Anna Johnson, CEO of Svenska Spel, has presented 18 proposals aimed at creating “a better functioning Swedish gambling market, ensuring the protection of all consumers.” The proposals form part of a new report commissioned by the state-owned company – which manages the Swedish national lottery while also operating betting and gaming products – for all stakeholders in…
Authorities in Turkey have been warned by Yeşilay (The Green Crescent) that “gambling addiction is growing in numbers and its intensity on public impact”. Turkey’s heritage public health NGO focused on the prevention and research of addictions, Yeşilay has published the “Kumar Raporu 2025” (Gambling Report 2025). The NGO presented a comprehensive analysis of gambling trends, addiction…
Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands’ Gambling Authority, has fired a warning shot at social media personalities after issuing penalties to three influencers caught promoting unlicensed gambling operators to young audiences. KSA has named ‘personalities’ Stiefunspeelt, Turcos and Buurtwachtt as offenders, after the trio used YouTube and Instagram to showcase their own play with illegal providers and encourage followers to do the same.…
UK Gambling maintains a statistically stable rate of severe problem gambling amongst adults, indexed at 2.7%, undertaken by research in 2024. The figure forms part of Year 2 of the “Gambling Survey for Great Britain for 2024” (GSGB 2024). The new research methodology of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) which helps uncover new insights in…
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has highlighted some of its biggest achievements under its historical first mandate.
In the pursuit of a gambling regulatory system on par with modern European standards, the Irish government introduced GRAI at the end of last year, with the regulator beginning to take charge of the market in March 2025.
Under CEO Anne Marie Caulfield’s leadership, GRAI’s main responsibilities revolve around the supervision of licensing, gambling laws, self-exclusion and player protection initiatives.
Only seven months after its official launch, the regulatory body has already achieved some significant progress in the areas outlined above.
For one, a close collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) resulted in an evidence-based conclusion that gambling inducements – even “bad” ones below market rates – can lead to increased gambling rates, especially among those at most risk.
This will likely inform regulatory developments moving forward, with the GRAI potentially moving to clamp down on promotions like bonuses in Ireland’s new-look gambling market.
Meanwhile, having a specialised gambling regulator in place has also allowed for a more focused approach towards problem gambling research.
In conjunction with Pobal – Ireland’s body responsible for EU funding allocation, GRAI conducted the country’s first nation-wide ‘Call for Input’ initiative which assessed the amount of money needed for the creation of a Social Impact Fund that would deliver a meaningful impact in tackling gambling harm.
Furthermore, banks have also become more involved with cutting down problem gambling rates with the help of the regulator and the launch of the Common Commitment of Care for Problem Gambling project.
Operator compliance with the regulatory framework will also come under scrutiny as soon as GRAI begins its licensing duties, with the regulator’s Compliance and Enforcement teams getting ready to work closely together and bridge any gaps when it comes to legal breaches.
The step-by-step licensing guide has also been already published on GRAI’s website thanks to a thorough consultation process and detailed stakeholder feedback. Licence applications will run through a newly-set online portal built with the help of Deloitte, who has also played a core role in the implementation of Ireland’s first National Gambling Exclusion Register.
Caulfield commented: “The Authority is currently finalising the Statement of Strategy 2025 – 2027, which sets out the roadmap to delivering a modern, fair, and trusted regulatory regime that reflects the constantly evolving nature of gambling and the expectations of the Irish public.
“We look forward to sharing our Statement of Strategy with our stakeholders when it is finalised in the coming weeks.”
Children’s digital safety is gradually becoming a top concern for many European countries, with Romania being the latest to consider stringent controls.
Similarly to France, where regulations to limit under-15s access to social media have been in place since July 2023, lawmakers in Romania are considering the roll out of mandatory age checks for children up to 16 years of age, potentially even outright banning social networks for that age group.
The goal is to protect minors from content that is considered sexual or violent in nature, as well as to reduce the rates of online bullying and harassment which has become almost a given among digital youth circles.
Concerns, however, have also spilled over to gambling, with online monitoring reformists also bundling up advertising restrictions into their demands.
Save the Children, an NGO leading the online minor protections debate, has been quite outspoken against what it sees as a proliferation of child gamblers in Romania.
Data presented by the organisation shows that 48.3% of children spend more than six hours a day online. A separate Save the Children data set showcased that 14% of surveyed children have gambled at least once in their lifetime, while 40% admitted to knowing a peer who has gambled.
In light of the results, Gabriela Alexandrescu, President of Save the Children Romania, said: “We must be aware of the real risks of gambling addiction and the destructive pathological behaviors it generates.
“It is imperative to completely eliminate gambling advertising, limit the spaces dedicated to these activities, and even prohibit gambling for people under 21.”
