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Veikkaus and Finland face black market battle as monopoly ends

iGamingExpertSeptember 17, 2026020 views

Despite its monopoly status as the state-owned operator, Veikkaus is all for opening the Finnish iGaming market to commercially licensed operators, so long as it boosts player protection and combats the black market, which has become increasingly prevalent.

Finland’s iGaming market is set to open up and become a licence-based system from 1 July next year. The National Police Board of Finland, Poliisi, reported back in June that its gambling administration had received 50 licence applications, as appetite for market share reaches fever pitch.

Olli Sarekoski, Chief Executive Officer of Veikkaus, spoke to Lottery Daily about the transformation as he warned that currently in excess of 1,500 gaming companies target Finland, with over half of 2024’s total gaming volume taking place outside the regulated market.

The CEO noted: “The key point is the channelisation rate. A lot of gaming is outside the official channels. What is the point of the monopoly if this is the case?”

While Veikkau..

Ruth Evans appointed as Gambling Commission Chair

iGamingExpertSeptember 10, 2026024 views

The appointment of Ruth Evans as the new Chair of the Gambling Commission (GC) comes at a vital moment for the UK iGaming market, as industry stakeholders continue to combat illegal operators.

Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), confirmed that Evans’ five-year term as Chair will begin later this month, on 30 September. She replaces Charles Counsell, who has filled the role as Chair on an interim basis since the departure of Marcus Boyle in January last year.

Evans’ appointment comes at a crucial time, with UK iGaming operators battling against a black market which is estimated to have generated $50bn in gross revenue in 2025, according to a Fincord Intelligence report recently shared by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).

Commenting on her appointment, Evans said: “I am delighted to have been appointed Chair of the Gambling Commission at a time when its role in keeping gambling fair, safe and crime-free is more important than ever..

New York defiant on prediction markets as legal tussle escalates

iGamingExpertSeptember 10, 2026020 views

The hostility faced by prediction markets across the US is embodied by the struggles of Kalshi in New York.

Tensions are boiling over in the Big Apple, as New York State Governor Kathy Hochul warned the prediction market platform that it cannot buy itself an exemption from the law as the legal battle between the state and the sector escalates.

The New York attorney general on Friday (31 July) filed a lawsuit against Kalshi, accusing the prediction market platform of breaking the law by offering unregulated gambling under the guise of events contracts.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Kalshi had offered to pay a 6% tax on prediction market traders, which would raise $10bn over five years for the state.

However, Governor Hochul posted on X: “Kalshi can promise 100% of its revenue. You can’t buy yourself an exemption from New York law. If an illegal bookie offers the state a share of their profits, we’ll still shut them down.”

Kalshi can promise 100% of its revenue.

You can’t b..

Africa Safer Gambling Week to strengthen player protection

iGamingExpertSeptember 10, 2026021 views

Africa’s iGaming stakeholders are uniting this week for the inaugural Africa Safer Gambling Week, a continent-wide effort bringing together regulators, operators, industry organisations and responsible gambling bodies to help protect players from gambling harm.

Led by the African iGaming Alliance (AiA), the concerted effort seeks to effectively protect consumers, uphold responsible gambling practices and improve public awareness.

#PlaySafeAfrica will be used as the campaign’s banner throughout the week, with industry stakeholders from across African markets getting involved on social media, while media briefings, a five-day public awareness campaign, community outreach initiatives and a continental webinar are all taking place.

Peter Emolemo Kesitilwe, Chief Executive Officer of AiA, said the association will continually support player safety in every way possible via programmes such as this.

Kesitilwe commented: “As Africa’s gambling industry continues to grow, player protectio..

Scott Burrows, Super: How tech is changing the safer gambling landscape

iGamingExpertSeptember 10, 2026025 views

Technology has changed the game across many aspects of the industry, and safer gambling monitoring is no different.

Ahead of appearing on a panel on the Regulation and Compliance Stage titled ‘Innovation in Tech: How Can Technology Keep Players Safe from Harm?‘, Super’s Head of Technical Compliance Scott Burrows spoke to iGaming Expert about the evolving role of tech in bringing a personalised approach to responsible gambling across the player spectrum.

