I’m a freelance iGaming writer. But I don’t know for how much longer, thanks to AI.

I jumped aboard the ChatGPT bandwagon right away. Recognising it might one day take my job, I wanted to stay in touch with, and ideally ahead of, the latest developments. 

That’s why I was among the one million people who created an account within five days of its public release. 

First impressions 

Perhaps I could use it as a tool, I thought, making my own processes more efficient. It should help with research, at least, even if I don’t actually use it to produce text. 

Maybe it would create other forms of work, too, such as editing AI-generated content. I trialled a couple of gigs on freelancing platforms like Fiverr, doing exactly that.

It didn’t take more than a few weeks to realise this thing was not going to replace me. 

LLMs consistently make ridiculous factual errors. They hallucinate all the time, then spin generic, boring text. They can only really produce an average of whatever already exists on the internet, much of which is increasingly AI slop itself.

Don’t get me started on pseudoscientific nonsense like AI checking tools, either.

A change of heart

AI simply cannot do what I can. I’ve been extremely bullish about this for three years. However, on December 9th 2025, I changed my position.

Within the space of three or four hours, I learned the following:

• First.com, a gambling affiliate site that gave me a few bits and pieces of work in 2025, unexpectedly closed. I have at least half a dozen writers in my LinkedIn network who felt the impact of this.
• ClickOut Media, a huge employer of gambling writers, cut 85% of its content team. As a rough guess, that’s at least 50 English-language writers alone. They’ve run AI experiments throughout 2025, so you can draw your own conclusion as to why.
• Gentoo chose to defer November’s freelancer payments for a month. Whether or not this specific decision is linked to AI, I have no clue. But it’s no secret they’ve been struggling for some time.

I’ve never seen so many out-of-work gambling writers in my LinkedIn feed. Naturally, I’m now questioning my own future. I certainly don’t think I’ll be able to repeat my 2024 earnings any time soon.

What’s the problem?

So, what’s going on? I thought you said AI can’t do what you can do?

Well, it can’t. 

Take slot reviews, for instance. How can an LLM play a real money casino game, then recount its experiences in a compelling, engaging manner? 

I suppose you could invent some kind of API that feeds slots in and spits out some kind of review. Maybe it can detail the mechanics that way. 

But it still can’t tell you how it feels to play that game. LLMs will always lack that human connection. 

But that’s not the issue, here. AI overviews (AIOs) are.

Impact of AIOs

Affiliate marketing relies on attracting potential customers with a combination of quality content and SEO optimisation. But we’ve seen a dramatic drop-off in click-through rates (CTRs) since the introduction of AIOs. 

People just aren’t visiting affiliate sites at the same rate. And if they’re not doing that, they’re not clicking through to the casinos and sportsbooks being promoted. 

A Seer Interactive report in September 2025 revealed that organic CTRs for informational queries had dropped a staggering 61% since 2024. Paid CTRs fared even worse, plummeting by 68%.

Many affiliates just can’t make it pay anymore. As such, content budgets are being slashed. 

It’s AIOs that are putting gambling writers out of work – and that’s what I didn’t see coming. 

Inevitable changes

Now, I definitely did anticipate a reduction in the number of writers. I always talked about a pyramid, with the elite writers at the top, and swathes of low-quality output at the bottom. 

Those guys charging $0.01 per word – or less, God forbid – will undoubtedly be swept away by the AI revolution. Why pay for crap content, when you can generate it free of charge? 

But I always imagined those of us nearer the tip of the proverbial pyramid would be safe. The cream should rise to the top, right? 

Perhaps we’d have to drop our rates a bit, but there’d always be a need for iGaming content services provided by talented humans.

Now I’m not so sure.

The counter-argument

Some people continue to hold this view, like John Wright of StatsDrone, the iGaming affiliate analytics company. 

“I disagree that Google is completely destroying everything, but rather things have changed”, he told me.

“Google rewards authority, and that sometimes requires more than just words. It is products and deeper research.

If I had to write iGaming content today, or casino reviews, I’d be spending more time on the planning of content and research.

People are giving up with how Google is today, and are not willing to pivot or adapt. A lot of the good SEOs I know seem excited at the opportunity. They are using better writers and deeper research.”

Drawing thin?

It’s encouraging to see some optimism about the future of written iGaming content, at a time when I’ve never been more pessimistic. 

Personally, I still have a few clients keeping me busy – for now at least – who clearly value human content over AI slop. So I’m not folding just yet.

