SBC News - Player Protection Hub

Full gambling ad ban draft to kill affiliates in Bulgaria

A.J. KoehnSeptember 25, 2026010 views

Bulgaria’s ruling Progressive Bulgaria party has put its Gambling Act reforms draft up for public consultation, calling for a complete ban on gambling advertising.

The proposed restrictions drafted by Prime Minister Roumen Radev’s cabinet replace the current legislation with a near-total ban on all types of marketing.

Adverts to remain self-contained

Any advertising of gambling games, operators, their related trademarks and distinctive signage, regardless of its type, method, place or distribution is fully prohibited under the proposals.

This applies to all communication channels – TV, radio, print, outdoor, online, social media, apps, streaming services, and others.

Some caveats apply. For one, operators will be allowed to use gambling messaging on their own websites and on their land-based premises – with the only information allowed referring to game-related organising and participation.

Furthermore, building-adjacent casino signage will also be permitted, with the total area..

NCPG board president speaks out after members quit over Kalshi deal

SBC AmericasSeptember 25, 2026011 views

The board president of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) spoke out Tuesday on the non-profit’s relationship with Kalshi that is leading some member organizations to quit the group.

Derek Longmeier’s letter affirming NCPG’s “neutral” stance on prediction markets legality arrived shortly after its director of programs resigned, saying she could “no longer reconcile” how she believed her work should be done with the organization’s direction in the past year.

In recent months, members from numerous states have cited the Kalshi collaboration as the reason for ending their affiliation with the NCPG, including:

Michigan

Nevada

Ohio

Washington

All of those states have been involved in federal and/or state court litigation with Kalshi for months.

What is NCPG’s relationship with Kalshi?

In May, Kalshi and the NCPG unveiled a new multi-year partnership wherein Kalshi committed to invest $2m over two years, and the NCPG established a new Financial Services & Trading Subcate..

iGaming Ontario, Responsible Gambling Council expand gambling education to 40 campuses

CanadianGamingBusinessSeptember 25, 2026013 views

Ontario’s online gaming agency iGaming Ontario (iGO) has teamed up with the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) to expand the latter’s gambling harm education for college-aged students in the province.

The organizations announced on Wednesday, Sept. 23, that the non-profit RGC is doubling its gambling harm prevention program to encompass 40 publicly funded college and university campuses across the province for the current academic year.

Previously aimed at 20 campuses across the province through an initiative funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Health, RGC said that iGO’s new support will double the program’s footprint and target 10,000 in-person student interactions.

Now in its 25th year, RGC’s post-secondary campus tour offers in-person education, supports, and resources and an interactive education program delivered by RGC-trained peer-aged ambassadors.

This year, a Random Tower installation features a life-sized Jenga-style activity customized with important messages about harm re..

Gambling Commission issues final call for feedback on UK regulatory burdens

Steve HoareSeptember 23, 2026019 views

UK gambling licensees and stakeholders have been notified that the Gambling Commission’s call for proposals to reduce or limit regulatory burdens will close on Friday 25 September. The Commission initiated its exercise on 26 June as part of the Commission’s 2026/27 Business Plan. Proposals are needed to identify rules, guidance and administrative processes that could be simplified. It…

Ex-UK gambling regulator Tim Miller launches GamReg consultancy

Steve HoareSeptember 23, 2026010 views

Tim Miller, former Executive Director at the Gambling Commission, has become the latest ex-senior figure from Britain’s betting and gaming regulator to enter consultancy work. Miller, who announced his resignation from the Commission in late June 2026, has set up GamReg Consulting, a global specialist advisory firm focused on supporting “governments, regulators and others”. It is unclear whether the “others”…

Brazil Finance Minister shares appetite for full prohibition

iGamingExpertSeptember 23, 2026012 views

The appearance of Brazil’s Finance Minister Dario Durigan on CNN Brazil will have only served to elevate the trepidation of the country’s gambling industry.

He revealed that the economic team in the country has not completely taken the possibility of banning the regulated market off the table.

There was a warning from Durigan that the tax revenue from the sector wouldn’t be enough to make it immune from being prohibited, with Durigan stating that “If it harms people, the revenue is not justified.”

Furthermore, an announcement from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is scheduled to announce his proposal to restrict gambling before Thursday the 24th.

The minister clarified that the fact that betting houses increase public revenue does not justify the increase in debt for Brazilian families.

Measures previously undertaken to ensure the banning of online casinos are expanded to become a more encompassing ban and include more verticals within the gambling sector.

Durigan added that if the go..

£20,000 illegal gambling den in Manchester raided by police

A.J. KoehnSeptember 23, 2026010 views

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has revealed that it has arrested four people overnight following reports of illegal gambling operations.

Four warrants and enforcement activity were conducted in Manchester City Centre last night, which resulted in two men being arrested on suspicion of immigration offences, one man being arrested on suspicion of money laundering and breaching the Gambling Act, and one man being arrested on suspicion of licensing offences.

The latter two are suspected to have provided gambling facilities without authority and ran a late-night takeaway without a licence respectively.

GMP has seized over £20,000, as well as mobile phones and gambling-related equipment. The raid is reported to have been made possible due to intelligence gathered after a similar scenario occurred in May.

Incidentally, the two people arrested during the May operation – Wing Suet Mak and Tsz To Kwok – are scheduled to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates court this time next week..

Polymarket becomes first prediction market to be blocked by Lithuanian regulator

A.J. KoehnSeptember 22, 2026011 views

Lithuania’s gambling authority has blocked Polymarket following the predictions platform’s attempts to “circumvent restrictions on illegal remote gambling”.

The operator is the first in its sector to be restricted by Lošimų priežiūros tarnyba (LPT) as the regulator views its operations as a cover for illegal gambling.

It’s far from the first jurisdiction to restrict access to Polymarket, though.

Last month, South Korean authorities moved to block access to the platform following a dispute and review that lasted for over a month.

Polymarket’s presence in Europe has been massively minimised as several jurisdictions’ regulators have forbidden citizen access.

Countries including France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, to name a few, have taken action against the operator.

European hopes for the US giant may rest in Gibraltar, where a regulated prediction markets framework has been established, and the UK, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set to review whether c..

Entain cuts 400 customer care roles citing tax rises

Steve HoareSeptember 21, 2026012 views

Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain is set to cut up to 400 of its 2,000 customer care roles across the UK, attributing what it calls the “simplification” of this division to new tax burdens. The LSE-listed company has simultaneously stepped up lobbying efforts ahead of the Autumn Budget, hoping to avoid another increase in taxes as Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, reportedly…

Lords make case for full UK gambling advertising blackout

Steve HoareSeptember 17, 2026016 views

Members of the House of Lords are calling for a full scale crackdown on gambling advertising across the UK in the latest political push against the sector. It comes just days after the Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP) research consortium made the same pleas as the UK public continues to show concern around the promotion of the gambling sector.…