Hard Rock NL CEO: Regulators and operators must work together
Hard Rock Casino NL CEO Cristiano Blanco talks to iGaming Expert about creating a safe and sustainable gambling market
Hard Rock Casino NL CEO Cristiano Blanco talks to iGaming Expert about creating a safe and sustainable gambling market
Gambling licences in Ukraine have been informed that their transactions will be recorded by a new ‘State Online Monitoring System’.
The measure was confirmed via a Telegram message issued on Sunday 31 August by the Cabinet of Ministers, governing Ukraine under conflict from Russia.
The Cabinet announced that it had approved a resolution on state registries, enabling all gambling transactions to be track and traced through the monitoring system.
The Online Monitoring System will support PlayCity—the newly established regulatory authority for Ukrainian gambling by enabling real-time tracking of bets, returns, and winnings.
The platform seeks to improve transparency by facilitating the “live verification of operator data to ensure regulatory compliance”, while also allowing PlayCity to publish market volume data providing accurate data for enforcements and policy making.
Integration with the monitoring system will apply to both land-based and online operators, including casinos, arcades, bookmakers, and online poker rooms. A public tender for the platform’s development is expected to be announced shortly, as Kyiv presses ahead with regulatory reforms despite the ongoing war.
PlayCity to bring structural reform
The implementation of the monitoring system forms part of a broader overhaul of Ukraine’s gambling sector, which saw the cabinet dissolve the former regulator, KRAIL – with the agency embroiled in multiple corruption scandals, including allegations of money laundering and ties to Russian operatives.
In its place, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy authorised a new regulator, PlayCity, which officially began operations on 1 April with a mandate to implement state policy across gambling and lotteries, deemed as high risk sectors under conflict.
On 8 April, the Cabinet appointed Hennadiy Novikov as head of PlayCity. Novikov, who previously served as both a member and deputy head of KRAIL, has long-standing ties to the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
PlayCity operates under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and has been tasked with ensuring transparency, protecting consumers, and restoring public trust in the gambling industry.
Licences demand urgent clarity
Ukraine’s government is preparing a slate of legislative changes aimed at tightening control over the sector, including a blanket ban on gambling advertising, a new register for B2B licences, and centralised powers for PlayCity to block illegal gambling websites.
These reforms come amid growing concerns about excessive gambling, with the National Bank warning that Ukrainian citizens are spending nearly UAH 400m (around €8m) daily on online platforms.
Amid the wider regulatory overhaul, Ukrainian gambling operators, many of whom have been sidelined by the conflict, are calling on the government to provide clear, enforceable, and transparent rules due disputed charges placed by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
With former operators facing licence suspensions, account freezes, and blacklisting abroad, stakeholders are urging policymakers to resolve lingering legal ambiguities and establish a stable, fair regulatory framework capable of supporting the sector’s long-term recovery.
The Dutch government is releasing €21m of additional funding for the research and treatment of problem gambling.
With the last substantial funding round taking place in 2023, the ZonMw Prevention of Gambling Addiction research programme will enter its next stage of development. Grants towards the programme are managed by the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
The details around the latest funding were cleared after a meeting between KSA President Michel Groothuizen and ZonMw Director, Véronique Timmerhuis.
Groothuizen said: “The protection of players is an important priority for the KSA. By continuing this program further, we are joining forces to gather more necessary knowledge on this subject, so that we avoid gambling damage as much as possible.”
Running from 2025 to 2030, the programme will tie in research, prevention and treatment efforts into the correlation between gambling harm, its triggers and consequences like financial and health issues.
Work will span across five distinctive projects: vulnerability and player behaviour, early detection, treatment, experimental participation, and the further development of overarching support infrastructure.
The first results will be published within a year, with ZonMw leveraging its digital communication channels to raise awareness about the programme.
Timmerhuis added: ‘It is good that this program aimed at gambling addiction will be continued. A lot of knowledge development is still needed to achieve effective approaches, and to ensure that those approaches are properly put into practice.
“ZonMw can also contribute expertise from other mental health domains and thus play a good connecting role. Step by step we are working on knowledge to better help people with addictions in the future.”
Governing Dutch gambling, Michel Groothuizen has underlined the importance of customer care and one-to-one interactions to ensure intervention with vulnerable and at-risk customers, as a principal duty of operators reporting to the KSA.
Speaking at this year’s Gaming in Holland event, Arjan Blok, CEO of the Nederlandse Loterij, estimated that as much as 25% of the Dutch player share is owned by black market operators.
