UK Gambling Harms Research Centre to assess efficacy of regulations 

Gambling Commission admits faults but backs credibility of Young People and Gambling Survey

France adds new obligations to sign off gambling ad campaigns 

Peru hails first year progress of new online gambling regime 

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Damián Gabriel Martínez: SBC Noticias
Peru has reported successful implementation of its new online gambling framework, as authorities prioritise tax compliance and toughen enforcement against black market websites. Peru offers a model from which other South American nations can draw lessons to shape their own regulatory regimes.

Peru’s government believes that adoption of new gambling laws and standards is going smoothly following the implementation of federal reforms in 2024.

As of February 2024, Peru has enacted Law No. 31557, referred to as the Law Regulating Remote Gaming and Remote Sports Betting. Devised over a two-year period, the law aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for online gambling and sports betting, supporting both the digital economy and public welfare programmes.

Oversight of Peru’s online gambling market has been assigned to MINCETUR, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, which is responsible for licensing and market supervision.

The newly established regulatory system has stimulated sustainable growth in the sector. MINCETUR has authorised 60 technology platforms and registered 280 domestic and international service providers.

The market is now supported by nine accredited international certification laboratories, which act as partners to the regulatory regime. Nationwide, the number of authorised venues has risen to 4,516, following the registration of 683 new sports betting establishments since December 2024.

Officials at MINCETUR see the current momentum as a strong endorsement of Peru’s modern regulatory structure, which has attracted investors bringing both job creation and innovative solutions.

Strict Tax Disciplines
Peru’s tax revenues have grown significantly under Law No. 31557. Operators’ monthly net income is subject to a 12% tax, calculated after platform maintenance costs. Additionally, Peruvian residents must pay a 1% consumption tax on every bet placed a mandate introduced by President Dina Boluarte. However the rate has been temporarily reduced to 0.3% until 1 July 2025 to ease the transition.

Peru is now recognised across Latin America as a leading authority in regulatory governance, becoming the third jurisdiction in the region to introduce a dedicated online gambling regime.

Neighbouring countries are using Peru’s structured and transparent approach as a blueprint for their own digital economy reforms.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Operators functioning without authorisation now face severe financial and criminal penalties. The maximum fine for operating without a licence is 990,000 soles (approximately £207,000), alongside potential prison sentences of up to four years.

MINCETUR also holds the authority to block access to unauthorised websites and to disrupt payment services linked to illegal operators.

Its enforcement division, the General Directorate of Casino Games and Slot Machines (DGJCMT), has removed 15% of illegal gambling websites while reducing the presence of unlicensed digital platforms by 40%.

Public Interest in a Safer Gambling Culture
The government has launched school-based awareness campaigns to educate the public about gambling addiction. Simultaneously, industry training programmes have been implemented to promote standards of responsible conduct among companies.

Collaborative initiatives with gaming associations reinforce Peru’s long-term commitment to protecting vulnerable individuals and building a safer gambling environment.

Peru’s continued development of digital economy policies uses the successful implementation of its gambling reform as a guiding model for emerging markets seeking to balance regulatory control with innovation and public benefit.

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Swedish regulator hits FDJ subsidiary Spooniker with AML penalty

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Spooniker, a subsidiary operator of the French gambling giant FDJ United’s Kindred Group, has been hit with a SEK 10m (£778k) penalty in Sweden.

In a statement posted on its website, the Swedish regulator, Spelinspektionen, explained that Spooniker – a former Kindred brand but now part of FDJ after the French company acquired Kindred – has been found lacking sufficient customer due diligence procedures.

As per the statement, Spooniker had failed to identify the exact source of funds being processed through its systems, leading to potential exploits from bad actors.

“They have not been able to determine whether the customers’ activities were legitimate or whether they posed a risk of money laundering or terrorist financing,” Spelinspektionen’s statement added.

Repeat offences
From a glance, the penalty fee might look extraordinarily high. However, this is because the Swedish regulator sees Spooniker – the operator of domains such as unibet.se and bingo.se – as a repeat offender.

Deficiencies were first identified by Spelinspektionen in 2022, after which a follow-up supervision review took place in 2024 to see how Spooniker has addressed the shortcomings.

Spooniker provided a detailed view into its risk classification system for customers, each one needing to register with an electronic identity verification (Bank-ID) under Sweden’s gambling framework.

And while the firm has asserted that its origin of funds verification is on par with standards during the regulator’s preliminary review, the penalty remains a fact. A leading factor was the review of a number of customers using Spooniker’s services.

