In this episode, SBC Media Director Martyn Elliott is joined by Shawn Fluharty, Chair of the Better Gambling Forum. Together, they discuss how collaboration, regulation, and innovation are shaping the iGaming sector to drive sustainability, player protection, and responsible growth. Key Topics: The mission of the Better Gambling Forum and its global approach The importance…
The UK Government is considering a major shake-up of social media regulation, including a ban on under-16s using major platforms and potential restrictions for older teenagers. But could these measures help tackle another growing concern: illegal gambling operators targeting young people online? In this episode of iGaming Daily, Charlie Horner is joined by SBC News…
Stakeholders in the licensed gambling sector will be painfully aware of the marketing shenanigans by black market operators running free across major social networks.
For some time now, the case has been that all social media platforms – from X, through Facebook and Instagram, to TikTok – have seen an infestation of illicit gambling ads in one form or another.
Black market operators leveraging these communication channels to target domestic market consumers has been a widespread practice in the UK in particular, with even Google – although not your traditional social media platform – hosting lists of available unlicensed casinos.
It is obvious that these Big Tech companies have a significant role to play in curbing the multi-billion-pound black market.
However, in an exclusive interview with SBC, Tim Miller, Executive Director of Research and Policy at the UK’s Gambling Commission, sounded more frustrated rather than satisfied with the cooperation he’s seen from Big Tech over the ..
Sweden’s channelisation rate in 2025 dropped to 84% as the country, like many others across Europe, continues to battle the threat of the black market.
The 84% figure, representing a 1% year-on-year drop, serves as the proposed indicator for the national budget bill and is an average derived from two main measurement methods – player surveys, which estimated an 89% channelisation rate, and internet traffic turnover estimates, which estimated 78%.
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority, highlighted that players who are self-excluded or suspended from licensed sites are the main perpetrators of using unlicensed platforms.
Other reasons given for punters using the black market were players believing that they have a higher chance of winning or those looking for games unavailable in the Swedish market.
A few black market bettors in Sweden (6%) interestingly used the reasoning of unlicensed operators offering skin betting.
Skin betting uses virtual cosmetic items from comp..
The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has continued its strong compliance focus, this time taking aim at Betnation for failures related to the Cruks self-exclusion system.
The KSA issued Smart Gaming, the operator of Betnation, an official warning after it failed to verify whether a group of players were on the Cruks exclusion register between January and March 2026.
As a result, these players were able to gamble without being checked, including one who had previously self-excluded.
The regulator said in a statement: “The KSA considers it highly reprehensible that the Cruks checks were not carried out. Players who register themselves in Cruks do so to protect themselves and must be able to assume that, as a result, they cannot gamble at licensed providers.”
Betnation attributed the failure to a ‘technical error’ which meant the checks were not performed.
The operator said that it manually checked the players affected. However, it was unable to determine whether a small group of playe..
Sweden’s Administrative Court has made decisions regarding fines that two different operators – Videoslots and LeoVegas – received from Spelinspektionen last year in relation to the duty of care.
Roar Vegas, trading as LeoVegas, saw its March 2025 warning and SEK 8m penalty fee (approximately €734,000) for ‘deficiencies in the duty of care’ from the Swedish gambling regulator overruled by the court.
The court stated that LeoVegas ‘has not clearly and distinctly breached the duty of care’ and so the decision from Spelinspektionen was annulled.
However, the Administrative Court took the opposite stance with the decision regarding Videoslots, which received a warning and a SEK 12m sanction fee (approximately €1.1m) for ‘deficiencies in the duty of care’ in April last year.
The court noted that it shared the regulator’s assessment of Videoslots that, for the majority of players examined, the company ‘clearly and distinctly breached its duty of care’ and so rejected its appeal, finding ..
France’s leading addiction network, Fédération Addiction, has called for a complete ban on athletes and sports personalities promoting sports betting.
In a statement, the organisation set out 15 urgent measures to regulate the sports betting sector, with the ban on those involved in sports promoting gambling one of the most striking.
Among the other proposals are calls for banning advertising during live sports broadcasts; a halt to the expansion of the market until player protection, prevention, and support mechanisms have been significantly strengthened; a ban on gambling sponsorships in sport; and a removal of offers, bonuses and incentives that encourage more betting or higher stakes.
It comes ahead of France’s first game in the 2026 World Cup later tonight, as Les Blues head into the tournament as joint-favourites in their bid to win the Jules Rimet Trophy for a third time.
Another gambling-related gripe in France
However, it is not the first time concerns have been raised ar..
The proliferation of sports betting in America is causing key stakeholders in professional and amateur sports to discuss the integrity of competition amid recent gambling scandals.
The discussion of how to protect the integrity of competition for operators, leagues, and regulators continued at SBC Summit Americas 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where a group of industry experts spoke about protecting the future of sports wagering in North America.
The panel, moderated by Princeton Global Strategies Managing Partner George Rover, included NCAA Managing Director of Enforcement and Development Mark Hicks, as well as PropSwap CEO Luke Pergande and Legacy Consulting Group CEO Tony Amormino.
How the NCAA is navigating challenging landscape
The NCAA has dealt with a series of gambling-related scandals over the past two years, leading to questions and concerns regarding the impact gambling has on amateur sports.
In 2025, more than 15 former NCAA men’s basketball players were implicated in ..
Florida’s Attorney General says the state has sent cease-and-desist letters to several major payment companies to warn that they are violating state laws by providing services to unauthorized gambling operators.
James Uthmeier announced the move in a press conference on June 10, during which he detailed authorities’ collaborative effort to shut down unlicensed gambling sites. In a Florida AG’s office press release, he cautioned that payment processors’ facilitation of illegal online gaming may implicate the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act).
Uthmeier wrote on X that Florida has targeted multiple renowned payment companies, including:
American Express
Mastercard
Visa
“Payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express undermine Florida law by facilitating transactions for foreign-owned illegal online gaming,” added Florida’s AG in a post on June 10. “Today, they’re receiving a cease and desist. My office will take appropriate legal..
711 Group has reiterated that it has ‘always acted in good faith and within the legal framework in place at the time’ in the Dutch iGaming market after receiving a fine of almost €900,000 from Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) for duty of care violations.
In a statement to iGaming Expert, Tom De Backer, Group CEO and Co-Founder, said that the operator is investigating its potential next steps and remains committed to ‘strengthening and optimising’ its duty of care and responsible gambling measures.
711 BV was fined a total of €886,000 by the KSA for failing to comply with the duty of care after an investigation by the Dutch gambling regulator discovered failures from February 2022 to June 2024.
Ten player files were requested by the regulator as part of its investigation, from individuals who suffered high losses, gambled for a high number of days and placed bets at night, with violations found in all files.
Michel Groothuizen, Chair of the KSA, said: “We have observed that not all provider..