I guess we’ll see what happens in 2026. Only time will tell who’s right. 

As a writer, I’m really hoping it’s John. 

As 2025 nears its conclusion, I thought I’d share an update on the ambitious annual targets I set in December.

Transparency Is Good for All

Before I start, I want to reiterate my belief that financial transparency is good for all of us. Sharing is caring.

When I started as freelance iGaming writer, I had no idea of my worth. And it’s become screamingly obvious since I first created my Fiverr account in June 2020 that I was undercharging for too long.

I’m not bragging when I discuss my earnings as a freelance writer – there are many doing far, far better than me. But in those early days, I lacked a mentor. I’d have loved someone to tell me what to charge, and how to build my own brand and move away from freelancing platforms.

The more information we all share, the less likely we are to be ripped off. Knowing the true value of your work is vital, and if we all discuss pricing, it should lift the floor for everyone.

My 2025 Targets

Okay, let’s get into it. When I shared my 2024 earnings, I also set three targets for 2025:

Let’s start with the good news: I had no problem meeting the last two goals.

I’ve worked much less than last year, where I was consistently pulling six-day weeks, often for 10–12 hours at a time. I set up a spreadsheet to manage my time like an employee, and I’ve stuck pretty closely to it.

Of course, the whole point of ditching my corporate career was for a better work-life balance, so I’m still flexible. If I feel like working on what is a scheduled day off, I do. I’ll just take a different day off next week when I’m tired.

The financial side, however, has not been good.

Actual Figures

I’m going to share some actual numbers in this post. When I’ve written about this before, I’ve been vague, using graphs to illustrate progress, but removing exact figures – stuff like that.

Looking back, I don’t really know why, as it’s not hard to work things out from the wider context. So for this post, I might as well go all-in.

The target was six-figures in GBP. This felt tough, but not unrealistic – I was already doing close to those numbers, so I just had to increase my rates slightly and reduce the time spent working.

Unravelling Quickly

January got me off to a flier, bringing in just over £9,000. However, in February, I argued my way into losing my second-biggest client.

Actually, I just pushed back against some stupid feedback.

I’d been working with them for a year, writing poker, casino and a little sports betting content. I’d never had anything but lovely comments from six or seven different editors. So I thought I had enough goodwill in the bank to call out this one bit of pointless feedback that was wasting everyone’s time.

I’ll concede I did it with an unnecessary attitude, for which I later apologised. But my point was valid, and I stand by it.

A few days earlier, I’d stopped working with a smaller client. I’d been looking to get out of that gig anyway, as the briefs were too fiddly. But the timing was horrendous – had it been the other way around, I wouldn’t have left that project.

A few weeks later, I completed the disaster hat-trick (disastrick?) when my main client unexpectedly suspended a project. I’d gone from regularly making £8,000–£10,000 a month, to literally no work at all.

Emotional Roller Coaster

It was clear by the end of February I’d miss my ambitious targets. There was no margin for error to begin with. Losing so much work so quickly was already too much – I knew I’d blown it.

The rest of the quarter was spent using my new vacation allowance, and trying to get over losing my two main clients. Honestly, I didn’t really snap out of my low mood until May, when my main casino content client returned. That guy pays $0.15 per word for priority access to my services.

The damage to my annual target was already done, but I’d realigned my expectations, and things were normal by July. That month I made £8,425 and I was feeling good again.

But being positive was an error. In August, my biggest client disappeared again, and is yet to return. As a result, I produced my lowest monthly figure since July 2021. For context, that was only my second full month as a freelancer, having left my “proper” job in mid-May.

All I really had in August was my sports betting content for OddsNews, plus whatever dribs and drabs came in from Upwork and Fiverr, which I basically abandoned years ago.

Depressing stuff.

In September and October, I bounced back to some extent, with figures of £5,389 and £5,987. But I’m currently having a quiet November, and I expect I’ll pull in something around the £4,500 mark. I’ve lost another casino content client this month, but I still project a figure of around £6,000 for December.

Reflections

Obviously I’m guessing at the last six weeks of the year, but I expect a final annual figure of about £66,000.

This is a complete disaster compared to my £100,000 target.

However, it’s important to zoom out. That’s still a great living – especially for someone with no kids who’s based mostly in the Philippines.

I’m obviously not complaining about “only” pulling in those numbers. Especially at a time when AI-generated content is threatening us writers. But it remains true that I missed my target by miles. I think it’s important to be honest, and not just talk about the good times.