However, the much needed reforms to expand the scope of player protection in the country are currently being put on ice, with Teun Struycken, the Minister responsible for gambling oversight, handing over his resignation earlier this week.
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GamCare has urged partners and stakeholders to review the latest insights from updated research on domestic abuse in the UK, conducted in 2025 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
New insights drawn from the 2025 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), are based on a new methodology aimed at capturing the evolving nature of abuse.
This recommendation comes from GamCare’s Women’s Pathway Team, a dedicated research unit focused on understanding the impact of gambling-related harm and addiction on women.
The ONS updated its domestic abuse questions to reflect legal changes, shifting societal attitudes, and increased recognition of non-physical forms of abuse.
The revised questions now include previously under-reported abuse types such as coercive control, economic abuse, health-related abuse, and abuse linked to marital status. The survey also distinguishes between abuse by intimate partners and by family members and, for the first time, asks about how frequently abuse occurs.
In the year ending March 2024, 3.9 million adults aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse. The data shows that 9.5% of women and 6.5% of men reported being affected. Since the age of 16, more than a quarter of adults—26.1%, or around 12.6 million people—have experienced some form of domestic abuse.
GamCare welcomed the updated figures as a step forward in understanding the full scope of abuse. Although the ONS survey does not directly link gambling to domestic abuse, GamCare notes that many of the women who seek its support report experiences involving financial control and emotional manipulation linked to a partner’s gambling.
The Women’s Pathway Team says it regularly hears from women who are pressured into taking out loans, handing over money, or facing emotional coercion as a result of a partner’s gambling. These forms of abuse often overlap with those now recognised by the ONS, particularly financial and psychological abuse.
GamCare is calling on professionals across health, domestic abuse, criminal justice, and gambling support services to review the ONS data and recognise how gambling-related harm can intersect with domestic abuse. The charity is also urging services to adopt trauma-informed approaches, as many women face significant barriers to seeking help, including manipulation, isolation and fear.
Support is available through GamCare’s Women’s Pathway Programme, which offers individual services and the dedicated Way Forward support group. The organisation emphasises a person-centred approach, stating: “Our priority is to listen to your experience and offer support that centres on your needs.”
Women seeking support can contact the Women’s Pathway Team by emailing womenspathwaysupport@gamcare.org.uk or by calling the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.
Further domestic abuse support is available through Refuge, which runs a 24-hour national helpline on 0808 2000 247. Women’s Aid provides local support through its online directory at www.womensaid.org.uk
Those affected by financial abuse can find resources at survivingeconomicabuse.org, and support for intimate image abuse is available via the Revenge Porn Helpline at www.revengepornhelpline.org.uk
In wider developments, GamCare has launched a tender to appoint an academic partner to conduct an independent review of the Women’s Pathway Programme.
The review will assess how effectively the programme removes barriers that prevent women from accessing gambling-related support, and will help guide its future strategic development.
GamCare’s call for engagement comes at a time of growing recognition that cross-sector collaboration is essential to supporting people affected by both gambling harm and domestic abuse.
The Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) is collaborating with the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) to establish a new standard in the industry.
On Tuesday, ROGA and the RGC announced a partnership to launch a certification program for online operators in the U.S. The certification creates a new industry benchmark through an evaluation of self-exclusion and player support tools. Staff training is also evaluated during the certification process designed to bolster RG programs and practices.
The certification identifies operators that go beyond state and regulatory standards.
“A sustainable online gaming industry must be built on evidence-based best practices, and this partnership with RGC will advance this mission by building a trusted and independent assessment to certify robust responsible gaming standards,” said ROGA Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Shatley.
ROGA members will undergo evaluation for the certification with the group accounting for roughly 90% of the legal ..
The operator-led Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) has selected the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) as its partner to develop a first-of-its-kind U.S. certification for responsible online gaming.
The intention is for the two RG-focused organizations to establish a new industry benchmark through a certification that evaluates operators on their self-exclusion and player support tools, staff training, marketing programs and other key areas through a data-driven, evidence-based approach. The aim is to help operators beef up their RG programs and practices to go beyond merely meeting provincial and state regulatory requirements.
RGC and ROGA will begin developing the framework for the certification framework, which will be used to evaluate all ROGA members upon completion.
