SBC News

Ontario operators no longer need AGCO approval on responsible gambling training

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Ontario gambling operators will no longer need to seek the approval of the provincial regulator on their responsible gambling training.

In an update posted on Friday, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) noted it has amended its RG training standards for employees in the gaming and lottery sectors. Henceforth, operators will not need to to seek approval from the Registrar for training programs.

RG training itself is still compulsory for all staff in those sectors. But operators now have more freedom to develop and revise their own content without needing AGCO sign-off, as long as the training meets industry best practices and effectively prepares employees to recognize and respond to gambling-related harm.

The AGCO stipulates that RG training must adequately ensure that employees understand their role in promoting responsible gambling and supporting individuals who may show signs of gambling problems.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) PlaySmart program remains valid under the updated standard, confirmed the regulator.

The change is intended not only to reduce red tape but to encourage innovation within responsible gambling, maintain Ontario’s standards for player protection, and bring greater consistency between land-based gaming and iGaming.

AGCO regulator advises operators on how to spot at-risk players
This is the second time in a few weeks that Ontario’s online gambling regulator has tweaked the way it approaches responsible gambling.

In early June, it updated its comprehensive advice on how licensed operators can identify and support players at risk of harm.

While the AGCO noted its regulatory model places accountability on operators to actively shield players from gambling-related harm, its guidance helps clarify its expectations of operators and signposts ways that gambling brands can meet the province’s requirements.

At that time, the commission stressed the importance of rigorous employee training, documentation of such training and continuous assessment in upholding its standards.

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DraftKings to pay back $3M to Connecticut players in promo settlement

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DraftKings is returning $3 million to customers in Connecticut following an investigation by the state’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) into the operator’s bonus offers.

The DCP reached a settlement with DraftKings requiring the Boston-based sports betting and fantasy giant to return funds to approximately 7,000 consumers in Connecticut.

The department initiated an investigation into DraftKings amid allegations of the operator violating gaming law through its casino deposit and general bonus offers between October 2021 and January 2023. DraftKings allegedly violated Connecticut gaming laws by offering bonuses that promised a particular deposit match or bonus bet amount but included a playthrough requirement that was not expressly marketed by the company. DraftKings avoided any further legal or regulatory repercussions through its settlement with the DCP.

According to the settlement agreement, DraftKings “denies all allegations” and “denies any and all liability or wrongdoin..

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Twelve Curacao operators reach out of court settlement over RG failures

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An out of court settlement has been reached by 12 operators in Curacao over player protection shortcomings.

It was cited by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO), investigating the case, that these operators fell short in terms of KYC procedures.

The operators at the centre of the case remain unidentified. However, it is reported that all involved in the case were accepting of the sanctions.

Poresecution in the case centres around player verification, with it being found that players were allowed to open accounts and deposit without any friction or verifying their identities.

Originally, 17 firms were targeted in the investigation, which was codenamed Operation Nebraska and spearheaded by the specialist police forces.

A statement from the office said: “The PPO sees several reasons to settle the matter out-of-court. Since the suspects are legal entities, it is unlikely — in the event they are proven guilty — that the criminal court will impose a penalty other than a fine.”

Continuing on its path of regulatory progress, Curacao governance recently revealed that several provisional licenses issued have been extended.

The decision applies to both Green Seal B2C entities and also to B2B license holders, with relevant parties now being ordered to ensure they are compliant with LOK requirements on 24 December 2025. Nonetheless, the Curacao Gaming Authority did lay out that not all operators will be granted the full six-month extension period, underpinning the importance of them showing progress when it comes to LOK standards.

There are a number of requirements that need to be implemented as a result of the policy, specifically around player verification and social responsibility.

These checks include age verification, player self-assessments, deposit limits and additional training for marketing partners and affiliates.

The new framework details that staff should be able to handle player interactions professionally and effectively, whilst also emphasising the importance of staff being able to recognise the signs of gambling distress and ensuring they can conduct sensitive and structured conversations with players.