It seems I’m returning to my 2022 and 2023 figures, which were £67,684 and £62,201. So last year was probably a fluke, rather than the norm.

2026 Goals?

I think I’ll wait a month before setting my 2026 goals, but it’s fair to say I’m not shooting for six-figures again. I hit my working and vacation targets, and I’ve quite enjoyed not burning out the way I did in November 2024.

There have been other positives, too. Having accidentally become pigeon-holed as a casino writer recently, I found myself producing sportsbook content again.

I managed a couple of trips to the UK this year, spending time with family – I haven’t done enough of that in recent years. There was also a month in Switzerland, watching the Lionesses do Lionesses things, and the saga of rescuing and homing a kitten!

I wonder what ups and downs 2026 has in store?

As an iGaming writer, the bulk of my work involves reviewing online casinos and gambling sites. Most affiliates provide a brief, but they never give you dummy account to play with.

Now, you can’t write casino reviews without testing a site thoroughly. Unless you’re a complete chancer, of course. But content creators don’t always have accounts of their own.

I’m asked to produce a lot of sweepstakes casino reviews, for example. But I don’t live in the United States, so I haven’t got a local phone number. This makes it hard to open an account.

I can’t be the only affiliate writer who’s struggled with this. By sharing my own experiences and solutions, I hope to help others.

Fake Accounts and Numbers

Inspired by a recent post from the excellent Ozric Vondervelden on LinkedIn, I want to discuss temporary and virtual phone numbers.

I’ve always gambled, so I have a lot of casino and sports betting accounts. But it’s unrealistic to expect an iGaming writer to use every single betting site.

That said, I am thorough. I always create an account and use the site before writing a review. But I don’t want a barrage of SMS spam, so I use virtual and disposable phone numbers to set them up.

Emails Are Easy

Getting a dummy email is easy. Create a burner account for joining casinos and betting sites, or use a disposable address. I favour TempMail, personally.

However, getting a fake phone number is harder.

The days of simply punching in a random string of numbers are long gone. The vast majority of gambling sites now require a real number, verified by OTP.

Disposable Phone Numbers

I’ve always used disposable numbers from Receive SMS Online, plus one or two others. These provide a whole bunch of numbers from around the world, but mostly the USA and UK.

Writers, or whoever else, can use these when creating a casino or sportsbook account. Just click on the number to open the inbox and receive your verification code.

Enter this at the casino site, and congratulations – you now have a verified account with which to write your review.

Temporary SMS Services

I’ve tried all of the following free-to-use fake number sites, and I’ve ranked them based on my experience:

1. Receive SMS Online. As I mentioned, this works for pretty much every regular gambling site and sweeps casino. There are lots of countries and numbers. However, if the it’s more than a few days old, expect someone else to have used it.
2. Online SMS Box. A wide variety of Geos, but not many numbers for each. This increases the likelihood that someone else has beaten you to it. However, I can consistently use these numbers to register at sweepstakes casinos.
3. SMS Activate. I’ve only discovered this recently, so I’m still pretty neutral on it. I used it successfully last month when writing a sweepstakes casino review in the US. Early signs look promising.
4. SMSPinVerify. Massive selection of countries, but you have to pay. Only a handful of free US numbers are available, which work for every casino or betting site I’ve tried. But they’re always registered by someone else.
5. Quackr. I hate this one. You now have to create an account to use any of their numbers. But whenever I tried in the past, the numbers were always old, so I never had much luck.
6. TempSMSS. Vast selection of seemingly inactive numbers from a limited choice of Geos. That said, the most common countries are present (US, UK, Canada, Australia). However, the US numbers are blocked by some sweepstakes casinos.

Far From Flawless

I’d say temporary phone number services work close to 100% of the time for regular online casinos. But not sweepstakes sites in the US.

However, the main problem is the numbers have already been used by someone else. You’re not the only iGaming writer out there, you know – we’re all at it.

I got fed up spending 30 to 60 minutes per review looking for a number that works. So I tried to set up my own private inbox.

I’ve tested a few services, but the amusingly-named Fanytel works best for me.

Seriously, though – what is that name all about? As a Brit, I can’t take it seriously…

Anyway, Fanytel is great, but it won’t be suitable for everyone, because:

1. Numbers are only for the US, UK, Australia and Canada
2. It’s not free. Each number costs $0.99 to set up, then $0.99 per month to maintain it.

