UK Gambling Harms Research Centre to assess efficacy of regulations 

Gambling Commission admits faults but backs credibility of Young People and Gambling Survey

France adds new obligations to sign off gambling ad campaigns 

SBC Summit Latinoamérica set to deliver final edition at Seminole Hard Rock

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The SBC Summit Latinoamérica is gearing up for another remarkable event, with highlights including a keynote speech from football legend René Higuita, famed for his Scorpion kick, and a networking party at the Chase Stadium, home of Inter Miami.

The event will host its last edition at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino from October 29-31, with 4,000 attendees gathering to explore the latest in Latin American sports betting and igaming.

The show will offer three days of premier networking opportunities, product exhibitions and educational panels. Next year, SBC will relocate the event to Fort Lauderdale, combining SBC Summit Latinoamérica and SBC Summit North America into a newly-branded SBC Summit Americas.

Running across Wednesday and Thursday, the conference will feature three stages in parallel, with over 200 industry leaders and speakers addressing topics ranging from leadership and sports betting to igaming, media, affiliation, advertising, lotteries, land-based casinos, em..

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BVGroup promotes safer gambling with Tracy McGrady

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BVGroup has named Tracy McGrady as the Safer Gambling Ambassador in Canada for its BetVictor brand.

The seven-time NBA All-Star played for the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and the San Antonio Spurs, all during his 16-year career.

Brent Almeida, CCO of BVGroup, noted: “We are thrilled to have signed Tracy McGrady to BetVictor to promote Safer Gambling.”

Almeida described the player as the ‘perfect role model’, with an amazing career across 16 seasons in the NBA. He said: “Aligning with him is a perfect fit for the BetVictor brand.”

The Gibraltar-headquartered operator currently has gambling licences in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Ontario and Gibraltar.

It was only last year that BetVictor revealed the new group corporate identity, including a new company name, logo and website, switching to BVGroup to ‘reflect its position’ as a multi-brand gambling operator and B2B technology solutions provider – whilst also ackn..

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Jdigital warns of foul play to reimpose Spanish gambling restrictions

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Spanish gambling has been made aware of an “intrusive amendment” sought by the government to reimpose advertising restrictions on licensed operators.

Revealed by the Spanish online gambling association Jdigital, the PSOE/Sumar government has adopted an “unrelated amendment” to the Decree to Establish a State Agency for Public Health.

The amendment will reintroduce advertising restrictions, limiting gambling advertisements on social media platforms, prohibiting bonus promotions, and banning the use of public figures.

Reviewed by the Supreme Court of Spain, the above restrictions were “partially annulled” in April, as articles of the Royal Decree on Advertising – the Spanish government’s federal mandate to impose restrictions on gambling advertising across Spanish media.

Judges sided with an appeal from Jdigital and the Information Media Association (AMI), who had accused the Ministry of Consumer Affairs of bypassing “federal applications” to include the restrictions as measures of t..

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Kindred: ‘Further advancements’ needed in responsible gambling

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Kindred’s Head of Responsible Gambling, Esther Scheepers, has stated that the rise in revenue from high-risk players in the third quarter of 2024 reinforces the gambling group’s need for “further advancements” to its responsible gambling behavioural harm detection and automated intervention systems.

Scheepers’ comments come as the 32Red and Unibet operator publishes its share of gross winnings revenue from high-risk players, and its improvement effect after interventions statistics, as part of its ‘Journey towards Zero’ initiative – its ambition to reach 0% revenue from harmful gambling.

For Q3, the group reported that its share of gross winnings revenue from high-risk players was 3.2%, up on the previous quarter’s 3% figure.

Kindred noted that while an increase has occurred, it continues to be “fully dedicated to lowering this share of revenue and continues to see a sustainable behaviour change from players after interventions”.

“The rise in high-risk revenue presents a challenge ..

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Former New Jersey DGE Director joins IC360 as Special Advisor

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Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) is adding new talent to its business operations.

The Nevada-based consultancy company has announced the addition of David L. Rebuck as a Special Advisor. Rebuck brings a wealth of experience in compliance to IC360 having previously served as the Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

“We are thrilled to welcome David Rebuck as a Special Advisor to IC360,” said IC360 President Eric Frank. “The Director’s efforts in transforming New Jersey’s gaming industry, especially in internet gaming and sports wagering, makes him an invaluable resource for the company and our clients.”

