SBC News

ÚRHH, Gambling Regulatory Authority (ÚRHH) of the Republic of Slovakia has announced a leadership transition as Jana Mravíková assumes the role of Director General effective April 2025.

Martin Bohoš: URHH
A former Director of Slovakia Department of Finance and Economics, Mravíková will succeed incumbent Martin Bohoš, who is due to leave office but will continue to his work with ÚRHH on gambling regulation.

Slovakia’s gambling sector faces a period of change because online gambling has experienced rapid growth at this time. As his final act as Director General, Bohoš presented the 2024 annual report to the Slovak government which included market trends and difficulties of the year.

The total gambling turnover for 2024 exceeded €24.2bn which presented a 14% growth from the 2023 figures. The net gambling losses from 2024 reached €1.45bn after a 9% increase while tax revenues generated €347m for the state budget which was €46m higher than 2023.

Online casinos produced the greatest shar..

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Gambling Authority of the Netherlands, has warned unlicensed operators that it will impose maximum penalties on illegal gambling offenders.

The notice follows the KSA’s issuance of a cease-and-desist order to Saint Lucia-based operator Starscream Limited, demanding it terminate the promotion of unlicensed online casino brands to Dutch consumers.

The order includes a penalty demand for immediate compliance, or the operator will face an instant fine of €280,000 per week. The KSA warns Starscream Limited that failure to comply will result in the authority enforcing the maximum penalty of €840,000.

The KSA has investigated the unlicensed brands rantcasino.com, sugarcasino.com, and allstarzcasino.com, all operated by Starscream Limited.

“On the sites investigated, it was possible to create a player account, make deposits, and participate in the illegal gambling offered. At that time, no technical measures were taken to prevent participation from the Netherl..

GambleAware has urged people to open up about gambling harm with new data revealing that 66% of people feel that there is stigma around the issue.

The charity has warned that such stigma is holding people back from seeking vital support.

For example, the study shows that 28% of those who experience problems with gambling hide their activities from their family and friends, and 24% who are experiencing the most serious harm do not seek support due to feelings of shame or embarrassment.

Zoë Osmond OBE, CEO of GambleAware, commented: “Now is the time to have a national conversation about gambling harm. Only by encouraging an open dialogue can we empower people to seek the support they need without judgement.”

The organisation has installed a new installation at Westfield London in White City, featuring 85,000 poker chips to encourage conversation surrounding the problem, as it highlights how anyone could be at risk of harm, including children.

In detail, the installation illustrates..

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has moved to strengthen its integrity oversight amid the continuing growth of the country’s betting market.

The confederation extended its partnership with sportstech and data group Sportradar this week, specifically leveraging the firm’s Sportradar Integrity and Regulatory Services.

Set to restart in the 2025/26 season, the deal looks to boost efforts to fight match-fixing in Brazilian football and safeguard the integrity of the sport.

Andreas Krannich, Executive Vice President of Integrity and Regulatory Services at Sportradar, commented: “We have built a strong collaboration with CBF to reinforce the integrity of Brazilian football.

“With this new agreement, Sportradar is providing the most comprehensive coverage Brazilian football has ever had. We are very pleased to continue this partnership with one of the world’s most-renowned football organisations.”

The sports technology company will deliver integrity monitoring for over 8,200 m..

The Dutch House of Representatives has adopted a series of motions around gambling over the past two weeks, including calling for more research into the gambling age limit.

In the latest round of votes this week, the House approved an amended motion submitted by MPs Rosemarijn Dral and Marieke Wijen-Nas, respective members of the People’s Party and the Farmer–Citizen Movement.

The motion calls for the State Secretary for Legal Protection, Teun Struycken, to properly investigate whether or not raising the age limit for playing ‘risky games of chance’ from 18 years to 21 years would benefit the black market.

In February, Struycken announced a series of proposed reforms to the Gambling Act (KOA Act), which re-regulated the Dutch online gambling market in 2021. This included the proposal of increasing the age limit for certain casino products.

The reforms have been broadly welcomed by stakeholders amid rising public and political concerns about gambling visibility in the Netherlands si..

Illegal online operators in Russia, a wide-ranging term given the extensive restrictions on the sector throughout the country, have once again caught the attention of authorities.

The government has begun exploring more ways in which to shut down online gambling operations, and is evaluating the adoption of several methods in the near future. This could include the blocking of websites/applications, as well as blocking of crypto payments for betting.

These proposals were publicly discussed by Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, a civil society institution established by Vladimir Putin in the 2000s to handle the assessment of draft state laws.

Speaking to Russian news outlet TASS, Masharov was questioned about the Commission’s latest meeting, which focused on gambling and explored different paths towards reducing the influence of the sector on vulnerable groups – specifically children and minors.

During the discussions, hearings were held regarding a number of ..

The new German government’s announcement to take more decisive action against illegal gambling has been backed by The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV).

The DSWV has submitted concrete proposals for action on how enforcement can be improved together with the federal states. The trade body has emphasised a need r to “turn good intentions into effective policy”.

At the heart of the proposals are a strengthening of legal providers in competition with illegal ones, which is said to be the most effective weapon against a mushrooming black market.

It must offer sufficiently attractive products for interested customers and can therefore hold its own against the illegal market.

DSWV explained: “This does not mean that regulatory elements must be dispensed with, as state licenses and the ability to advertise with them are a value in themselves. However, the attractiveness of the legal products must not lag so far behind the illegal ones, as is currently the case.”

Furthermore, anot..