The second problem is easily solved – bill your client. Ask them first, obviously, or you’ll piss them off. But if they’re too cheap to pay $1.98, you probably shouldn’t be working with them.

Sweepstakes Casinos Are Different

Fanytel solved most of my dummy account problems – but not all of them.

I write a lot of sweepstakes casino reviews for a US audience. These sites are getting clever when it comes to detecting people like me.

Not only do many of them enforce strict geo-blocking, including VPN detection. But they also know when you’re using virtual phone numbers.

I’m not a techie, so I don’t know how they know. But they know. My paid Fanytel subscription doesn’t work at many such casinos.

I’m too lazy to count them all. But I estimate I’ve refused around one-third of sweepstakes review requests this year, just because I can’t get an account.

Some brands, like Scarlet Sands and its sister sites, let me join. I can access enough features to write a proper review, but I still can’t verify my virtual phone number.

If you include those cases, I reckon half the sweeps casinos I’ve worked on won’t accept my virtual phone number.

Cheap SMS Verification

How do I get around this specific problem? So far, Textverified is the only tool I’ve found that helps.

For a small fee, you can receive both voice and SMS verifications. And crucially, it works at every casino and sportsbook I’ve tried, even the sweepstakes sites that block my virtual number.

Because I’m normally reviewing new sites, they’re often not in the Textverified list yet. As such, I have to use “Service Not Listed”, which costs $1.25 per SMS verification. Otherwise, prices range from $0.50 to $1 each.

Again, I suggest charging this to your client, rather than wasting time looking for free numbers that probably don’t even work anyway.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, some of my fellow gambling writers will find these ramblings useful.

If you know of any similar services, paid or not, please drop a reply and share the love.

I write for gambling affiliates, and have done for nearly 20 years. Contact me if you need casino, sports betting or poker content.

I just read a LinkedIn post about someone almost getting arrested in Moscow. It reminded me of the time I did get arrested in Nairobi.

Here’s the story.

Setting the Scene

The incident took place in 2018, long before I quit my former career to become a freelance gambling writer.

I’d been working for the AsianLogic Group in Manila since 2016. I started out with MSW – the only legal sportsbook in the Philippines at the time – but in late 2017, they move me to Dafabet. I was tasked with saving their failing African business.

Basically, they’d started up in Kenya and didn’t understand why it wasn’t working. They needed an operations manager with experience in the region, which is where I came in. I’d already spent six years working with Africa’s largest retail betting operator.

Company Phone

When I arrived, I didn’t have a local phone, so the company gave me one.

Unbeknownst to me, it actually belonged to our IT guy. He’d loaned it to my outgoing colleague in exchange for a much better company phone provided by the management.

The relevance of this will become clear later.

Alleged and Actual Theft

Just before I arrived, a load of equipment has been stolen from our storage facility, including PCs, monitors and other hardware. Only one person had the key – that same IT guy.

The CCTV had also mysteriously stopped working shortly before incident. Who looked after that? That’s right – the IT guy.

As you’d expect, my colleague fired him.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Mr IT man reported my colleague who sacked him to the police, accusing him of stealing his phone.

Parklands Police Station

Picture the scene. I’m in the office, holding a meeting with my new team. The Director of Operations and my colleague, now wanted by the police – not that we knew – are away having lunch.

In walk a man and a woman wearing casual clothes. I distinctly remember she wore blue jeans and a green hoodie. Since I was still new, I didn’t yet know the more junior members of the team. I genuinely thought these guys were our customer supports staff, and I was about to lose my mind at them marching into the meeting room and interrupting my work.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re from Parklands. We’re looking for [My Colleague].”

I have absolutely no idea what’s going on and I don’t know what Parklands is. Turns out it’s an area of Nairobi that has a police station.

“You’re not even wearing uniforms, you could be anyone. Where’s your ID?”

The guy shows me some plastic card that could’ve been anything. I was thinking of McLovin in Superbad the whole time. She didn’t even have any ID.

“Okay, you’ve seen my ID, now show me yours.”

Keystone Cops

Naturally, I’m not taking my passport to the office every day. I explain this, and tell them they’re welcome to go to the company apartment where they’ll find my passport, complete with visa and paperwork.

He grins. “Let’s go to the station.“

Just as I’m getting up, my two colleagues return to the office. The guy they were actually looking for is immediately arrested, accused of stealing the phone. I’m also arrested, for having the temerity to ask a plain clothes police officer for ID.

Now for the best part of this farcical story.

