Great 27

How to play Great 27

Wazdan is already present in the Bulgarian iGaming market, which has been expanding rapidly over the past several years. Notably, the supplier has teamed up with WINBET and ELITBET in the past, two other prominent local operators, with SlyBet only adding to the company’s local footprint and momentum. 

Wazdan Head of Sales and Business Development, Radka Bacheva, has welcomed the opportunity to see her company expand its clout in Bulgaria  once again, with Bacheva adding:

“Partnering with SlyBet is an important step for Wazdan as we continue to grow in Bulgaria and across regulated European markets. We are always looking for new opportunities to bring our games to more players, and SlyBet gives us another great platform to showcase our portfolio.”

What is Great 27?

Given that women account for nearly 60% of gaming customers in the US, Klebanow argues that Japan’s IRs should instead offer environments where this demographic feels “safe and comfortable”. The key lesson from pachinko, he concludes, is therefore “not to create gaming environments that mimic them”.

Ultimately Leckert remains positive on Japan’s IR opportunity. “Stringent regulation really supports a strong industry,” she says. “I don’t see those being at odds with one another, because it’s been done very successfully elsewhere.”

Japan’s ability to lure back the world’s biggest casino developers will hinge on the regulatory framework the government unveils later this year, says Klebanow.

About Great 27

Is the monopoly safe, is it set in the law that it will operate forevermore? No, it’s under constant evaluation, Petra explains: “The Dutch state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, is our shareholder and they evaluate every seven years, not only us as Holland Casino, but all state-owned companies.”

One of the operator’s most significant challenges is the increase in gambling tax enforced over recent years. Petra has been particularly vocal about this and the company’s profitability has taken a reasonable hit, since the first tax increase to 34.2% of GGR came into effect on 1 January 2025.

Holland Casino now pays 37.8% of GGR to the state, as per the additional increase in 2026, but with labour tax on top the business pays around 52% before they can look at their base running costs. It is not a small burden by any stretch of the imagination, so it is heartening to see the business doing well despite the tightening tax burden.