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The fallout of the damning audit of Romania’s National Office of Gambling (ONJN) has entered Parliament’s arena as Gheorghe-Gabriel Gheorghe, President of the ONJN refuses to be interrogated by ministers.

The governance of Romanian gambling has been rocked, by an audit of the ONJN by the Court of Accounts (CCR), which shone a light on tax liabilities of between 3.3 billion and 4.3 billion lei (€630m to €900m).

On 4 March, Gheorghe’s was summoned to explain ONJN failings to an IT committee led by Ciprian Rus, Senator of the Romania Union Party (USR) . Gheorghe refused to attend stating that the USR held no accountability to call for a committee inquiry

USR took issue with the case and underlined that ONJN leadership ensures that it provides an explanation to Parliament, led by USR Senator Ciprian Rus, Chair of the IT Committee.

Senator Rus stated: “ONJN is subordinate to the Romanian Government and, according to the Constitution and the laws in force, is accountable to parliamentar..

Pressure over Bill 55 continues as EU courts have been challenged to increase scrutinisation of the impact of the bill and its protection of Maltese companies.

Central to criticism of the bill is that it lacks transparency and doesn’t align with the EU framework and law.

One of the most vocal critics was the German regulator, the GGL, which put its case forward to the European Commission in a bid to push them to re-examine the law and its effectiveness alongside domestic and EU frameworks.

Previously, the GGL has stated: “We are of the opinion that this law should not be compatible with European requirements for the recognition of decisions (Regulation (EU) 1215/2002).

“However, the final assessment of this question is not the responsibility of the GGL. We have informed the federal states of our assessment and are otherwise in contact with the relevant authorities.”

In a more recent development, the bill was brought back under the microscope as Maltese courts ruled in two separa..

Further delays in Thailand have left the market in limbo after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra put the brakes on the final decision surrounding the regulation’s fine print.

It comes after recent political back and forth over various issues in the bill, most significantly whether domestic players will have access to the casinos.

Most recently, a reported U-turn from officials in the country saw the legislation shift away from essentially excluding the vast majority of Thai citizens from gambling venues.

The surprising proposals had come after numerous warnings over the potential social impact of the bill, including from an unlikely source in Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It led to Thai officials implementing a rule that meant that citizens would need at least $1.5m in assets to access casinos in the country.

It was recently touted that these plans would be curbed however, as Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat cited the importance of thwarting the black market when ..

The recent case against Paddy Power looks set to have far-reaching implications for the gambling industry – Tom Grant, Consultant at law firm Poppleston Allen, shares some vital lessons for operators

‘The House always wins’ increasingly appears to be a truism that doesn’t always apply – particularly when it comes to consumer claims against gaming operators.

The latest is a case that looks to have thrown what hitherto seemed ironclad agreements between operators and players into question as the High Court granted summary judgment in favour of claimant Corinne Durber, who sought to recover £1m+ against Paddy Power.

To summarise the case, Durber won the Monster Jackpot of £1,097,132.71 when playing the Wild Hatter game on Paddy Power’s website.

Or so she thought.

Despite the onscreen win, Paddy Power did not pay her the Monster Jackpot and, instead, offered just more than £20,000 on the basis that there was a mapping error which should have displayed that she had won the Daily Jac..

Lawmakers in New Jersey have become the latest to take aim at the sweepstakes vertical through legislative attempts to completely prohibit sweepstakes in the state.

Previously, Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese introduced Assembly Bill 5196 that looked to introduce a regulatory framework around the sweepstake sector. However, this bill fell short, leading to the introduction of Assembly Bill 5447 this week.

A key difference between the two bills is the lack of definition of sweepstake casinos in Bill 5447, with the latest efforts from Calabrese seeking to prohibit sweepstake games that imitate casino games.

It does also represent something of a shift in gear for Calabrese in New Jersey, which had previously been open to the idea of incorporating sweepstakes into the regulatory framework for casinos.

The latest efforts from Calabrese caused a stir from the sector, with the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) emphasising it “firmly opposes” the latest bill, describing it ..

The former head of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has warned the market is edging towards a tipping point as excessive regulation and taxation push players towards the black market.

Speaking at Sydney’s Regulating the Game conference on Tuesday (11 March), Michael Phelan, who served as CEO of the ACIC between 2017 and 2022, told attendees that a “happy equilibrium” must be found to protect both players and operators.

He said: “The issue is that if the market or taxation gets to a point beyond the equilibrium – if you get to a point where you tax the industry so much and you overregulate – then people will look to other markets to go to and we’ve seen that happen in [the Australian tobacco] industry where regulation falls off a cliff and you have zero visibility.”

Phelan cited Australia’s growing “tobacco wars” which has seen stringent regulations and excises applied to tobacco products, leading to organised crime groups flooding the market with illegal produ..

The Gaming Authority in Ghana is set to intensify its efforts around regulation of the gambling industry, with a specific focus on the location of the gambling venues.

Commissioner Emmanuel Siisi Quainoo has emphasised during a recent meeting that the body is aiming to tackle the level of gambling venues in areas that could see an increased impact on the most vulnerable corners of society.

The framework is set to be around zoning rules and the enforcing of gambling compliance as the sector continues to grow in terms of engagement.

Quainoo stated: “As part of our mandate, gaming operators are prohibited from establishing facilities near schools and religious institutions. If an applicant’s proposed location is too close to these areas, we will not grant a license. Our goal is to prevent school children from being drawn into gambling at the expense of their education… We will take firm action against illegal gambling operators and ensure strict enforcement of the law.”

The Ministe..

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gaming authority, has shut down several illegal poker tournaments and recovered tens of thousands of euros in cash.

Six tournaments across Amsterdam, Asten, The Hague, Rotterdam and Tilburg were halted by the regulators in conjunction with police and municipalities in the final quarter of 2024. According to the body, significant cash sums were also seized at each location, including €40,000 in one case.

Additionally, last month, the KSA also imposed a €110,00 penalty on the organiser of unlicensed poker.

In doing so, the KSA warned against the dangers of illegal poker tournaments for the player and also due to their links to criminal activity.

It stated: “Illegal poker tournaments are often part of subversive crime, in which criminals use legal businesses (such as catering establishments) or citizens for criminal activities.

“In addition, poker players are at risk of gambling addiction, especially when playing in an uncontrolled environment wi..

Mastercard and Visa have underline “zero tolerance” to black market activity on network

It follows a Guardian report that alleged that Mastercard and Visa are falling short in terms of halting transactions to the illegal gambling market.

The report stated that Mastercard found itself alongside cryptocurrency being offered as a payment option for a myriad of unlicensed operators.

Nonetheless, Mastercard rallied back against the accusations, telling Payment Expert: “We have zero tolerance for illegal activity on our network. When specific instances of potentially unlawful or illegal activity are identified, we investigate the allegations so that we can work with partners to take the appropriate action. We will now do so with the sites which were noted.”

The report was less scathing about Visa, revealing that it appeared on fewer sites, however, did still have a presence on the black market.

Visa, however, lauded the impact of its Integrity Risk Programme, which is a set of guide..