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Romania moves to modernise self-exclusion infrastructure

A.J. Koehn0160 views

Romania’s gambling regulator, the ONJN, has finalised the contract for the development of a new self-exclusion IT solution to be rolled out nationwide.

The announcement comes from ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare, who shook hands with the leadership of the Bucharest-based National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics (ICI), which will be tasked with creation of the tool.

Replacing the existing technical standard, the new solution will implement a modernised infrastructure that allows for remote player self-exclusion through ID and biometric verification scans.

“I said from the beginning that self-exclusion will not remain a project on paper. It is a commitment that I carry out, step by step,” Soare said on LinkedIn.

The agreement is one part of a long list of ideas that the ONJN is working on implementing to improve Romania’s self-exclusion system, which safer gambling proponents have long argued is outdated and represents a risk to the population.

It was just r..

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Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes steps down

Steve Hoare0163 views

The CEO of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), Andrew Rhodes, is stepping down from the leadership role in the midst of the British betting sector’s biggest readjustment in decades. Rhodes’ departure from the Commission was announced by the regulator early this afternoon, with his resignation date confirmed as 30 April 2026. This comes 30 days after the HM Treasury’s new…

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GamCare records 48% yearly increase in treatment referrals

A.J. Koehn0171 views

GamCare recorded a significant increase in referrals to treatment and peer-based support services in January 2026, following contact with the National Gambling Helpline and its live chat service.

The charity made 996 referrals during the month, up from 674 in January 2025 – a 48% year-on-year increase.

Excluding referrals to peer-based support services such as the Money Guidance Service and Way Forward, treatment referrals rose to 742, compared with 603 in the same month last year.

January 2026 was one of the highest referral months that GamCare has recorded in the past five years, with only October 2025 (1,165 referrals), September 2025 (1,022) and August 2025 (1,077) exceeding the figure.

“More people affected by gambling harms are choosing to start treatment,” said Victoria Corbishley, CEO of GamCare.

“The National Gambling Helpline is a 24/7, confidential route to support, and our advisers rapidly connect people with free, specialist help across Great Britain. That first conv..

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iGaming Ontario prepares to launch ‘overdue’ self-exclusion system

CanadianGamingBusiness0164 views

Ontario’s regulated commercial iGaming market has many player supports in place, but one thing it doesn’t have is a simple and effective way for gamblers to cut themselves off from all licensed operators. That will change in 2026, as iGaming Ontario (iGO) will finally launch its long-awaited centralized self-exclusion (CSE) system for players.

As we approach four years since Ontario’s market launched in April 2022, and as it swelled to around 50 operators running more than 80 iGaming sites, iGO President and CEO Joseph Hillier acknowledged that centralized self-exclusion has been a long time coming.

“I think there’s a recognition that we’re overdue for this system,”Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business in an interview.

After a long ramp-up period, it sounds like things are on track for the program to finally go live in 2026.

“I think we’re pretty confident that midway through next year, we’ll be in a position to do our public launch,” said Hillier.

80+ websites, one way to self-..

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Washington State sues Playtika and Aristocrat over ‘casino apps’

SBC Americas0198 views

Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown filed a lawsuit this week against Aristocrat and Playtika, alleging that the two companies and their subsidiaries are operating unlicensed social casino apps that equate to gambling.

Stressing that Washington has a statewide ban on all online gambling activities, the King County Superior Court filing dated Feb. 3 claims that the two companies have allowed state residents to spend more than $225 million over the last five years on “gambling activities that are banned in the state.”

The filing names various Playtika-branded companies as well as Aristocrat Leisure, Aristocrat Technologies and the company’s Product Madness, Big Fish Games, Plarium and Pixel United gaming subsidiaries as defendants. Washington and Brown are seeking a declaration that the companies’ operations violate Washington’s Gambling Act and Consumer Protection Act, as well as a preliminary and/or permanent injunction, civil penalties and other restitution.

Companies kno..

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MLB pitch-rigging gambling scheme far bigger than expected: ESPN

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New documents reportedly suggest that the alleged match-fixing scheme involving two Cleveland Guardians pitchers is much more extensive than originally thought.

According to an ESPN report, Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase allegedly manipulated his own pitches in nearly 50 games for the purposes of receiving kickbacks. According to court documents filed in November, Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz allegedly conspired with a group of people to rig specific pitches based on speed and location.

The scheme allegedly allowed the co-conspirators to profit from wagers placed using information provided by Clase and Ortiz. Clase and Ortiz’s alleged involvement in the scheme led to charges of wire fraud conspiracy, bribery and money laundering.

Clase initially suspected over 9 games

In court documents filed last year, federal prosecutors initially tied 27-year-old Dominican Republic native Clase to suspicions of rigging pitches in nine games over two years. That number has now been more than ..

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UK regulator consults on simplified settlements structure

A.J. Koehn0169 views

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is evaluating whether the final destination for regulatory settlements paid by British betting operators should change.

Consultations are now open until 2 April on the potential amendment of section 2.39 of the UKGC’s ‘Statement of principles for determining financial penalties’.

Under the current texts, payments made as part of regulatory settlements do not need to be paid into the government’s Consolidation Fund.

The Consolidation Fund collects government proceeds from means such as taxation, which are then used to subsidise public initiatives. These include compulsory financial penalties imposed by the UKGC in relation to regulatory breaches under section 121 of the Gambling Act 2005.

However, as stated above, regulatory settlements – which are negotiated agreements at heart – do not currently end up in the Consolidation Fund, which the UKGC is now looking to amend.

“This would ensure that any future regulatory settlements, which are an impo..

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The International Player Safety Index: Africa

Steve Hoare0175 views

Benchmarking player protection across Africa Across Africa, gambling regulation and player protection are evolving at pace. New laws, emerging regulators, and growing political focus have placed safer gambling firmly on the agenda. Yet progress is uneven. While some markets are moving quickly toward modern frameworks, others remain constrained by unclear rules, limited enforcement, and the…

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