ROGA’s membership accounts for 90% of the legal U.S. sports betting industry in terms of handle. Its eight members include six of the biggest names that are licensed and offering online casino and online sports betting in Canada’s regulated iGaming province of Ontario:
bet365
BetMGM
DraftKings
FanDuel
PENN Entertainment, owner of theScore Bet
Bally’s
The other two members, Fanatics Betting and Gaming and Hard Rock Digital, are not currently offering iGaming in Ontario, but both operators are exploring possibly expanding north of the border.
Operators lean on RGC expertise
In the Toronto-headquartered non-profit RGC, ROGA and its operator members have partnered with an organization that has been one of the world’s foremost leaders in player protection, prevention and responsible gaming solutions for more than 40 years.
The RGC conducts research, consults with stakeholders including operators and regulators, rolls out practical initiatives, provides education and develops and implements best practices. It also has its own accreditation program, RC Check, developed in consultation with policy makers, gambling providers, players and people who have experienced gambling harm.
RG Check accreditation helps both land-based and online gambling providers evaluate, monitor and manage all aspects of their RG strategy. It existed for brick-and-mortar gaming before Ontario launched regulated iGaming in April 2022, and iGaming Ontario (iGO) mandates that all regulated iGaming operators must achieve RG Check. RG Check accreditation is valid for three years before operators need to reapply and get certified all over again.
ROGA said that RGC’s expertise will serve as a critical resource in the creation and management of the certification program, and RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy said the new U.S. certification “will build on years of evidence-based work and experience building RG Check as a trusted standard.”
RGC and Shatley first worked together back in 2023, before ROGA was formed, and RGC and ROGA collaborate with each other and lived-experience specialists EPIC Global Solutions and mental health service provider Kindbridge Behavioral Health on the “Know Your Play” campaign, an initiative providing U.S. college students with detailed content focused on responsible gaming, mental health and well-being and financial literacy.
Collaboration always key, RGC tells CGB
RGC’s Senior Vice President of Accreditation, Advisory and Insights, Tracy Parker, told Canadian Gaming Business earlier this year that the RGC recently updated RG Check after thorough consultation to ensure that it is a robust and relevant accreditation program that keeps up with the rapid pace of change in iGaming.
“We have found we’ve needed to talk to more people,” Parker told CGB. “It really is about the collective understanding of impact and collaboration around solutions. And that’s not just operators. We need to be talking to manufacturers and marketing affiliates, payment solution providers, leagues, athletes, coaches, university campuses, the whole ecosystem.
“New forms of gambling create new risks. I think there’s a lag in RG awareness generally, and we work on keeping pace with the evolution of the industry. It’s a constant effort to keep up.”
iGaming Daily’s Road to Lisbon Series continues as SBC News Editor, Ted Orme-Claye, is joined by Nicole Garrett, Head of Responsible Gambling at Allwyn, to discuss all things responsible gambling and player protection. Tune into this episode to find out: To hear more of what Nicole has to say, catch her at SBC Summit Lisbon on September…
DraftKings is launching a sweepstakes competition offering customers the chance to win NFL tickets by engaging with tools like My Budget Builder and My Stat Sheet. The competition has been launched to coincide with the start of the NFL season and Responsible Gaming Education Month (RGEM) in the US. DraftKings Chief Responsible Gaming Officer Lori…
Mike de Graff – BetComply
A recent data ruling by the Dutch regulator serves as a reminder that compliance is now a real-time discipline, ongoing and unforgiving, argues Mike de Graaff, Chief Compliance Officer at BetComply.
Despite clear evidence to the contrary, much of our industry still misunderstands how compliance truly works in today’s most heavily regulated markets.
The old ways of thinking persist, even at some of the largest companies in our sector. Put the processes into place. Tick the boxes. Acquire the licence. Job done, now we can focus on the “real” business.
But look at the recent trend of enforcement from the UKGC, Spelinspektionen, Kansspelautoriteit and others, and the message is loud and clear: compliance is the real business.
Take the KSA’s August announcement on database monitoring as just the latest example.
The Dutch regulator confirmed that it will intensify monitoring of its control database (CBD), following a round of automated checks in which every single licensed operator showed deficiencies.
Some were minor, while others were more serious. But the KSA wasn’t in the mood to pull punches. Accurate, timely and complete data, it said, is not optional. It is the foundation of a licence to operate.
The regulator has already said it will conduct follow-up checks on operators this year, and we know that heavy fines and even licence revocation will be on the table for those who haven’t improved.
Shift in mindset
The KSA announcement is interesting beyond the particulars of data monitoring.
Firstly, it illustrates that the KSA sees compliance not as a static condition but as a living, continuous obligation. Participants in the market must show on a daily basis that obligations are being met, and understand that these obligations may evolve as well.