My colleague and I step outside to the elevator, accompanied by the two local plod. Waiting for us is a grinning ex-IT guy. Everything now makes sense.

We descend to the ground floor and step outside. I look left, right and everywhere to see where they’ve parked their vehicle.

“Where’s the car?”

“You call an Uber”.

“You can’t be serious? I have to pay to have myself arrested?“

“Call an uber.”

“There’s five of us. We won’t fit.”

“Then call two.”

Appreciation

When we arrive at Parklands, we’re taken straight to an interview room. They explain the situation and get to work on my colleague, while I sit and listen. Bizarrely, the IT guy is also in the room.

It takes less than five minutes for the police to realise the whole situation is a complete farce. The green hoodie woman looks a bit embarrassed once it’s been explained that no theft has taken place. In fact, the IT guy still has our company phone – a better model – despite being fired for an obvious theft.

They didn’t even bother speaking to me.

“Okay, so what happens now? Are we free to go?“

She puts her head back, as if looking at something on the ceiling, and says nothing.

“Hello? Can we go?”

She leaves the room.

My colleague and I exchange looks. She wants a bribe.

Sorry, no – it’s absolutely not a bribe. The police would never do that and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise.

However, we should definitely show a token of our appreciation for the great service they provide, keeping the local community safe. Otherwise we’re not going anywhere.

Cat For Sale

While we sat around waiting to be released – which was never going to happen unless the big boss came with the “appreciation” money – I saw a cat.

I love cats, so naturally I played with it for a while to pass the time.

“You like it? You can buy it from us”.

Jesus Christ.

Eventually, the big boss shows up, laughing his arse off. I guess you have to.

If I remember rightly, he paid the equivalent of 200 US dollars in Kenyan shillings to get us out. I can’t honestly remember if that was for both of us, or the price per person.

Either way, the whole experience was completely ridiculous.

Not a Happy Time

Sadly, this type of thing was not uncommon. It’s one of many reasons I chose to stop working in gambling operations – especially in that part of the world.

Let’s just say I much prefer my life writing casino, poker and sportsbook content from the beach.

Require iGaming content sevices? Contact me today.

Last week, I said how nice it is to be working as a sports betting writer again, thanks to a collaboration with SportyTilt.

I’ll be writing a weekly column for the 2025/26 Premier League season, posting two betting tips per week.

Perfect Start

Both of my opening weekend selections came in, getting us off to the best possible start.

Then, on Saturday, victories for Burnley and Bournemouth produced another two winning tips for EPL matchday 2, taking me to 4 out of 4 for the season.

Small but Steady

Admittedly, I haven’t bagged any winners at huge odds yet. But Leeds and Burnley both delivered at odds of 2.55 and 2.45 respectively, so I’m not just tipping favourites.

I did also post a couple of outright 2025/26 season predictions at bigger prices, before a ball had been kicked.

Let’s see how we get on for the rest of the campaign!

Follow my weekly betting predictions at SportyTilt.com

I feel like casino reviews are all I’ve produced for the past two years. I like this type of work, but I also need a bit of variety. Otherwise I run the risk of my writing becoming stale and repetitive.

Since I stopped writing slot reviews for SlotJava.com in 2023, the only “variety” has been reviewing sweepstakes sites, as opposed to traditional casinos. But I’m very thankful to SportyTilt.com for breaking the monotony.

Sports Betting Writer

I recently wrote a few guides explaining the basics of sports betting, including how to read decimal odds, this type of thing. But the site owner has given me a little more freedom to play around, and I’m taking full advantage.

First of all, I’m now writing weekly Premier League tips, and we got off to a flying start on the opening weekend. Both of my picks came in, including Leeds to win at 2.55 with Betway. Hopefully I can keep this form up for the entire season.

I used to be a sports betting writer for BetPal.com in the 2021/22 season, and my EPL tips showed a profit. However, it’s a long old time since I had a regular football writing gig like that. I guess we’ll find out quite quickly how rusty I am!

Interview With Dylan Kerr

My favourite piece to work on so far, though, has undoubtedly been my interview with Dylan Kerr, the former Leeds and Reading player .

Since retirement, he’s been coaching around the world, winning a string of trophies in places like Vietnam, Kenya and South Africa. He feels – quite rightly in my opinion – his success in such places is ignored when applying for roles in Europe.

Since that interview was published, he’s been shortlisted for a really interesting position. I’m not saying my article influenced them, but it definitely influenced them.