These concerns were also shared by a number of politicians, including MP Raluca Turcan, who added: “Gambling advertisements must not invade children’s space. It is vital to ban not only gaming halls, but also billboards and advertisements near schools, parks, playgrounds, campuses, hospitals or churches.”
Political pressure to clamp down on gambling has been gradually increasing since the start of the year as a result of the major hiccup that the national regulator, ONJN, went over in February, when an audit found €900m of missing taxes.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs of Spain demands that all online gambling licensees must now display public warning messages about gambling harms across products and platforms.
Announced by Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Social Rights, Consumption, and the 2030 Agenda (MAS), the warnings will be mandated through Royal Decree 958/2020. Applied since 2020, the Decree enacts the federal mandate of Spain’s blanket ban on gambling advertising and sports sponsorships.
Similar to messages carried on tobacco products, online gaming operators will be required to include three slogans on their websites, apps and digital advertising.
These are: “Gambling addiction is a risk of gambling”, “the probability of being a losing gambler is 75%” and “losses for all gamblers are four times greater than their winnings”.
According to Bustinduy, the objective of the change is to replace generic messages, such as “play responsibly”, with direct warnings based on “real data” about risk.
“The responsibility should not fall on the users but on the authorities, who have the democratic duty to ensure that the environments they access are safe,” Bustinduy stated during a Safe Gaming event, organised by the Ministry.
The implementation is being facilitated through a new resolution and two annexes that the DGOJ, Spain’s gaming regulator, is scheduled to release for public information in the coming days.
The messages must be displayed clearly by operators on banners, advertising videos and login screens for gaming platforms.
Spain widens gambling controls
The warning messages sit alongside wider gaming reform in Spain, designed to boost player protection measures.
At the MAS-led event, Bustinduy referred to the Customer Service Law, which is currently being processed in Congress and would reinstate the regulation of gambling advertising and prevent the use of celebrities in advertising campaigns or welcome bonuses aimed specifically at young audiences.
Prior to April 2024, welcome bonuses were completely banned by Royal Decree 9587/2000. However, after being reinstated, they have been linked to a significant surge in iGaming activity.
Data published by the MAS revealed that the number of online players increased by 21.36% last year and the number of accounts by 23.48%.
This led to Bustinduy leading calls for an amendment to ban promotional incentives once more.
In addition, the DGOJ confirmed its intentions to move forward with plans to establish a centralised deposit limit system for players, set at €600 per day, €1,500 per week and €3,000 per month.
Currently, operators are required to manage limits independently.
The regulator is also working on the development of a mandatory AI-led responsible gambling algorithm that aims to trace live variable indicators of problem gambling risks.
EGBA hails approval of standards of harm policy
While Spain forges ahead with significant changes, the European Gaming & Betting Association has welcomed the approval of a draft European standard on markets of harm in the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).
According to the trade body, an “overwhelming majority” of national standardisation bodies voted in favour of the policy.
“The positive outcome of this vote is a real testament to the power of collaboration across our sector,” commented Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of the EGBA.
“When EGBA first proposed this initiative to CEN, we envisioned creating a commonly agreed standard that would benefit players across Europe. We’re delighted with the support the standard has received, and I want to personally thank all the stakeholders who participated in this process. The result shows what happens when we work together to strengthen player protection.”
The EGBA has worked with experts across Europe, including academics, gambling regulators, operators and harm prevention professionals, to develop the policy which seeks to set out a widely-recognised standard for markers of gambling harm.
These include behavioural indicators such as shifts in speed and the time and duration of play, which can signal risky or problematic activity.
Though an important milestone, the standard must now go through the formal CEN finalisation process before it will be published.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has shed more light on its latest black market report, acknowledging the challenges but remaining firm in its commitment to counteract illegal operators.
Tim Livesley, UKGC Head of Data Innovation Hub, highlighted that the UKGC’s methods for data collection have been noticeably improved thanks to a more tightly-knitted collaboration between the Commission’s data and enforcement teams.
The latest UKGC report, which examines practices by licensed operators that might be pushing consumers towards the black market, is largely relying on automation for intelligence gathering, Livesley added – with automation also now a core part from the business model of some of the biggest gambling companies in the world, as revealed during SBC Summit Lisbon.
Besides freeing up resources and increasing efficiency, the UKGC’s Head of Data Innovation added that automation has also allowed for the collection of data on a more frequent basis – not necessarily putting the Commission a step ahead of the black market but improving its efforts nevertheless.
The report itself has focused on black market activity over the last 15 months, identifying consumer migration facilitated through search engines and affiliate links. In its closing lines, the analysis concludes that there is ‘no observed evidence of a sustained black market growth’.