Firstly, can you tell us about the role of tech in ensuring safer play and protecting players?

Tech has moved safer play from a reactive function to a predictive one. We’re no longer waiting for a player to self-report harm or for a manual review to catch something weeks later.

Real-time monitoring means deposit patterns, session length, loss-chasing, and time-of-day shifts get flagged as they happen. That shift alone changes what protection actually means in practice.

It also means we can personalise the response rather than b..

President Lula promises ‘drastic decision’ with online casino ban proposed

iGamingExpertSeptember 3, 2026029 views

Brazil’s iGaming market appears to be on life support as President Lula has vowed to take ‘drastic measures’ following a meeting of representatives.

The President linked online gambling to the issue of rising debts as he consulted with business, religious, health and consumer protection groups. However, gambling industry organisations, including the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR), were not invited.

Doubling down on his disdain for the sector, Lula described it as a ‘societal ill’ and reiterated his preference to ‘put an end to gambling’.

Although he said that ‘two-thirds’ of the decision had already been made, Lula told attendees that he would listen to Brazilian society before determining the fate of the market – which only opened at the beginning of 2025.

He added: “As President of the Republic, I have to understand that there are other things I have to share, decisions so that we can do things in the mo..

Gambling Commission suspends BresBet and Bet St George licences

iGamingExpertSeptember 3, 2026022 views

Licence suspensions have been issued by the Gambling Commission (GC) to two operators in the UK iGaming market, BresBet and Bet St George.

GC enquiries found suspected social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failings, with reviews now being carried out into both licences under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005.

The commission added that the suspension will remain in place until it’s satisfied that the businesses are compliant.

A statement on the GC’s website said: “It has been made clear to both operators that during the course of the suspension they are expected to treat consumers fairly and keep them fully informed of any developments which impact them.

“The suspension, which takes place immediately, does not prevent either operator from allowing consumers to access their accounts and withdrawing funds. Both businesses can be contacted through their websites.”

BresBet has been operational in the UK since February 2025, providing casino, bingo, sports betting and..

Sweden warned of excessive flaws of new safer gambling framework

iGamingExpertSeptember 3, 2026026 views

Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s Gambling Authority, has been urged to consider the concerns of licensed operators as it prepares to modernise the country’s safer-gambling and duty-of-care requirements.

In June, the authority opened a consultation on proposed responsible-gambling regulations spanning 12 chapters. Stakeholders were asked to submit feedback by 10 August 2026, ahead of Spelinspektionen finalising the framework and determining its implementation timetable.

The reforms would replace the existing LIFS 2018:2 regulations and general guidance with a more prescriptive set of binding requirements. They cover the identification of excessive gambling, personalised operator interventions, staff training, customer-support availability, automatic logout, safer-gambling tools, player limits, loss notifications, withdrawals and game design.

Under the proposals, operators would be required to monitor indicators such as overnight play, longer or more frequent sessions, rising deposits and s..

Swiss iGaming blacklist exceeds 3,500 in year of enforcement

iGamingExpertSeptember 3, 2026060 views

Switzerland’s Federal Gaming Board (ESBK) has expanded its blacklist of unauthorised online gambling websites to 3,567 domains, intensifying its enforcement against offshore operators targeting Swiss citizens.

Published on 25 August, the latest update follows a new sweep of websites deemed to be offering or promoting online casino games in Switzerland without federal approval.

Access to the listed domains has been blocked under Articles 86 onwards of the Federal Gambling Act and Articles 88 onwards of the Gambling Ordinance. The updated blacklist is formally announced through a general ruling published in the Swiss Federal Gazette.

Swiss internet service providers are required to implement DNS blocks preventing customers from accessing the identified websites. Players attempting to visit a blacklisted domain from within Switzerland should consequently be redirected to a page explaining that the service is unauthorised.

The ESBK stated: “Access to the gambling sites listed below in ..

Ukraine takes next step in automating military gambling ban

iGamingExpertAugust 26, 2026056 views

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..