Tipico Trusted Partners highlight aggregators as key obstacle to removing games from black market casinos; payment providers next to sign Code of Conduct German gambling operator Tipico convened the first meeting of its ‘Trusted Partner’ games providers last week, with all in attendance committed to removing their games from the black market in Germany. Representatives…
Previous UN reports have underpinned the connection between crime syndicates utilising the casino sector to launder money in Southeast Asia, however, they are now issuing a stark warning over the expansion efforts of these gangs.
The desire for expansion has largely been fuelled by intensified regulatory action across Southeast Asia, embodied by the widespread efforts to combat gangs in the Philippines.
Benedikt Hofmann, UNODC Acting Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, commented: “We are seeing a global expansion of East and Southeast Asian organised crime groups.
“This reflects both a natural expansion as the industry grows and seeks new ways and places to do business, but also a hedging strategy against future risks should disruption continue and intensify in the region.”
“It spreads like a cancer,” Hofmann added. “Authorities treat it in one area, but the roots never disappear; they simply migrate. This has resulted in a situation in which the region h..
Ireland’s betting regulator is calling for feedback on how its social responsibility fund will be administered, coming amid a reassessment of how extensive problem gambling is in the country.
Under Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Act of 2024 a ‘Social Impact Fund’ (SMG) has been created, which will be funded by a mandatory annual levy on bookmakers and gaming companies. The funds will be used to support problem gambling treatment and prevention initiatives across the Republic of Ireland.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), also created by the 2024 Act, has opened four consultations open to different stakeholders in betting, gaming and problem gambling treatment.
Each questionnaire focuses on a different group – people with lived experience of harmful gambling or gambling addiction, those working for addiction treatment services, those working with NGOs which focus on vulnerable groups suffering from harmful gambling, and family members affected by another person’s gam..
ÚRHH, Gambling Regulatory Authority (ÚRHH) of the Republic of Slovakia has announced a leadership transition as Jana Mravíková assumes the role of Director General effective April 2025.
Martin Bohoš: URHH
A former Director of Slovakia Department of Finance and Economics, Mravíková will succeed incumbent Martin Bohoš, who is due to leave office but will continue to his work with ÚRHH on gambling regulation.
Slovakia’s gambling sector faces a period of change because online gambling has experienced rapid growth at this time. As his final act as Director General, Bohoš presented the 2024 annual report to the Slovak government which included market trends and difficulties of the year.
The total gambling turnover for 2024 exceeded €24.2bn which presented a 14% growth from the 2023 figures. The net gambling losses from 2024 reached €1.45bn after a 9% increase while tax revenues generated €347m for the state budget which was €46m higher than 2023.
Online casinos produced the greatest shar..
The Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention is a premier event for gaming brands and tribes providing attendees with the opportunity to discuss and learn about key topics.
Earlier this month, the convention held an educational session about mobile betting and the challenges it presents for problem gambling in a digital-first world. A group of industry leaders spoke during the session about the evolving risks of problem gambling amid a digital-first world and where real-time data and AI are being leveraged daily.
The topic was discussed by a panel that included IC360 Co-Managing Director Dan Trolaro and Almond Digital Health founder Kevin Winters. The panel, moderated by Safer Gambling Strategies CEO Keith Whyte, also included California Council on Problem Gambling Executive Director Robert Jacobson and Cornell professor Dr. Soojin Ha.
Accessibility of gambling through mobile devices
Problem gambling is an aspect of the industry that regulators across the country have allocated time an..
The New York legal hammer could be set to hit Blazesoft after Autumn Boatner has taken action against the firm.
Boatner is pursuing a class action suit against the operator in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Boatner claims she lost money with the firm as a result of their allegedly illegal sweepstakes operation during 2024. The claimant is also taking aim at the strategy of Blazesoft when it comes to player acquisition, alleging that there was false marketing from the firm over its status as a F2P sweepstake.
Significantly, the complaint also alleges that the operator is in breach of laws in the Big Apple, allowing players under the age of 21 to play.
The complaint stated: “Defendants’ misconduct inflicts particularly severe harm on vulnerable populations, including individuals predisposed to gambling addiction and younger consumers targeted through ‘free play’ marketing.
“Defendants aggressively market and promote their online casinos on social me..
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish regulator, has sanctioned Videoslots for breaching its duty of care to players and failing to discourage excessive gambling.
Alongside a warning, the operator has also been hit by a SEK 12,000,000 (£938,400) sanction fee for breaching Chapter 14, Section 1 of Sweden’s Gambling Act – which calls on licensees to “protect players against excessive gambling and to help them reduce their gambling when there is reason to do so (duty of care)”.
“Videoslots Ltd has not taken sufficiently effective measures to discourage excessive gambling. They have also not followed up on the effect of the measures taken and have not acted quickly enough. Thus, the company has breached the so-called duty of care,” stated Spelinspektionen.
The operator previously reached a £2m settlement with the UK Gambling Commission in June 2023 after social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures were discovered during a commission investigation.
Videoslots Ltd conducts online g..
Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Gambling Authority of the Netherlands, has warned unlicensed operators that it will impose maximum penalties on illegal gambling offenders.
The notice follows the KSA’s issuance of a cease-and-desist order to Saint Lucia-based operator Starscream Limited, demanding it terminate the promotion of unlicensed online casino brands to Dutch consumers.
The order includes a penalty demand for immediate compliance, or the operator will face an instant fine of €280,000 per week. The KSA warns Starscream Limited that failure to comply will result in the authority enforcing the maximum penalty of €840,000.
The KSA has investigated the unlicensed brands rantcasino.com, sugarcasino.com, and allstarzcasino.com, all operated by Starscream Limited.
“On the sites investigated, it was possible to create a player account, make deposits, and participate in the illegal gambling offered. At that time, no technical measures were taken to prevent participation from the Netherl..
GambleAware has urged people to open up about gambling harm with new data revealing that 66% of people feel that there is stigma around the issue.
The charity has warned that such stigma is holding people back from seeking vital support.
For example, the study shows that 28% of those who experience problems with gambling hide their activities from their family and friends, and 24% who are experiencing the most serious harm do not seek support due to feelings of shame or embarrassment.
Zoë Osmond OBE, CEO of GambleAware, commented: “Now is the time to have a national conversation about gambling harm. Only by encouraging an open dialogue can we empower people to seek the support they need without judgement.”
The organisation has installed a new installation at Westfield London in White City, featuring 85,000 poker chips to encourage conversation surrounding the problem, as it highlights how anyone could be at risk of harm, including children.
In detail, the installation illustrates..
Russian authorities are intensifying action over the gambling sector in a bid to eradicate illegal operators from the country.
In even more stringent measures, the government has confirmed it has commenced with the exploration of plans to shut down online gambling operators and block websites.
Furthermore, the government is also looking to take aim at crypto in a bid to strangle transactions to the online gambling sector.
Vladimir Putin has retained a strong anti-gambling stance during his premiership – establishing the Russian Civic Chamber, a civil society institution during the early stage of his tenure.
The latest efforts have been spearheaded by Evgeny Masharov, a key member of the Russian Civic Chamber.
Following the public discussions, Masharov stated: “The problem of illegal gambling can be solved in two ways: the first is blocking websites and applications, the second is blocking payments in cryptocurrency.”
Speaking to Russian news outlet TASS, Masharov emphasised ..