SBC News

The government of Italy has settled on the new framework of licences for online gambling concessions.

A new structure for Italian online gambling concessions was published yesterday by Parliament’s Gazette as an amendment carried forward by the government’s ongoing ‘Reorganisation of Gambling‘ decree.

Recognised as a principal objective of the planned overhaul of Italian gambling laws, the government seeks to settle long-standing legal disputes between the ADM, Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency, and licensed operators on the conflicted terms of the renewal of licences.

A government intervention had suspended the ADM from terminating licences that were set to expire in 2023 and 2024.

Reaching a settlement, new online gambling concessions will be authorised by the end of 2024, with licences set to a nine-year limit and priced at €7m. The settlement sees Italian online gambling operators pay a premium of 35 times the previous price for online gambling licences, set at €200,000 sin..

GambleAware has initiated an invitation to tender for a partner to undertake the “Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN).”

The tender is deemed a significant project by GambleAware, which will commission a learning and evaluation partner to carry out an evaluation that delivers independent, actionable, and robust insights into the effectiveness of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN).

Formerly known as the National Gambling Treatment Service (NGTS), the NGSN was redesigned in 2022 to apply a regional approach for participating organizations to provide early and effective interventions on gambling harms and addiction.

NGSN is supported by eleven organizations offering treatment support and intervention services across the UK, including GamCare, Gordon Moody, BetKnowMore, and the RCA Trust.

The redesign of the NGSN was sanctioned following feedback to GambleAware that only a small group of people were accessing treatment services in Gr..

The Dutch Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has extended the concession of Human Assistance Network for Daily Support (HANDS) to run the country’s Loket Kansspel gambling helpline.

Having already been the engine behind the problem gambling support service for a number of years now, HANDS will continue to offer players and those close to them assistance and guidance on gambling harm prevention.

Counsellors on the other side of the line are specially trained by HANDS to provide such help, and are available 24 hours a day throughout the week.

This gives KSA “sufficient reason to extend the current contract and continue to invest together in even better information provision on the website, even more effective interventions and even more visibility and brand awareness among the target group”.

According to KSA, more than 6,600 cases were registered in 2023 of players, friends and family members reaching out to Loket Kansspel either via phone or chat messaging to look for help ..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has vowed to provide stakeholders with better evidence to ensure better outcomes for consumers and the public engaging with gambling.

The need for better evidence and enhanced data collection was outlined by the Commission’s launch of its new corporate strategy for 2024-27 tailored to adopt the recommendations set out in the government’s White Paper High Stakes – Gambling reform for the digital age.

The Commission maintains its statutory objectives governing UK gambling, in which principal duties include preventing gambling from becoming a source of crime or disorder, guaranteeing that gambling activities are conducted fairly and transparently, and to safeguard children and vulnerable individuals from harm or exploitation through gambling.

However, the Commission notes that a new three-year strategy carries the further duties of governing gambling ‘in the public interest’, encompassing the disciplines of “protecting consumers and the wider public, ..

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has appointed Grainne Hurst as the new Chief Executive of the trade and standards body representing the UK gambling sector.

An expert in public affairs and corporate social responsibility (CSR), Hurst joins the BGC from Entain Plc, where she served as Group Corporate Affairs Director of the FTSE 100 gambling group.

2024 has seen the BGC restructure its corporate governance as Brigid Simmonds (OBE) ended her five-year tenure as inaugural chair of the trade body. Changes saw CEO Michael Dugher take on the role of Chairman, replacing Simmonds who will end duties with the trade body on 20 April.

Welcoming Hurst as the new CEO, the BGC underscored her proven track record in launching high-impact and high-visibility CSR campaigns and sustainability initiatives for gambling.

Of significance, Hurst oversaw the development of the Entain Foundation, the multi-million sustainability charter of the FTSE business committed to raising £100m for ESG initiative..

Bacta President John Bollom has expressed the trade association’s admiration and congratulations to YGAM.

The safer gambling charity, which is also marking a milestone 50th anniversary in 2024, was founded by Lee Willows and uses education as a tool to raise awareness and help safeguard against gaming and gambling harms.
Bolllom noted YGAM was established by Lee Willows, with Anne and Keith Evans joining the organisation in 2016 after their son Alan Lockhart tragically took his own life following years of struggling with gambling addiction.

Bollom then highlighted how YGAM has made a key contribution to the safer gambling debate delivering numerous projects, many of which have been supported by Bacta members.

He described how YGAM quickly became a ‘powerful agency’ for change working in partnership with a broad church of stakeholders including Bacta and many of our members.

“As Chief Executive of YGAM Lee was instrumental in engaging with the industry and demonstrating how it was p..

The Dutch Gaming Authority, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has collaborated with global server network Cloudflare to track down unregulated gambling websites.

This follows a detailed discussion between the two organisations that has led to strategic planning to tackle illegal gambling services offered to Dutch customers.

As an example of their collaborative work, the KSA previously investigated illegal affiliate websites nederlandscasinos.net and onlinecasinosspelen.com. After being unable to identify their owners, the regulator leveraged Cloudflare’s internet service provider status to block access to the affiliates.

Both entities will now increase the information sharing between them to combat other offerings when necessary.

During active investigations the KSA maintains the right to question Cloudflare on the hosting parties behind illegal gambling websites, which will in term ensure the safeguarding of the Dutch market.

“It is forbidden to offer games of chance in the Nethe..