The regulator wrote: “Spelinspektionen notes that all customers reviewed have made deposits totaling between approximately SEK 620,000 and SEK 830,000 during the review period.

“Apart from information on taxable income being collected on one occasion, no further measures are taken for these customers, despite the fact that they deposit between the entire taxable annual income and SEK 340,000 more than the taxable annual income.”

Signed off by Spelinspektionen’s Director General, Camilla Rosenberg, the report concluded: “The deficiencies are serious and repeated. The Swedish Gambling Authority considers that the penalty fee is proportionate to the seriousness of the violations.”

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Romanian national TV airs EGBA call for national self-exclusion

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The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has urged Romania to implement a self-exclusion registry, making the call right from within Parliament itself.

EGBA’s Secretary General Maarten Haijer attended an event organised by the Romanian Online Gambling Association (AOJND) and held at the Romanian Parliament building in Bucharest.

Speaking on national television, Haijer said that he’d like to see a national self-exclusion scheme adopted as “quickly as possible” in order to help those in need of it.

“We need to target a specific regulation that addresses prevention of harm in individuals rather than a very horizontal, one-size-fits-all regulation because this has proven to be not as successful as a more targeted one,” Haijer concluded.

At the event, Haijer was joined by representatives from the Danish gambling authority as well. Anders Dorph, Director of Spillemyndigheden, explained that Romania needs to change its view on the idea of gambling itself.

“We need to focus on educating the people of Romania, so that they know what gambling is about. It’s about entertainment, it’s not about winning money. It’s like a cinema. You have to pay for entertainment. I think that’s a very important message to get out,” Dorph added.

Responsible European Gambling
After the event, EGBA issued an official comment on its website regarding the matter with self-exclusion in Romania, reminding that this has already been implemented across 17 EU member states.

According to the trade body, when pondering a potential adoption of such a framework, Romanian policy makers should apply it to all licence holders – both land-based and online operators.

Another key point was that the self-exclusion scheme should be made accessible through a ‘GDPR-compliant government website’, and that additional commitments should be taken for it to be seamlessly integrated within gambling platforms.

Also drawing from European best practices, EGBA added that such a scheme should make it a requirement for operators to remove self-excluded players from marketing databases, and that it must ensure that minimum and maximum self-exclusion periods are offered to customers.

Taking care of its players is the natural step going forward for Romania given the growth of online gambling in recent years – with the world of iGaming resting comfortably in each customer’s pocket wherever they go.

The last market report from EGBA revealed that in 2024, the online gambling market in Europe was worth an estimated €13.5bn, a number only poised to grow.

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TSB Bank and Bank of Ireland join gambling harm prevention push

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Banks are becoming increasingly prominent stakeholders in problem gambling prevention in the UK and Ireland at a time of regulatory and political focus on betting in both countries.

The UK is in the process of adopting the recommendations of the Gambling Act review, which ran between December 2020 and April 2023 with a white paper published in the latter.

Throughout this process, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) encouraged the betting industry to learn from banks and the wider financial services sector in areas such as data sharing.

In Ireland, meanwhile, a new regulator is establishing itself as the chief overseer of the country’s large betting and gaming sector – the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI).

As it prepares to take on full regulatory duties next year, the GRAI too is looking at how financial services tools can play a role in customer protection.

Another British bank plays its part
This week, TSB Bank became the latest major UK financial institution to throw its hat into the gambling player protection ring. The bank, the seventh largest in the UK by total assets, has started working with gambling harm prevention and education charity Ygam.

The partnership focuses on specialist educational resources in schools informed by Ygam’s research and experience and delivered by TSB Bank staff. The sessions will focus on practice guidance on money management and identifying potential risks when playing video games.

“Gaming now plays a central role in young people’s lives, offering significant benefits,” said Linda Scollins Smith, Director of Programmes at Ygam.

“However, it is always important to safeguard against the risks, and the increasing sophistication of game monetisation through microtransactions and in-game purchases underscores the need for education on this issue.”

TSB joins the player protection push after recently commissioning a Censuswide survey of 2,000 young gamers which found that gamers spend an average of £540 annually on in-game purchases and subscriptions.

This all forms part of a long-running conversation around the potential cross-over between video games and gambling, largely focused around in-game purchases and loot boxes, and whether these features can encourage gambling-type behaviour.