Get In Touch

I’m certainly not new to sports betting content. Over the years, I’ve produced a string of sportsbook reviews, betting guides and other content, for readers on five continents.

Of course, I also gained 13 years worth of gambling industry experience prior to becoming a freelance writer. Most of that time was spent in operations management, launching and managing retail betting outlets and online sportsbooks in sub-Saharan Africa and SE Asia.

If you’re in need of a sports betting writer with genuine experience, drop me a line today.

It’s been a while since I wrote anything on my blog, so it’s time for an update.

Cheese and Chocolate

July was another month of football, flights and freelancing for me, as I jetted off to Switzerland for the the women’s Euros. I attended a total of 12 games, including all six of England’s matches.

Like every other tourist there, I ate lots of chocolate. But unfortunately, I don’t like cheese, and I can’t really afford a Rolex.

I did get to dust off my German skills (or lack thereof) too, which was great fun. I did study German for a long time, aber Ich habe alles vergessen.

Based in Zurich, but travelling to cities like St Gallen, Basel, Bern and Geneva, there was a lot of time spent on trains, and subsequent 2am finishes. Still, the beautiful countryside did take the edge off that somewhat.

Despite my busy schedule, I still managed to get plenty of work done, recording my most successful month for sales since January.

Lionesses Roar Once More

Speaking of success, I really didn’t see that victory coming for England. To be honest, I still don’t understand how it happened, given that the Lionesses only led for a total of four minutes and 52 seconds in the whole of the knockout stages. They certainly rode their luck, as the skipper put it.

Still, it was a great feeling to be in amongst it as they came back against Sweden. And as they hit a last minute equaliser (and then a last minute winner, celebrating right in front of me) in the beautiful Stade de Genève. And yet again for yet another dramatic penalty shootout in the final.

I was also lucky enough to be sitting bang in line with *that* Ann-Katrin Berger save at the quarter-final between Germany and France. Oh, and I was about eight seats down from Maisie Adam and Suzi Ruffell at the Wales game. I couldn’t resist having a little dig at Leeds.

Plenty of iGaming Content

In terms of work, this iGaming writer has been very busy lately. Although I did lose a couple of clients in July, they weren’t giving me much work anyway.

On the flip side, one of my biggest clients in the past few years has returned with a chunky project that’ll keep me occupied until the end of the year. It’s almost entirely writing casino reviews, which is all I seem to do these days

That’s why I’m very much looking forward to writing weekly Premier League tips for SportyTilt.com next season. I haven’t had a gig like that for a few years, when I had some good results writing football tips for BetPal.com over a six month period.

Hopefully, my EPL betting content will be better than my Women’s Euro 2025 predictions, anyway.

Remainder of 2025

At the end of this month, I’ll be taking a bit of a break, returning to San Andres, on the nearby island of Tablas. I went there in November 2024, after I totally burned myself out, and really enjoyed the place.

We stayed in a great little resort called Footprints. I can highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in the area. It’s run by a lovely couple, whose dogs will dutifully accompany you if you go for a walk on the beach!

Unlike Switzerland, which was a working trip, this will be an actual holiday. I say that, but I’ll probably end up working. I always do.

Then, in October, I’ll be heading to the UK to visit family and take in some Sheffield United games. I’m just about over the latest play-off final defeat, and looking forward to kicking the new season off tonight.

Dominic Field is a freelance iGaming writer and digital nomad

With ten days to go until the UEFA European Women’s Championship kicks off, I thought I’d take a look at the betting.

When I saw England as second-favourites, my initial reaction was surprise. After all, there’s been a lot going on in the past month or so…

Hectic Preparations

If you don’t know what I’m getting at, both Mary Earps and Fran Kirby announced shock international retirements with the past month.

England have also lost Millie Bright, who pulled out citing burnout, and are carrying a number of injured senior players – namely Lauren James, Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp and Georgia Stanway.

However, after thinking it through logically, the top of the market is about right – despite England’s hectic lead up to the tournament. You could make a case for Germany being a slightly shorter price, but it looks pretty much spot on.

England’s Potential Route

England are in the toughest group on paper, and must contend with both France and the Netherlands. These sides are currently 10th and 11th in the FIFA world rankings, while England have recently slipped to 5th.

This is another reason I was initially surprised to see England second in the betting – there’s a non-zero chance we don’t even get out of the group.

However, should the Lionesses progress, they’ll avoid clear-favourites Spain until at least the semi-final. And they’ll obviously eliminate one of France and the Netherlands in doing so.

