Legal & compliance – Page 5

December 10, 2024

Weekend Report: footballer and tennis official banned for betting breaches, Omnigame secures Danish licence

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: bans issued to Irish footballer and Bosnian tennis official for breaching betting rules, Omnigame picks up Danish licence and Yolo makes new senior appointments.

Irish footballer faces ban over betting charge

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has issued a six-month ban to Finn Harps FC player Ryan Rainey after he was found to have breached betting rules.

Breaches are connected to a number of League of Ireland and Men’s FAI Cup games that took place between 2021 and 2024. The FAI said Rainey also placed a “significant” number of bets on football worldwide in 2024.

After a disciplinary hearing, an Independent Disciplinary Committee ruled Rainey should face a ban. This has since been confirmed by the League of Ireland, in which his team, Finn Harps FC, plays.

Rainey, who previously played for English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, to..

December 10, 2024

New Zealand government seeks to end greyhound racing

New Zealand's government has today (10 December) announced plans to end greyhound racing in the country, with racing minister Winston Peters hoping to introduce legislation to facilitate the shut-down next year.

Taking the decision, the government said the greyhound industry has been on notice over animal welfare concerns for several years. Three reviews into racing over the past decade all recommended significant changes within the sector.

Peters said a more detailed legislation will come to the table next year. However, he did reveal that the government intends to wind down greyhound racing over a 20-month period. This, he said, will enable the rehoming of dogs and provide a transition period for people involved in the industry.

“This isn’t a decision taken lightly but is ultimately driven by protecting the welfare of racing dogs,” Peters said. “Despite significant progress made by the greyhound racing industry in recent years, the percentage of dogs being injured remains per..

December 9, 2024

New Zealand government proposes extending TAB NZ monopoly online

New Zealand government has introduced new legislation to extend the current monopoly TAB NZ holds for retail sports betting and horse racing wagering in the country to also cover the online market.

Filed by racing minister Winston Peters and announced over the weekend, the legislation would amend the Racing Industry Act 2020. This would effectively grant a TAB NZ monopoly across the entire sports and horse racing betting market in New Zealand.

TAB NZ was established under the Racing Industry Act. It replaced the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA), which previously oversaw the country’s betting activity. According to the government, TAB NZ already accounts for 90% of revenue within the New Zealand racing industry.

Minister Peters said that extending the current monopoly model to online operations would increase revenue and support the wider industry. He added that establishing TAB NZ as the sole online operator would help protect consumers from illegal offshore sites.

“This le..

December 5, 2024

KSA probe finds Dutch licensees breached youth betting rules

Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued warnings to several licensed operators after they were found to have breached regulations by offering betting on youth and amateur sports events.

Announced yesterday (4 December), seven Dutch licensees permitted betting on events where competitors were under the age of 21. Licensed operators in the country may only take bets on events where all players are at least 21.

KSA also discovered two licensees were offering prohibited bet types. These include betting on certain players to receive a red or yellow card, or total corners in a football match.

The regulator said all breaches took place during the 2023-24 football season. However, it did not disclose which operators breached the rules, nor the events or matches where the betting was permitted.

KSA contacted all licensees involved and ordered them to stop offering this type of betting to Dutch players. The regulator also warned other operators running these bets must al..

December 2, 2024

Argentina chamber of deputies approves bill to ban online betting ads

The chamber of deputies in Argentina has approved a bill to ban online betting advertising, with the hopes it will protect children from gambling harms.

In a special session on 27 November, the chamber passed the federal bill by 139 votes to 36. There was also 59 abstentions from the vote in Argentina.

The bill will now go to the senate, which will take into account the views of stakeholders such as Argentinian football clubs before deciding whether to progress the bill further.

Article 8 of the bill bans advertising, promotion and sponsorship of online betting on all communication platforms. This includes digital platforms like social media and outdoor spaces such as public roads.

Additionally, Article 8 prohibits online operators from sponsoring sports teams or athletes. This also includes the use of the company’s name to identify sporting venues such as stadiums or training centres. The promotion of online gambling on signage at such venues would also be banned.

Influencer adv..

November 28, 2024

Aposta Ganha eyes 10% market share as one of Brazil’s first betting licensees

Aposta Ganha expects to take up to 10% market share in Brazil's licensed betting market after securing one of the first licences and gaining early mover advantage.

