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SkyCity Entertainment Group has been informed by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs that it intends to file civil penalty proceedings against the operator for non-compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act.

To be filed in the High Court on February 16 against SkyCity Casino Management, the penalty outlines five separate causes of action which allege “significant compliance issues in relation to the act”, mostly related to historical matters, but some refer to previously self-reported non-compliance incidents as well.

SkyCity Casino Management is a subsidiary of SkyCity and the casino operator licence holder for the SkyCity Auckland, SkyCity Hamilton and SkyCity Queenstown casinos in New Zealand.

SkyCity noted that it is “disappointed that it has not met the standard to which it needs to hold itself”, resulting in the penalty filing, and that it wishes to engage constructively with the department to resolve the matters expeditiousl..

Dutch gambling advertising could soon be a thing of the past as a mandate has been filed to ban all gambling advertising ahead of the parliamentary vote on the Remote Gambling Act later this week.

Following calls for an overhaul of Dutch gambling advertising laws led by Derk Boswijk of the Christian Democratic Appeal party, the mandate will look to remove and ban all advertising before further safer gambling amendments are voted into the RG Act.

Franc Weerwind, Minister for Legal Protections, continues to face pressure to revise the amendments of the RG Act, otherwise known as the KOA Act, initiating a review of the Netherlands’ online gambling marketplace since it opened in October 2021.

In February, the Dutch parliament, the Kamer, will vote on Weerwind’s recommendations to impose a compulsory monthly financial risk check on player accounts that spend over €350. Weerwind has further endorsed that a €150 spend limit be applied on the gambling accounts of customers younger than 2..

Colombia’s online gambling tax measures are set to be reviewed as the Senate of Colombia continues to overhaul public welfare and healthcare systems in the nation.

Scheduled to begin on Friday, February 16, the debates will be led by Senator Antonio Correa of Partido de la Union.

Colombia revamped its Gambling Act (2001) back in 2016, approving new laws to govern online gambling products and services. This saw the country become the first in South America to launch a regulated and taxed online gambling regime in 2017, open to foreign and domestic businesses.

In the upcoming debates, senators in the upper house will review the current tax framework for online gambling, which currently charges a 15 per cent GGR rate on licenced operators that maintain an RTP of 83 per cent of total stakes.

For those companies that register an RTP percentage above 83, a 17 per cent GGR rate is charged.

The overhaul of Colombia’s public welfare and healthcare systems is recognised as the principal ..

GamCare has reported that the Safer Gambling Standard will continue its work under a different structure outside of the gambling treatment charity.

The decision for this change was made by GamCare’s board in December last year. A strategic review will be undertaken by its leadership team to facilitate the change.

GamCare noted that the outcome of the review will be announced in due course.

Launched in 2019 and accredited by UKAS, the Safer Gambling Standard is an independent quality standard that evaluates measures by gambling companies to protect people from gambling-related harm.

GamCare also stated that the Safer Gambling Standard team is reviewing the “very serious recent development in relation to online gambling operator, Gamesys, to see whether there have been any breaches of the Safer Gambling Standard requirements”.

Back in January, Gamesys was ordered to pay a £6m penalty by the UK Gambling Commission after an investigation discovered social responsibility and anti-mone..

UK Gambling Commission Chief Executive Andrew Rhodes has highlighted the challenge of finding the right balance for the industry as it navigates the Gambling Act Review.

During his speech at ICE London 2024, Rhodes defined the governance of UK gambling as being in “constant motion” and “like a wave, with peaks and troughs between tightening regulation to minimise the risks of harm and to maintain a fair market, through to unrestrained consumer choice and industry innovation”.

He stated: “Gambling then never stands still. Through innovation, changes in regulation and of course consumer behaviour itself, the eco-system of gambling is, if not in constant flux, at least always changing as each of us look to change the balance to better suit how we think it should be.”

With the UK being a mature market with 22.5 million – 44 per cent of the adult population – gambling in one form or another each year, the UKGC Chief Executive acknowledged the duty of protecting “the small proportion of p..

