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KSA confirms Responsible Gaming Policy implementation dates

The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has confirmed that most of its new Responsible Gaming Policy will be implemented on June 3, followed by the remainder of the policy in October 2024.

Earlier this month, the KSA announced that its amended policy would be pushed back from May 2024 to June 3, 2024, due to the response period extension it gave to gaming industry stakeholders to comment on the proposed changes, as well as the large number of responses the authority received.

In December last year, the extension was issued to give stakeholders across the gaming sector extra time to provide feedback on the proposed Responsible Gaming Policy changes, including a tightening of the duty of care of online providers for their players.

Providing an update, the authority has now confirmed that there will be two definitive dates for when parts of the policy will come into effect for providers, with most of the amended rules being implemented and published in the Government Gazette on..

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EGBA welcomes new AML framework approved by European Parliament

The European Gaming and Betting Association has welcomed the new EU anti-money laundering framework package approved by the European Parliament.

The EGBA believes the changes will strengthen the EU’s approach to tackling money laundering and “benefit online gambling operators by standardising AML rules and reporting requirements across member states”.

With formal adoption by the Council of the EU expected in May, before being published in the EU’s Official Journal, the new package will contain:

A single rulebook regulation – provisions on conducting due diligence on customers, transparency of beneficial owners and the use of crypto-assets.

The sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive – national provisions on supervision and national AML authorities, as well as on the access of authorities to necessary and reliable information, eg beneficial ownership registers.

The establishment of the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority – AMLA – will have supervisory and investigative powers to..

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Kindred: Slight revenue share increase from high-risk players in Q1 2024

As part of its ‘Journey towards Zero’ initiative, Kindred has reported a slight increase in revenue share from high-risk players during the first quarter of 2024.

The ‘Journey towards Zero’ campaign of reaching zero per cent of revenue generated from harmful gambling sees the 32Red and Unibet operator provide quarterly data on revenue share from harmful gambling and improvement effect after interventions.

Kindred noted that, in comparison to Q4 2023, there has been a slight increase in the share of gross winnings revenue from high-risk players in Q1 2024 – a 90-day rolling period between December 19, 2023, and March 18, 2024.

The revenue from high-risk players rose to 3.2 per cent during the quarter, compared to Q4 2023’s 3.1 per cent. This figure has shifted between 3.1 and 3.3 per cent throughout the past year.

In addition, the operator said that it “remains fully dedicated to lowering this share of revenue and continues to see a positive behaviour change from players after inter..

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Mohegan, NeoGames, The Star: on the move

With comings and goings commonplace across the industry, Mohegan, NeoGames and The Star Gold Coast are among those to have seen changes to their teams recently.

Mohegan

Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has appointed Joseph J Hasson as interim Chief Operating Officer, who is currently the General Manager of Mohegan Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Effective August 1, 2024, Hasson will be replacing Jody Madigan in the COO position, who has resigned and will be taking a leave of absence pending his departure.

Reporting to President and CEO Ray Pineault, Hasson will serve as interim COO and retain his current General Manager role, subject to necessary regulatory filings or approvals.

Mohegan added that Hasson was an “obvious choice” with his more than 40 years of gaming and hospitality experience, as he has also been COO for Station Casinos and Red Rock Resorts.

Pineault commented: “Joseph J Hasson’s deep understanding of the gaming and hospitality industry makes him exceptionally qua..

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IBIA website depicts unusual Asian online slots offering

Following either a hack or coding error, the International Betting Integrity Association websiteaccidentally displayed an out-of-place promotion for an online slots company.

Advertising a company known as Slot Online Gacor 2023, for a short period of time anyone visiting the IBIA’s website would find a blatant promotion for the online slots company that looked to be targeting South East Asian players.

Translated from its original Indonesian transcript, the advertisement read: “Through Gacor 2023 slots, you can play all the latest slot games using just one user ID via your device by relying on an internet connection. Online slots are one of the easiest slot games to play and do not require large capital or special skills to place bets.

“Only the Gacor 2023 slot site guarantees victory for its players, by registering the alternative link for the 2023 Gacor slot which has 24-hour online service and certainly not many other Gacor slot sites have it.”

Due to the nature of the IBIA an..

