Anjouan Gambling regulator hits back at illegal operators and black market claims

SMF wants gambling harm implemented into national health policies

British betting firms “considering all options” to prevent Financial Risk Assessments

SPA posts Brazil’s responsible gaming guidelines ahead of market launch

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Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) has published Ordinance No. 1,231, which sets out the rules and guidelines gambling operators must adhere to regarding responsible gaming as well as communication, advertising, publicity and marketing actions.

Published in the Official Gazette of the Union, the document also regulates the rights and duties of bettors and operators that must be respected to operate legally in the country.

Responsible gaming is defined in the ordinance as a set of rules, practices and activities aimed at ensuring the economic exploitation, promotion and healthy and socially responsible advertising of this modality and prevention and mitigation of individual or collective harm resulting from the activity.

The ordinance states that operators must prevent and mitigate the negative impacts gambling can have on a person, including mental health due to addiction, compulsion, mania or any other associated disorder, such as pathological or abusive gambling; on ..

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Brazil settles on responsible gambling rules

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The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) has completed the technical framework required for the government of Brazil to launch a federal online gambling market – commonly referred to as ‘Bets’.

On Friday, the SPA submitted ordinance No.1231 to the government, outlining its rules and technical guidelines for responsible gambling with regard to marketing, communications, and advertising of the Bets market.

The document supports previous SPA ordinances on IT securities, AML, licensing criteria, and game authorisations to guarantee the launch of a legal framework for “ethical and licensed gambling for the Federal Constitution of Brazil.”

SPA guidelines underscore that operating agents must observe Responsible Gambling as a duty of “promoting healthy, socially responsible gambling while preventing harm.”

Betting agents must adhere to statutory duties educating customers on the risks of gambling addiction/disorders and ensure compliance with age restrictions prohibiting under-18s from..

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SkyCity Auckland to temporarily close casino over customer care concerns

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SkyCity Entertainment Group has announced that it will temporarily close SkyCity Auckland casino’s gambling area from 9 September to 13 September 2024 as part of an agreement with the Secretary for Internal Affairs.

Last month, SkyCity’s subsidiary SkyCity Casino Management Limited reached an agreement with the Secretary for Internal Affairs regarding the government body’s application to temporarily suspend the firm’s casino operator’s licence.

The agreement was reached to temporarily close the gambling area of SkyCity Auckland after the casino failed to meet its host responsibility obligations in respect of a former customer.

The temporary closure will apply only to SkyCity Auckland’s gambling area and the food and beverage outlets within that area, while all other areas – hotels, Sky Tower, theatre and restaurants and bars outside the gambling area – will remain open as usual.

SkyCity added that it is “committed to ensuring that its staff are looked after during the closure peri..

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Ontario picks IC360 and IXUP to develop centralised self-exclusion system

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iGaming Ontario has selected a joint bid by Integrity Compliance 360 and IXUP to develop a centralised self-exclusion system for Ontario, “designed to support players’ decisions to self-exclude while also protecting their privacy”.

Work on the centralised self-exclusion system for the Canadian province will begin immediately, with iGO, IC360 and IXUP collaborating closely with igaming operators and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

The system will allow players to self-exclude from all Ontario-regulated igaming sites at once, including OLG.ca, adding another protection layer under the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, protecting players from experiencing gambling harm and support their decision to take a break from online gambling.

IC360 and IXUP will develop a system that integrates seamlessly with all regulated Ontario igaming operators’ systems; provides anyone 19+ with easy access to create and manage their self-exclu..

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GamStop warns of increase in young adult self-exclusions

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GamStop has recorded a period of record engagement with its national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling during the first half of 2024.

The non-profit organisation reports that more than 49,000 people have self-excluded from online gambling sites in 2024 so far.

In April, GamStop recorded its highest-ever month for self-exclusion registrations since its inception in April 2018, with 8,686 new registrants applying for self-exclusion from online gambling websites.