Enforcement of significant self-exclusion protocols is also included in the framework, ordering operators to display clear self-exclusion guidance.

Central to the new framework is the advancement of efforts when it comes to AML protocols, as the country looks to eradicate bad actors within the B2C and B2B space.

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Industry pokes holes in Bulgaria online limits draft

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The Bulgarian sector has come out against government plans to introduce a number of restrictions on online gambling.

While agreeing that such conversations are a right step towards better player protection, a number of industry organisations came forward to deem the draft text ‘unviable’ in its current form as it limits player freedoms.

What’s the fuss about?
Last month, two of Bulgaria’s Ministries came out with a proposal to tighten controls around consumer engagement with the sector. Despite it placing the well being of players at the centre, however, another glance at the measures makes it clear why they might’ve come across as rushed by some.

For one, mandatory time limits would see individual game sessions being restricted to a maximum of four hours for over-24s, and two hours for everyone under that age. So far, so good. The texts however do not clarify whether these limits per 24 hours, or per session start.

Critics have pointed out that in its current form, the draft allows for players to reach the 3:59 hours mark, log out, log in again, and continue for another four hours – with amendments needed to address this loophole.

A more serious issue is the proposed mandatory exclusion of players. The text envisions a maximum loss limit within a 24-hour window that would be set by the player itself.

Subsequently, if the customer reaches 100% of that limit within that period, operators would be required to place that customer on the self-exclusion registry for seven days.

Industry feedback has highlighted this as problematic for two main reasons. First, this would constitute a breach of freedom rights outlined within the Bulgarian constitution. Secondly, if a customer has their access to legal options forcefully revoked, the risk of turning to the black market increases significantly.

And lastly, but perhaps the biggest head scratcher, is the proposed cap on online wagers. The brief, which as a reminder was approved by two Ministries, wants to set a 24-hour wagering limit of a maximum of 20 average monthly salaries – amounting to thousands of Euros.

This is certainly a precedent in the whole of Europe, and does not accurately reflect the economic landscape in Bulgaria – the poorest country in the EU.

Industry is baffled
Since the consultation’s deadline expired on 5 July, several industry organisations have provided detailed feedback – pointing out what is wrong with the draft while leveraging their expertise to recommend amendments to the proposal.

Association of the Gaming Industry in Bulgaria (AGIB)
In its statement, AGIB noted that the draft fails to introduce a centralised system that would simplify the implementation of player session limits and wagering caps. Currently, this is left as the sole responsibility of individual operators.

“This means that a participant who has reached their limits with one operator can immediately continue playing with another licensed operator,” the statement read.

Furthermore, it recommended clear indication that session limits are tied to the active participation of customers with a game, rather than to activity not considered as ‘playing’, i.e. logging in and out of an account.

On the above, AGIB also suggested that session limits should not be overarching, but tailored to specific types of play, bringing a distinction between online gambling and sports betting for example.

The body also believes that the forceful exclusion of players by private companies is an infringement on citizens’ “freedom of personal choice and economic freedom”, and that the matter should be handled by the regulator instead.

Bulgarian Gaming Association (BGA) and Association of Organisers of Gambling Games and Activities in Bulgaria (AOGGAB)
BGA and AOGGAB warned of an increased black market prominence if wagering and play limits are introduced by the government.

“Experience in all European markets…shows that mandatory restrictions on gaming on licensed betting sites do not lead to restrictions on the players’ gaming and limiting the risks for them, but redirect them to freely accessible unlicensed sites.”

Various reports were cited from international trade bodies like the EGBA and national ones like the Netherlands’ NOGA, as well as national regulators like Sweden’s Spillemyndigheden, highlighting that the black market has overtaken legal alternatives in market share across Europe.