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KSA pushes back amended Responsible Gaming Policy to June

The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has pushed back the publication of its amended Responsible Gaming Policy to June.

The publication date of the amended policy rules in the Government Gazette has been pushed back from the beginning of May 2024 to June 3, 2024, due to the response period extension the KSA gave to gaming industry stakeholders to comment on the proposed changes, as well as the large number of responses the authority received.

Upon request, the extension was issued in December last year to give stakeholders across the gaming sector extra time to provide feedback on the proposed Responsible Gaming Policy changes, including a tightening of the duty of care of online providers for their players.

Due to the extra time needed to consider the responses received carefully, the KSA has postponed the publication of the proposed policy changes until June.

Once published on June 3, the authority stated that the majority of the amended Policy Rules would immediately ..

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SBC Digital Day: Simplicity reigns supreme for online slots

Classic titles vs new slots is the debate that many online casino operators conflict with when it comes to constructing their game portfolios.

However, newer slots can bring complexities that make it difficult for a customer to grasp. This can be a make-or-break moment for operators retaining players in an age where engagement is vital.

‘Bringing simplicity to the next generation of slots’ was the first panel discussion of SBC’s Digital Innovation – Casino Day on April 17, which discussed this topic and the argument of simplicity vs complexity in the slots landscape.

Moderated by SlotBeats’ Danny Lee, the panel featured Laura Petrauska, Head of Casino at Bet99; Steve Degiorgio, Director of Gaming Revenue at Enlabs; Matthew Curtis, Head of Responsible Gaming at L&L Europe; Mike Cini, Owner of ELA Games; and Hans Erland Ringsvold, Head of Gaming Operations at Norsk Tipping.

Simple vs complex

When Lee proposed the question of player preferences to the panel between simple and comple..

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eCOGRA receives authorisation to provide certification services in Brazil

Independent testing laboratory eCOGRA has been officially authorised by the Secretaria De Prêmios e Apostas to provide its igaming testing, inspection and certification services in the country of Brazil.

With the authorisation, eCOGRA can now operate as a certifying entity for betting systems, live gaming studios and online games in the Brazilian market, expanding its igaming services in regulated markets globally.

As such, operators and developers in the country can now use eCOGRA’s services to make sure they are compliant with the country’s laws and regulations.

“We are thrilled to bring over two decades of expertise in online gambling certification to the vibrant market of Brazil,” commented Bradley Khoury, Chief Technical Officer of eCOGRA.

“This approval from the Secretaria De Prêmios e Apostas of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance is not only a testament to our unwavering commitment to the highest standards of competence and quality but also marks an exciting new chapter for ..

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UKGC: GSGB to help fill evidence gaps around impacts of gambling

Laura Balla, Head of Research at the UK Gambling Commission, has stated that the Gambling Survey for Great Britain will assist in “filling evidence gaps around the impacts of gambling” and provide a better evidence base to help “make gambling safer for all”.

Balla’s comments follow the UKGC’s first GSGB dataset publication earlier this year, in addition to the release of the commission’s Corporate Strategy 2024 to 2027, which was published last week.

The UKGC’s Head of Research emphasized that the new questions on the GSGB were introduced to help the commission meet one of its key objectives of protecting children and vulnerable people from gambling-related harm through effective and enforced regulatory requirements.

Previously, screening instruments such as the Problem Gambling Severity Index were used as a way to determine the evidence base on the impacts of gambling, but Balla explained that “discourse in recent years has expanded to recognise the wider harms that can be caused ..

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Spillemyndigheden highlights growth of self-exclusion register 

Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden has revealed the latest data from the country’s self-exclusion register, ROFUS, as 50,000 players are currently engaged with the safer gambling tool.

Forming part of the country’s safer gambling strategy, the initiative has grown significantly since its formation in 2012.

It has also been integral to a host of regulations that have been brought in to bolster the region’s overall approach to social responsibility.

At the start of 2020, licensed online gambling providers and land-based casinos became obliged to refer to the scheme across all of their gambling products. This practice also became a requirement for land-based betting in 2023.

When signing up for ROFUS, players are presented with multiple choices on the duration of the self-exclusion period. This varies between 24 hours, one, three or six months. Of these, the most preferred option seems to be six months, with 17 per cent of players going for that compared to the 12 per cent who choose three..

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