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

Canadian Gaming Summit’s Player Protection Symposium to feature former NHLer

SBC Americas0172 views

As Canada’s market matures, player protection challenges are multiplying — from rising offshore activity to the ethical use of AI in responsible gambling.

The Player Protection Symposium at Canadian Gaming Summit 2025 will bring together the key stakeholders shaping regulation, technology, and player safety to ask: “How do we protect players without pushing them away?”

Taking place June 19 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, this focused track will unite leading policy experts, operators and responsible gambling specialists to examine how Canada’s regulatory and commercial frameworks are safeguarding players in a maturing market.

Six expert-led sessions will cover the full spectrum of contemporary challenges, from AI-driven player protection to national self-exclusion models. The symposium offers delegates insight into evolving policies, technologies, and collaborations driving the next generation of responsible gaming in Canada.

“Protecting players should never be viewed as a..

Read more

‘Not just a box to tick’: Canadian gaming industry to talk RG at Canadian Gaming Summit

CanadianGamingBusiness0159 views

As Canada’s online gaming market matures, player protection challenges are multiplying — from rising offshore activity to the ethical use of AI in responsible gambling.

The Player Protection Symposium at Canadian Gaming Summit 2025 brings together the key minds shaping regulation, technology and player safety to ask how the industry can protect players without pushing them away.

Taking place on Thursday, June 19, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, this focused track will unite leading policy experts, operators and responsible gambling specialists to examine how Canada’s regulatory and commercial frameworks are developing to safeguard players in a maturing market.

Six expert-led sessions will cover the full spectrum of contemporary challenges, from AI-driven player protection to national self-exclusion models. The symposium offers delegates insight into evolving policies, technologies and collaborations driving the next generation of responsible gaming in Canada.

“Protecting players should never be viewed as a compliance box to tick,” said SBC Founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark. “It’s a complex, developing challenge that spans tech, policy, and empathy. This symposium brings together the people on the frontline of responsible gambling to share the insights that will help us build a truly sustainable gaming industry across Canada.”

The track will open with a special edition of Martin Lycka’s Safe Bet Show, featuring the very special guest, NHL legend Nick Kypreos. Kypreos will regale attendees with tales from his storied career, which included spells at the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers and Toronto’s very own Maple Leafs.

Among the key panels on the track is Regulation and Responsibility: How the New Politics Affect Player Protection, which will explore what Alberta can learn from Ontario’s approach to responsible gambling and why one in five Ontario gamblers still use unregulated platforms to gamble. Craig Cornforth (Senior Business Development Manager, EPIC Global Solutions), Alistair Facciol (Vice President of iCasino, iGaming Ontario), Steve McAllister (Editor-In-Chief, The Parleh), Ryan McCarthy (Director of Player Health, British Columbia Lottery Corporation) and Geoff Zochodne (Senior News Analyst, Covers), will examine how shifting political landscapes influence player protection strategies and consider whether a coordinated national approach could reduce player reliance on unregulated markets.

Building on these regulatory themes, Self-Exclusion: A Plus for Protection or a Boost to the Black Market? will see panellists examine Ontario’s upcoming centralized self-exclusion system and assess whether it establishes an industry standard for responsible gaming or risks driving players toward unregulated markets. Aaron GlynWilliams (Chief of Staff and Head of Enterprise Strategy, Ontario Lottery and Gaming), Catherine Jarmain (Director – Operations & Player Relations, iGO), Dr. Isabelle Martin (Advanced Specialist, Corporate Office for Responsible Gambling, Loto-Québec), Tracy Parker (Senior Vice President, Accreditation, Advisory and Insights, Responsible Gambling Council), Dr. Kahlil Philander (Carson College of Business, Washington State University) and Al Watson (CEO, Dataworks Group) will explore how regulators and operators can strike the right balance between access, protection, and enforcement.

The session Technology in RG: From Targeted Messaging to AI Support will examine how artificial intelligence can transform responsible gambling measures by using behavioral data to spot at-risk players. Cory Fox (SVP Public Policy & Sustainability, FanDuel), Francesco Rodano (Chief Sustainable Gambling Officer, Playtech) and Dan Umfleet (Group CEO, Kindbridge) will discuss how their organizations are rolling out technology-driven solutions while tackling the ethical questions these tools create, including data privacy concerns, player consent issues, and the dangers of relying too heavily on automated systems when working with vulnerable individuals.

Also featured as part of the Player Protection Symposium is the session It Pays to Be Positive: Changing the Direction of Reinforcement in RG, which will unite leading experts to examine how shifting from punitive messaging to positive reinforcement can help ensure safer gambling behaviors.

The Player Protection Symposium is one of several focused content streams at the Canadian Gaming Summit, alongside dedicated tracks on Sports Betting & Casino, Cybersecurity, Affiliates & Advertising, Leaders and Payments & Compliance.

Get your tickets for the Canadian Gaming Summit!
Full Event Passes are still available at a discounted rate of $795 per person when you book as a group of three or more — saving you $200 per ticket with our Group Discount.

Operators and affiliates are eligible for free Full Event Passes, just apply via the respective links.

