SBC News

The arrest and investigation of Pavel Valeryevich Durov, CEO of encrypted social media and messaging platform Telegram, has spiralled concerns related to the promotion of unlicensed crypto gambling websites.

Durov was arrested on the tarmac of a Paris airport this saturday by French authorities, largely due to concerns about moderation of illicit commerce and harmful content displayed on Telegram’s platform, which engages with a reported +1 billion users worldwide.

The Russian-born businessman, a citizen of Russia, the UAE, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and France, has caused an international stir. His capture was branded a ‘politically motivated arrest’ by the Kremlin – despite some past criticisms Durov has made of the Putin government – and led to calls of ‘Free Pavel’ by X CEO Elon Musk, who stated that Durov had become a prisoner of the EU’s ongoing war on free speech.

Authorities have a myriad of concerns about Telegram and its use. This includes claims of criminal activity on the a..

Allied Irish Bank (AIB) has applied a ‘voluntary block’ on gambling transactions for customers of its debit and credit card services.

The voluntary block on gambling transactions has been made available to all 3.3 million AIB customer accounts and bank app users.

AIB, which operates as the Republic of Ireland’s largest retail bank, stated that the new controls would support vulnerable customers from harm and prevent families from facing financial risk.

This update sees AIB follow Ulster Bank, becoming the second Irish bank to impose a direct block on gambling transactions.

The block has been further applied to the financial services of EBS Ireland, the insurance and lending subsidiary of AIB.

The AIB gambling block feature is optional and can only be activated at the request of the customer. The block will be deployed across all customer accounts, including business services.

AIB customers requesting the gambling block can call the AIB Additional Support Helpline on 0818 227 056 ..

A new government takes charge of implementing much-needed reforms to North Macedonia’s Gambling Act. Regulatory proceedings will have to accommodate the complexities of North Macedonia’s societal and ethnic make-up and its relationship with Balkan neighbours.

Examining the political dynamics and fault lines of a young North Macedonia reshaping its gambling regime, Ivan Kurochkin, Partner and Head of the Eastern Europe Desk at 4H Agency, provides a low-down on Europe’s most complex regulatory jurisdiction.

In May, North Macedonia witnessed the landslide victory of the ‘Nationalist Allies’ (VMRO-DPMNE) led by Gordana Siljanovska-Davkov, who became the Balkan nation’s sixth President and first female leader since independence from the former Yugoslav Republic in 1991.

Having been in opposition since 2017, the right-wing bloc led by Gordana secured an overwhelming majority at Skopje’s Kuvendi (General Assembly). The bloc has pledged to implement a ‘nationalist mandate’ to “eradicate cor..

Tabcorp has been fined AU$ 4.6m (€2.7m) for “several instances of non-compliance” in its wagering business in the state of Victoria.

The fine was issued by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), which deemed that Tabcorp had “repeatedly breached the Wagering and Betting Licence and Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct between August 2020 and February 2023.”

The Commission cited that Tabcorp failed to uphold its regulatory duties as staff had “inadequate training to responsibly deliver its products and services.”

Infringements saw Tabcorp staff promote direct marketing material to a customer who had opted out of receiving promotional offers. Furthermore, staff failed to provide appropriate support to a customer exhibiting observable signs of distress or indicators of potential gambling harm.

Disconcertingly, the Commission highlighted an instance where a Tabcorp account manager placed a ‘responsible gambling call’ to a customer whose betting patterns had been ..

GambleAware has raised concerns that up to 1.65 million children are growing up in households where an adult is experiencing gambling problems.

The figure is estimated based on new YouGov data from the “Annual GB Treatment and Support Survey 2023,” commissioned by GambleAware.

The survey continues YouGov’s research on behalf of GambleAware, conducted since 2019, to explore the usage of, and reported demand for, advice, support, and treatment among those who gamble and those affected by another’s gambling.

GambleAware considers the survey’s research and insights critical for its organisation to identify gaps and needs within all forms of treatment support services for those experiencing gambling harms and to examine wider impacts.

Of particular significance, YouGov’s 2023 survey provides “first-of-its-kind data” on the legacy harms of gambling among those who have suffered from problem gambling.

Legacy harms are detailed as a key research area, as the survey reports that 7% of the ..

The Argentinian province of Buenos Aires has launched a new campaign to prevent gambling ads from reaching minors.

As first reported by SBC Noticias, the campaign with the slogan “Placing a bet doesn’t pay off” will be visible across all communication platforms currently popular among youths, especially social media as most high school students are “spending at least five hours a day in front of their cell phones”.

In an interview with local radio station AM 750, Julieta Calmels, Undersecretary of Mental Health, Problematic Consumption and Violence for the province of Buenos Aires, commented: “We are articulating actions to expose a problem that is widespread: the large number of hours that we are exposed to, and above all young people, to screens and games with betting.

“We believe that it is time to take care, prevention measures. Measures are being taken in the two chambers of the legislature. At the same time, this campaign proposes that it does not give the question of bettin..

Ahead of the Dutch F1 Grand Prix this Sunday (25 August), Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands Gambling Authority has ordered organiser Formula One to remove all advertising promoting Stake.com.

KSA commands F1 to remove all advertising related to Stake.com, due to the online casino and sports betting brand having no licence to operate in the Netherlands. As such the presence of Stake.com, will infringe on the advertising laws of the Netherlands Remote Gambling Act (KOA).

The decision is significant since Stake recently became the title sponsor of the Sauber Motorsports team, now known as the ‘Stake F1 Team.’ As a result, Stake.com’s branding must be removed from the team’s cars and any other materials for the race in Zandvoort this weekend.

In the Netherlands, gambling legislation prohibits any betting or gaming company from offering games of chance without a license or promoting such activities.

The KSA emphasised that companies like Stake.com must implement measures, such a..

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has announced that its members have achieved record compliance rates in age verification checks, according to an independent audit.

The trade body for UK gambling was provided with independent data by Serve Legal, which reported that members had secured a 91.4% age verification pass rate across thousands of annual checks.

Serve Legal is recognised as the leading auditor of ID verification, age-approval, and compliance testing services for businesses and authorities in the UK and Ireland.

Of particular note, UK casinos achieved a near-perfect pass rate of 98%. Overall, the BGC states that members have garnered a 30% compliance increase across the audit volume since 2009, when Serve Legal began working with the regulated betting and gaming sector.

The results of the audit underline BGC members’ zero-tolerance approach to engaging with underage audiences.

The BGC emphasised that its members are now leading other UK sectors in age verification comp..

Montenegro’s gambling sector faces likely fiscal changes as the Ministry of Finance endorses a 15% tax charged on customer winnings.

The government of Montenegro has received proposals to amend articles of the Personal Income Tax and the Law on Games of Chance to apply the tax charge sought by the Ministry of Finance.

The proposal carries the “dual goals of increasing budget revenues and addressing the growing issue of gambling addiction, particularly among young people.”

Submitting its amendments, the Ministry emphasised that tax charges on gambling income had been “unjustifiably excluded from the tax system in the previous period.”

The Ministry endorsed a 15% tax charge on customer winnings as part of the Montenegrin government’s ‘Work Programme for 2024,’ which carries the wider mandate to adopt a new Law on Games of Chance.

Taking office in October 2023, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić ordered ministers and departments to submit proposals on gambling protections, focusing on pro..