DGOJ, the Directorate of Gambling of Spain, has adopted all resolutions of the SIGMA programme, Spain’s new ‘centralised directive’ to combat match-fixing and uphold the integrity of sports.

Drafted in 2022, the SIGMA programme was launched in Q1 of this year to establish a ‘cooperative network’ to tackle criminal activity and the exposure of Spanish sports to match-fixing.

The headline directive of SIGMA will launch a whistle-blower portal for the public, athletes, and staff working in Spanish sports and gambling to report incidents of manipulation and fraud to authorities.

Further objectives see the programme launch a collaborative network and database for Spanish authorities to review and record incidents and suspicious activities related to sports manipulations.

As announced by DGOJ Director General, Mikel Arana, on Friday 28 June, DGOJ approved the union of gambling operators holding individual licenses for horse racing or sports betting in any of its modalities to SIGMA, to h..

APAJO, Portugal’s Online Gambling Trade Association, has filed ‘criminal complaints’ against social media influencers promoting unlicensed gambling websites.

The trade association has urged Portuguese authorities to intervene in the marketing of illegal online gambling, which targets national consumers and undermines the regulated market’s offering.

Complaints target the social media channels of Portuguese influencers GODMOTA, Bruno Savate, Numeiro, and Cláudia Nayara.

APAJO stated, “In recent days, we have filed criminal complaints against several content producers who promoted illegal gambling through social media to an audience of several million followers. These online gambling operators do not have a licence to operate in Portugal.”

The complaint explained that the four influencers’ media profiles reach a combined audience of 2.8 million followers, likely exposing Portuguese minors to gambling environments on streams uploaded to Twitch, TikTok, and other social media channels…

Edward Bedrosian: Xpoint
Edward Bedrosian, Chief Regulatory & Compliance Officer at Xpoint, explains why Brazil will follow the US by making geolocation checks the cornerstone of compliance for its imminent online gambling marketplace.

Though Brazil takes a federal approach to regulating online gambling, the government and authorities require geolocation services to fulfill key logistical criteria on taxation, IT security, and market integrity. As such, stakeholders are warned that geolocation will be a key compliance discipline.

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The emergence of geolocation checks

Verifying that players are located within authorized jurisdictions is not only a necessity for compliance and ensuring that taxes are assigned to the correct region but also for the integrity of iGaming and Wagering platforms.

With responsible gaming taking center stage in regulatory discussions, geolocation service providers have become indispensable tools for operators.

Being a newer market in a mor..

Gluecksspiel (GGL), the Federal Authority of German Gambling, will start its chairmanship under Reiner Moser on 1 July 2024.

Reiner Moser, a Minister of the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, will replace Udo Götze as Chairman of the GGL. He will oversee the agency’s progress on regulatory affairs, reporting to the Bundestag – Germany’s Federal Parliament.

The GGL board consists of department heads or state secretaries representing Germany’s 16 federal states (Bundesländer), focusing on regulatory developments related to Germany’s Fourth Interstate Gambling Treaty (GlüNeuRStv).

The board’s statute requires a new chairman to be elected each year by 1 July, representing a different Bundesland.

The GlüNeuRStv regime came into effect on 1 July 2021, launching Germany’s new federal framework for regulating online sportsbooks, poker, and casino games. This was followed by the establishment of the GGL on 1 January 2023, which took control of the GlüNeuRStv as the Federal Authority of German..