Kate Osiadacz, Head of Responsible Business, TSB, said: “Gaming is often one of young people’s first interactions with spending or managing their money digitally; so we’re pleased to be working with Ygam to reach young people with targeted advice.

“Our Money Confident schools programme greatly benefits from Ygam’s insight – and we’re keen to help empower the next generation to make informed decisions for their financial lives ahead.”

Another Irish ‘big four’ bank joins too
TSB Bank is not the first UK bank to get involved in gambling harm prevention, and probably won’t be the last. Monzo, the country’s fastest growing challenger bank, has offered a gambling payments block tool for some time and continually reports year-on-year increases in engagement with it.

Spanish bank Santander, the 11th largest in the UK by assets, has some of its own programmes. This firm demonstrated these in a workshop with Gamcare last year, one of Britain’s biggest gambling charities, such as solutions for revising spend levels, push notifications, and signposting to support services.

“At Santander, we believe that the bank, although not responsible, does have a part to play in gambling harm prevention,” said Graeme Cunning, Vulnerable Customers Strategy Manager at Santander.

Over in Ireland, the new Irish gambling regulator has also been welcoming banks introducing payment blocks for gambling. Anne-Marie Caufield, the GRAI’s CEO, publicly praised Allied Irish Bank (AIB) and EBS for doing so back in January.

The Bank of Ireland, one of the ‘big four’ of Irish banking alongside the aforementioned AIB, has become the latest to do so. The block can be applied across all betting, gaming and lottery sites licensed in the Republic of Ireland.

The bank cited some of its card spending data from Q1 2025 showing that 90% of gambling transactions took place online, with 99% funded by debit cards. It also found that the local areas which saw the sharpest increases in gambling activity during the quarter were Wicklow, Kilkenny, Limerick and Laois, particularly around popular sports events like Cheltenham and the Six Nations.

Áine McCleary, Chief Customer Officer at the Bank of Ireland, said: “Problem gambling can have a devastating effect not just on the person involved, but also on families, friends and loved ones. For those with a gambling addiction it can often seem like help is out of reach.

“This initiative we are launching is designed to help customers take positive steps to improve control over their finances. It also furthers Bank of Ireland’s ambition to improve the financial wellbeing of our customers and communities, especially those going through difficult times.”

The bank has also published an explanatory video via its LinkedIn page featuring testimonials about the benefits of gambling block products. This post was subsequently shared by the GRAI.

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GambleAware offers glimpse into NGSN success story

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The National Gambling Support Network (NGSN) has helped more than 110,000 people since it first launched in April 2023.

This was announced in a new report by GambleAware, an independent gambling harm charity that commissions the NGSN. Other key metrics include an average waiting time of two days for a first assessment appointment.

Another highlight is an increase in self-referrals of more than 50% in the second year since NGSN’s launch. This signaled that more individuals are accessing support directly from their local provider, evidencing the positive impact of a region-first approach.

This is something that many problem gambling treatment stakeholders have been vocally calling for since the Gambling Act review White Paper. The Health and Social Care Committee, for example, heard from public health professionals last month, all of whom argued a region-first approach is needed for gambling harm treatment.

Returning to GambleAware’s stats, the 110,000 figure is based on the number of individuals that have accessed services like the National Gambling Helpline, primary care, and additional residential aid.

Such services are usually categorised into three tiers of support, including assessment, brief interventions, extended brief interventions, treatment sessions, reviews and aftercare.

Since 2023, brief interventions in particular – a practice where short conversations are held to reduce risk of harm – have increased significantly by 93%, from 11,000 to 21,000 people in year two.

This has constituted a success for such short-term strategies, which are targeting gambling harm prevention through quick and early intervention.

Anna Hargrave, Deputy Chief Executive at GambleAware, commented: “The second year of the National Gambling Support Network presented an opportunity to take the learnings from year one and focus on how we can best support those affected by gambling harms.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of people being supported and importantly, an increase in brief interventions and self-referrals, which means we can support people earlier and reduce the potential for further harm.

“The expertise within the Network is unrivalled and providers play a key role in helping people across the country, whether that be at the start of their journey, or supporting them at the end.

“We look forward to working with the future commissioners and the NGSN with the integration of the network into the future system to ensure providers can continue offering their crucial services.”

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Alberta passes iGaming Alberta Act to legalize commercial online gambling

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Alberta is just a formality away from legalizing commercial online casino and sports betting.

