The Football Governance Bill has been approved by the House of Lords – but without some recently proposed amendments that would have effectively banned gambling sponsorships in football.

Peers considered the Bill in its third reading on Monday, carrying three amendments but rejecting amendments suggested by Lord Addington, a Liberal Democrat peer, who stated that “football might be one place we could do without” betting advertising.

One of Addington’s amendments was withdrawn during the report stage of the Bill and another was not moved forward by the House during this stage. During the third reading on Monday, his fourth and final amendment, amendment 53, was rejected by 339 votes to 74.

The Bill’s key measure is the creation of an Independent Football Regulator. Addington’s amendment would have set the regulator a duty to “prevent advertising and sponsorship related to gambling in English football. English football must not promote or engage in advertising or sponsorship related t..

The Republic of Croatia will begin implementing the measures and protections of a new Gambling Law, to be in full effect by early 2026.

The Sabor of Croatia (parliament) has received a mandate to “Combat Addiction to Games of Chance and Betting” by introducing new player protections, tightening rules on gambling venues, eliminating aggressive advertising and increasing gambling taxes.

The mandate was drafted by the HDZ government in coordination with the Croatian Institute of Public Health and professors from the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation.

The proposed changes carry political significance, as Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has vowed to overhaul Croatia’s gambling laws as part of his third-term mandate, addressing previous failures to tackle gambling addiction — an issue affecting the lives of 40,000 Croats.

Insights from the Institute of Public Health reveal that drastic measures are needed to curb a crisis of gambling disorders impacting Croatia communities. Data sh..

Ireland’s new gambling authority to prioritise compliance and conduct on gambling harms reduction.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) will use a ‘full toolkit’ to ensure operators’ compliance with regulations and combat problem gambling, which it believes is much higher than previously expected.

In a double interview with the Irish Examiner, Anne-Marie Caulfield, Chief Executive of the newly formed regulatory agency, stated that rates of harmful gambling in Ireland are ‘10 times higher than had been previously thought’ according to recent data.

This is a worrying figure for the GRAI as it embarks on what it set to be its first year of regulatory activity. The authority was brought into existence by recent legislation, the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, which sought to modernise Ireland’s nearly century old gambling regulation.

Addressing problem gambling has been earmarked as a priority for the regulator, and the responsibilities operators shoulder in meeting this c..

Romania’s Gambling Office has made a key determination on cross-platform self-exclusion rule, opening a path for player compensation…

ONJN, the National Gambling Office of Romania, has determined that licensed operators must uphold self-exclusion as a “single account principle.”

The determination was published on Thursday, 13 March, to close a loophole that allowed self-excluded players to switch platforms and continue to gamble.

According to ONJN, if a customer self-excludes from one account on an operator’s platform, the exclusion must automatically apply to all other accounts held by the customer with that operator — even if the player did not specifically request exclusion from each individual account.

The determination carries consequences for operators that failed to enforce self-exclusion under the single account principle. Customers may now seek compensation for losses incurred on platforms that did not properly apply the self-exclusion measure across all linked accounts.

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