SBC News - Player Protection Hub

Could Paddy Power and ClearStake shift the retail experience?

iGamingExpertFebruary 11, 20260170 views

Paddy Power has set out its plans to evolve the retail gaming experience through a new collaboration with ClearStake and the debut deployment of ID by bank in the retail space.

The new agreement aims to transcend the traditional brick-and-mortar experience by bolstering the digital experience within the retail space, giving the land-based sector a much-needed uplift when it comes to UI and the verification process.

Martin Burt, ClearStake CEO, commented on LinkedIn: “The same challenges exist in retail as they do online, and ClearStake provides a proven way to address them. This rollout shows how digital verification can enhance compliance and efficiency in physical venues, not just online.

“We’re proud to be supporting innovation in retail verification and look forward to seeing how bank-based ID continues to evolve across the UK market.”

The transition into retail seeks to reduce friction, bolster consistency and strengthen compliance for the operator, potentially shifting the ..

Kalshi’s sports event contracts lead to student worker firing at Tennessee

SBC AmericasFebruary 11, 20260118 views

The University of Tennessee is dealing with a gambling-related incident tied to one of America’s most popular prediction market platforms.

A member of Tennessee’s student broadcast team has been relieved of their duties over the use of Kalshi to trade sports event contracts during the 2025 college football season.

The university’s decision to part ways with the student worker marks an important milestone in the NCAA’s approach to gambling, as it involves event contract trading rather than standard sports betting. The NCAA’s gambling rules, which recently underwent a controversial evaluation, do not explicitly provide standards for event contracts but the organization has called for enhanced consumer protections for college-based contracts.

According to Knox News, the fired student worker at Tennessee used Kalshi to trade sports event contracts for the NFL, NBA and college football, including at least one trade on the university’s football team. The trades by the unidentified student..

Sportradar finds increase in suspicious betting in North and Central America

SBC AmericasFebruary 11, 20260141 views

Sportradar’s latest global integrity report found an increase in suspicious wagering activity in North and Central America despite a worldwide decline.

The sports data and content giant’s annual Integrity in Action 2025: Global Analysis & Trends report provides an outlook on how monitoring enforcement is leveraged to detect match-fixing and suspicious wagering activity around the world.

A slight decline overall

Sportradar used its Universal Fraud Detection System to monitor more than 1 million events across 70 sports in real time last year. It was used to monitor some of the largest sporting events in 2025, including the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Women’s European Championships.

Sportradar collaborated with more than 300 gaming operator partners to detect 1,116 suspicious games and matches throughout 2025. That constituted roughly a 1% decline compared to 2024. The suspicious activity took place in 94 countries and led to a total of 125 sanctions, a 24% year-over-year uptick…

NCAA Big Ten athletes say it’s time to shut the door on prop betting

SBC AmericasFebruary 11, 20260122 views

NCAA student-athlete leaders have spoken out about prop betting, calling on NCAA President Charlie Baker to work to restrict or ban player-specific wagers on college athletes.

The Big Ten Conference Student-Athlete Issues Commission, the formal athlete leadership body of the oldest Division I conference in the U.S., sent a letter addressed to Baker on Tuesday to cite their concerns over the threat that they feel the growth of prop bets poses to student-athletes.

Members of the commission, which includes 22 athletes representing all 18 Big Ten schools, wrote that prop betting presents “unique risks” at the college level.

“These bets focus on individual and team actions and performances, leaving student-athletes directly at the center of gambling outcomes and exposed to potential backlash,” they wrote. “Limiting or eliminating prop betting on college athletes would be a meaningful step toward reducing harassment, protecting mental well-being and preserving the integrity of college co..

Swedish National Audit Office demands stronger problem gambling coordination

iGamingExpertFebruary 11, 20260147 views

The Swedish National Audit Office is calling for stronger coordination between the Public Health Agency, the National Board of Health and Welfare and the county administrative boards when it comes to improving problem gambling support in Sweden.

Riksrevisionen underpinned the urgent need for Folkhälsomyndigheten and Socialstyrelsen to elevate their collaboration to support the Riskdag in reducing the negative impact of excessive gambling.

The National Audit Office emphasised that urgency is crucial as gambling problems have increased among children and young people.