“As a result of the restrictive regulations, the money of citizens in the Republic of Bulgaria, instead of being spent on entertainment on the regulated, protected licensed market, will flow to Curacao, Panama, the Philippines and other offshore zones, where illegal online gambling providers are most often located.”

Both NGOs also claimed a breach in EU law, as all listed technical requirements will affect companies headquartered in other European jurisdictions. Therefore, the draft needs to be approved by the European Commission.

State monopoly talks
Another proposal was recently submitted by the far-right political party MECH to introduce a monopoly on gambling under the state-owned Bulgarian Sport Totalizator (BST).

Speaking to the media, party leader Radostin Vasilev said that he views direct state intervention as the only viable solution to an effective control on gambling.

MECH is currently in opposition to the coalition government and has a small number of MPs, which will slow down any momentum for support behind their bill.

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UKGC places transparent terms on penalty determinations

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Due to a long spate of enforcement actions in the first half of the year, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will undergo changes to the way it determines financial penalties.

The regulator stated today (10 July) that it wants to make the process more transparent, particularly around the steps taken to determine the seriousness of a regulatory offence, a matter highlighted to the Commission in previous industry consultations.

Fines, financial penalties and other enforcement actions are now going to be subject to a seven step process, with regulatory breaches ranked along five levels of seriousness.

The extent of a financial penalty will be determined by the gravity of the breach, based on the five levels, and the percentage of an operator’s yearly gross gambling yield or other income at the time the breach occurred.

John Pierce, UKGC Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, said: “We are making changes to strengthen the transparency and consistency of how we impose financial penalties.

“These proposals were subject to extensive consultation, and the views shared by all our stakeholders have been taken into account.

“The resulting changes will strengthen our decision-making and streamline the calculation of penalties – helping to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our enforcement work.”

Commission clears up communication on enforcement
The UKGC is one of the most active regulators in Europe when it comes to enforcing standards across its industry. Given the vast scale of the British gaming industry, the often strict monitoring it engages in is necessary.

Headlines have often been generated as a result of the hefty penalties imposed by the regulator. Most notably, records were broken in 2022 and 2023 when huge penalties of £17m and £19m were issued to Entain and William Hill respectively for anti-money laundering and social responsibility shortcomings.

At the time, both gambling Plcs responded that the record penalties had been imposed on their business for the period of 2019-to-2020, prior to undertaking mandatory compliance changes on AML, customer care and responsible gambling.

This year has been no different. The past six months alone have seen the regulator take aim at Merkur Slots, the Football Pools, Corbett Bookmakers, SpreadEx and most recently Fafabet, issuing penalties of varying size.

With a focus on transparency, the UKGC is hoping to reduce the number of enforcement actions though, according to Pierce. The regulator hopes that the new process will encourage greater compliance with UK regulations, and catch out acts of non-compliance before things have to escalate to penalties or fines.

Additionally, the Commission has also clarified that penalties against society lotteries will not be determined by GGY or income. This comes amid a wider review of society lottery regulations, with the government evaluating whether to raise the limit on how many ticket sales these lotteries can make each year.

“Crucially, the new approach also encourages compliance at the earliest opportunity, supporting the protection of consumers alongside fair and proportionate outcomes for operators,” Pierce concluded.

“Where fines are imposed on society lotteries, registered charities or personal licence holders these will not be based upon a percentage of the GGY accrued during the breach period, rather an appropriate alternative will be used.”

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EGBA requests markets to step up long-term safer gambling policy

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The European Gaming and Betting Association has highlighted record levels in player safety messaging and safety tool use in the past year as part of its fifth sustainability report.

However, the EGBA is calling on some national markets to step up their long-term policy vision to produce stronger enforcement against the black market, as well as stable and supportive regulatory frameworks.

Positive impact of personalised messages

The collective efforts of EGBA members are outlined in the Sustainability Report 2025, showcasing their contributions to safer gambling, social investment, and responsible business practices.

