SBC News

An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found 18 offshore websites breaching gambling laws in Australia during the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The 2023 sporting event saw gambling carried out via verticals such as online casinos and slot/gaming machines as well as betting on sporting events whilst play was under way, which is illegal in the country.

An overview of the 200 offshore gambling websites ahead of the World Cup, which Australia co-hosted with New Zealand, reveals that 21 were investigated by the authority due to directly targeting Australian punters.

Following the investigation, three of the offshore gambling websites withdrew from Australia, while the remaining 15 were blocked by internet providers following requests by the watchdog.

Carolyn Lidgerwood, ACMA’s online gambling lead, highlighted how many of the websites targeted Australian gamblers, stating: “Illegal gambling operations often take advantage of high-profile sporting events t..

NOGA, the Netherlands Online Gambling Association, has branded yesterday’s vote by the Kamer to support motions endorsing a ban on online gambling advertising and online slots as “thoughtless and irresponsible”.

Yesterday, Dutch ministers approved by a narrow majority motions brought forward by the Socialist Party (SP) to ban online gambling advertising and introduce a further ban on high-risk games of chance.

Both motions were put forward by SP minister Michiel van Nispen, as part of the Kamer’s ongoing revision of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA Act), the legislative framework adopted in October 2021 to regulate the Netherlands’ online gambling marketplace.

Though approved, the motions will be reviewed by Legal Protections Minister Franc Weerwind, who will determine whether the motions can be turned into law to be voted on by the Senate.

Peter-Paul de Goeij: NOGA
Peter-Paul de Goeij, NOGA’s Director-General, has warned Minister Weerwind to ignore the motions, asserting, “The House i..

The UKGC’s Head of Research Laura Balla has asserted that Britain’s Gambling Survey will assist in “filling evidence gaps” around the impacts of placing bets.

Balla also stated that the data will provide a better evidence base to help “make gambling safer for all”.

The comments follow the commission’s first GSGB dataset publication earlier this year, in addition to the release of the commission’s Corporate Strategy 2024 to 2027, which was published last week.

The Head of Research also emphasised that the new questions on the GSGB were introduced to help the commission meet one of its key objectives of protecting children and vulnerable people from gambling-related harm through effective and enforced regulatory requirements.

Previously, screening instruments such as the Problem Gambling Severity Index were used as a way to determine the evidence base on the impacts of gambling, but Balla explained that “discourse in recent years has expanded to recognise the wider harms that can be..

eCogra has been certified as a ‘technical assurance’ agency by the Secretariat of Betting and Prizes (SPA), the supervisory authority of Brazil’s imminent Bets market.

Ordinance 588 published by the SPA declares eCogra as a certified laboratory to carry out technical assessments of betting systems, platforms, gaming studios, and lottery terminals for the Bets market.

Founded in 2003, eCogra provides technical evaluation and regulatory assurance for all major licensed and regulated iGaming markets.

For Brazil, eCogra had worked on the necessary documentation and evaluation procedures of the Bets market, the framework that will be used to launch Brazil’s imminent federal sports betting and online gambling marketplace.

The certification for Brazil is valid for three years from the date of publication, provided eCogra maintains its legal, tax, labor (or ‘labour’ for British English), and technical qualifications as demonstrated in the accreditation process.

Previously, eCogra had been..

The Danish Gambling Authority, Spillemyndigheden, has released the latest data from ROFUS, the country’s self-exclusion register, highlighting that the number of signees stands at 50,000 in April.

ROFUS was first established in 2012 as part of a wider political strategy to curb gambling harm in Denmark.

The scheme has since been quite successful in providing player support, going from the 1,500 registrants at the end of 2012 to the current 50,000 listed individuals.

This success has been significantly boosted by a number of regulations aimed at promoting ROFUS. At the start of 2020, licensed online gambling providers and land-based casinos became obliged to refer to the scheme across all of their gambling products. This practice also became a requirement for land-based betting in 2023.

When signing up for ROFUS, players are presented with multiple choices on the duration of the self-exclusion period. This varies between 24 hours, one, three or six months. Of these, the most pre..

A pledge has been made by MOST, the ‘Sovereign Party of Croatia’, to overhaul the nation’s gambling laws by implementing a ban on advertising and introducing new protections to curb addiction.

MOST’s pledge carries significance as next week Croatia will hold a snap election on Wednesday, 17 April, due to the fallout of the coalition government led by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

Party leader, Nikola Grmoja, MOST’s candidate for President declared that the opposition needed to wake up and recognize “Croatia’s problem with gambling addiction that is not discussed within political circles”.

Grmoja noted “frightening statistics” of gambling trends in Croatia, as “40% of juveniles are gambling on a daily basis” and public health agencies report that “40,000 Croats are addicted to gambling, a figure impacting 200,000 families”.

Ahead of next week’s election, MOST published its ‘programme to fight gambling addiction’, pledging to implement a blanket ban on gambling advertising, by..

GamCare has revealed that thousands of people have been supported through the National Gambling Support Network, as the initiative celebrates its one-year anniversary.

The charity also highlighted the GambleAware-commissioned network’s short waiting times, with people seeking support for problem gambling being offered a treatment session in three and a half days on average between October-December 2023.

Anna Hargrave, Chief Commissioning Officer at GambleAware, stated: “The National Gambling Support Network is designed to prevent the escalation of harms associated with gambling.

“The network provides people with easy access to treatment and support wherever they are across Great Britain. It is heartening to hear the positive impact the services have on people’s lives and the difference they make.”

The data also shows that organisations within the Network – which is highlighting the free support available ahead of this weekend’s Grand National – contacted those seeking treatment in..