A.J. Koehn

The Conservative Party’s Nick Herbert has joined the long list of figures to hit out at the Gambling Commission’s affordability checks for the UK.

Speaking at the House of Lords, the former MP for Arundel and South Downs and Baron of South Downs called on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to revisit the “ill-targeted policy, which, after all, was not the government’s in the first place”.

With the speech, he has become another member of what seems to be an ever-growing list of people making noise to prevent these checks from coming into place, which includes gambling reformist James Noyes and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

The Gambling Commission are set to meet regarding the implementation of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) tomorrow, the second and most stringent level of its affordability check solution, but Herbert has urged for a halt on this.

“On Thursday, the Gambling Commission will decide whether to approve the roll out of affordability checks on online betting,” he said.

“..

Global tech companies like Meta and Google have been directly approached by Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), with a request to join the gambling trade body in its battle against the black market.

In an open letter, the BGC and its members underscored that illegal gambling is now rampant across social media, search engines, messaging services and digital advertising networks, easily targeting British consumers.

Hurst relayed that those who are at most risk of such marketing campaigns are the most vulnerable, those who have self-excluded, who are seeking support for a disruptive gambling behaviour – and that they’ve been preyed upon by illegal operators who are hiding in plain sight.

“These illegal operators are not part of the regulated gambling industry. They are not licensed by the Gambling Commission. They do not follow British rules. They do not carry out the checks required to protect customers. They do not contribute to rese..

Entain has identified another target in its campaign exposing the threats of illegal and unlicensed gaming in the UK.

The latest development sees the LSE gambling group put forward its direct concerns of trademark integrity to the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) as seen by SBC News.

Entain believes that an urgent regulatory intervention is required by UKIPO in relation to trade marks granted for gambling brands.

The FTSE250 group has questioned whether UK trademark rules are being undermined by unlicensed gambling brands being able to claim British trademarks.

Simon Zinger, Entain’s Group General Counsel and Chief Customer Care Officer, has now appealed to the UKIPO to seal off the UK trademark register to gambling companies which do not hold a Gambling Commission licence.

The company argues that by allowing unlicensed operators to access the register gives these companies “the commercial legitimacy that registration confers” and supports operations that are illegal in the..

British bookmakers’ anti-money laundering standards are slipping according to the Gambling Commission, which has taken aim at the over-use of AI by operators.

Failure to comply with AML standards has led to some hefty enforcement actions in the past, with the Commission charging Entain and William Hill record penalties of £17m and £19.2m for AML and social responsibility failures in 2022 and 2023.

John Pierce, the Commission’s Director of Enforcement, addressed stakeholders at the Gambling Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAMLG) Annual Conference yesterday, and took note of the emerging use of AI and algorithms used as AML controls and diligence by betting licences.

“We aren’t ideologically against the use of new technology in your processes,” he said.

“But you need to be sure they are doing what is required and the evidence we’ve seen so far is too often they simply aren’t delivering.

“So if your business is considering this type of approach, make sure it’s delivering compliance be..

The Anjouan gambling regulator has steadfastly denied that its licences are designed to be used globally and universally.

Anjouan, one of the autonomous islands of the Union of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean, has found itself front-and-centre in conversations around illegal and unlicensed gambling in major betting markets like the UK.

Anjouan Gaming published a statement on LinkedIn on 10 June responding to what it called “public commentary” around its licences and comparisons between its own regulatory standards and those of other national gaming authorities.

The regulator has not singled out any specific examples of the commentary it is referring to.

However, anyone familiar with the betting industry will be very aware that Anjouan is routinely mentioned in conversations around black market, grey market, and unlicensed gaming.

“An Anjouan Internet Gaming Licence is not, and has never been presented as, a universal authorisation to operate in every country in the world,” Anjoua..