Ultra Seven

What is Ultra Seven?

Betfred has already shuttered 132 outlets this year, following last year’s RGD increase.

“We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice,” said Chief Executive Jo Whittaker in a statement to iGB at the time the closures were announced.

Evoke also closed 200 of its William Hill stores in April of this year for the same reason.

What is Ultra Seven?

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted unanimously last week that Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light and Power Association cannot disconnect the Upper Sioux Community’s Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort over its 2.5-megawatt solar project.

Minnesota Valley, a small cooperative utility serving parts of western Minnesota, claimed the 2.5-megawatt array vastly exceeded the 40-kilowatt limit it sets for members. The utility threatened to cut off electricity to the casino if the tribal nation turned the system on.

The ruling means the array—which has sat unused for a year and a half despite being fully built—can finally be switched on once an independent engineer completes a safety review and the tribe resolves any resulting technical recommendations.

What is Ultra Seven?

Illinois Gaming Board data obtained earlier this year by the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that 502 gaming-related burglaries had been reported through June 22—already topping the 473 recorded during all of 2025. More than $1.5 million was stolen during the first half of 2026 across more than 100 municipalities.

The attacks have shown little sign of slowing. Earlier this month, law enforcement noted that a single crew is suspected in coordinated burglaries across Wheeling, New Lenox, and Peotone, where masked offenders armed with sledgehammers hit gaming venues within a 24-hour span.

New Lenox alone recorded at least 14 gaming-related smash-and-grab burglaries by early September.