During his time at the DGE, Rebuck was instrumental in navigating regulatory requirements ahead of the launch of iGaming in 2013 and the authorization of sports betting five years later. In his role at IC360, Rebuck will offer his expertise on compliance matters. He will also leverage his regulatory experience to help IC360 thrive in a dynamic gaming industry.

N..

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Responsible Gambling Council explains how it drives change with action

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The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) has illustrated how a year of education, certification and other action continued to propagate responsible gambling in Ontario and beyond.

In its 2023-24 annual report, titled “Impact: Action Drives Change,” the RGC noted that as rapidly evolving technology, media, politics and culture continue to transform the industry, it has become more important to raise RG standards and produce evidence-based recommendations to guide the strategic development of policies and regulations.

Against that backdrop, the RGC said industry leaders have contributed increased funding to advance evidence-informed recommendations for gambling marketing and advertising and digital health policy. The RGC called that “an impact that will result in ripple effects throughout our industry.”

The momentum of those industry-wide efforts is resulting in meaningful impact, said the council.

In particular, RGC conducted research in partnership with Playtech into where new opport..

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Statutory review of Australia’s BetStop self-exclusion service launched

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Australia’s Minister of Communications, Michelle Rowland, has appointed Richard Eccles to conduct the first statutory review of the country’s national self-exclusion register – BetStop.

Implemented in August 2023 by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, BetStop is being reviewed due to a requirement in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which states a review of the self-exclusion service must be conducted after a year of operations to make sure it is an effective measure to protect those vulnerable from gambling harm.

The Minister’s statement also said that the review will “add to the evidence base on the impacts of BetStop in Australia and voluntary exclusion programs to help inform future policy”.

BetStop covers all Australian licensed igaming providers, stopping them from opening a new account for self‑excluded individuals, accepting bets from them, or sending them marketing material. Operators must also close existing betting accounts for registered individuals.

Si..

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BetStop Australia to undertake first statutory review

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BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register of Australian gambling, will undertake its first statutory review.

As confirmed by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, the government has appointed Richard Eccles to conduct the review, evaluating BetStop’s progress against its founding objectives.

BetStop came into existence in August 2023 to serve as a national, unified gambling self-exclusion scheme available across all six federal states.

The register is operated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), who, in 2022, were granted new federal controls on safer gambling duties across Australia.

As agreed by the gambling authorities/boards of the Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania, all licensed operators must register their player databases with BetStop, regardless of the state in which they are licensed.

The ACMA reports that since its launch in August 2023, over 30,000 Australians have signe..

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France’s iCasino future revived by breakthrough amendment

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Jake Pollard
Jake Pollard reports that an amendment introduced over the weekend will kick off the regulatory process that could see the last major western European market regulate its online casino sector.

The French government introduced an amendment over the weekend to regulate online casino and has set in motion the process that could see France become a regulated iCasino market, but the regulatory format that has been outlined has led the country’s land-based casinos to say that it is “tantamount to signing their death warrant”.

The amendment paves the way for the legalisation of the vertical, which stakeholders have been calling for for many years, and, if passed, would see France become the last major western European market to host a legal and licensed online casino sector.

With new Prime Minister Michel Barnier seeking to raise revenues to address the country’s debt levels, which currently stand at 112% of its gross domestic product while its public deficit is at 5.5% of GD..

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Audit concludes Spelinspektionen’s gambling supervision is ineffective

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Riksrevisionen, the Swedish National Audit Office, has completed its audit of Spelinspektionen and has determined that the authority’s supervision of the country’s gambling market is ineffective.

In response, the gambling regulator has stated that it welcomes the audit office’s review, noting that “several issues are still awaiting practice in court” and that it has also received increased budget funds for 2024, which were “a decisive factor” in developing its operations further.

‘Not sufficiently effective’

The audit of Spelinspektionen began in November last year, with Riksrevisionen tasked with assessing if the regulator’s management over the Swedish gambling market is effective. Part of the audit’s responsibility was to see how Spelinspektionen had supervised the country’s gambling since the market was re-regulated in 2019.

A licensing system was introduced during that year to allow for gambling to take place under public control, increase channelisation to licensed operators,..

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