Minister Dale Nally’s Bill 48 was passed by the provincial legislature’s Committee of the Whole and subsequently by the full Assembly at third reading on Wednesday evening. It leaves the United Conservative Party’s enabling legislation, titled the iGaming Alberta Act, just needing Royal Assent to be enacted.

The bill, which was passed on Wednesday without any amendments, will establish Canada’s second open, commercial, regulated online gambling market after Ontario opened its doors three years ago.

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) will be the market regulator while still operating Play Alberta, currently the only regulated online gambling platform in the province. A new government agency, the Alberta iGaming Corporation, will conduct and manage the market and contract commercial online sportsbooks and online casinos.

Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns called the passage “a great milestone in the process.”

“The Canadian Gaming Association and its members extend their congratulations to Minister Dale Nally and the Government of Alberta for reaching this significant milestone and advancing towards the provision of regulated iGaming and enhanced consumer protections for its citizens,” added the CGA in a post.

Regulations will paint the picture
While legalization is clearly a vital step, there is a long way to go. Key details, including how many operators will be allowed in and what the tax rate and licensing fees will be, still need to be hashed out and an entire framework of regulations needs to be constructed.

“More details on key regulations and policies related to revenue, consumer protection and specific social responsibility policies will be shared later this year, following further engagement,” said Nally at third reading.

The bill has not faced much strong opposition in Alberta’s Assembly, but key concerns were repeatedly raised by the New Democratic Party (NDP) about the lack of specifics around responsible gambling and player protection in the bill text. A package of NDP amendments was voted down by the committee last week, and similar concerns were voiced at both committee stage and third reading on Wednesday before the bill was passed.

Nally has been unequivocal that responsible gambling should be a regulatory issue, not something written into the legislation. That way, he argued, changes can be made “on a dime” as required by the market rather than needing to go through a legislative process to come into force, offering more efficiency and flexibility.

One thing the bill does include is a centralized self-exclusion platform for gamblers across all commercial regulated sites, the type of which Ontario still does not have in place but is working to construct.

Online gambling is already happening
As was the case in Ontario before that province opened its market, advocates for Bill 48 pointed to the fact that a great deal of online gambling is already being done in Alberta, just without the revenue and player protection benefits of regulatory oversight.

AGLC said last year that it estimates that Play Alberta holds around 45% of the province’s online gambling market by revenue. Data provided to Canadian Gaming Business by H2 Gambling Capital put the share of online sports betting and online casino activity much lower, closer to 25%.

Legalizing and regulating online gambling is touted as an effective way to not only make online gambling safer for players and taxable for the government, but also to bolster consumer choice, drive innovation and create a greater economic benefit for the province via avenues such as direct and indirect job creation. In Ontario, the consensus is that those goals have largely been met.

When can business start?
As for when Alberta might be ready to open its doors, although Nally voiced optimism last fall that the market may be up and running in time fo the next NFL season this coming fall, the consensus today seems to be the first quarter of 2026.

Chief executives of numerous Ontario-licensed operators, including FanDuel, BetMGM, theScore Bet owner PENN Entertainment, BetRivers parent Rush Street Interactive and multi-brand operator Super Group have said this year that they are planning for Q1 2026 market entry.

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Bank of Ireland rolls out Gambling Block in support of GRAI

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The Bank of Ireland (BoI) has launched its Gambling Block tool in support of the country’s new gambling regulatory regime led by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI).

It’s a step that comes amid mounting concern over increased online betting, especially among young adults, and coincides with a wider campaign led by the GRAI to promote financial safeguards across the banking sector.

The newly launched tool allows BoI customers to request a block that will prevent transactions with gambling operators, including online casinos, lotteries, and betting sites.

The blocking service is available for both personal and business debit cards, with plans to extend it to credit cards in the coming months. Customers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland can activate the block via dedicated helplines or through the bank’s website.

According to the bank’s own analysis of Q1 2025 card spending, 90% of gambling transactions now occur online, and 99% are funded via debit card..

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GambleAware: Problem gambling self-referrals increased by 50%

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Gambling harms charity GambleAware has reported a 50% increase in self-referrals to its network of regional support providers since April 2023.

Problem gamblers have accessed the providers via the GambleAware-commissioned National Gambling Support Network (NGSN), which offers varying levels of support.

The latest figures from the charity also revealed that over 110,000 people have accessed some level of support from the NGSN since its foundation in April 2023. Brief interventions, typically a short conversation on how to reduce the risk of gambling harm, also saw a 93% increase.

