Sustainability reporting has undergone significant change in recent years and the landscape is set to evolve again if proposed EU legislation is implemented.  

Companies in the industry have long struggled with reputation and perception challenges that tend to be overshadowed by the responsible gambling debate.

In Europe, companies have spent years – and in many cases millions of euros – building systems, gathering data, and preparing for compliance with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Investors everywhere have likewise invested heavily in data platforms and ESG analytics. Everything was on track for the scheduled reporting deadlines, until the rules themselves began to shift.

Under the EU’s Omnibus legislative proposals, announced at the end of November, the scope of mandatory CSRD reporting is set to be significantly reduced.

The draft changes would limit required reporting to large companies averaging at least 1,000 employees and meeting substantially higher financial thresholds than originally planned, potentially around €450 million in revenue or equivalent size criteria.

If adopted, these revisions would exempt many mid-sized igaming companies that were originally preparing for CSRD compliance. Importantly, these changes remain under negotiation and are not yet final EU law.

This mooted reduction has led some companies to assume their reporting burden will lighten dramatically. However, experienced operators and investors understand that sustainability expectations a...