Legal & compliance – Page 3

March 3, 2025

Panda Interactive files additional complaints against Sportradar and Genius Sports

Sports betting and streaming operator Panda Interactive has filed complaints in its legal cases against Sportradar and Genius Sports alleging they are engaged in anti-competitive practices.

In October 2023, Panda Interactive filed two lawsuits in the Texas Eastern District Court accusing Sportradar and Genius Sports of patent infringement. It initially claimed the two companies had “wilfully” infringed Panda’s low latency, interactive sports streaming and betting technology patents.

The operator said it had developed a number of patents within the streaming and live sports data verticals, including technology that allows players to view live odds and place bets while watching sports.

Panda’s previous filings also alleged that large swaths of the sports technology suppliers’ businesses were using Panda’s patents. These include Genius’ LiveData, LiveTrading, Genius Trading, BetVision and in-Play Multibet products.

Sportradar had also been accused of infringing Panda Interactive pate..

February 28, 2025

UK government has “no plans” for wider greyhound racing ban

Lisa Nandy, secretary of state for culture, media and sport, told parliament yesterday (27 February) there are “no plans” to extend a recently announced ban on greyhound racing in Wales to the rest of the UK.

Last week, the Welsh government announced that it would be moving ahead with a ban “as soon as practically possible”. In doing so, it will become the first country in the UK to halt greyhound racing.

The announcement raised questions as to whether other countries, or the entire UK, could follow suit. Several MPs have since spoken in UK parliament to declare their support for the sport, including Stephanie Peacock, undersecretary of state for culture, media and sport.

Yesterday, Louie French, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, raised the issue directly with Nandy, who in her governmental role oversees all sport in the UK. French asked whether she agreed with her deputy (Peacock) in that no such ban should be put in place.

Nandy responded by saying there are currently no plans to ext..

February 24, 2025

Weekend Report: Fresno State basketball betting inquiry, Bet365 in Tennessee

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: Fresno State basketball faces betting inquiry, Bet365 lands Tennessee licence and Altenar pens Immense Group sportsbook deal.

Sources allege Fresno State basketball betting inquiry

The basketball programme at California State University, Fresno has reportedly found itself at the centre of a betting enquiry.

Sources close to the matter told ESPN on 22 February the case involves several of the Fresno State team’s players. So far, one player has been removed from the team, while two others have been suspended.

Mykell Robinson has not played for Fresno State since January and is no longer on the team. Fresno State also said in a statement that guards Jalen Weaver and Zaon Collins were being withheld from competition while the university reviews an “eligibility matter”.

The sources said Fresno State launched an investigation after receiving a tip off. The N..

February 19, 2025

BGC “deeply disappointed” by Wales ban on greyhound racing

Wales is set to become the first nation in the UK to halt greyhound racing after the country’s government announced plans to introduce a ban “as soon as practically possible”.

Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy first minister with responsibility for climate change and rural affairs, confirmed the decision in a statement to the Welsh parliament (senedd) yesterday (18 February). A potential ban on greyhound racing has been talked about in the senedd for some time.

Irranca-Davies said there is “clear” cross-party support for the ban and now is the “right time” to push ahead.

“I believe that now is the right time to move to ban greyhound racing in Wales. We are proud to be the first nation in the UK to do this.”

Support for the ban seemingly stretches beyond parliament with a public petition to stop greyhound racing in Wales receiving over 35,000 signatures.

A government consultation on a national framework for animal welfare suggests further support for the ban. When asked about a phased ba..

February 18, 2025

BOS urges Swedish government to remove Gambling Act loophole and tackle black market

Sweden's gambling trade body BOS has written to the country’s ministry of finance urging it to remove a “loophole” in the Gambling Act that allows unlicensed operators to accept players in Sweden when targeting them in a language outside of Swedish.

In the letter, BOS said the Gambling Act only prohibits unlicensed operators from offering gambling without consequences when targeting consumers in Swedish and/or processing transactions in Sweden’s local currency.

This, BOS said, is driving black market growth in Sweden and preventing it from reaching its goal of 90% channelisation.

“It is [currently] permitted for gambling companies all over the world and their service providers to enable games from Swedish customers as long as it is done in a language other than Swedish and in a currency other than SEK. Most Swedes understand English and understand the value of commonly used foreign currencies, such as the euro,” the letter said.

“There is therefore no real possibility for ..

February 18, 2025

Is the UK online market a growth source or are operators pulling back?

The long-established UK market is going through some seismic regulatory changes. Operators have had to grapple with new measures and impending reforms instituted by the Gambling Commission, raising the question is the UK still a source of growth or are operators pulling back?

The latest data from the Gambling Commission shows that the UK online market is experiencing growth in terms of player activity as gross gambling yield (GGY) from October to December 2024 was up 21% year-on-year to £1.54 billion.

Both online monthly active accounts and total bet and/or spins rose during that period. Total bets and/or spins hit a record of 25.9 billion during the quarter, up 8% year-on-year, while accounts grew by 3%.

Online slots GGY was up 15% to £709 million in the same period, while spins were up 9% to 23.9 billion. Average monthly active accounts were up by 10% to 4.4 million.

Despite this growth, the UK has faced a tough period of gambling reforms relating to the previous government’s Gam..

February 12, 2025

Stake to cease UK operations amid Gambling Commission investigation

Stake will exit the UK market next month amid a Gambling Commission investigation into social media advertising from the operator.

