Dear Santa

What is Dear Santa?

That familiarity is important. Swipe Games is not asking social-media users to learn an entirely new digital language when they arrive at a casino. Its proposition is that the behaviour they already perform almost instinctively – watch, decide, swipe, repeat – can become the gaming mechanic itself.

“The video itself is the game,” Yashin explains. “We are as quick as crash games, but the pattern and the feel are more like betting. We are combining two different worlds – betting and quick games.”

The rise of prediction markets reflects the same broader trend: consumers increasingly want a simple, intuitive way to take a position on what happens next. Swipe Games brings that behaviour into a casino format, turning short-form content into an instantly playable experience with outcomes revealed in seconds.

What is Dear Santa?

The problem is that legalisation has not happened as quickly as expected, while taxes and competition have increased. “Online gaming has been affected by the broader re-rating of growth-oriented internet and software stocks,” says Chad Beynon, managing director and head of US research at Macquarie Capital. “But there has also been a genuine deterioration in expectations for parts of the sector.”

Beynon says sports betting companies have suffered particularly badly because the market is questioning both future earnings and the size of the eventual opportunity. More iGaming-focused companies such as Rush Street Interactive and Super Group have generally performed better operationally, helped by stronger earnings growth and profitability.

The lesson is simple: gambling still attracts capital when the money is visible. It is less attractive when the payoff lies far in the distance.

How to play Dear Santa

Medias24 reported the judge’s reasoning: “Internet access providers are technically the only parties able to end the manifestly unlawful disturbance resulting from access to unauthorised betting sites.”

The order was short-lived. The commercial court of appeal granted a stay on 26 January. According to Medias24’s 12 February report, it then annulled the order and rejected MDJS’ claim, ending the daily penalty. MDJS could still appeal.

The court action came as MDJS was warning of the financial impact of offshore betting. Director General Younes El Mechrafi told a parliamentary sport forum in December that illegal sports betting stakes reached about MAD3.5 billion in 2024. He put the cost to the state at some MAD700 million, split between the national sports development fund and the Treasury.