Changes from January to June 2026
Netherlands: deposit limits and 24+ for high-risk games
The KSA introduced default deposit limits and banned slot targeting at 18–23-year-olds; influencer advertising is banned entirely.
What to do: For NL the media plan is search and affiliates 24+, no placements or streams.
Kazakhstan: biometric sign-up
Bookmaker sign-up only via the central ID hub with biometrics; self-excluded players are blocked at payment-system level.
What to do: Recompute sign-up → deposit conversion: biometrics cut it by a third.
UAE: first GCGRA online licences
The regulator issued the first online lottery and betting licences; advertising is allowed only to licensees and only domestically.
What to do: MENA stays closed to the unlicensed; the UAE moves to “partial” once the client holds a licence.
Uzbekistan: online licences start
NAPU accepts online betting applications; payments only via Payme, Click and Uzcard, foreign operators through a local entity.
What to do: A new CIS market with an empty auction: Telegram and Uzbek-language search before competitors arrive.
What opened and what closed
Opened for iGaming
UAE — betting under GCGRA licence
First online lottery and betting licences. Advertising only for licensees. A new high-ticket market in MENA.
Uzbekistan — betting via NAPU
First online betting licences in CIS after Kazakhstan. Local payments only, minimal competition: Telegram and Uzbek-language search.
Brazil — SPA/MF is operational
Federal licence mandatory, .bet.br domain mandatory, PIX as the primary payment. The largest LATAM market with a controlled entry.
Closed for iGaming
India — full iGaming ban
Betting, fantasy and rummy for money banned nationwide. Crypto and fintech remain, the diaspora follows the rules of their country of residence.
Impact on deposit cost
CIS: +40% to deposit cost due to biometrics in Kazakhstan
Conversion fell, cost rose. Offset by higher LTV: players who pass biometrics are retained 24% longer.
Europe: +$2,000–4,000 per launch due to MiCA
CASP registration, creative rework and legal review add fixed costs. On small budgets under $10,000 it is noticeable; on large ones it is spread thin.
LATAM: stable, but Chile paused until 2027
Brazil offsets the pause in Chile. Peru and Colombia remain open and cheap. The overall LATAM corridor has not changed.
Four takeaways for the half-year
01Three markets opened, one closed
The UAE, Uzbekistan and Brazil received working licences; India closed iGaming entirely. Net: +2 markets for betting, +1 for crypto.
02MiCA doubled the cost of entry into crypto advertising in the EU
Mandatory CASP registration, risk warnings in every creative and a ban on return promises add $2,000–4,000 to the launch cost of every campaign in Europe.
03Biometrics in Kazakhstan cut conversion by a third
After biometrics were introduced at sign-up in February 2026, the "sign-up → first deposit" conversion fell from 31% to 21%. The deposit cost in CIS rose 40%, but the quality of remaining players is higher.
04The Netherlands banned influencers: redirect budget to search
The influencer ad ban and the 24+ age limit for slots from January 2026 removed the two largest channels. The remaining ones — search and affiliates — cost 30% more but convert better.
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