SBC News

The Republic of Ireland will overhaul its near-century-old gambling laws, as the Oireachtas has approved the Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB) to be signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins.

The GRB underwent a decade of development and a two-year deliberation by the Houses of the Oireachtas, following its authorisation as a joint bill of Ireland’s Tri-coalition government.

The government will adopt a modern regulatory framework to govern and license gambling activities in Ireland, replacing the laws of the Betting Act of 1931.

The GRB establishes the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), an independent statutory body responsible for overseeing the rules, standards, and conduct of Irish gambling.

Licensing requirements state that all persons or business entities offering gambling services in Ireland, including commercial and charitable organisations, must obtain a licence from the GRAI.

As part of Budget 2025, announced on 1st October, the GRAI will receive €9.1 mil..

Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador, has re-authorized the advertising of sports betting and gambling on media networks across the Andean nation.

The decision follows President Noboa’s withdrawal of specific articles of Executive Order 421, which had been imposed on Ecuador’s Organic Law on Communication by the former government of Guillermo Lasso Mendoza in 2023.

After taking office in January 2024, Noboa ordered a constitutional review of Ecuador’s laws, which had banned land-based casinos and bingo halls since 2011, while providing no legal framework to govern online gambling activities.

A referendum in 2011 allowed former President Rafael Correa to ban land-based casinos, bookmakers, and bingo halls, a decision that opponents argue has harmed the tourism industry.

Although land-based gambling is banned, constitutionally there are no explicit laws prohibiting online gaming, creating ambiguity in the regulation of the sector.

A registry for gambling and sports betting companies w..

The Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has emphasised the government’s commitment to ensuring that players can continue to enjoy gambling as a pastime ‘without the harms’.

Lisa Nandy – who has held the role since July 2024 – makes these comments following proposals by two Labour-backing think tanks pitching the doubling of gambling tax, leading to warnings from the industry and analysts of the detrimental economic consequences.

Addressing Parliament, at a time where trepidation within gambling elevates, Nandy urged the house not to believe everything that they read in the papers, emphasising a desire to “strike the right balance” when it comes to regulation.

She added: “We’re aware of the value of this industry and the importance of it, not just to the UK economy, but to the joy that it brings to many, many people, and the employment prospects that it offers to people in every nation and region of the United Kingdom.

“We are also very aware ..

Finland’s national lottery operator, Veikkaus, has partnered with Optimove to leverage the firm’s CRM marketing solution.

The deal with ​​Optimove – the only CRM marketing olution approved as an official European Lotteries Association Associate Member – aims to ‘elevate player experiences, loyalty and lifetime value’.

Saara Pekkonen, VP of Marketing at Veikkaus, commented: “This partnership with Optimove marks a significant step forward in driving our growth and responsible gaming initiatives. Optimove’s track record and industry experience are unparalleled in CRM marketing.

“Optimove’s proven ability to deliver personalised, data-driven player engagement at scale will be central to our continued drive to elevate our marketing strategy and execution. Optimove’s AI-powered capabilities enable us to offer players more relevant and engaging experiences, increasing satisfaction, loyalty, and maximising player lifetime value.”

In more detail, predictive models will support responsibl..

On November 13, SBC is hosting SBC Digital – Player Protection, a one-day online conference presented in partnership with Vixio Regulatory Intelligence. SBC Digital – Player Protection will help build momentum for Safer Gambling Week in the UK, which takes place the week after the online conference. The agenda includes sessions such as: The esteemed…

The Senate of Brazil has authorised a Commission of Inquiry (CPI) to investigate the financial impacts of the upcoming Bets regime, which will regulate fixed-odds betting and online gambling in the country.

Senator Soraya Thronicke, representing Mato Grosso do Sul, initiated the request for the inquiry and gained the support of 30 senators to launch the “CPI of Bets.”

According to SBCNoticias, Thronicke called for the CPI to assess how gambling affects the finances of Brazilian families.

This request follows alarming findings from the Central Bank, revealing that recipients of Bolsa Família, Brazil’s financial aid program for low-income families, spent BRL 3 billion (€500 million) on gambling, as tracked by the PIX payment system.

Concerns about the financial risks of the Bets framework have prompted the government to carefully oversee the launch of federal fixed-odds betting and online gambling.

In a meeting with senior ministers, President Inácio Lula da Silva warned that he wou..

AGCOM, the Media and Communications Authority of Italy, has sanctioned a ‘technical measure’ to impose “mandatory age verification to ensure the adulthood of Italian audiences”.

On Friday, the agency alerted Italian media of its new technical framework to impose mandatory measures for verifying the age of audiences engaging with adult content.

The new measures sought by AGCOM will require Italian media to enforce an age-verification check before users can view content related to gambling, pornography, and adult-specific social media categories.

AGCOM had previously proposed the technical measure of age verification controls as part of the thirteen measures introduced by the Caivano Decree – Italy’s online safety and protection bill.

As AGCOM proposed to the government: “The measure enforces stronger age verification mechanisms to protect minors from content harmful to their physical, mental, or moral development, requiring stricter safeguards across information society services.”

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