SBC News

Svenska Spel has praised the impact of its Independent Research Council on Gambling Risks and Addiction.

The programme has entered its fifteenth year since its formation as an independent body, having reached the milestone of providing over SEK 100m (€10m) in funding for projects that deliver deeper insights into the impacts of problem gambling.

In 2024, Svenska Spel announced that it had received a record number of applications for direct funding from the council, which allocated SEK 6m (€650,000) to help launch seven new research projects.

These projects have begun investigating critical areas, including the comorbidity of problem gambling with other mental illnesses, the impact of gambling advertising, and whether micro-transactions in games influence gambling behaviours.

Endorsed by Sara Lindholm Larsson, Independent Chair of Svenska Spel’s Research Council, the 2024 projects aim to provide a broader societal context for gambling addiction, as these impacts need to be understoo..

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Gambling Authority of the Netherlands, has underlined its support for a “fundamental change of course in gambling policy.”

The statement accompanied the announcement by Teun Struycken, State Secretary for Legal Protections, that the coalition government will propose a new gambling bill to the Kamer by the end of 2025.

Michel Groothuizen,, Chairman of the KSA, endorsed the State Secretary’s decision to take a new approach to regulating online gambling activities, prioritising the accountability of licence holders and the protection of individuals under 24.

Struycken’s announcement followed “in the slipstream” of the KSA publishing its review and recommendations on the effectiveness of the policies of the Remote Gaming Act (KOA) – the regulatory framework that has governed the Dutch online gambling market since October 2021.

As a regulatory agency, the KSA has urged for greater powers to scrutinise customer care checks by launching covert inspections on ..

Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS), the Sweden Online Gambling Trade Association, has called on the Ministry of Finance to amend loopholes in the Gambling Act 2018.

The trade body believes that Swedish online gambling is currently exposed to a massive influx of unlicensed gambling offers targeting national consumers.

Liabilities are facilitated by the Gambling Act only applying to licences that conduct gambling by offering Swedish language and transactions in Swedish Krona.

The legislation ignores the fact that Swedish consumers can easily choose to play on unlicensed alternatives offering the euro (€) (or others), with no Swedish content – a condition that avoids regulatory scrutiny.

Gustaf Hoffstedt: BOS
As cited by BOS: “The decisive factor is whether the gaming site has text in Swedish or offers deposits and winnings in Swedish currency and that this must be determined by an overall assessment on a case-by-case basis.”

As such, BOS argues that the Gambling Act contains fun..

In line with growing concerns over offshore betting and gambling advertisements, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The organisation has linked up with the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) as well as the E-Gaming Federation (EGF) to establish a framework to address these challenges through a special monitoring cell.

The cell focuses on screening and reporting offshore betting and gambling advertisements to the concerned ministries.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General at ASCI, commented: “Indian consumers are exposed to numerous ads of offshore betting and gambling companies that have no accountability in India.

“Several Indian celebrities have also been a part of such advertisements. Since gambling ads are prohibited in most parts of the country, their large-scale presence is a breach of the law. ASCI would like to surface such advertising to the regulators f..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched consultations on the new deposit limits following an announcement made last month..

Part of the Gambling Review White Paper, the requirements for license holders to ensure customers are setting deposit limits on their online spending were added by the UKGC to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).

The changes – due to come into effect from 31 October – aim to give more control back to the consumers about how they manage their gambling spend when wagering with an online operator, setting and maintaining deposit limits on their own accord.

In order to facilitate that, the UKGC has instructed all online gambling providers to prepare for the deadline by developing their own procedures, which will require new customers to set a deposit limit before making the first payment into their account.

Existing customers will also have the option to limit their spend, with the new operator controls allowing for an easier review and m..