Secondly, the KSA is making it clear that compliance is not measured comparatively. The regulator isn’t only focused on the worst offenders. Everyone is under the spotlight.
This is a mindset shift that we’re seeing replicated around Europe. My bet is the trend will only accelerate. In the UK, affordability and source-of-funds checks are being built around real-time data visibility. In Sweden, Spelinspektionen has been actively investigating several operators regarding reporting obligations.
Regulators are quickly aligning around the principle that if you cannot see it, you cannot regulate it.
From obligation to opportunity
The wider implication is that operators can no longer rely on arguments about channelisation or market stability to shield themselves from scrutiny.
Yes, a total advertising ban in the Netherlands would harm channelisation. Yes, over-regulation risks empowering the black market. Regulators know and understand this.
The issue is that public trust is now the overriding currency of regulation. If licensed operators fail to demonstrate responsibility, restrictions become politically viable. That is how debates about advertising bans gain momentum, and why misjudged campaigns and compliance failures have outsized consequences.
The lesson here is simple: compliance must be built into every element of a business. It cannot be confined to a single department, siloed away from product, marketing or operations. Every team needs to understand not only what the rules are, but why they exist, and be able to explain their actions in those terms. “We thought we had to do this” is no longer good enough.
That may sound daunting, but it is also an opportunity.
Regulators are showing their teeth, and will punish those who fall short. Operators who can demonstrate a deep, proactive understanding of regulation are better placed to thrive in mature, tightly controlled markets.
It is worth remembering that even the industry’s largest incumbents can stumble. Some of the most high-profile enforcement cases in recent years have been against household names. For agile challengers willing to invest in compliance culture, this creates space to disrupt and win market share.
Embedding compliance into every decision and treating it as part of a competitive edge is now a genuine driver of growth.
Compliance is changing. The only question left is whether you are ready to change with it.
Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest bank, has warned authorities of its concerns on the gambling expenditure of “young Danish men”.
Louise Aggerstrøm, Chief Financial Analyst at Danske Bank, revealed that men between the ages of 18 and 24 are predominantly spending the most of their monthly disposable income on gambling.
Concerns were relayed in an interview with Danmarks Radio (DR), with Aggerstrøm stating that on average, men in that age group set aside around 800 Danish kroner (£93) for the pastime activity – or “about double what they spent on gambling in 2019”.
Statistically, this is 20 times more than what women in the same age bracket spend each month, which is around 40 kroner as per data from Danske Bank.
However, it is also important to note that the median monthly salary before tax was DKK 46,972 (£5.5k) in 2024, with the amount projected to increase following a similar trend across European markets.
And while Aggerstrøm placed the 800 kroner as an average portion of 10% from the young men’s monthly consumption, deeming it “fairly large”, the economist did also point out that this is purely money coming out of accounts – with winnings left out of the statistics.
Regardless, she did caution against large expenditures, as there is a risk of developing problem gambling behaviour, which must be tracked at an individual level beyond statistical insights.
ROFUS, the national self-exclusion scheme managed by Denmark’s Gambling Authority of Spillemyndigheden, estimates that in June 2025, the number of self-excluded men aged 18-29 reached a total of 24,689.
This indicates that there is a good understanding among players about the support available to them if they fall victim to gambling harm.
Not only that, but general gambling spend among Danes appears to be slowing down, again as per Spillemyndigheden. The most recent data from the regulator revealed that in June, total gambling GGR dropped by 17% YoY.
Still, concerns remain about the current state of the Danish gambling market, with talks to limit advertisements being held at the highest political level.
Rasmus Stoklund, Minister of Taxation, was appointed in August, 2024. Since then, he has been actively reviewing the idea of imposing a stricter advertisement regime.
However, given the declining rates of licensed GGR, such a decision would likely need to be advised by a thorough investigation into the prominence of the black market in Denmark.
Danske Bank’s concerns reflect broader discussions across European markets on how best to protect young consumers aged 18 to 24 from gambling-related harm. In the Netherlands, authorities have been tasked with drafting new protections for under-24s as part of the Gambling Act reform.
Meanwhile, in Spain, licensed operators are now required to register all activity involving under-21 customers in a federal database, as the government considers implementing a universal deposit limit for young users.
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September 15 will see SBC organise a ground breaking charity football event in Lisbon. Make sure you get the chance to see some of the most legendary names in football by securing your ticket today at https://www.legendscharitygame.com/