High quality but failing to meet needs

The Public Health Agency’s and the National Board of Health and Welfare’s knowledge and support on gambling harm were described as ‘high quality’, but failing to meet the ‘municipalities’ needs for practical guidance to detect and prevent gambling problems, especially in children and young people’ as such support is ‘currently lacking’.

There is also a desperate need to update th..

NCPG wants prediction markets to promote its problem gambling helpline

SBC AmericasFebruary 11, 20260151 views

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) is requesting prediction markets to promote its new problem gambling helpline amid the growing popularity of event contracts.

The NCPG’s board of directors has made a request to all prediction market operators accepting customers in the U.S. to promote 1-800-MY-RESET, the council’s new National Problem Gambling Helpline™. The NCPG is calling on all prediction markets that are approved to offer event contracts, including sports, to provide clear and concise messaging to promote its problem gambling helpline. The council wants prediction markets to take the same steps in promoting responsible gaming resources as licensed online sportsbooks.

“Prediction markets have proliferated at an outstanding rate and, so far, there are minimal regulations and safeguards to protect consumers, despite carrying substantially similar levels of risk as traditional sports betting,” said the NCPG in a statement to SBC Americas. “All operators offering gambli..

Romania moves to modernise self-exclusion infrastructure

A.J. KoehnFebruary 10, 20260136 views

Romania’s gambling regulator, the ONJN, has finalised the contract for the development of a new self-exclusion IT solution to be rolled out nationwide.

The announcement comes from ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare, who shook hands with the leadership of the Bucharest-based National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics (ICI), which will be tasked with creation of the tool.

Replacing the existing technical standard, the new solution will implement a modernised infrastructure that allows for remote player self-exclusion through ID and biometric verification scans.

“I said from the beginning that self-exclusion will not remain a project on paper. It is a commitment that I carry out, step by step,” Soare said on LinkedIn.

The agreement is one part of a long list of ideas that the ONJN is working on implementing to improve Romania’s self-exclusion system, which safer gambling proponents have long argued is outdated and represents a risk to the population.

It was just r..

Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes steps down

Steve HoareFebruary 10, 20260136 views

The CEO of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), Andrew Rhodes, is stepping down from the leadership role in the midst of the British betting sector’s biggest readjustment in decades. Rhodes’ departure from the Commission was announced by the regulator early this afternoon, with his resignation date confirmed as 30 April 2026. This comes 30 days after the HM Treasury’s new…

GamCare records 48% yearly increase in treatment referrals

A.J. KoehnFebruary 10, 20260138 views

GamCare recorded a significant increase in referrals to treatment and peer-based support services in January 2026, following contact with the National Gambling Helpline and its live chat service.

The charity made 996 referrals during the month, up from 674 in January 2025 – a 48% year-on-year increase.

Excluding referrals to peer-based support services such as the Money Guidance Service and Way Forward, treatment referrals rose to 742, compared with 603 in the same month last year.

January 2026 was one of the highest referral months that GamCare has recorded in the past five years, with only October 2025 (1,165 referrals), September 2025 (1,022) and August 2025 (1,077) exceeding the figure.

“More people affected by gambling harms are choosing to start treatment,” said Victoria Corbishley, CEO of GamCare.

“The National Gambling Helpline is a 24/7, confidential route to support, and our advisers rapidly connect people with free, specialist help across Great Britain. That first conv..

iGaming Ontario prepares to launch ‘overdue’ self-exclusion system

CanadianGamingBusinessFebruary 10, 20260139 views

Ontario’s regulated commercial iGaming market has many player supports in place, but one thing it doesn’t have is a simple and effective way for gamblers to cut themselves off from all licensed operators. That will change in 2026, as iGaming Ontario (iGO) will finally launch its long-awaited centralized self-exclusion (CSE) system for players.

As we approach four years since Ontario’s market launched in April 2022, and as it swelled to around 50 operators running more than 80 iGaming sites, iGO President and CEO Joseph Hillier acknowledged that centralized self-exclusion has been a long time coming.

“I think there’s a recognition that we’re overdue for this system,”Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business in an interview.

After a long ramp-up period, it sounds like things are on track for the program to finally go live in 2026.

“I think we’re pretty confident that midway through next year, we’ll be in a position to do our public launch,” said Hillier.

80+ websites, one way to self-..