Cyclops Smash

What is Cyclops Smash?

Evans said she was commitment to enhancing “online safety” through “proportionate regulation with partnership and shared responsibility” involving regulators, industry participants and technology firms.

“She becomes chair at this incredibly important time, supporting a sustainable, thriving industry with the essential protections needed to prevent harm,” DCMS Secretary of State Lisa Nandy commented on the appointment.

The appointment lands amid a broader reshuffle at the regulator, with policy and research director Tim Miller also departing after a decade in post.

About Cyclops Smash

Prosecutors allege that five suspects had operated internet-based gambling services without the required German licences from at least July 2021. The volume of bets placed on these platforms reportedly exceeded €5.8 billion between mid-2021 and the end of 2023. 

In addition to illegal gambling, investigators suspect extensive tax evasion, with a projected tax shortfall of about €77.6 million for 2024.

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

What is Cyclops Smash?

The operational infrastructure available to these new firms, however, remains underdeveloped. Gonzalez contrasts prediction markets with equities, where trading businesses can use prime brokers, clearinghouses and standardised systems such as FIX.

“When it comes to prediction markets, none of that exists,” he said. “Everyone that’s building in the prediction market space mostly starts from ground zero.”

Platforms were generally constructed for one person operating one account, rather than trading organisations requiring separate permissions and controls. According to Gonzalez, some teams still share a single login.