With the report, the EGBA spotlights their members’ contributions of €3.8bn in taxes to the European economy in 2024, while 100 million safety messages were sent to customers, and 26.7 million (69%) customers used safety tools, with half doing so voluntarily.

Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA, brought attention to the use of personalised messages, 28% of all messages, and how it is having a positive impact.

“This year’s report shows our members are not only positive contributors to Europe’s economy but also setting industry benchmarks for safer gambling,” said Haijer.

“We’re especially encouraged by the success of personalised safety messages, which our report shows to be positively impacting between 42% to 46% of customers showing high-risk behaviours. That’s genuinely meaningful progress that builds trust and helps raise standards across the wider industry.”

Safer gambling support

The Sustainability Report 2025 showcases the year-on-year data progression of online EGBA members related to social contributions, safer gambling promotion and tools, customers, employment and diversity, as well as energy and environment.

EGBA members include bet365, Betsson, Entain, evoke, FDJ United, Flutter, LeoVegas, Superbet, while its associate members are Aircash and Sumsub.

Most personalised safety messages are delivered to customers via pop-ups at 67%, followed by email (25%), other (7%) and phone calls (1%).

Following a personalised message, 21% of customers either activated or strengthened their safety tools in the past year. Deposit limits are the most popular tool used, utilised by 65% of customers who use tools voluntarily, but this is down from 70% in the previous year.

Time limits were used by 11% of customers, followed by other (7%), product blocks (5%) and self-exclusion for less than six months (6%), as well as more than six months (6%).

Safety tools are used the most by customers aged between 36-50 years (30%), followed by 26-35 years (28%), 18-25 years (21%), 51-65 years (17%) and 66 years or more (4%).

The number of employees who received safer gambling training also increased in comparison to the previous year, rising to 89% of all employees (more than 55,000 across online and land-based), up from 80%.

In total, €148.9m was contributed to research, education and treatment services to support gambling harm prevention in Europe, bringing the figure contributed over the past five years to €290m.

Regarding social contributions, €735m invested in European sports through sponsorships, fees, and streaming rights payments, with streaming rights accounting for the largest share at 62%, followed by sponsorships (27%) and levies/fees (11%).

Charities and community initiatives across Europe received €156.8m, representing a 4% yearly increase (2023: €151.4m).

Call to action

Yet, despite the highlighted progress being made, Haijer has issued a call to action, asking for stronger enforcement against the black market, as well as regulatory frameworks that are stable and supportive.

“Our members are showing that leadership in our industry is about more than commercial success – it’s about protecting players, supporting communities, and investing in Europe’s future,” Haijer added.

“But sustaining these achievements requires stable and supportive regulatory frameworks and stronger enforcement against black market operators based outside Europe, who threaten the safety of European citizens and contribute nothing to our societies.

“The regulated industry makes substantial investments, but we need a longer-term policy vision in some national markets.”

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Trinidad and Tobago set for major shift on gambling policy

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A Bill proposing sweeping social reforms is set to be presented to Trinidad and Tobago’s Parliament, as new Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar delivers on key campaign pledges targeting youth welfare and broader public health objectives.

“As promised by Kamla” the UNC Party is committed to raising the legal drinking age to 21, while gambling and cannabis use would be restricted to those aged 25. The reforms mark a major policy shift, to position Trinidad and Tobago as the strictest Caribbean state on adult activities.

Persad-Bissessar unveiled the measures during her first official address since her general election victory on 28 April, reaffirming the UNC Party’s ambitions and promising “tough decisions” to bring long-term stability and fairness.

The reforms are being bundled into a wider legislative manifest that also includes a review of pension tax laws. The Prime Minister pledged to exempt retirement benefits from taxation for individuals over 60, arguing that taxing pensions after decades of contribution amounts to double taxation and imposes undue strain on seniors with fixed incomes.

“These changes are about fairness, safety, and building a healthier future. You don’t want the next five years to be as terrible as the last ten,” she told supporters during a UNC meeting in Penal.

