A near 10-hour sports betting outage in Germany has prompted criticism from the German Sports Betting Association (DSWV), one of the biggest gambling trade bodies in the country.

Local sources revealed that customers across the whole of Germany were unable to place deposits with betting providers for 10 hours straight last Saturday after a failure at a key regulatory system. Licensed firms are concerned this may have driven some customers to the black market.

This was hinted at by Mathias Dahms, DSWV President, who addressed the issue by saying: “This is not just about considerable economic damage.

“If legal sports betting offers cannot be used by customers from Germany on a Bundesliga Saturday, the illegal betting providers, who are very happy to accept new customers and deposits, will benefit first and foremost.

“There is no player protection in the black market. The German tax authorities are also left empty-handed.”

Reason for the outage
Online gambling providers in Germany..

A reported proliferation of gambling on the widely used online computer game Roblox has caught the attention of the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA).

In its latest report into the extent of illegal gambling in Demark and how it is trying to counter it, the Spillemyndigheden stated that it has become concerned with ‘skin betting’ in recent years.

In particular, a form of skin betting on Roblox whereby users gamble using the game’s in-house virtual currency, the Robux, as a deposit is ringing alarm bells at the regulator.

The authority has become aware of a form of Robux called ‘earned Robux’ which can be paid out in US dollars or Danish Krona through the Roblox Developer Exchange Programme.

“This is used by several third-party websites where you can use Robux as deposits and winnings in betting, casino games and lotteries,” the DGA states.

Not the first rodeo for Roblox
Roblox T&Cs state that although gambling content is allowed on the platform, actual gambling – whether for real-wo..

The tax liabilities and fiscal responsibilities of the Brazil Bets regime continue to be scrutinised by the Parliamentary Commission Inquiry (CPI) led by Soraya Thronicke (Podemos-MS) and Senator Dr Hiran Goncalves (PP-RR).

Following a brief pause, the commission, referred to as the ‘CPI of Bets,’ has reinitiated testimonies from key legislative stakeholders to provide feedback on the economic accountabilities of the Bets regime.

Last week, a key testimony was provided by Robinson Barreirinhas, the Special Secretary of Receita Federal, the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil, on the tax framework of Bets.

In charge of Bets tax collection, Receita Federal remains cautious in making projections of taxes accumulated by the new regime, for which the agency has appointed an expert team to monitor market movements.

Yet Barreirinhas has advocated that stricter tax requirements should be placed on Bets licences as part of an individual tax policy aimed at discouraging excessive gambling.

He..

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..