Frightening Frankie

What is Frightening Frankie?

In recent weeks, German authorities conducted a crackdown on an alleged illegal online gambling operation suspected of facilitating wagers totalling approximately €5.86 billion over a 30-month period.  

The DSWV trade body, representing licensed sports-betting operators, broadly welcomed the enforcement action as a necessary response to the illegal market’s growth and associated risks. 

“This successful investigation clearly demonstrates the scale that the illegal gambling market has now reached,” said Mathias Dahms, president of the DSWV.

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Allwyn has announced the appointment of former Playtech executive Francesco Rodano as its new group head of responsible gaming. 

Rodano spent almost ten years spearheading policy at Playtech as the supplier’s chief policy officer. Then between January last year and August 2026, he led its global player-protection efforts as chief sustainable gambling officer.

During his tenure, Rodano was instrumental in deploying an AI-powered behavioural analytics platform, BetBuddy, which is designed to identify and intervene in potentially harmful gambling behaviours. 

How to play Frightening Frankie

This was not necessarily on the horizon just six months ago, Grenstad says, but now he believes Cubeia should ultimately be able to “say yes” when customers arrive with products built using their own AI tools.

“We’ve realised we’re going to be part of it,” Grenstad says.

The increase in capacity is also changing how Cubeia organises its development team. The company is experimenting with a rapid-response team focused on smaller customer requests and incidents, alongside another team working on larger projects and the longer-term roadmap.