Responsible gambling officers will be introduced at gambling venues in New South Wales later this year to support people displaying gambling harm behaviour.

From July 1, Liquor & Gaming NSW has stated that venues in the Australian state with more than 20 gaming machines must have a responsible gambling officer on duty while poker machines are in operation.

These officers will be tasked with identifying people who are at risk of gambling harm or who are showing signs of concerning gambling behaviour, providing them with support information and services, including facilitating self-exclusion requests.

David Harris, Minister for Gaming and Racing, commented: “The NSW Government is committed to gambling reform, reducing gambling harm and stopping money laundering and criminal activity associated with poker machines.

“Harmful gambling not only impacts individuals but also their loved ones and the broader community. We know there is no single solution to address harm from gambling, which..

Kansspelautoriteit Chair Rene Jansen has warned operators regarding cashback bonuses, stating that “any bonus that is in any way linked to a loss is prohibited”.

Jansen’s message comes after the Dutch gaming authority released the results of market-wide research into cashback bonuses, where they stated that they will now be defined as ‘“a bonus based on loss” as “all forms of this type of bonus are in conflict with the Gambling Act”.

The KSA noted that bonuses where players receive part of their loss back as a bonus are not allowed in the Netherlands, as they “contribute to taking more risks and lowering the threshold for gambling”.

Following its investigation, the authority issued a formal warning to one licence holder for offering a cashback bonus, in addition to sending a letter to two other licence holders regarding bonuses “in which losses were compensated in some way other than through a cashback”.

In conclusion, the KSA determined that several bonus types are linked to losse..

GamCare has announced that the National Gambling Helpline has taken more calls and online chats to provide gambling support in 2023 than any other previous year.

Following its uptick in usage, Samantha Turnton, Head of Remote Support Services at GamCare, has described the helpline as an “invaluable” step for those looking for gambling support.

The helpline received 52,370 calls and online chats during the year, a 24 per cent increase year-over-year, with August 2023 becoming the helpline’s busiest month on record.

December 2023 saw a 39 per cent year-over-year uptick in comparison to the previous year, becoming the busiest Christmas period ever. There was an increase in calls from people concerned about someone else’s gambling during the holiday season, while others said they struggled to watch TV with their families due to the number of gambling advertisements.

In addition, on 117 calls and online chats to advisors, people stated that their gambling was related to financial press..

GambleAware has published a new scoping study which has revealed that some members of the LGBTQ+ community may be at an increased risk of gambling harm.

The study – ‘LGBTQ+ People and Gambling Harms: A Scoping Review’ – was commissioned to build an understanding of the lived experience of gambling harm amongst the LGBTQ+ community in Great Britain.

Researchers from the University of Brighton completed the study by analysing articles published between 2000 and 2023 on gambling harms in the LGBTQ+ community and its impact on people’s mental health, finances, relationships and employment.

Evidence on experiences of LGBTQ+ people accessing support services for gambling harms was also examined, as well as any barriers faced in doing so.

The study noted that “gay and bisexual men and young lesbian and bisexual women may be at increased risk and may experience greater harms associated with gambling”.

In addition, gay and bisexual men could be 3.4 times more likely than heterosexual men..

The UK Gambling Commission has reported a year-over-year increase in online total gross gambling yield in the third quarter of 2023, driven by slots and real event betting.

Publishing its operator data for Q3, the UKGC declared £1.3bn in GGY, a four per cent increase YoY thanks to the aforementioned increase in slots and real event betting GGY, while GGY in nearly all other verticals decreased. Q3’s figure is also a slight increase on Q2’s GGY of £1.2bn.

Data from online operators – approximately 80 per cent of the online gambling market – and licensed betting operators found on Britain’s high streets – around 85 per cent of the retail betting market – has now been collected by the UKGC covering the period from March 2020 to December 2023.

In this latest report, the commission has compared online and in-person betting from Q3 2023 (October to December) with the same period from the previous year.

The overall number of total bets and/or spins rose by nine per cent YoY to 24 billion..