Lack of evidence isn’t evidence
However, Livesley also acknowledged that generating accurate estimates does pose significant challenges due to the illegal nature of the black market, which generally keeps it hidden and therefore very little can be said about it in a factual manner.
Perhaps even more daunting is the dynamic nature of the illegal market, with Livesley adding that unlicensed operators are continuously moving away from the UK only for others to take up their space.
Having these two statements in mind, the UKGC’s claim of lack of evidence for a substantial growth should be viewed with a level of scepticism, as gathering accurate data appears to be a challenging endeavor – if not completely impossible.
Vulnerability is profitable
Until a reliable solution is found to meaningfully push back against the black market, every player in the UK will remain at risk from illegal operators profiting off of vulnerability.
A report published by gambling harm charity Deal Me Out earlier this year revealed that £10m was deposited into the black market in the months prior to the publication.
Of that amount, a total of £3.6m was given away by individuals suffering from problem gambling, £1.9m from general consumers, and £5.1m was staked by content creators sponsored by unlicensed operators – further unveiling the size of the marketing machine behind the black market.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued a £240,000 penalty to the operator of Betfred.com for having online slot features which breached its Remote Technical Standards (RTS).
The Commission found that Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited, which runs betfred.com and oddsking.com (no longer operational), operated a selection of slot titles that failed to meet RTS requirements, including “hosting games which failed to display the consumer’s net position and games which celebrated losses as wins”.
RTS requires all gaming sessions to clearly show a customer’s net position, and a gambling system must not celebrate returns that are less than or equal to the total stake gambled.
Concerns about the celebratory effects’ fairness when a customer was in an overall losing position were raised by the UKGC, which stated that it may “negatively impact a player’s ability to interpret their gameplay accurately and make informed choices”.
Action was immediately taken by Petfre (Gibraltar), according to the report, which decommissioned the affected titles.
“Features that impair a consumer’s ability to make informed decisions are not appropriate and pose a clear risk,” commented John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement.
“While we acknowledge the operator acted swiftly to remove the affected games, this enforcement action should serve as a clear signal to the wider industry to review and strengthen their compliance practices — and to ensure that gameplay is fair and consumers are not exposed to unnecessary risk.”
Petfre (Gibraltar) has previously faced regulatory action from the UKGC, as the operator was fined £2.87m for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures in 2022.
iGaming Expert has reached out to Betfred for comment on the UKGC fine.
DGOJ, the Directorate General of Gambling in Spain, has revealed further plans for player protections and centralised monitoring controls to be applied to the digital environments of Spanish online gambling licences.
The update coincides with the Directorate renewing its certification under the National Security Scheme (ENS), Spain’s central information system for public services and government agencies.
The regulator needs this renewal in order to test a principal project of the 2023 Royal Decree on Gambling Environments. This project is the deployment of a ‘Centralised Monitoring System’ tracking player activity across Spanish online gambling.
Since 2022, Spanish licences have been instructed to self-manage deposit limits independently at a limit of €600 a day. The centralised system will allow DGOJ to verify each customer deposit transacted with individual licences.
According to the draft proposals, the default limits are set at €600 per day, €1,500 per week, and €3,000 per month. SBC Noticias reports that “new monitoring will require verification of each deposit to ensure the player maintains a margin within the established limits”.
The system is yet to be tested, but DGOJ is confident it will provide “individual mechanisms” for customers to reduce limits. Licensees must remind customers of their right to limit deposits and time on platforms on each log-in.
The application of universal deposit limits forms part of the DGOJ’s technical commitment to ensure Spanish gambling consumers are protected by the centralised monitoring system.
Attached to the new monitoring system will be the launch of a new Federal Self-Exclusion Scheme for problem gamblers. This new protection is designed for problem gambling interventions and to provide direct treatment support across Spain’s 17 autonomous communities.
The DGOJ maintains its ambitions to launch an AI algorithm to trace 60 live variable indicators of problem gambling risks. The algorithm is viewed as the headline project of the Royal Decree of gambling environments, to deliver as AI will track real-time patterns linked to problem gambling behaviour and enable operators to intervene early.
In an update provided to delegates of the Gaming in Spain Conference in June, the DGOJ noted that it had begun the project based on XGBoost machine learning algorithms.
However, this September, the Directorate launched a public consultation for feedback from IT, gaming and tech stakeholders on inputs, data and intelligence needed to engineer the algorithm.
The DGOJ believes that this project, which is backed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs of Spain, will make it the first European regulator to apply AI to customer interventions around gambling harm.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs of Spain maintains that the Royal Decree of Gambling Environments provides the mandate for Spain to have the toughest surveillance of gambling licences in Europe.
As it stands, the DGOJ has yet to deliver on any technical project sought by the Royal Decree.