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Denmark’s gambling authority Spillemyndigheden has formed a new agreement with the country’s Consumer Ombudsman Forbrugerombudsmanden, and its gambling advertising board Spilreklamenævnet, to coordinate efforts against illegal gambling marketing.

According to a statement by Forbrugerombudsmanden, the three parties will work together when they have to take action against illegal gambling marketing in Denmark to avoid the duplication of efforts and to improve their cooperation.

In terms of operation, if a gambling company does not comply with criticism by Spilreklamenævnet, or if rules are found to be broken, cases will be forwarded by the advertising board to the ombudsman or the gambling authority.

Forbrugerombudsmanden and Spillemyndigheden can also inform complainants that they can complain to the advertising board if a company breaks the industry’s code of conduct, but not rules handled by the ombudsman or the gambling authority.

Torben Jensen, Consumer Ombudsman, commented: “O..

SOFTSWISS has shared insights from its managed services’ anti-fraud team for the first half of the year and how they have assisted operators.

The global technology company’s anti-fraud team has helped operators save around €6m in H1 2024, a one-third reduction in the amount at risk in comparison to last year.

Including operator and verification requests, fraud and responsible gambling notifications, the anti-fraud team handled around 54,000 tasks during the first six months of the year, which is down 8.5 per cent year-over-year.

In addition, SOFTSWISS noted that player complaints submitted to regulators or at industry forums have risen by 12.4 per cent YoY in H1 to 118. The firm claimed that its expertise in analysing these cases helped operators resolve issues and save nearly €250,000.

Ilya Nesterov, Anti-Fraud Team Lead at SOFTSWISS, commented: “The most common types of fraud our team deals with are bonus abuse, identity theft and documents forgery, which account for almost 90% ..

GamCare has appointed Tim Hodgetts as its new Director of Clinical Operations, effective from August 2024.

As Clinical Operations Director, Hodgetts will work closely with the leadership team of the gambling support charity, taking responsibility for strategic oversight and all operational management of its clinical and support services.

GamCare’s clinical and support services includes the National Gambling Helpline and online support, regional treatment services, as well as prevention and education programmes.

“I’m delighted to be joining GamCare and supporting the team to deliver its priorities,” commented Hodgetts on his new role.

“The opportunity to lead and support the organisation to continue delivering high-quality, personalised, support services, including the National Gambling Helpline – outstanding of its kind – that ensure the best possible outcomes for people experiencing gambling harm, is why I was attracted to the role.

“I’m excited to work closely with existing p..

Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gaming authority, has improved the controls of its Cruks API service with an update that allows exceptions in personal data to be processed better.

The Netherlands’ gambling market regulator stated that ID documentation problems that have sometimes occurred previously when players register to the self-exclusion service, such as missing first or last names or an ‘invalid’ birth date when the exact date of birth is unknown, have now been resolved thanks to the API.

Dutch gambling operators must check for a customer’s registration on Cruks to make sure that players who have signed up for the self-exclusion service can’t gamble. The KSA noted that there are currently around 75,000 registrations with the service.

However, in exceptional cases previously when players registered with Cruks with missing ID information, it can result in problems when gambling providers check for their names.

The KSA added that the API update to Cruks has resolved these problems..

The Assembly of Northern Ireland will not review any changes to gambling laws, despite bipartisan calls for immediate action.

Following Thursday’s General Election, a new Assembly was formed in Northern Ireland, with Sinn Féin serving as Stormont’s largest party in Westminster.

Despite Sinn Féin taking no seats at the House of Commons, the election has brought a more diversified representation to Westminster. The new assembly includes six parties and one independent, representing the 18 constituencies of the devolved nation.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons told Members of the Legislative Assembly: “Having reflected on the issues, I have concluded that it would be impossible for a Bill of the magnitude and complexity required to be drafted and to have made its way through all Assembly scrutiny and legislative processes within the current mandate.

“For that reason, I have decided not to proceed with a Gambling Bill in this mandate.”

In 2019, Stormont began consulting on overhauli..

Evolution is facing strike action in Georgia as around 5,000 employees plan to strike over issues with working conditions, labour rights and salaries at its live casino studio in Tbilisi.

According to Georgian media, “at least 5,000” employees at Evolution Georgia are reportedly preparing to go on strike on July 12, demanding improved working conditions at the Tbilisi live gaming location.

The tier one supplier has been accused of operating with “unsafe and unsanitary workplace conditions, harassment by managers, and meagre pay” for its Georgian employees.

Mautskebeli, a Georgian trade union news source, shed light on the accusations with published screenshots and communications of Evolution management involved in various issues, including “sexist, racist, and discriminatory remarks against employees.”

Furthermore, these screenshots were accompanied by footage detailing the poor working and sanitary conditions of janitors at the company.

In response to the proposed strike action..

The energised efforts from former Prime Minister Tony Blair for the introduction of digital ID cards were shot down by the new Labour government.

Writing for The Sunday Times, Blair continued his push for digital ID cards, a plan that he is cited as being crucial for a significant period of time; the former Prime Minister described the cards as part of a ‘technological revolution’.

Blair had cited the impact they could have on immigration, however they would also be a monumental shift for KYC practices in the UK. Nonetheless, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasised that they were not in the party’s manifesto and it will take a different approach.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds went a step further and ruled out the potential implementation of digital ID cards, confirming them as something the current government won’t explore.

In spite of the quick dismissal of the plans from Labour, YouGov polls reveal that there is a receptiveness from UK voters to accept digital ID cards. ..

Nederlandse Online Gambling Associatie, the Dutch online gambling association, has expressed its concern about the number of people seeking support for gambling addiction.

NOGA’s statement comes in response to the new Addiction Care Key Figures 2018 – 2023 report from Landelijk Alcohol en Drugs Informatie Systeem, the Netherlands’ National Alcohol and Drugs Information System.

2023 figures from LADIS show that the number of people in addiction care with gambling as their primary problem has risen to 2,456, in comparison to 2022’s figure of 1,920 people. Gambling addiction accounts for a four per cent share of the total problems in addiction care.

According to NOGA, the main reason behind the increase has been due to the “expansion in the number of supplying institutions, although institutions that have been supplying information for some time have also reported a slight increase”.

Commenting on the figures, Eric Konings, Interim Director of NOGA, stated: “The figures published tod..