Lucky Dragon

How to play Lucky Dragon

From recruitment to regulation, cybersecurity, tribal gaming, affiliates, gambling law, C-suite leaders and everything else in between, the campaign has shown that where roles, companies and backgrounds differ, many of the women we have honoured share a united drive to improve diversity within the sector.

This year sees the return of the majority of our judging panel for either the first, second or third consecutive year! Their confidence in the campaign, and how it’s run is a real testament to Most Influential Women, and how highly it is regarded across the sector, particularly as these types of lists and rankings gain popularity across industry media.

As of today, submissions for the 2026 iGB’s Most Influential Women list are open! We are once again looking for nominations that highlight all facets of the sector, and the women who are championing change and acting as leading forces within their company, or the sector more broadly.

What is Lucky Dragon?

Online gambling participation over four weeks reached 39% (16% excluding lottery-only players), while in-person gambling participation was 29% (18% excluding lottery-only players). 

Top non-lottery activities during the period included scratchcards (13%), betting (10%) and online instant win games (8%). 

Betting skewed male, with 16% of men gambling on betting compared to 4% of women. Age-wise, overall gambling participation peaked among 45- to 64-year-olds (56%-59%), when excluding lotteries the highest participation was among 35- to 44-year-olds (35%). 

About Lucky Dragon

Two blockbuster developments in the casino space earlier this year seemed to indicate an increasingly bullish bet on the sector, including Fertitta Entertainment’s acquisition of Caesars Entertainment in May. The other is a subsequent takeover offer of MGM Resorts from its largest shareholder, Barry Diller’s People Inc. But a negative shift in market conditions could affect both deals.

In July, Fertitta’s General Counsel Steven Scheinthal told the Nevada Gaming Control Board that the company had a letter of intent from banks to finance the transaction but was waiting for better borrowing conditions. Fertitta is assuming nearly $12 billion in Caesars’ debt and is committed to a $6.6 billion financing package.

“Our hope is that in the next few months there will be a window of opportunity where the market will be hotter and [it’s] a more interest rate friendly environment where we can go raise the money and then just put it in an escrow account,” Scheinthal said at the time.