Christmas Reach

What is Christmas Reach?

It has been a challenging few years for Entain, having cycled through four CEOs in short succession. In November 2023 Entain agreed to pay a financial penalty totalling £585 million, plus a £20 million charitable donation and £10 million in Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and HMRC costs. This related to a bribery case initiated by the CPS into the company’s historic operations in Turkey.

Troubles continued as it faced declining growth within its digital business. Reports of failed integrations amid a frenzy of acquisitions further dampened Entain’s reputation and the operator subsequently committed to a major turnaround effort to cut costs and return its digital business to growth.

Efforts to update its legacy tech were also set in motion, and short-lived CEO Gavin Isaacs told iGB at ICE in January 2025 that his biggest challenge in the role was to modernise its core platform.

About Christmas Reach

NetEnt is getting ready to launch Demon Beats, a rock-themed slot that goes back to the studio’s best-known mechanic instead of chasing a new format. The game is set for exclusive early access on October 8, 2026, before a wider release on October 15, 2026.

What matters here isn’t the theme. It’s what the release says about where NetEnt is heading with its product line. Demon Beats is built around the studio’s Avalanche cascade system, the same core engine behind some of NetEnt’s most recognizable titles.

At its heart, Demon Beats uses the familiar Avalanche mechanic, where winning symbols clear and get replaced by new ones until no further wins appear. That cascade ties into a climbing multiplier ladder; the ladder resets on empty spins and steps up to far higher values once free spins begin.

What is Christmas Reach?

On Wednesday, the Science and Technology Committee (CCT) approved a project furthering restrictions on advertising and sponsorship of betting.

The proposal also established criteria for risk classification of products and clarifying the obligations of operators and platforms. The measure would likely grant the illegal market the opportunity to continue expanding, as it would be unaffected by the new rules. The committee approved a request for urgency for analysis by the Senate Plenary.

Authored by Senator Damares Alves and six other senators, Bill 2.470/2026 amends the Betting Law, which regulates fixed-odds betting, with measures aimed at protecting mental health, consumers, and the family economy. The bill received a favourable opinion, in the form of a substitute from Senator Alessandro Vieira.