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The New Zealand government has announced plans to regulate online casinos, with the new regulatory system “to be in place from early 2026”.

In a statement on the government’s website, Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden has said that a “high-level approach” to online casino regulation has been agreed to by the government, “designed to minimise harm, support tax collection and provide consumer protections to New Zealanders”.

Van Velden commented: “There will be a licensing system for online casinos, where operators will need to comply with a set of criteria before they will be able to offer services to New Zealanders. It will be illegal for unlicensed operators to offer services to New Zealanders.

“Licensing is how we regulate most forms of gambling domestically. This is not intended to increase the amount of gambling New Zealanders do but to ensure operators meet requirements for consumer protection and harm minimisation, as well as paying tax.”

Regarding licences, only ..

Labour has announced its ministerial team for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which includes the appointment of Baroness Fiona Twycross as Minister for Gambling.

A member of the House of Lords since November 2022, Twycross will be responsible for gambling and will report to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy.

Joining Twycross and Nandy on the DCMS ministerial team is Sir Chris Bryant, Minister for Creative Industries, Arts, and Tourism, as well as Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth.

While Twycross has been appointed as Minister for Gambling, she is also a Lords Minister and will be responsible for DCMS business in the House of Lords, with Peacock being responsible for gambling in the House of Commons.

Twycross was also appointed Baroness in Waiting (Government Whip) on 11 July.

Commenting on her new role on her X account, Twycross said: “Delighted to be part of a fabulous team supporting @lisanandy in @D..

The Betting and Gaming Council has stated its members are concerned about the UK Gambling Commission’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain as they believe its findings may be “unreliable” and overstating gambling participation and gambling-related harm.

The commission published its first annual GSGB report earlier this week as the gambling regulator seeks to “establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain”.

However, due to the changes to data collection to a push-to-web methodology, the UKGC has emphasised that the GSGB report estimates “are not directly comparable with results from prior gambling or health surveys and such comparisons should not be used to assess trends over time”.

The GSGB featured responses from 9,804 people in the 2023 annual report, but this figure will increase to around 20,000 by next year.

BGC members raise concerns

In a statement, BGC members have raised concerns about the estimates reported in the GSGB, noting that the estimates m..

The UK Gambling Commission has published its first annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain report as the gambling regulator seeks to “establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain”.

Of note, the GSGB report has stated that just under half of adults aged 18 and over have participated in any form of gambling in the past four weeks, but this figure drops to just above a quarter when those who only participated in lottery draws are excluded.

In addition, the report found that 41 per cent of adults who gambled in the past 12 months rated the last time they gambled positively, 21 per cent gave a negative score and 37 per cent gave a neutral score. Male participants were more likely to have higher Problem Gambling Severity Index scores, as well as those aged 18 to 34.

In response to the publication, the UKGC’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, Tim Miller, has described the GSGB report as “the next significant step forward in our journey on creating a ro..

The UK Gambling Commission has published its first annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain report as the gambling regulator seeks to “establish a new baseline for understanding gambling behaviour in Britain”.

Of note, the GSGB report has stated that just under half of adults aged 18 and over have participated in any form of gambling in the past four weeks, but this figure drops to just above a quarter when those who only participated in lottery draws are excluded.

In addition, the report found that 41 per cent of adults who gambled in the past 12 months rated the last time they gambled positively, 21 per cent gave a negative score and 37 per cent gave a neutral score. Male participants were more likely to have higher Problem Gambling Severity Index scores, as well as those aged 18 to 34.

In response to the publication, the UKGC’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, Tim Miller, has described the GSGB report as “the next significant step forward in our journey on creating a ro..

bet365 has renewed its partnership with Gentoo Media for another year to utilise its automated compliance and brand protection tool GiG Comply as part of its operations.

Through the agreement extension, the gambling operator will continue to use the market affiliate’s GiG Comply tool for the sixth year in a row, “reinforcing its commitment to robust regulatory compliance and integrity”.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with bet365,” commented Rasmus Bank Nielsen, Head of GiG Comply.

“This extension demonstrates the effectiveness of GiG Comply as a compliance- and brand protection tool, once and again used by one of the largest and most respected operators in the industry. We look forward to continuously supporting bet365 in maintaining their high standard of regulatory compliance.”

Using advanced monitoring capabilities, GiG Comply will provide bet365 with the necessary tools to make sure that its operations and marketing remain compliant with regulatory requirements i..

As the gambling and sports betting industry continues to evolve, with the emergence of innovative technologies, platforms and new burgeoning markets, the upcoming SBC Summit will provide 25,000 delegates with the latest leadership strategies to spur professional growth and global brand success.
The dedicated ‘Global Leadership’ conference track will take place across all three core days of the upcoming SBC Summit, held at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa from September 24-26.

Attendees can expect a variety of leadership-focused discussions addressing key issues such as the measured and effective use of artificial intelligence (AI), optimal marketing strategies for iGaming, the impact of the global economy on investment in the gaming industry, innovating traditional lotteries for the digital age, and more.

Underscoring the global reach of the event, the educational programme will also feature dedicated leadership panels focusing on key markets such as Africa, Asia, Brazil, Eurasia, ..

The Charity Commission has closed its case into GambleAware “without criticism of, or findings against” the gambling support charity following complaints about its operations.

GambleAware CEO Zoë Osmond noted that the commission was “satisfied that the charity’s reliance on industry funding does not impact on decision-making about its activities” and that steps have been taken to ensure its independence from the gambling industry.

The Charity Commission told iNews in May that it had opened its case into GambleAware after receiving a complaint about the charity from The Good Law Project, an independent non-profit organisation.

The complaint, filed in March, accused GambleAware of a conflict of interest since it receives significant funding from the gambling sector. It also claimed the charity failed in its regulatory duties as chief commissioner of gambling harm research, education and treatment (RET) projects, services and organisations in the UK.

In addition, the complaint critici..

The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has established a Duty of Care Online department to improve the supervision of online gambling operators’ duty of care.

The KSA noted that the creation of a Duty of Care Online department follows an investigation conducted last September into ten online gambling providers regarding their duty of care interpretation. The investigation revealed that there were “too many differences between providers” as well as shortcomings.

Since then, the authority has amended its Responsible Gaming policy, with the supervision expansion of an online provider’s duty of care now following suit with the creation of a new department.

The KSA stated that the duty of care expansion includes “extensive file research at providers that stand out in the control data, and on the basis of signals received from players”.

In addition, the department will monitor operators regarding the new duty of care and compliance policy rules. The new rules of the ministry wil..