SBC News

The Dutch government is facing calls to enter discussions with the financial sector for the development of a consumer credit self-exclusion system similar to the CRUKS registry.

Media outlet Casinonieuws reported that Don Ceder, a Dutch MP from the ChristenUnie party, put forward a motion in which he praised the effectiveness of the Central Register for Exclusion from Gambling (CRUKS).

In his statement, Ceder argued that the model could potentially find success by being translated into other fields dealing with consumer finances as well, specifically the credit, loans and instalment payments (BNPL) sector.

BNPL in particular has gained widespread popularity across Europe in recent years, essentially serving as a small scale consumer credit that allows for everyday goods to be purchased and then paid over a certain period of time – with the relevant BNPL lender company acting as a borrower.

Klarna, a Sweden-based fintech company, is widely believed to be the trendsetter and main ac..

The DGOJ, Spain’s Directorate of Gambling, has hosted its first sectoral meeting on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The meeting brought together gambling stakeholders and leadership with representatives from Spain’s Treasury and SEPBLAC, a federal intelligence unit assigned to help Spanish businesses combat financial crimes and minimise threats and exposures.

Discussions were led by DGOJ Director General Mikel Arana, who aims to improve cooperation within the Spanish gambling sector to assist authorities in combating anti-money laundering (AML) risks.

Arana emphasised that AML compliance remains a core discipline of the government and part of the DGOJ’s ongoing reform of Spain’s federal gambling laws, which is overseen by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

In attendance, Treasury associate Irene Sánchez Pérez presented an update on regulatory developments and the expected forthcoming compliance duties that will be implemented by the European Commission fo..

The government of the Commonwealth State of Western Australia (WA) has announced that it will increase penalties for gambling infringements in a move to toughen enforcement and oversight of gambling compliance.

New amendments to WA gambling laws have been signed by State Premier Roger Cook to impose significant penalties for breaching WA gambling laws and to support the regulator’s compliance and enforcement activities.

Reforms were recommended by the Perth Casino Royal Commission, which was tasked with providing recommendations to modernise WA gambling laws and compliance.

The adopted changes will allow WA’s Gaming and Wagering Commission (GWC) to impose greater fines for compliance failures and the infringement of licensing duties.

Of significance, WA has reformed its gambling laws to align with unified policies applied by other Commonwealth states to harmonise and improve the regulatory oversight of gambling across Australia’s six federal states.

As such, WA gambling laws will ..

Fiona Palmer: GAMSTOP
GAMSTOP has alerted its partners of a “surge in self-exclusion of under-25s”, identifying this demographic as carrying the most significant risk of developing problem gambling harms.

The steward of the UK’s national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling, GAMSTOP, has reported a 31% year-on-year increase in under-25s registering with the service during the second half of 2024.

Of concern, GAMSTOP notes that “consumers aged 16-24 now account for nearly one in four (24%) of new GAMSTOP registrants”, signaling a shift towards younger individuals seeking self-exclusion.

During the second half of 2024, GAMSTOP recorded a 14% increase in self-exclusion registrations, attributed to major summer sporting events such as the UEFA Euro Championships and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In total, 532,484 people have registered with GAMSTOP since its launch in April 2018, representing over 1% of the UK’s adult population.

Fiona Palmer, CEO of GAMSTOP, commented: “The incr..

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has confirmed that the updated regulations around financial risk checks have been successfully implemented by licensed operators.

The new Responsible Gaming Policy was brought into force by the Dutch regulator in October last year, when it introduced tighter monitoring of players’ financials so that operators can intervene in ‘real time’ when necessary to prevent damage from excessive gambling.

Under the new texts, players are considered to be no longer capable of ‘bearing the financial consequences of their player behaviour’ when one of five key conditions occur within a calendar month.

The conditions applied are:

A player cannot make a deposit on their gaming account due to insufficient balance;
A player makes net deposits that make up more than the recreational part of their monthly net income;
A player makes net deposits that make up 30% or more of their monthly net income;
A player between the ages of 18 and 24 makes net deposits of more than €300;
..

Spelinspektionen, the Gambling Inspectorate of Sweden, has updated its guidelines for online operators to strengthen protections against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The fifth-edition of guidelines have been revised in cooperation with FIPO, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIPO) of Sweden, which identifies online gambling as a high-risk sector due to technological advancements and economic growth, increasing the risk of money laundering through high stakes, winnings, and turnover.

The guidance is endorsed by Spelinspektionen, as the inspectorate maintains a risk-based approach, requiring operators to apply proportional measures against money laundering and terrorist financing.

For 2025, the guidelines introduce stricter due diligence for customers onboarding online gambling platforms, as enhanced requirements go beyond standard KYC checks.

Swedish operators are now required to verify each customer using a valid identification document, such as a passport, SIS National..

SkillOnNet has entered into a partnership with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) to help combat corruption and fraud within the betting industry.

As part of the deal, the provider will join a further 70 betting brands which focus on preserving the integrity of sports betting.

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, commented: “IBIA is pleased to welcome SkillOnNet to our association of leading global gambling operators. The addition of SkillOnNet to IBIA further strengthens our position in Brazil, the LatAm region and globally.

“The move highlights SkillOnNet’s commitment to protecting the integrity of its betting products, consumers and related sporting events by utilising the world’s leading operator-led monitoring and alert network.

“IBIA looks forward to working closely with SkillOnNet and to integrating the operator within our global sports betting integrity system.”

The IBIA’s Monitoring & Alert Network will enable SkillOnNet to detect and report suspicious betting a..

UK gambling will move forward to implement new controls, empowering trust and transparency for online consumers, to be applied from 31 October 2025.

New controls have been added by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), continuing to apply the recommended reforms of the Gambling Review’s White Paper: High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age.

Changes seek to provide consumers with a more effective way to manage their gambling spend by ensuring that a customer sets and maintains deposit limits when engaging with online operators.

From 31 October, online gambling operators must ensure that a customer sets a financial limit on their account before making their first deposit. Further conditions call for online operators to make it easier for customers to review their spend and modify the financial limit at any point of activity.

New controls detail that online licences will be required to remind consumers every six months to rev..

From this month going forward, Slovakia’s national gambling helpline will be managed by the Predná Hora specialist treatment centre.

The treatment center – a former Bulgarian royalty residence nestled in the Slovakian mountains – has been operating as a hospital for addiction and compulsive gambling patients since 1995.

Its activity includes international collaboration, including participation in joint research initiatives with universities and hospitals from Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.

Vladimír Stanislav, Director of the Predná Hora center, said: “Our system works with a comprehensive treatment program, with the community and, above all, with enthusiastic and committed staff, who believe that our clients are high-quality and valuable individuals who are able and willing to change their lives.”

Predná Hora will operate the new helpline seven days a week from a free telephone number open between 9am-1am, with the option to connect to an answering machine outside of wo..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have been urged by campaigners to investigate the advertising practices of operators targeting consumers.

The call for regulators to investigate the advertising algorithms and data tracking of operators follows a High Court ruling by Justice Collins Rice that Sky Betting and Gaming (Sky Bet) had violated UK data protection laws.

The High Court had arbitrated a former problem gambler’s case against Sky Bet for advertising to him without obtaining valid consent. Sky Bet was accused of using cookies to create an extensive profile of the problem gambler to target him with personalised adverts via third parties.

The gambler is reported to have lost £45,000 over a decade playing with Sky Bet. He was profiled as a ‘high-value customer’ and did not opt out of marketing communications.

Upon review of the evidence, Justice Collins Rice determined that Sky Bet had breached data protection laws, as its mechanisms..