iGamingExpert

Ukraine’s gambling regulator has launched a tender to develop the software needed to automate the banning of military personnel from accessing gambling platforms.

Ukraine first ordered a ban on service members accessing gambling establishments and participating in online gambling during martial law in April 2024.

However, the regulator is now expanding its efforts to halt the military from gambling as it embarks on the expansion of tech being utilised in the implementation.

PlayCity has now confirmed that a tender has been released for the development of a system that will automatically verify and restrict military members from gaining access to gambling.

The regulator said that the technology will use the Trembit system, Ukraine’s state platform for data exchange.

The system will first check the Register of Persons with Restricted Access to Gambling and then the State Register of Military Personnel to determine if a user is allowed to access a site.

Testing is now underway, and..

The Dutch gambling authority is utilising an algorithm developed to estimate the risk of online casino players based on their actual gambling behaviour.

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) describes the algorithm as an ‘independent, transparent tool for the early detection of high-risk gambling behaviour’, based on machine learning that looks at a player’s actual behaviour to calculate a risk score.

Calculating the risk score involves analysing an individual’s patterns of how much or how often they gamble, at what times and frequency they wager, as well as how winning and losing streaks change their gambling habits.

KSA noted that the model can be used by licensed operators to improve their own duty of care, but the regulator highlighted that it offers ‘no guarantees; it can only serve as a supplementary component of duty of care measures’.

The algorithm is designed by researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) – PhD candidate Charles de Leau and Professors Reinout Wiers (Psychology)..

The threat of the black market in Romania is growing increasingly ominous as instability reigns.

Evoke was the latest company to sound the alarm over market disruption this morning, lamenting the black market and increased taxation weighing on the financials of its international segment.

Sean Wilkins, Evoke’s Chief Financial Officer, told investors: “Romania continues to be affected by the combination of a weaker economy, higher taxes, and the growth of the unregulated market. We have responded by managing marketing and promotional investment carefully to protect returns.”

Wilkins said that an extra £6m has been added to its tax bill as a result of a hike in gaming tax from 21% to 30% in Romania, where there is little sign of wider regulatory stability.

A market on the edge

Evoke described Romania as its fifth core market in 2024 after acquiring Winner.ro for €10m to combine with its 888 brand.

At the time, Chief Executive Officer Per Widerström expressed optimism over the prospe..

Michel Groothuizen, Chair of the Netherlands gambling authority, is urging Dutch legislators to make sure regulations are not turned into an ‘income policy’ when it comes to the country’s gambling market.

Groothuizen has also issued a proposal to protect the most vulnerable in the country, asking for all people who are registered in the central curatorship and administration register (CCBR) to be included in the Netherlands’ gambling exclusion register, Cruks.

Income policy

In a blog post on the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) website, Groothuizen explored the current landscape of iGaming and sports betting in the Netherlands.

The KSA Chair noted that gambling ‘increasing normalisation and the ease with which you can gamble anywhere, anytime’, leads to concern, as ‘you can get yourself into considerably large financial trouble in a short amount of time’, whether it be with a legal or illegal operator, given how accessible it now is with the presence of smartphones.

However, he emphasised..