SBC News

In time for debt awareness week, GambleAware has put out a statement emphasising the wide availability of free debt advice services and the need to lift the stigma barrier suggesting that such services affect credit score.

Collaborating with StepChange Debt Charity, which is running this year’s Debt Awareness Week from 18-24 March, GambleAware’s Money Guidance Service Manager Kathy Wade addressed the misconception that reaching out for debt advice has an impact on private credit score.

“Having a good credit score is important for a number of reasons, including when you want to borrow money, take out a mobile phone contract, or get home broadband,” Wade said. “Companies will check your credit file before making decisions. Factors can impact your credit rating but getting debt advice is not one of them.”

Some of the factors listed by Wade that could influence people’s credit score include missed credit repayments, maxed-out credit cards, court judgements, bankruptcy, or debt relief ..

René Jansen, outgoing Chair of the Dutch Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has offered insights on some of his most recent work with the regulator.
In a blog post, Jansen issued a statement saying that the risks associated with the online gambling market in the Netherlands “are growing”.

According to the Chair, this is evidenced by the growing number of people exhibiting harmful gambling behaviour, which has even occurred with professional sports players.
Therefore, the KSA must look at specific cases as the first stepping stone to handling problem gambling, and that the next step for the regulator is to take a comprehensive look “at the market from above”.
Jansen also touched upon the Dutch Consumers’ Association’s conclusion that the KSA doesn’t have enough knowledge of what is happening “behind the front door” of operators, and that more covert measures are needed to be implemented in order to strengthen the regulator’s supervision.

One such measure is the provision ..

Lottstift, Norway’s Gambling Authority, has been granted ‘direct powers’ to order DNS and IP blocking of websites infringing on the laws of Norway’s Gambling Act.

The mandate was approved by the Storting (Parliament) on March 19, as a majority of MPs backed market protections sought by Lottstift against unlicensed operators.

The approval sees Lottstift secure DNS and IP blocking rights as a guaranteed measure to protect Norway’s Gambling Act, currently under revision.

In 2022, the Storting ordered the government to consolidate Norway’s fragmented regulatory framework for gambling. Laws for gambling had been deemed inconsistent due to the market being governed by the three separate mandates of the 1995 Lottery Act, the 1992 Gambling Act, and the 1927 Totalisator Act.

As such, the Storting instructed Norwegian authorities to adopt a new Gambling Act, merging and amending the laws of the three preceding Acts – a regulatory project overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Equality.

As ..

Technological developments are a core focus of any organisation amid a constant jockeying for position, with the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence currently capturing much attention.

This formed a central focus at the recent SBC Summit Rio, where a quintet of experts delved into how the tech could shape the future of the industry, why such models can improve responsible gambling protocols, the importance of correctly utilising data and much more.

“The thing with AI is that it has so many uses that we cannot even start to grasp exactly how we can use it,” began Hugo Llanos, Regional Director of the Americas at Altenar.

“I’m sure that everyone here has a different view and a different way of doing it. It’s all about the data and it’s all about how you use that data.”

To illustrate this point, Llanos cites customer engagement and segmentation, user experience and risk management as critical areas that can be heightened via the usage of AI, with excitement stressed at h..

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has recognized that, although licensees have a sound understanding of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations, there are still significant gaps that need addressing to maintain a risk-based approach to financial threats.

This observation stems from the completion of a thematic review of Malta’s remote gambling sector by the MGA and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

The purpose of the joint review was to evaluate the AML/CFT regulatory knowledge of licensed businesses, including the application of company policies and procedures by Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and other executives of remote-licensed gambling operators.

The review involved 23 compliance examinations and placed particular emphasis on MLROs and employees responsible for AML/CFT compliance.

Interviews with MLROs revealed a solid grasp of essential protections and measures to prevent money laundering, such as ris..

The Ministry of Finance of Georgia has updated the ‘electronic registry of citizens’ to comply with upcoming changes to the Caucasus nation’s gambling laws.

Applied via an executive order from the Prime Minister, Irakli Gharibashvili, from 1 July 2024, the new laws of the ‘Code of Administrative Offences’ will come into force in Georgia, which involves a strict tightening of compliance rules across all gambling segments.

Georgia will enforce new gambling laws prohibiting all citizens under the age of 25 from participating in gambling activities (land-based and online).

The Code will further prohibit all government and public sector employees from gambling and those registered with criminal offenses by Georgian courts.

This initiative has been overseen by the Revenue Office of the Ministry of Finance, which updated the government’s ‘electronic registry’ as the central database that will monitor Georgian citizens’ activities with gambling.

As reported by SBCEurasia, the Ministry of ..

South Wales’ Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) has collaborated with the UKGC, HMRC and Cardiff City Council Licensing to issue seven warrants across Cardiff on reports of an illegal gambling den in Splott.

The warrants, issued on 28 February, saw the arrest of two males on suspicion of money laundering and breaches of the gambling act. After conducting a search of the Splott premises, authorities seized gambling-related paraphernalia, including six poker tables, a spinning prize wheel, as well as poker coins and chips.

“We are committed to tackling illegal gambling activity across the UK and will continue working closely with law enforcement and partner agencies to achieve this,” a statement issued by Tarian ROCU read.

The operation nicknamed ‘Henhouse’ was part of a wider effort to combat fraud, funded by the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and organised in conjunction with several police forces and organised crime units across the UK.

Detective Sergeant Emma Br..

The NHS has reached an operating milestone in the support and development of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN) by opening its fifteenth clinic in Sheffield.

The clinic opened this weekend, expanding dedicated NHS treatment support and recovery services for problem gambling in Yorkshire and the North of England.

Amid growing demand for services, the opening of the new clinic in Sheffield means that the NHS has now almost doubled the number of specialist clinics available within the space of a year in England.

The Sheffield facility sees the NHS expand its network of problem gambling clinics to 15, operating across England with specialist treatment centres located in London, Milton Keynes, Thurrock, Bristol, Derby, Liverpool, Blackpool, Preston, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, and Telford.

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: “The opening of the new NHS gambling clinic is a significant milestone and amid record demand for help, it is tim..

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been urged to fulfill his 2021 manifesto commitment and introduce a ban on all forms of gambling advertisements across the Transport for London (TfL) network.

The demand has been made by the London Assembly Health Committee (LAHC), which has highlighted the need for Londoners to understand the severity of the problem gambling issue in the capital.

The Health Committee’s motivation stems from concerns that “London’s rate of ‘problem gambling’ is almost double the average seen across Britain.”

The demand arises from a two-part investigation conducted by the LAHC, taking feedback from individuals with lived experience of gambling harms, key public health figures, and charities.

As a result, the LAHC has determined that “a correlation exists between exposure to gambling advertising and increased gambling participation, particularly among young people and those with gambling issues.”

However, the report cited recognised the need for more research into the ..