There’s absolutely no way Spain don’t win Group B, meaning the two would meet in the semis if England top Group D, or the final, should we qualify in second place.

England’s Main Euro 2025 Rivals

So, how are the other teams at the top of the Women’s Euros betting shaping up?

France

There are signs in the French camp that maybe all’s not well at the moment.

Head coach Laurent Bonadei dropped the experienced duo Wendie Renard and Eugénie Le Sommer from his Euro 2025 squad. I saw they’d been left out of France’s last Nations League games, but I assumed they’d be back for the main event. Wrong.

Their opening fixture is, of course, against the Lionesses. If England beat them, they’ll be strong favourites to top the group, leaving France with a likely match-up against Germany, assuming they qualify.

You’d have to imagine that would be the end of their tournament.

Germany

I can’t see anything other than Germany winning Group C. There were no shocks regarding Christian Wück’s squad announcement, and they seem to be at full-strength.

Sure, they’ll have to face Sweden, currently ranked 6th in the world. But by the time that fixture rolls around, they should have already seen off Poland (27th) and Denmark (12th). A draw could even be enough to top the group.

If they do, they’ll play the runner-up of England’s group, followed by what will be the easiest of the semi-final fixtures. I expect them to stroll through to the final. Do your own jokes about German efficiency.

8/11 for Germany to win the Group (Sporting Index) feels like buying money.

Spain

Surprise, surprise – At 2/1, Spain are huge favourites to win the Women’s Euro 2025 outright. They’re the reigning world champions, having comfortably dispatched England in the final, and are in by far the easiest group of all the main contenders.

They’ll face Portugal (22nd in the world), Belgium (20th) and Italy (13th) in what will almost certainly be a straightforward passage to the quarter-finals. There, they’ll meet either the runner-up of Group C (probably Sweden) or the winner of England’s group.

If England are going to defend their Euros crown, they’ll need to beat Spain.

They managed this in February during the Nations League, thanks to a solitary Jess Park strike – so it can be done. However, they also lost 2-1 over in Spain as recently as June 3rd.

Who Wins Euro 2025?

I’ll be flying to Zurich on June 30th for the whole of the 2025 UEFA Women’s Championship – the perks of turning freelance!

I’ve got tickets for 13 games in total, including all three of England’s group matches, their possible knockout games and the final. I can’t wait.

However, I’m not particularly confident.

I can, at least, understand the logic in England being ranked second favourites. They are the reigning European champions, after all. And despite losing over 200 caps worth of experience, in Earps, Kirby and Bright, they’re still one of the world’s best teams.

But it’s just so hard to see past Spain.

Tough Opponents

If England can top their group, they’ll almost certainly face Spain in the semis, with Germany waiting in the final. That’s a very tough passage – though it would be interesting to see a repeat of the last Euros final match-up.

Trying to be clever and finishing second wouldn’t help much, either. That would just mean Germany in the quarters, an easy semi, then Spain in the final. Same same but different.

I think Germany have a slightly easier route to the final, assuming England top their group – a big assumption (5/4 with Sporting Index). I’d still expect Spain to beat them, but in a final, anything can happen.

Name The Finalists

Spain vs Germany is the favourite in the “Name the Finalists” betting market – and understandably so.

At 6/1 (Sporting Index) I might have a little nibble on that – it could be a nice little consolation prize if England miss out.

My Euro 2025 Predictions

• England lose to Spain in the semi-final
• Spain beat Germany in the final
• Sarina Wiegman leaves after the tournament

Well, this was a bit surreal.

I didn’t anticipate being asked a ton of questions while sat in a hotel bar on Wembley Way, beer in hand. But apparently, the hacks at the Star were scratching around for content.

Happy to oblige, I scribbled a quick summary of my 6,800-mile trip to Wembley to watch United get beat. In stoppage time. Again.

If they’d given me any sort of notice, I’d have happily written a proper piece for them. It would’ve killed some time on the plane, if nothing else!

Alas, they just got some hastily-prepared shite from off the top off my head. Danny Hall has nothing to fear, anyway.

Instead of doing actual journalism, I’ve just been writing a bazillion online casino reviews lately. Which is probably for the best, given the state of the comments on that article.

I don’t mind writing casino reviews, of course – it’s my bread and butter. Stuff like this Golden Nugget overview pays the bills.

But, you know, it’s nice to mix things up and keep it fresh. So, if anyone needs any other iGaming content – ideally slots or sports betting – drop me a line!

