About the Author
Chavdar Vasilev is a journalist specialising in the casino, iGaming and sports betting sectors, with a particular focus on the US regulated gambling market. He joined CasinoBeats in May 2025, where he reports on legislative developments, operator earnings, market expansion and the shifting dynamics between traditional online casinos, sportsbooks and unregulated sweepstakes platforms. Before joining CasinoBeats, he built his career writing for a number of established US iGaming publications, including Bonus.com, GamingToday.com, TheGameDay.com and Oddsseeker.com, where he covered real money casino gaming, social and sweepstakes casinos, sports betting and state by state regulatory change.
Chavdar’s route into the industry was not academic but practical. After spending several years managing fast casual restaurants, he moved into iGaming writing, drawing on years of personal exposure to sports betting and casino gaming across both Europe and the United States. Splitting his time between the two regions has given him a working understanding of how regulatory frameworks, product offerings and player behaviour differ between established European markets and the newer, rapidly evolving US landscape. This background shapes his reporting, which tends to focus on how policy decisions and corporate strategy translate into practical outcomes for operators, affiliates and players.
Areas of Expertise
Chavdar’s coverage centres on a small number of subjects that he follows closely and consistently, rather than attempting to cover the entire gambling industry in general terms.
US Online Gambling Regulation
He tracks state level legislation on iGaming, online sports betting and prediction markets, including bill progress, tax rate debates and licensing structures in states weighing legalisation.
Operator and Corporate News
He reports on earnings calls, market entries and exits, and major corporate decisions from companies such as Light & Wonder, PENN Entertainment and DraftKings, translating financial and strategic detail into coverage that is useful to an industry audience.
Sweepstakes and Social Casinos
He has followed the growth of sweepstakes casinos closely, including the regulatory scrutiny they face and their impact on both social gaming and regulated real money markets.
Sports Betting and Prediction Markets
He covers the sports betting sector alongside the newer prediction markets space, including regulatory disputes such as the CFTC’s approach to platforms offering contracts on election outcomes.
Publication Record
Chavdar’s reporting has appeared on CasinoBeats, Bonus.com, GamingToday.com, TheGameDay.com and Oddsseeker.com. His articles have been referenced by national outlets including Fortune and Politico, and a significant proportion of his published work has ranked on the first page of search results for its subject matter, reflecting both its accuracy and its relevance to readers searching for reliable information on these topics. He has also worked to tight editorial deadlines, producing time sensitive coverage of breaking regulatory and corporate news within 24 to 48 hour windows while maintaining the sourcing standards expected of industry journalism.
Editorial Approach and Independence
Chavdar writes and researches independently of the operators, platforms and companies he covers. His articles are based on primary sources wherever possible, including regulatory filings, official state legislation, company earnings calls and statements, and direct reporting rather than secondary aggregation. Where an article discusses a specific operator, product or bonus offer, this is disclosed clearly to the reader, and promotional content is kept separate from news and analysis.
He is a proponent of responsible gambling and consistently frames his coverage around players engaging with licensed, legally operating platforms rather than unregulated alternatives. Corrections are made openly when errors are identified, and factual claims in his reporting are checked against official sources before publication rather than relying on secondary reporting alone.
Get in Touch
Readers, industry contacts and sources with information relevant to Chavdar’s coverage areas, including US gambling regulation, operator news or sweepstakes casinos, can reach him through CasinoBeats’ editorial contact channels or via his professional social media profiles. Media enquiries and story tips relating to his published work should be directed through the same channels to ensure a prompt response.