Anna Hargrave, Deputy Chief Executive of GambleAware, commented: “The second year of the National Gambling Support Network presented an opportunity to take the learnings from year one and focus on how we can best support those affected by gambling harms.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of people being supported and, importantly, an increase in brief interventions and self-referrals, which means we ca..

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Player Protection Symposium will be part of SBC Summit Americas core agenda

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SBC Summit Americas is reinforcing its commitment to promoting safer gambling by integrating the previously standalone Player Protection Symposium into the event’s core conference agenda.

This strategic move ensures that all registered delegates will have access to discussions, insights, and best practices around player protection, cementing the topic as a central pillar of the 2025 summit.

The Player Protection Symposium will be held on May 14 in the Palm Room (Level 2) at the Broward County Convention Centre. Featuring a focused conference agenda and networking opportunities, the symposium will offer a dedicated space for operators, regulators, compliance experts and technology providers to share strategies for player protection.

“I think it’s clear to everyone that player safety is no longer a side conversation. It should be a central focus for every company operating in our industry,” said SBC CEO and Founder Rasmus Sojmark.

“That’s why we’ve integrated the Player Protection Symposium into the main SBC Summit Americas agenda, ensuring it is front and center and fully accessible to all attendees without the need for a separate ticket or early arrival. By embedding it into the core program, we’re opening up these crucial discussions to a much wider audience, creating greater opportunities for learning, collaboration, and progress.”

With SBC Summit Americas now bringing together North America and Latin America, the new dedicated track offers Latin American stakeholders a unique opportunity to access deeper conversations around player protection. Although SBC Summit Latinoamérica touched on the topic through individual panels, it never hosted a full track on the subject. This new format also paves the way for greater knowledge sharing between the two regions.

The Player Protection Symposium will feature seven panels in total, tackling a wide range of issues related to player safety. Sessions will cover topics such as analyzing affordability and risk checks, the role of technology in early harm detection, how operators can work with regulators and the overall development of safer gambling tools and strategies.

The symposium will open with a look at the North American market and the effect of financial risk checks on player behaviors. Financial Risk Checks: An Essential Tool for Player Safety or the Black Market’s New Best Friend? will feature Craig Cornforth (Senior Business Development Director, EPIC Global Solutions), Rebekah Jackson (Director of Gaming, GBG), Martin Lycka (SVP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling, Entain) and Declan Raines (Senior Director – US Gaming, TransUnion) exploring how affordability checks shape player behavior and how the industry can meet compliance demands while reducing the risk of driving players toward unregulated markets.

The panel titled From Obligation to Opportunity: Driving Success Through Responsible Gambling will focus on both the LatAm and North American markets, discussing how proactive responsible gambling strategies can drive long-term commercial success across both regions. Featuring player protection experts Sarah Brennan (Senior Director, Compliance, BetMGM), Paul Buck (CEO, EPIC Global Solutions), Dr. Mary Donohue (CEO & Founder, The Digital Wellness Center), Charmaine Hogan (Head of Regulatory Affairs, Playtech), Martin Lycka (Regulation & Responsible Gambling Expert) and Dr. Jennifer Shatley (Executive Director, Responsible Online Gaming Association.

Safeguarding the Next Generation: Addressing Underage Gambling Risks will examine the need for companies to prevent underage gambling across Latin America. The panel features Samer Atassi (VP of Latin America, Jumio), Ezequiel Dominguez (Director de Loterias, Loteria de Buenos Aires (LOTBA), Dr. Agustin Li Gambi (Director General, IJAN), Ida Lopez (President, ALEA), Iliana Pineda (Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Wplay), and Tatiana Vazquez (Socia – Directora, V&I Consultores Legales) as they explore technology-focused solutions to protect vulnerable youth and ensure responsible gaming practice across the region.

Away from the Player Protection Symposium, attendees will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge of both the LATAM and North American markets through tracks such as the Payment Expert Summit, Leaders, Affiliates and Masterclasses on new and upcoming regulations.

Get Your Ticket to SBC Summit Americas

Group Pass 3+ (Full Event Pass): Available for groups of three or more, this pass grants full access to conference sessions, the expo floor, networking events, and evening parties—all for a discounted rate of $500 USD per person. (does not include access to SBC Awards Americas)

Expo+ Pass: Includes access to the expo floor and all conference sessions (does not include access to evening networking events).

Complimentary Operator & Affiliate Passes: Operators and affiliates can apply for free passes, subject to approval.

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