Player Protection

Bacta’s Technical Standards Group has announced that it will be working in partnership with colleagues from the Bingo Association’s Gaming Machine Working Group. Headed by MERKUR UK’s Alan Claypole, the new mission is to produce a set of industry recommendations on enhancements to existing regulations which will enable the machines sector to remain ‘competitive’ and uphold the ‘highest standards of …

Twitch, the live streaming platform of Amazon, has come under scrutiny in Sweden following a private investigation which uncovered widespread advertising of unlicensed online casinos. As exposed by Kulturnyheterna, the investigative team of Sveriges Television AB (SVT), a six-week investigation revealed that “eight out of ten Swedish influencers on Twitch had promoted unlicensed casinos to their audiences.” Swedish media were …

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has confirmed that all licence holders must submit regulatory returns on a quarterly basis from 1 July.  The decision follows a ‘consultation response’ to review the frequency of regulatory returns observed by all licence holders. As such, the Commission will amend Licence Condition 15.3.1 to impose mandatory quarterly submissions to improve the “harmonisation of reporting …

Harris Hagan has announced the promotion of Senior Associate David Whyte to Partner at the City of London law firm. The decision follows Whyte’s successful tenure as a Senior Associate, where he supported Harris Hagan’s legal practices and framework within the global gambling sector. Whyte joined Harris Hagan in 2019, having previously worked in-house within the online and land-based sectors. …

French online gambling operators have been instructed to identify and remove ‘problematic clauses’ related to customer terms and conditions. The command has been issued by Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), France’s unified gambling authority, as a part of its review of ‘general clauses’ used by online gambling operators. The review was initiated due to customer complaints submitted to Mediateur des …

In time for debt awareness week, GambleAware has put out a statement emphasising the wide availability of free debt advice services and the need to lift the stigma barrier suggesting that such services affect credit score.  Collaborating with StepChange Debt Charity, which is running this year’s Debt Awareness Week from 18-24 March, GambleAware’s Money Guidance Service Manager Kathy Wade addressed …

René Jansen, outgoing Chair of the Dutch Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has offered insights on some of his most recent work with the regulator. In a blog post, Jansen issued a statement saying that the risks associated with the online gambling market in the Netherlands “are growing”.  According to the Chair, this is evidenced by the growing number of people …

Lottstift, Norway’s Gambling Authority, has been granted ‘direct powers’ to order DNS and IP blocking of websites infringing on the laws of Norway’s Gambling Act. The mandate was approved by the Storting (Parliament) on March 19, as a majority of MPs backed market protections sought by Lottstift against unlicensed operators. The approval sees Lottstift secure DNS and IP blocking rights …

Technological developments are a core focus of any organisation amid a constant jockeying for position, with the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence currently capturing much attention. This formed a central focus at the recent SBC Summit Rio, where a quintet of experts delved into how the tech could shape the future of the industry, why such models can improve responsible …

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has recognized that, although licensees have a sound understanding of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations, there are still significant gaps that need addressing to maintain a risk-based approach to financial threats. This observation stems from the completion of a thematic review of Malta’s remote gambling sector by the MGA …