The Gambling Commission made the announcement today (12 February) with TGP Europe Limited (TGP), which operates Stake in the UK on a white-label basis, stating they will shut the site down.

The Gambling Commission has launched an investigation into a video distributed widely on social media that displayed Stake’s logo. The video featured an adult entertainment actress outside Nottingham Trent University.

After meeting with the Commission, TGP said it will immediately stop accepting new registrations to Stake’s UK platform and will remove any redirection links to the main Stake website. TGP will complete a full shutdown of the site by 11 March.

TGP has already faced regulatory scrutiny in the UK after being fined £316,250 (€379,430/$393,951) by the Gambling Commission in April 2023 for anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failures.

“Whe..

February 6, 2025

Episode 42: Bills bills bills as US legislative season gets under way

You want sports betting bills? You want some icasino bills? We’ve got them and more and there’s even an opportunity to stop over in New York for a look at the (down)state of the casino process and touch on tax hikes in Ohio (again) in the latest episode of the World Series of Politics.

Which states have sports betting bills in play?

It was an early mover in sports betting, but since 2018 Mississippi sports betting is only allowed in the state’s casinos. With a mobile betting bill sailing through the Magnolia State’s house, could 2025 finally be the year betting comes to citizens’ smartphones?

Meanwhile in Minnesota a legislative standoff seems to have resolved. Does this mean lawmakers can turn their attention to getting Minnesota sports betting out of the starting gates?

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Oh no Ohio

Ohio was an early mover, but not the good kind, doubling its sports betting tax rate. Now for the second budget cycle in a row there’s a tax increase in the offing, as part ..

February 6, 2025

2025 a year of stability in Brazil as sector interprets new regulations, says legal expert

The first year of Brazil's legal online gambling market will be one of interpretation and major consolidation of regulations, predicts specialist betting lawyer Udo Seckelmann of Bichara e Motta Advogados. He also believes the public narrative against gambling is influencing the SPA's decisions.

Speaking to iGB, Seckelmann, who is head of gambling & crypto at Bichara e Motta Advogados, said he believes this first year of operation for online gambling in Brazil will bring many changes in regulations as the sector settles into the new rules.

He expects 2025 to be a “year of consolidation” for gambling in Brazil as regulations and expectations from the regulator are interpreted and finalised.

“We can expect a lot of changes and consolidation in Brazil this year, consolidation of the understanding or the interpretation [of regulations] for the SPA. [Consolidation] of what’s going to work, what’s going to be allowed, what’s not going to be allowed and eventual changes that w..

February 5, 2025

After IPI disaster, has CNMI abandoned land-based casino hopes?

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is drafting legislation that would dissolve its gaming commission. The Pacific island group is looking at igaming as a next step.

On 4 February, CNMI representative Ralph N Yumul told Marianas Variety that a house committee is reviewing the 2014 statutes which legalised gaming and established the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC).

If enacted, the move would transfer the regulator’s enforcement powers to the lottery commission. At that point, Yamul said, the CCC “will not be in existence anymore”.

Committee members are also looking at online gaming and “marketing it out to the world”, Yamul said. The CCC “can’t do its job anymore”, he added, “because it’s tied with the only casino licensee in the CNMI.”

And its experience with that licensee, Imperial Pacific International (IPI), has been nothing short of disastrous.

Ten years ago, IPI opened a temporary casino, called Best Sunshine Live, inside a shopping mall on Saipan, th..

February 3, 2025

Weekend Report: BetMGM fined in PN, NC eyes new sports betting tax, EveryMatrix pens record Norsk Tipping deal

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed over the last few days. This week: BetMGM fined in Pennsylvania for self-exclusion breach, North Carolina eyes new sports betting tax policy and EveryMatrix pens record deal with Norsk Tipping.

BetMGM to pay $260,905 in Pennsylvania

First, BetMGM has been fined $260,905 (£212,364/€254,701) in Pennsylvania for breaching rules on self-exclusion.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) found BetMGM allowed self-excluded online casino individuals to place bets. Some 148 accounts on BetMGM were identified as players who had self-excluded, PlayPennsylvania.com reports.

From these accounts, a total of $252,035 was deposited and $82,460 withdrawn. BetMGM also flagged a further three separate incidents across 2021, 2022 and 2022 involving four more self-excluded individuals.

Overall, $436,381 was deposited by self-excluded users with $175,477 withdrawn. The difference between these amounts is $260,904,..

January 30, 2025

Study finds 10% of Dutch adults gambled online in 2024

New data has shown just 10% of those aged 16 and over in the Netherlands have gambled online in the last 12 months.

On Wednesday (29 January), the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC) in the Netherlands released a factsheet unveiling the findings of three recent studies on Dutch online gambling, which launched in the country in October 2021.

The studies, which cover various periods during 2024, revealed that while 64% of those aged 16 and over in the Netherlands have gambled offline throughout 2024, just one in 10 had placed a bet online.

Lotteries were the predominant form of offline gambling, with 55% of the gambling population using that vertical in 2024, while scratchcards (21%) and bingo (7%) were also prevalent.

Notably, sports betting was the only vertical in which online outpaced land-based, with 4% betting online compared to 3% for offline.

Dutch online gambling rising in popularity

The WODC said 70% of those who had bet online in 2024, had started doing so once th..

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Tag: Legal & compliance