IBIA and PFA Canada to deliver sports integrity education to the CPL

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has partnered with the Professional Footballers’ Association Canada (PFA Canada) to design a sports-integrity education program for players and staff in the Canadian Premier League (CPL).

The program will touch on the dangers of sports betting-related match-fixing on the integrity of the league and their careers, as well as the potential to defraud operators and customers.

Approximately 300 players and staff will receive education from across the eight teams in Canada’s top-tier soccer competition. Training will be provided both in person and through online resources.

The program started in May and the agreement also stipulates that the program will also be delivered in 2025 to ensure new players joining the league also receive the education.

“IBIA’s members take their role – as responsible regulated betting operators – in protecting the integrity of sporting competition and of betting markets seriously,” said IBIA CEO Khalid A..

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ESG – should the industry drop the acronym?

What does it take to convince C-level that the numerous components that comprise ESG are intrinsically linked to revenue? For Leah Carnegie, Chief People Officer at Lottoland, the answer is a simple one – drop the acronym.

The moderator of ‘why ESG is your business bottom line’ at the Gibraltar Ethical Gambling Forum instead suggested that a basic shift in mindset, and language, could ultimately lead to gaining attention at a higher level internally.

“As soon as I use the word ESG in a boardroom, I get sleepy eyes,” she said. “But if I use the words accountability, responsibility and sustainability, I will get some action. I don’t know whether ESG has been forced.”

Rather than proceeding down the current path, Carnegie suggested that influence should be adopted from approaches taken across other jurisdictions, notably the US, where she noted that she has witnessed the industry “talking more generally” about the aforementioned trifecta of issues.

“I think until we change our mindset..

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Dutch watchdog warns against burdensome pressures of player limits

The Dutch government has been warned against implementing ‘playing limits’ as endorsed by Legal Protections’ Minister Franc Weerwind.

The warning came from the Dutch Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden (ATR), an independent watchdog scrutinising “regulatory burdens” on business, consumers, and stakeholders in healthcare, education and public welfare.

In February, Minister Weerwind launched a consultation on imposing playing limits as a mandatory requirement of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA).

Measures proposed by Weerwind, would see KOA-licensed operators adopt a mandatory monthly financial risk checks on customer accounts that spend over €350. The Minister further endorsed applying a compulsory loss-limit on player accounts under the age of 24, set at a threshold of €150 losses.

The playing limits will be further strengthened by operators ensuring that customers are contacted by trained staff on gambling addiction and the requirement for operators to provide customer ‘care warnings’..

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KSA orders Casinosky shutdown

Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gaming authority, has issued Sarah Eternal SRL with an order subject to penalty for offering games of chance without a licence on its website, casinosky.

If Sarah Eternal does not stop its illegal offering permanently, the operator will be fined €280,000 per week, with a maximum fine of €840,000.

The authority noted that its inspectors investigated the casinosky website to see if it was accessible from the Netherlands and if they could make an account, deposit funds and gamble, which they said they could.

In addition, the KSA claimed that players can play even if they clearly stated on their account that they were from the Netherlands, hence an order subject to penalty has been imposed.

“Providers who do not have a license for the Dutch market must do everything they can to ensure that Dutch players cannot come to them to gamble, for example by setting up an IP block,” stated the authority.

“Inspectors from the Ksa could indeed go to the casinosky.co..

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Brazil confirms 15% tax on player winnings

Brazil has introduced the tax framework applied to player prizes and winnings for the well-awaited launch of its Bets market.

Earlier this week, the Federal Revenue Service (RFB) of Brazil confirmed its ruling on personal income tax (IRPF) that will be applied to ‘net prizes’ obtained via betting, lotteries and online gambling.

The RFB approved the government’s modality to impose a 15 per cent personal income tax on prizes and winnings above BRL 2824 (around €530).

For net winnings/prizes below BRL 2824, the RFB will exempt the 15 per cent tax charge. The figure is reported to be equivalent to two average monthly wages for Brazilian consumers.

Net prizes of the Bets market will be determined as the difference between the prize amount won and the total amount wagered by the customer.

