SBC News

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has confirmed that all licence holders must submit regulatory returns on a quarterly basis from 1 July.

The decision follows a ‘consultation response’ to review the frequency of regulatory returns observed by all licence holders. As such, the Commission will amend Licence Condition 15.3.1 to impose mandatory quarterly submissions to improve the “harmonisation of reporting periods and to achieve unified submission dates”.

Quarterly submissions will enable the Commission to improve its budget and forecasting “through an improved ability to understand income levels on a more regular basis”.

Further advantages will allow the Commission to gather more frequent datasets from operators in a timely and accurate manner to help enhance its understanding of industry trends.

Implementing the changes, the process of submitting returns will be simplified, supporting an easier system to maintain for the Commission, which seeks to align reporting periods, and imp..

Harris Hagan has announced the promotion of Senior Associate David Whyte to Partner at the City of London law firm.

The decision follows Whyte’s successful tenure as a Senior Associate, where he supported Harris Hagan’s legal practices and framework within the global gambling sector.

Whyte joined Harris Hagan in 2019, having previously worked in-house within the online and land-based sectors. Furthermore, he served for nine years with the Gambling Commission, supporting the authority’s enforcement and legal departments.

Harris Hagan highlighted Whyte’s practical experience and unique insights into gambling’s regulatory framework as “invaluable to the firm and our clients, particularly in high-profile compliance and enforcement mandates, including some of the most significant cases in the recent history of the UK gambling industry.”

Clients were informed that Whyte will continue to work alongside Partner Bahar Alaeddini on the subsequent developments of the UK Gambling Review, which..

In time for debt awareness week, GambleAware has put out a statement emphasising the wide availability of free debt advice services and the need to lift the stigma barrier suggesting that such services affect credit score.

Collaborating with StepChange Debt Charity, which is running this year’s Debt Awareness Week from 18-24 March, GambleAware’s Money Guidance Service Manager Kathy Wade addressed the misconception that reaching out for debt advice has an impact on private credit score.

“Having a good credit score is important for a number of reasons, including when you want to borrow money, take out a mobile phone contract, or get home broadband,” Wade said. “Companies will check your credit file before making decisions. Factors can impact your credit rating but getting debt advice is not one of them.”

Some of the factors listed by Wade that could influence people’s credit score include missed credit repayments, maxed-out credit cards, court judgements, bankruptcy, or debt relief ..

In time for debt awareness week, GambleAware has put out a statement emphasising the wide availability of free debt advice services and the need to lift the stigma barrier suggesting that such services affect credit score.

Collaborating with StepChange Debt Charity, which is running this year’s Debt Awareness Week from 18-24 March, GambleAware’s Money Guidance Service Manager Kathy Wade addressed the misconception that reaching out for debt advice has an impact on private credit score.

“Having a good credit score is important for a number of reasons, including when you want to borrow money, take out a mobile phone contract, or get home broadband,” Wade said. “Companies will check your credit file before making decisions. Factors can impact your credit rating but getting debt advice is not one of them.”

Some of the factors listed by Wade that could influence people’s credit score include missed credit repayments, maxed-out credit cards, court judgements, bankruptcy, or debt relief ..

René Jansen, outgoing Chair of the Dutch Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has offered insights on some of his most recent work with the regulator.
In a blog post, Jansen issued a statement saying that the risks associated with the online gambling market in the Netherlands “are growing”.

According to the Chair, this is evidenced by the growing number of people exhibiting harmful gambling behaviour, which has even occurred with professional sports players.
Therefore, the KSA must look at specific cases as the first stepping stone to handling problem gambling, and that the next step for the regulator is to take a comprehensive look “at the market from above”.
Jansen also touched upon the Dutch Consumers’ Association’s conclusion that the KSA doesn’t have enough knowledge of what is happening “behind the front door” of operators, and that more covert measures are needed to be implemented in order to strengthen the regulator’s supervision.

One such measure is the provision ..

Lottstift, Norway’s Gambling Authority, has been granted ‘direct powers’ to order DNS and IP blocking of websites infringing on the laws of Norway’s Gambling Act.

The mandate was approved by the Storting (Parliament) on March 19, as a majority of MPs backed market protections sought by Lottstift against unlicensed operators.

The approval sees Lottstift secure DNS and IP blocking rights as a guaranteed measure to protect Norway’s Gambling Act, currently under revision.

In 2022, the Storting ordered the government to consolidate Norway’s fragmented regulatory framework for gambling. Laws for gambling had been deemed inconsistent due to the market being governed by the three separate mandates of the 1995 Lottery Act, the 1992 Gambling Act, and the 1927 Totalisator Act.

As such, the Storting instructed Norwegian authorities to adopt a new Gambling Act, merging and amending the laws of the three preceding Acts – a regulatory project overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Equality.

As ..

Technological developments are a core focus of any organisation amid a constant jockeying for position, with the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence currently capturing much attention.

This formed a central focus at the recent SBC Summit Rio, where a quintet of experts delved into how the tech could shape the future of the industry, why such models can improve responsible gambling protocols, the importance of correctly utilising data and much more.

“The thing with AI is that it has so many uses that we cannot even start to grasp exactly how we can use it,” began Hugo Llanos, Regional Director of the Americas at Altenar.

“I’m sure that everyone here has a different view and a different way of doing it. It’s all about the data and it’s all about how you use that data.”

To illustrate this point, Llanos cites customer engagement and segmentation, user experience and risk management as critical areas that can be heightened via the usage of AI, with excitement stressed at h..

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has recognized that, although licensees have a sound understanding of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations, there are still significant gaps that need addressing to maintain a risk-based approach to financial threats.

This observation stems from the completion of a thematic review of Malta’s remote gambling sector by the MGA and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

The purpose of the joint review was to evaluate the AML/CFT regulatory knowledge of licensed businesses, including the application of company policies and procedures by Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and other executives of remote-licensed gambling operators.

The review involved 23 compliance examinations and placed particular emphasis on MLROs and employees responsible for AML/CFT compliance.

Interviews with MLROs revealed a solid grasp of essential protections and measures to prevent money laundering, such as ris..