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Flutter sets up Leeds customer protection hub with £1.5m backing

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Flutter Entertainment has invested a further £1.5m into responsible gambling and player safety, launching a new dedicated centre at one of its major UK headquarters.

Located in the firm’s Leeds, West Yorkshire, HQ, the ‘Centre of Excellence’ is intended as a place for collaboration, learning and experimentation in the field of responsible gambling and customer protection.

The move forms part of a wider focus on responsible gaming tools, with Flutter having set itself a target of 75% of its customer base using these tools by 2030. The current rate sits at 60%, according to the Sky Bet, Paddy Power and Betfair parent group.

Flutter’s new hub will host the company’s 450-strong customer safety team, and serve as an area for them to develop and test technological capabilities in this field.

The opening of the hub has been timed with Flutter’s Leeds office hosting the Ethical Gambling Forum, where the editor of SBC’s Player Protection Hub, Steve Hoare, will be moderating two sessions.

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Google cracks down on bad ads but remains under pressure

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Google has banned hundreds of millions of gambling adverts for breaching its rules, with the tech giant stating that its safety teams have been ‘working round the clock’. Despite its efforts, however, Google still finds itself in regulatory crosshairs regarding illegal gambling across multiple markets, alongside some of its fellow Big Tech players. Alphabet’s IT and tech firm…

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iGaming Daily: BetBlocker Funding Breakthrough | Ep. 751

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In today’s episode of iGaming Daily, SBC Media Manager Charlie Horner is joined by iGaming Expert Editor Joe Streeter and special guest Duncan Garvie, CEO of BetBlocker, as the trio unpack the significance of its recent OHID funding win, the future of safer gambling provision in the UK, and the wider debate around regulation, scrutiny,…

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Canada advances federal bill to limit sports betting advertising

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Bill S-211, the legislation that would set the stage for the federal government of Canada to take a firmer hand in regulating sports betting advertising, took a significant and unprecedented step forward on Wednesday.

Members of the House of Commons voted 298-21 in favour of sending the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act on for further discussion in the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

It marks a watershed moment for the legislation. While the proposal to create a federal framework for sports betting advertising across Canada passed the Senate in both 2024 and 2025, the current version is the first that has been taken up for discussion in the opposite chamber.

Prime Minister Carney votes in favour

There is still a long way to go before the legislation can potentially become law. But it’s the latest sign that Canadian Members of Parliament believe that, while the Criminal Code of Canada gives provinces the rights and responsibilities to run online gambling ..

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Easier self-exclusion mechanisms introduced by Dutch regulator

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The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has launched a new mechanism to simplify the process for authorised third-parties to register problem gamblers with the national self-exclusion scheme CRUKS.

Changes are meant to provide persons or guardians authorised by court to manage the finances of others with more legal leverage to put them on the register if problem gambling occurs.

These authorisations are generally made when there are financial problems already occurring in the first place with individuals who are at risk of mismanaging their finances.

Adding them to CRUKS eliminates the possibility of problem gambling exacerbating the issue. Previous mechanisms for authorised guardians to do so have been deemed ineffective and legally cumbersome, the KSA added.

Complaints about the process highlighted an unnecessary volume of evidence to prove that problem gambling is taking place and that it has caused damage, together with slow processing times.

Now, the KSA has m..

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Colorado Senators remove prop bet ban from sports betting reform bill

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Senators in Colorado voted on Tuesday to advance a sports betting reform bill to the full chamber floor, but not before they struck a proposed ban on prop bets from the legislation.

Senate Appropriations Committee members voted narrowly 4-3 to advance the bipartisan Senate Bill 26-131 to the Committee of the Whole on April 21. It could be read at second reading there as early as April 23.

The bill, which has one Democrat and one Republican sponsor attached in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, is a wide-ranging responsible gambling bill aimed at implementing more safeguards and limitations on how licensed sports betting platforms can operate in the state.

Prop bet ban would cost too much

However, before the committee passed it on Tuesday, members approved an amendment via a 5-2 vote that scratched a proposed ban on prop wagers.

The original form of the bill proposed defining a proposition bet as one that is made on an individual athlete’s performance, a specific off..

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Gambling Commission data shows spike in UK black market VPN use after Online Safety Act

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An update from the Gambling Commission has suggested that there are no real patterns for consumer engagement with illegal gambling sites – but hundreds of millions of minutes are being racked up on there every month.

Data also suggests a huge increase in consumers using VPNs to access these sites since the Online Safety Act came into force in July 2025.

A blog post from Tim Livesley, Head of the Data Innovation Hub at the Gambling Commission, has revealed fresh insight into how the regulator is tracking illegal gambling activity and the challenges it faces in measuring it accurately.

Speaking following the Commission’s Spring Evidence Conference in Birmingham, Livesley outlined both recent trends and ongoing efforts to refine the regulator’s methodology.

The latest analysis, extending trend data through February 2026, suggests that engagement continues to fluctuate rather than follow a clear upward or seasonal pattern, but shows just how prevalent illegal operators consistently a..

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New York AG sues Coinbase for illegal gambling activity tied to sports contracts

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New York Attorney General Letitia James is taking legal action against Coinbase over the company’s alleged operation of illegal gambling in the Empire State.

According to court documents, James is suing Coinbase for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation in New York through its delivery of event contracts. The AG alleges that Coinbase facilitates illegal gambling by operating in the state without a gaming license from the New York State Gaming Commission. As a result, James is seeking a court order to require Coinbase to pay a monetary penalty, forfeit “illegal profits,” and pay restitution.

“Gambling by another name is still gambling, and it is not exempt from regulation under our state laws and Constitution,” said James in a press release.

In the suit, the AG directly points to Coinbase’s sports event contracts, which are considered illegal gambling activity as the company does not hold a gaming license. James provides specific examples of how the event contracts resemble..

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Ontario Liberals file legislation to ban online gambling advertising

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A group of Liberal Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) in Ontario have authored legislation that would ban most online gambling advertising in the province.

MPP Lee Fairclough’s Bill 107, titled the “Stop Harmful Gambling Advertising Act,” was officially introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on Monday, April 20. It adds to a federal effort to rein in sports betting-specific advertising, S-211, which has passed the Senate and currently sits in the House of Commons.

MPPs target all online gambling ads, not just sports

Unlike that federal Private Member’s Bill (PMB), which aims to establish some kind of national framework for regulating sports betting ads, Fairclough’s PMB proposes an explicit ban on online gambling advertising at large. It would amend Ontario’s Gaming Control Act of 1992 to prohibit any of Ontario’s almost 50 online sportsbooks or online casinos from advertising or otherwise promoting their sites or products in the province.

Any iGaming company convic..

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Has the Maryland sweepstakes bill fallen short? 

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The momentum behind the Maryland sweepstakes bill has seemingly dwindled, as the State’s legislative sessions ended without a formal conclusion to the bill’s passing.

There were two key opportunities for the prohibition of dual-currency sweepstakes, with the House of Delegates passing two separate bills in 2026 that would have outlawed dual-currency sweepstakes.

Lack of progress around the bill was celebrated by the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), as they claimed that there had been ‘false allegations’ driven by casino interests.

“We are pleased with this result in Maryland and want to thank the Maryland lawmakers who took the time to thoroughly consider this issue,” said SGLA Managing Director Sean Ostrow.

“Over multiple hearings and dozens of meetings, SGLA addressed false allegations by casino interests by demonstrating that the Social Plus industry already offers strong consumer protections and contributes to Maryland’s economy, while pushing back against efforts ..

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