SBC News

The Seimas of Lithuania will vote on Tuesday (14 January) on the implementation of new gambling controls to be applied via national banks.

A new set of gambling controls has been proposed to the Seimas, which includes new checks and duties to be carried out by all banks (foreign and domestic) licensed by the Bank of Lithuania.

The new controls will require Lithuanian banks to monitor all gambling transactions and provide direct reports to the LPT, the Gambling Control Authority of Lithuania.

Banks must comply with the new duties to ensure that payments to illegal gambling websites registered on the Gambling Control Authority’s blacklist are blocked.

Payments to illegal operators must be terminated within 24 hours of receiving a directive, with fines ranging from €1,800 to €3,800 for initial violations and up to €6,000 for repeat offences.

The LPT supports applying direct controls on banks as the best measure to monitor black market activities, having already banned 1,600 websites ..

BetBlocker has expanded its blocking software to support Bemba, Nyanja and Tonga languages.

The news marks the company’s first initiative aimed at users in Africa, providing a ‘critical resource’ to under-served communities in the region.

Duncan Garvie, BetBlocker Founder and Trustee, said: “For BetBlocker, it’s critical to be able to reach users in a language that they can comfortably engage in to ensure a smooth and speedy set-up process.”

The brand is now focusing its gambling tool on the three most prominent languages spoken in Zambia.

The project is funded by Entain and looks to aid the lack of gambling harm support services compared to more developed jurisdictions.

“Native languages also help us step past cultural barriers, showing that BetBlocker isn’t simply available to these communities; it’s actively working to support them,” Garvie continued.

“This is especially important in under-served and under-supported markets, like many of the African countries.”

Meanwhile, ..

The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Gambling Authority of the Netherlands, will adopt stricter scrutiny of duty-of-care interactions by licensed operators with young customers (under 24s).

This demand headlines the ‘Supervision Agenda 2025’, which sets out the regulatory objectives of the KSA and its oversight of Dutch gambling and licensed entities.

The agenda adheres to the KSA’s long-term supervisory principles, initiated in October 2021 following the launch of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) as the regulatory framework governing the Netherlands’ new online gambling marketplace. These principles include preventing gambling addiction, protecting and informing consumers, and combating illegality and crime in the gambling sector.

For 2025, the KSA has identified new areas requiring “extra attention” in its oversight of Dutch gambling licences. In October 2024, KOA licences implemented new deposit limits of €700 for player accounts over the age of 25, and a €300 deposit threshold for pla..

Poland seeks for EU member states to “harmonise and deepen” collaborative efforts to combat illegal online gambling, which is reported to cost Eurozone nations an estimated €7.2bn in lost tax revenues.

Since 1 January, Poland has held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, setting the agenda for the first half of 2025 for the bloc and its economic union, in which it has chosen to raise the EU’s exposure to online gambling threats via the black market.

The EU’s growing exposure to illegal online gambling is viewed as an integrity and economic threat, with member states limited in binding solutions to arrest and prosecute black-market actors.

Poland calls on member states to view illegal online gambling as an EU-wide threat, which requires harmonised regulations and enforcement practices to combat illegal entities targeting EU consumers with no binding restrictions.

Poland has proposed the creation of a dedicated working group under the European Commission to tackle ill..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has fined Greentube Alderney Ltd £1 million for failing to meet anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility standards.

Greentube Alderney, which operates the Admiral Casino brand, breached AML rules for the reported period of September 2022 to June 2023.

The Commission deemed that Greentube had failed to properly scrutinise information, causing delays in identifying and escalating money laundering or terrorism financing risks. It also ignored its own policies on “risky occupations”, such as failing to flag a customer’s role as a finance manager, which could suggest access to misappropriated or laundered funds.

The company did not act promptly to investigate and escalate suspicious accounts. In one case, it overlooked an account linked to another customer with the same address and surname, who had a conviction for supplying Class A drugs.

John Pierce, the Commission’s Director of Enforcement, said this penalty follows a compliance assessme..

The Secretariat for Prizes and Betting (SPA) has established a new ‘strategic unit’ to oversee the fiscal compliance and licensing obligations of operators authorised to participate in the Brazil Bets market.

The unit, named ‘GTI-Bets’, has been formed through a cooperative arrangement with the Federal Revenue Service. As detailed by SBC Notícias Brazil: “GTI-Bets aims to monitor the behaviour of the online gaming and sports betting sector concerning fiscal compliance and the maintenance of requirements for authorised legal entities.”

Beyond its monitoring role, the unit will support Brazilian authorities and investigative bodies in identifying illegal activities that threaten the integrity of the Bets market, including money laundering, criminal transactions, and unlicensed operations.

The Federal Revenue Service supported the creation of GTI-Bets to enhance tax efficiencies related to the period before authorisation for entities operating within the Bets market.

GTI-Bets will com..

GAMSTOP has announced that a record number of people signed up to the national self-exclusion scheme at the start of 2025.

In the biggest daily figures since its inception in 2018, the company saw 415 people signing up on 1 January, followed by 413 new registrants on 2 January and 396 on 6 January – the 3 highest daily registration figures since May 2023.

Gamstop Group CEO, Fiona Palmer, commented: “We have come a very long way since our launch in April 2018, but our journey doesn’t stop there.

“Our goal is to provide consumers with tools and options that empower them to take control of their gambling activity. As such, we’re consistently listening to feedback and evaluating the effectiveness of our service.”

Meanwhile, in a continued effort to support vulnerable consumers, GAMSTOP has introduced a new ‘five years with auto-renewal’ option, which the firm said is aimed at vulnerable consumers looking to extend their exclusion from gambling websites and apps.

“Consumers wanted long..

GambleAware has accepted the resignation of Baroness Hilary Armstrong as a trustee of the charity leading the UK public health strategy for the prevention, treatment, and research of problem gambling harms.

A trustee of GambleAware since 2021, Baroness Armstrong has accepted the role of Founding Chair of the government’s newly established Digital Inclusion Action Committee.

Set up as a new agency of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Digital Inclusion Action Committee will serve as the government’s advisory body of experts to scrutinise, steer, and help determine the government’s efforts to reduce digital exclusion.

A Labour MP from 1987 to 2010, she has served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for the Cabinet Office, and Minister for Social Exclusion under Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The committee reflects the increasing importance of digital inclusion on the agenda of all levels of government due to its strong influence on social inclusion a..