During the first half of 2024, GamStop registered a total of 49,500 new applicants, bringing the total number of users of its self-exclusion scheme to 482,815.

The UEFA Euros championship had a noticeable impact, with registrations increasing by 8% for the first half of July (knockout stages) compared to the same period last year. Registrations spiked on three particular days: the day after England’s group stage victory over Serbia, the day after England’s extra-time last-16 victory over Slovakia, and the day after th..

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Pennsylvania casinos push for reassessed gaming tax after rise in unlicensed machines

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Casino operators in Pennsylvania have issued a petition to the state’s Supreme Court to reassess its taxation laws in relation to slot machines, skill and hybrid games.

Filing the petition on 29 July, casinos such as Stadium Casino, Chester Downs, Rivers Philadelphia, Parx Casino Shippensburg, Wind Creek and Greenwood Gaming have requested “declaratory and injunctive relief” after considering the state’s lack of taxation on unlicensed operators and machines as “unconstitutional”.

The petition has named the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, along with its Secretary Patrick M Browne, and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board as respondents, demanding that taxes be “uniform, upon the same class of subjects”.

Casinos have issued the petition after considering the Pennsylvania Gaming Act’s “substantial” ~50% tax on slot machine revenue as “unconstitutional” due to the lack of taxation on unlicensed gaming operators offering skill and hybrid games.

In 2023 alone, licensed operators ..

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iGaming Ontario selects IC360, IXUP to provide iGaming self-exclusion tool

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iGaming Ontario (iGO), the agency which conducts and manages online gaming and betting in Ontario, has concluded its search for a provider for its planned new self-exclusion system.

iGO announced on Thursday that a joint bid from Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) and IXUP has been selected to develop a new centralized self-exclusion system for Ontario. iGO says the new system will be the first of its kind in North America.

IC360 is a global technology and consultancy firm that specializes in providing comprehensive integrity and compliance solutions for sports, sports betting and online gaming. IXUP Limited is a technology company that develops software facilitating the secure sharing and analysis of sensitive information using advanced encryption tech.

Notably, IXUP is well-versed in the the self-exclusion area; the firm designed, delivered and operates Australia’s BetStop national self-exclusion register.

“This project reflects our ongoing commitment to build on the existing play..

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Massachusetts regulators continue to discuss the practice of limiting bettors

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The five commissioners of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission remain committed to examining the practice of sportsbooks limiting bettors. However, a meeting on Thursday resulted in more talk and no action on the matter.

The discussion follows a May meeting where Bally Bet was the only operator to appear as part of a roundtable discussion on the matter. The other operators in the state declined to participate unless they were granted the opportunity to speak in private executive session about their limiting practices.

MA commissioners want actual action, not just talk

The commissioners were eager to hear from operators but were not interested in convening another round table unless operators were willing to have substantive discussions about how they go about limiting bettors.

“It’s hard for me to believe that the operators don’t have an opinion on this policy decision that we may or may not make,” said Interim Chair Jordan Maynard.

Commissioner Nakisha Skinner warned that this di..

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UKGC tracks record Q1 slots activity against sports declines

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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has recorded a 12% increase in online total gross gambling yield (GGY), during the first quarter of the financial year of 2024.

The Commission sourced data on the gambling industry, covering online and in-person gambling with licensed betting operators found on Britain’s high streets. The commission has been collecting data from March 2020 to June 2024.

Providing data for Q1 2024 (April to June), the Commission declared that online total GGY, covering approximately 80% of the online gambling market, reached £1.46 billion, a 12% increase YoY.

Online growth saw Slots activity reach new highs across GGY, spins, and average monthly active accounts, as the segment GGY rose by 10% year-over-year.

The commission noted that it is “currently investigating the categorisation of certain products.” While this could result in some data changes between verticals, it shouldn’t impact the overall totals.

The number of bets and/or spins rose by 11% compared to the..

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