Cautious Support from Business Community

The proposal has received early backing from three major business chambers, including the Greater San Fernando Area Chamber of Commerce (GSFCC), whose president Kiran Singh praised the government’s focus on addiction prevention and urged it to go further by restricting vaping among minors.

Singh downplayed concerns about potential losses to nightlife and gaming industries, stating that the societal benefits would outweigh economic costs, and noted that most youth spending in these sectors is marginal or reliant on borrowed money.

However, Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) president Baldath Maharaj urged greater consultation, warning that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in tourism, hospitality, and entertainment could face setbacks during an already fragile post-pandemic recovery. He recommended a phased implementation strategy, backed by education campaigns and support measures for affected businesses.

The Fyzabad Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the intent but called for a balanced approach, citing concerns that the age increase may inadvertently hurt local businesses that cater to younger demographics. Its president, Anjie Jairam, emphasised the need for evidence-based policymaking and engagement with both the private sector and youth groups.

In Parliament Opposition to Kamla plans, have cautioned that stringent age restrictions—particularly if applied to nightlife, casinos, and recreational venues—could deter western visitors, opting for neighbouring Caribbean destinations perceived as more permissive

Unfinished Oversight of Gambling

While the government seeks to raise the legal gambling age, Trinidad and Tobago has yet to fully implement its 2021 Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Act. Though passed and partially proclaimed, the Act’s full regulatory framework including licensing, inspections, and enforcement remains inactive, in need of a final proclamation.

The law would establish a dedicated Gambling Control Commission to oversee five casino venues and 80 gambling/betting establishments (public and private) operating in Trinidad and Tobago

In parallel, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT) has stepped up enforcement in the gambling sector to combat money laundering and financial crime. In 2024, it held multiple stakeholder engagement sessions and public consultations, and collaborated with the EU Global Facility on AML/CFT to align the sector with international standards.

The FIUTT has become a key actor in bridging the regulatory vacuum while the 2021 Act awaits full implementation, with increased scrutiny on unregulated gambling environments and risk-based supervision.

The proposed social reform Bill is expected to be introduced in Parliament in the upcoming session, yet the new government has made no statement on the proclamation of the Gambling Control Act.

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Former MGC General Counsel Todd Grossman joins PrizePicks

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A former gaming regulator is joining PrizePicks as fantasy operators across the country deal with legality concerns in one of the largest markets in America.

PrizePicks announced the appointment of Todd Grossman as the company’s Director of Gaming Regulatory Compliance to ensure the fantasy giant meets legal and compliance standards as it expands across North America. Grossman joins PrizePicks after spending more than 10 years in various roles at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC).

“After an unforgettable chapter in public service, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined PrizePicks as Director of Gaming Regulatory Compliance,” said Grossman in a post on LinkedIn. “From day one, the welcome has been warm, the energy high, and the company’s commitment to building something truly exceptional has been unmistakable.”

At the MGC, he served as General Counsel for three years before being appointed as Interim Executive Director. Grossman was named interim director after Karen Wells st..

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NJ Gov. Murphy signs bill banning betting partnerships with colleges

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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a bill into law banning public colleges and universities across the state from securing deals with sports betting brands.

Assembly Bill 4113 was signed by Murphy on Tuesday after first being introduced by Assemblywoman Linda Carter and Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly last April. It was carried over into the current year’s session.

The legislation is the same as Senate Bill 2155, which was introduced in January 2024 by Sen. Joseph Cryan. SB 2155 was passed by the Senate Higher Education Committee with amendments in May before being substituted by A4113 last month.

The bill was filed despite there being no active partnerships between New Jersey public educational institutions and gambling brands.

Still, Murphy’s approval of A4113 now writes a formal ban into law. Colleges and universities may not sign a sports wagering partnership that provides a gambling brand or operator with “access to advertise in the institution’s stadiums and other facilities…

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