Replicating the same mechanisms as state lotteries, the 15 per cent tax charge will be applied ‘at source’ by operators when crediting customer winnings.

The framework will apply changes to Brazil’s..

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BetComply: industry must do better to tackle regulatory and compliance issues

One of the defining characteristics of the online gaming industry throughout the 2020s so far has been the increased focus on regulated markets. Around the world, governments from Latin America to Asia are establishing regulated frameworks for online gaming, while the world’s biggest operators are eager to tell the world about their operations in regulated and regulating markets.

As the importance of regulation and compliance is arguably bigger than ever, it is imperative for operators and suppliers to ensure that they are compliant with their licensed jurisdictions.

BetComply, a compliance and market entry consultancy, is leveraging its expertise to ensure that its clients are compliant with local regulations. The firm deems that regulatory compliance is not just a necessity; it’s the cornerstone of success.

Mike de Graaff, the firm’s Chief Compliance Officer, told SBC News how the compliance sector is keeping up with the fast-paced nature of regulations this decade.

“It’s crow..

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Gib regulator Lyman warns operators on ESG failings

“ESG is all that makes us feel good, isn’t it?” Andrew Lyman, Gambling Commissioner and Executive Director at Government of Gibraltar, began in a keynote address at this week’s Ethical Gambling Forum.

Picking up where Nigel Feetham, Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, left off, Lyman took to the stage following a plea from event Co-Founder Adrian Sladdin to those organisations based in close proximity to the Sunborn held event.

“There are so many companies within a stone’s throw of this boat that I hope will actually take the message around ESG, responsible leadership from the top, and adopting the right policies to represent Gibraltar in the best light possible,” his segue noted.

Posing a starter for 10 to those in attendance, Lyman continued by asking delegates who could argue against the numerous advantages to be gained via the adoption of an array of ESG practices.

Those plus points touched upon, he elaborated, include taking measures to reduce climate change, for corpora..

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PGA of America joins AGA RG campaign following ESPN Bet partnership

Following the announcement of ESPN Bet as the official betting partner of the PGA Championship, the PGA of America has confirmed that it has partnered with the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) ‘Have a Game Plan. Bet Responsibly’ campaign.

The partnership will feature co-branded responsible gaming content, educational materials, and strategic activations across the PGA of America’s digital and social platforms throughout next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY.

“As the PGA of America welcomes ESPN BET as the Official Sports Betting Sponsor of the 106th PGA Championship, it is core to our values to ensure golf fans have the right tools in their bag to bet responsibly,” said PGA of America Chief Commercial Officer Jeff Price. “Activating AGA’s Have A Game Plan campaign during this year’s PGA Championship and beyond will be an integral part of our strategy as interest in golf wagering grows.”

Introduced by the AGA in 2019, the Have a Game Plan campaign ai..

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Player Protection Symposium: Combating responsible gambling’s identity crisis

Does responsible gambling have an identity problem? And if so, is that identity problem holding it back?

At the SBC Summit North America Player Protection Symposium, experts suggested the answer to both questions is yes.

“In the U.S., many people don’t engage with responsible gambling because it’s associated with problem gambling,” said Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Shatley in a panel session entitled Conscious Commerce: The Interplay of Branding & RG.

“They think ‘I’m not a problem gambler, I don’t need these tools.’ But it’s for every single customer.”

Shatley and her other panelists, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG)‘s Director of Policy, Research and Strategy Aaron GlynWilliams and Kindbridge Behavioural Health CEO Daniel Umfleet, stressed that removing those misunderstandings and that stigmatization of responsible gambling is critical to improving the health of all players and the industry on the whole.

“It’s abou..

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Player Protection Symposium: NCAA highlights March Madness harassment

According to NCAA Managing Director Mark Hicks, the organization has a pretty clear understanding of the scope of bettor harassment on social media. Speaking to Entain’s SVP of American Regulatory Affairs & Responsible Gambling Martin Lycka as part of the SBC Summit North America Player Protection Symposium, Hicks cited data from ethical data group and NCAA partner Signify collected during March Madness earlier…

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