SBC News

The Senate of Brazil has been informed that sports betting and online gambling activities may be considered new criteria for “selective taxes.”

Senator Braga
The determination forms part of a report filed by Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), who serves as the Rapporteur for the Senate’s federal tax reform project.

As reported by SBC Notícias Brazil, Braga’s report classifies sports betting, online games, and fantasy sports as “targeted goods and services deemed harmful to health or that generate negative externalities—such as alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and fossil fuels.” The tax aims to include these sectors, which have been experiencing significant growth in the country.

However, taxation remains a contentious issue ahead of the launch of the Brazil Bets market in 2025, as the federal framework seeks to regulate fixed-odds betting and online gambling.

Authorised in December 2023, the tax framework under Law No. 14,790/2023 applies a general income tax rate of 12% on gross gam..

Jake Pollard
iCasino working committees are expected to continue, but uncertainty will be ongoing until a new government is appointed, as all industries monitor closely the movements on an embattled President Macron.

France’s online gambling sector is awaiting President Macron’s decision on the appointment of a new Prime Minister to form a government following Michel Barnier’s resignation.

Barnier’s government became the first to lose a confidence motion since 1962. The motion of censure was initiated by the hard-left party La France Insoumise, with support from the hard-right Rassemblement National, after rejecting the country’s 2025 budget.

Speaking on French television at the end of last week, Macron, who has reportedly been searching for a new Prime Minister since mid-November, stated that he would appoint Barnier’s successor as quickly as possible.

Avoiding a Void
Macron will also aim to avoid a repeat of the three-month summer period during which the country was without a go..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published Wave-2 datasets from the Gambling Survey of Great Britain (GSGB) for 2024.

The GSGB includes a new survey format and research methodology conducted by NatCen for the Gambling Commission to measure gambling prevalence and to collect updated data on “playing habits, attitudes, and harms experienced across the adult population of Great Britain.”

Following a two-year ‘technical review,’ Wave-1 GSGB datasets were published on 29 February 2024, marking the start of a new era in data collection for the Gambling Commission and providing stakeholders with more frequent and consistent data on gambling prevalence.

Audiences are reminded that Wave-1 and Wave-2 datasets do not include the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) statistics for UK adults. PGSI statistics are reported in the Commission’s annual ‘Official Statistics on Gambling Participation,’ which provides data on “the consequences that gambling can have on individuals and those close..

DCMS and the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have published the ‘Evaluation Plan‘ on the impact of the policy measures undertaken by the Gambling Act Review.

The evaluation of policy measures will be conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), which began a scoping study in January 2024, to be followed by fieldwork research beginning in January 2025. NatCen is expected to present its findings and deliver the final report in 2026.

As detailed in the DCMS foreword: “The gambling white paper contains over 60 proposed policy measures, to be delivered by a mixture of different stakeholders, making it a highly complex policy initiative. The policy measures have different timeframes and implementation processes, and potentially intersecting outcomes and impacts. Attribution or contribution of observed changes to any one policy measure is therefore difficult.”

“DCMS and the Gambling Commission are working together to deliver an appropriate programme of work to evaluate the ..

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has declared that Safer Gambling Week 2024 campaigns have registered the highest online impact and coverage.

#SGWeek2024 campaigns 2024 set new records on social media, generating over 60m impressions across the platforms X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Data released on this year’s successful campaign promoting awareness of safer gambling tools, intervention, and treatment services revealed a huge 21 per cent increase on last year.

Cross-party senior MPs and peers, including gambling minister Baroness Fiona Twycross and several shadow ministers including the Shadow DCMS Secretary Stuart Andrew MP praised the impact of #SGWeek2024 campaigns.

This year’s event also had the full support of the independent regulator, the Gambling Commission, and its Chief Executive, Andrew Rhodes.

Among the well-known football clubs to support Safer Gambling Week 2024 were Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and Southampton, ensuring millions..

UK Gambling has been assured that the adoption of a new Statutory Levy and the application of £2/£5 stake limits will prove effective in reducing problem gambling harms and ensuring Britain has the safest gambling environments.

The measures were announced last week by DCMS, applying the White Paper recommendation of online slot stake limits of £5 for those aged over 25 and £2 for young adults aged 18 to 24. DCMS further determined the design and structure of the Statutory Levy on funding research, education, and treatment (RET Levy) – to be led by the NHS as chief commissioner.

This morning, Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross spoke on the implications of the measures at GambleAware’s Annual Conference for problem gambling stakeholders.

Labour is the catalyst of Real Change for UK Gambling

In just over 100 days in office, Twycross underscored the significance of the Labour government delivering on its gambling pledges: “This Government made a commitment in its manifesto to reduce ..