. This collaboration will see both companies mutually exchange gaming content, bringing even more high-quality entertainment to their operator networks.

Through this partnership, Upgaming will integrate REEVO’s growing portfolio of over 60+ premium in-house slot games, while REEVO will enhance its aggregation platform by incorporating Upgaming’s innovative mini-games collection, including fan-favourites like Dino, SpeedX and the award-winning AERO.

This partnership marks another milestone in REEVO’s mission to deliver exceptional gaming content to its partners while expanding its reach in new verticals. Upgaming’s ultra-fast, scalable gaming solutions, combined with REEVO’s engaging slot titles, will provide operators with a more diverse and dynamic gaming experience.

Karl Grech, Head of Business Development at REEVO, said: “Upgaming’s mini-games bring a fresh and engaging dimension to our aggregation platform, aligning perfectly with our vision of delivering top-tier gaming experiences. This content exchange is a testament to our commitment to innovation and providing our partners with a truly diverse offering. We’re excited to bring Upgaming’s dynamic mini-games to our network while introducing our high-quality slots to their operators.”

George Davlianidze, Commercial Director at Upgaming, said: “We’re thrilled to join forces with REEVO and exchange our content to create a richer experience for our clients and their players. Their games strengthen our portfolio, while introducing our mini-games to REEVO’s network allows us to expand our reach even further.”