You can also grab an Expo Plus Pass for $195, which gives you access to all conference tracks, sessions, and the show floor. Please note: this pass does not include access to networking events.

Read more

Dutch regulator buoyant on deposit limit impacts, but trade bodies warn of a dangerous future

iGamingExpert0198 views

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gambling regulator, has revealed the positive effects of its recently introduced player protection measures, but trade bodies have warned that the country’s black market is growing.

In the second half of 2024, the KSA mandated that players must contact an operator if they want to increase their deposit limits to more than €350 per month or €150 for young adults (18-24).

In addition, providers must now check whether a player can afford deposits of over €300 (young adults) or €700 (aged 24 and over).

The KSA claimed that just 1% of players lost more than €1,000 during the reporting period, falling from 4% before the rule changes.

The percentage of players depositing more than the deposit limits has dropped from 9.7% to 2.2% for adults, and from 12% to 1.9% for young adults. Also, the average player loss per account decreased by 31% to an average of €80 per month, falling from an average of €116 in the eight months before the rule changes.

The KSA argued that this shows the rules had reduced instances of excessive gambling at legal providers.

During this time, gross gaming result (total deposits minus prizes paid) fell by 8% compared to the previous year.

Channelisation and illegal market

The data also suggested that 93% of players only play with legal providers. However, the channelisation rate in the Netherlands, the percentage of gambling spend at legal operators, is widely reported to be just 50%.

This indicates that a large proportion of high-spending players in the Netherlands are customers of illegal operators, meaning the regulated market is losing out on significant revenue from these players.

Search volume for the top 100 illegal websites also increased following the rules changes, which the KSA conceded could indicate growth in the illegal market.

Fears over the lure of the black market have also been echoed by VNLOK, a trade body for the Dutch gambling industry.

VNLOK, which has recently announced a merger with the NOGA, warned that the black market remains too easily accessible, especially by vulnerable players who are not afforded the same protections as they would if they were playing on the regulated market.

Björn Fuchs, Chair of VNLOK, said: “We must not close our eyes to the other half: the illegal market. It is precisely the players who bet the most money and vulnerable groups, such as minors and young adults, that seem to continue to find their way to the illegal offer. That is exactly the group that is most at risk.”

In response to the results, VNLOK urged the KSA to consider the impact of new regulations, warning that an excess of new rules can have the undesirable effect of driving players to the black market.

It stated: “VNLOK calls for strict action against illegal providers and for a balanced approach to regulation: effective where necessary, but without unnecessarily hindering the player and the legal offer. All findings from the latest impact measurement must be taken into account in the development of new rules.”

Read more

Questions raised as new child gambling cases emerge in Victoria 

Steve Hoare0225 views

Three Australian hotels have been found guilty by Victoria’s gambling authority of allowing minors to gamble on their premises.

An investigation into events spanning across four dates in 2024, and involving three minors across three venues, has resulted in a AU$38,000 (£18.2k) fine issued by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) handed over to the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH), which manages the venues.

Infringements related to the Cramers Hotel, Excelsior Hotel, and Mountain View Hotel, all located in the state of Victoria, and all publicly named and reprimanded by the VGCCC and its CEO, Suzy Neilan.

The ALH was penalised without conviction in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, pleading guilty to six charges after self-reporting the breaches to the VGCCC, which Neilan welcomed.

“Being accountable for wrongdoing demonstrates integrity, which has been a focus of the VGCCC’s ongoing work with gambling operators,’ she said.

“But it’s not enough to own up after the fact. Venues must be proactive about ensuring that minors do not access poker machine areas by ensuring they have in place appropriate systems, processes and staff.”

Too late for comfort
Each case showed significant supervision failures by floor staff, with the most serious one involving a child accompanied by two adults entering the poker machine area of the Excelsior Hotel in April 2024 and engaging with the machine being used by one of the adults.

In the Cramers Hotel, a 17-year-old visited the poker machine area in January without being asked to show their ID throughout multiple interactions with staff members, the VGCCC said. This occurred multiple times until employees intervened on 25 January.

The third case involved a 14-year-old entering the poker machine room of the Mountain View Hotel and successfully managing to gamble before staff realised what’s happening.

All three venues have been given two charges each by the VGCCC, one for allowing a minor to enter a gaming machine area and one for allowing a minor to gamble.

“I encourage all hotels and clubs to review their operations, including staff training, and consider making any adjustments required to ensure compliance with the law,” Neilan added.

Troublemaker Victoria
Neilan took on the role of VGCCC’s CEO in March of this year. Since then, she’s been focusing her efforts to fix what has been a troubled history for the state of Victoria in terms of customer care due diligence.

In 2024, the VGCCC gave a record AU$4.7m (£2.2m) fine to Tabcorp, the operator of Victoria’s wagering licence for retail and leisure venues, over lack of adequate staff training that led to failures to protect at-risk customers.

Tabcorp also faced a total of 54 charges by the VGCCC in 2023 for allegedly allowing minors to gamble and lacking reasonable supervision of on-site electronic betting terminals.