Last month, I flew to the UK to visit family. While there, I managed to take in the last three home games of Sheffield United’s Championship season, which ultimately ended with my beloved Blades dropping into the play-offs.

I also caught the last home game of the women’s season, which saw them relegated after an unlucky 3-2 defeat to Southampton. The only bright spot that day was meeting Captain Blade in person.

Nine Without Success

Three flights later, having returned to my island home in the Philippines, United swatted Bristol City aside in the semis, winning 6-0 on aggregate.

Like a complete idiot, I impulsively decided to spend a small fortune and fly back to witness United’s fifth crack at a play-off final in person. That’s in full knowledge of the fact we have the worst play-off record in the whole of England.

Tenth time lucky, yeah?

Here’s me in 1997, by the way, ahead of the trip (hence the smile) to the old Wembley. I try not to think about that day.

Digital Nomad Life

The freedom to do stupid stuff like travel 6,860 miles to watch a football match (yes, I checked) is the main reason I quit my career to become a freelance iGaming writer.

Thanks to my chosen profession, I’ll also be able to spend the whole of July watching the UEFA European Women’s Championship out in Switzerland.

This is something I’m very much looking forward to, having travelled to Australia and New Zealand for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. There, I was able to watch England’s opening game alongside a viral legend, before heading over to Wellington and Auckland for a couple of the Filipinas games.

A First Win for the Philippines

I swear, I cheered louder than anyone else when Sarina Bolden notched what would be an historic winner, in a stadium packed full of Kiwis. It came as such a shock.

Future Blade Jacqui Hand played that day, but she was unable to cancel out the only goal of the game. It secured a first ever World Cup win (men or women) for my adopted country, in their debut tournament.

I made it back to Aus for the rest of England’s games, including the disappointing (and controversial) final against Spain. Hopefully the Lionesses will go one better this year, repeating their Euro 2022 heroics.

England in the Euros

Although I started watching England’s ladies in 2019, Euro 2022 was the first time I made it to a live game.

I dragged the parental units along to Bramall Lane for the semi-final against Sweden, and we were rewarded with a 4-0 goalfest, including *that* Alessio Russo backheel. I’ll take a repeat of that in Zürich on July 5th, as I’ll be there for England’s opener against France.

Like the 2023 World Cup, I’ll be out in Switzerland for the entire tournament. I’ve got tickets for all three England group matches, plus a bunch of others, including two Spain fixtures and a Germany game.

I’ll also be attending two quarter-finals, both semis and the final. So, I’ll likely be seeing quite a lot of Spain (and hopefully England too).

Women’s Football is Enjoyable

As a 42-year old man with no kids, I get a bit of stick for following women’s football. But I like it, and I won’t apologise for that.

For me, it’s just far more accessible, affordable and relatable than watching multi-millionaires rolling around on the floor every five minutes.

I know the standard isn’t as good as the men’s game, but I don’t care. There are plenty of lower league fans, and nobody ever says “they’re not as good as Premier League players, so I don’t watch”.

Modern Football

Don’t get me wrong, I grew up watching the Blades, and the men’s team will always be my passion. But the way modern football’s going, it’s not a surprise to me that so many people are turning to non-league football.

I can’t stand it when United are in the Premier League. It’s just a crap experience.

The Championship is so much more enjoyable – less of the hype, none of the VAR and don’t get me started on foreign armchair fans invading the club’s social media to chat shit.

But even the second tier is getting silly, with the prices and endlessly moving TV schedules. The play-off final costs between £37.00 and £105.00 (plus £2 booking fee per ticket, mind you) and they didn’t announce the kick-off time until a week before the game.

Beautiful Game, Beautiful Ticket Prices

Living on a small island in the Philippines, I can’t go and watch the world’s first club, or any other non-league team. But I can see England women on TV, and it’s extremely cheap to watch games during major tournaments.

I’ve paid 25 CHF (about £22.50) for all of my Euro 2025 tickets, except for the final, which cost me 30 CHF.

I appreciate that’s still going to be a lot of money for some, especially big families. But compared to the men’s Euros last year, it’s peanuts.

Held in Germany, a country lauded for its fair pricing of football games, group match tickets cost between €30 and €200. The knockouts were €50 to €600, and final tickets were €90 to €1,000.

I simply can’t afford to follow the Three Lions for an entire tournament. And to be honest, I don’t want to. I couldn’t even name half the players these days.

The women, on the other hand…

Come ladies, bring it home (again)!