Naturally, the state has become a hotbed for problem gambling policies, going as far as adopting the strictest gambling harm rules in Australia back in 2023, specifically aimed at making gaming machines safer through measures like reducing the player spend cap and mandatory game spin rates.

The developments in Victoria come amid a national conversation about gambling harm in Australia, something policymakers have sought to address via the recommendations of the Murphy Report, published by a late MP in 2023.

Gambling reforms were shelved earlier this year ahead of the general election, but with the PM Anthony Albanese now firmly in the driving seat after his election win it could be back on the agenda.

Read more

iGaming Daily: Spain’s DGOJ rethinks gambling restrictions and risk algorithm dilemma

Steve Hoare0190 views

In this episode of iGaming Daily, SBC’s Editor-at-Large, Ted Menmuir and iGaming Expert’s Business Journalist, Christian Lee, recap key insights from the recent Gaming in Spain conference in Madrid. A highlight was the DGOJ’s much-anticipated regulatory update, covering proposed changes to deposit limits, advertising rules, and a new mandatory risky behaviour algorithm for identifying problem…

Read more

Newsletter: Select Committee evidence gets third degree

Steve Hoare0128 views

The Gambling Commission has added its weight to the increasingly controversial evidence given at the UK’s House of Commons Select Committee hearing on gambling-related harms back in April. Politricks have failed: Three separate letters have been written to the Committee rubbishing the claims of Director of Public Health for Nottingham Lucy Hubber, Professor of Psychiatry,…

Read more

Report: Guardians pitcher Ortiz under MLB investigation for gambling

SBC Americas0190 views

American professional sports are dealing with another player-related gambling probe.

According to a report from The Athletic, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz is being investigated by MLB for a matter related to gambling. Ortiz, a 26-year-old who spent last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave.”

Ortiz’s leave will run through the end of the MLB All-Star break, which concludes July 15. The Dominican Republic native was scheduled to pitch in a game on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. As a result of his leave, the Guardians made roster changes.

“The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation,” said the team in a statement. “The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process.”

MLB reportedly won’t comment on the matter u..

Read more

GambleAware community fund hits £2.2m milestone in final phase

Steve Hoare0176 views

GambleAware has distributed £2.2m through its Community Resilience Fund (CRF) since its launch in 2022, specifically targeting rising vulnerability linked to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The fund marked the charity’s first open funding initiative available to organisations outside the traditional gambling harms sector, with a strong focus on underserved communities. It is now in its final phase of delivery.

Immense impact
The charity has released a new independent evaluation by Ipsos which highlights the fund’s reach, particularly in marginalised and ethnic minority communities disproportionately affected by gambling harm.

So far, almost 14,000 people have been supported through awareness campaigns and early intervention efforts, with the fund providing 12-month grants to 12 grassroots groups.

Many were first-time recipients, using funds to raise awareness and offer early intervention. After reporting strong results, GambleAware then extended support with £1.66m to 11 projects – showing high impact and long-term potential.

Anna Hargrave, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Commissioning and Strategy Officer for GambleAware, commented: “The effects of gambling harm can grip anyone, and having grassroots, community focused organisations that can reach individuals at risk, is vital.

“The Community Resilience Fund is here for that very reason, so that we can reach the people who need support most. We’re really pleased that funded projects have been able to reach thousands of people, especially those from underrepresented communities who might not otherwise seek support.”

Some of the aforementioned projects consisted of; Al Hurraya, Big Issue Foundation, Blackburn Foodbank, Coram’s Field, Epic Restart Foundation, Hull FC Rugby Community Sports and Education Foundation, Prison Radio Association, Reframe Coaching, Sharma Women’s Centre, Simon Community Scotland and Yellow Scarf.

Hargrave emphasised that it is “hugely important” that there is recognition of the sector’s growing shift from fragmented services to whole-system responses.

She added: “The protection against gambling harms requires joint ownership across public health, lived experience, communities, and systems.”

What has been done?
Looking at Blackburn Foodbank for example, GambleAware gave a grant of up to £100,000 as part of the initial £1.2m CRF allocation, which helped integrate gambling harm awareness into the organisation’s existing services.

Meanwhile, GambleAware also partnered with Yellow Scarf to expand blocking software to include Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian versions, making it accessible to vulnerable Eastern European migrants who often face language barriers.

Additionally, at the Prison Radio Association, the charity enabled the production and distribution of the podcast series Hold or Fold which delves into the impacts of problem gambling via personal stories.

Finally, at Al Hurraya, a Nottingham-based charity which focuses on assisting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities dealing with addiction and related issues, the funding enhanced services and provided support to individuals affected by gambling harms.

Manjit Bajwa, Al-Hurraya Operations Manager and CRF Project Manager, concluded: “We are deeply committed to raising awareness and reducing harm associated with gambling. We’ve been fortunate to work closely with our communities, offering both individual counselling and crucial family support.

“We greatly appreciate the chance to share best practices and learning with our esteemed partners, including EPIC Restart Foundation and Shama Women’s Centre in the East Midlands, as part of the CRF Project.”

Read more