Aposta Ganha announced on Tuesday (26 November) that its betting licence had been approved by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), paving the way for the operator to enter the legal betting market in Brazil in January.

As a local operator, the company takes pride in being one of the first to receive licence approval in its home country.

Aposta Ganha CCO Hugo Baungartner describes it as a “big, big step”, one that reinforces the operators’ belief that the soon-to-be regulated sector in Brazil will support and protect players and stakeholders.

“We are really happy to get this and this whole thing just comes to reconfirm that we are a group in Brazil that really believes in the market, being a Brazilian group and always, always trying to make the best things for Brazil as well and that’s why we were on the one ..

November 25, 2024

Weekend Report: Google to lift social casino advert ban, NHL players reveal sports betting harassment

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: Google to lift ban on social casino adverts, NHL players face sports betting harassment and Jackpot.com pens 7-Eleven partnership.

Google to allow targeted social casino adverts

First this week, Google will lift a ban on targeted and personalised adverts for online social casino games. Social casinos will be removed from Google’s restricted ‘Gambling’ sensitive interest category with effect from 4 December.

Effectively, Action Network reports, this will mean adverts for social casinos are allowed to appear on web pages that consumers visit regularly. This covers all forms of social casino including slot, poker and roulette.

Google has not said specifically why it is removing social casino from its exclusion list of advertisers.

It is expected that Google will remove similar restrictions on all other advertisers from March 2025, allowing any company to ..

November 22, 2024

Belgium’s BAGO urges action over illegal gambling among young men

The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) has called on authorities in the country to take a stricter approach to illegal gambling websites after new research revealed almost half young men aged 18-21 are gambling with unlicensed operators.

Commissioned by BAGO, the research took place prior to new rules being introduced on the minimum gambling age in Belgium. As of 1 September this year, players must be at least 21 to participate in legal gambling.

Age requirements for sports betting, arcades and bingo have now been raised to be in line with land-based casinos. Since 2018, players have had to be 21 to gamble at casinos across Belgium.

However, research flagged almost half of men aged 18-21 in Belgium were gambling with illegal operators before the law became effective. This, in essence, meant the new regulations would not have impacted their activities on illegal sites, which are not bound by the same rules as licensed operators.

Furthermore, the research suggests awarene..

November 21, 2024

CA tribes to sweepstakes operators: “We don’t negotiate with terrorists”

In the latest edition of the New Normal webinar series today (21 November), host Victor Rocha said there is no room for discussion between California tribes and sweepstakes operators. The time has come to explore enforcement actions.

Rocha, conference chair for the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), was joined by fellow host and IGA executive director Jason Giles. This week’s guest was Jonodev Chaudhuri, principal at Chaudhuri Law and former chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).

The theme of the episode was regulation and enforcement. More specifically, Rocha and Giles sought to know what tools the NIGC – and state and federal governments – can use to fight the proliferation of sweepstakes sites.

“You see the entire industry is reacting to this,” Rocha said. He noted that among California tribes in particular, “you’re starting to see the outrage” that typically follows attempts to encroach on tribal exclusivity.

He later asserted that there is no room for collabo..

November 21, 2024

Could a 1% consumption tax topple Peru’s betting ambitions?

The reintroduction of a betting consumption tax looms over Peru, raising concerns that double taxation and a rise in black market activity could dampen growth.

It has been a huge year for gambling in Peru and industry commentators expect, thanks to recent online regulation, that it could become the third largest online betting market in South America. An amended Law No 31557 to regulate online sports betting and igaming in the country came into effect on 9 February, after initially being signed off by President Pedro Castillo in 2022.

The country’s gambling regulator, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), started taking online licence applications in February and the market’s potential encouraged top tier operators such as Betsson, Rush Street Interactive and Stake to apply. By 21 March, 145 applications had been received.

The regulatory framework set out in Law No 31557 has been described as favourable for operators as it features a respectable 12% tax on gross gami..

November 18, 2024

LatAm Q3 results round-up: Brazil betting launch dominates discussions

With the majority of the gambling industry having published their Q3 results, iGB looks at how operators fared in the region and their plans for the future there.

Brazil will launch its legal betting market on 1 January 2025 and one operator that is hoping to make a real dent in the market is the giant Flutter Entertainment.

Back in September, Flutter announced it had agreed to acquire an initial 56% stake in NSX Group, which operates the Brazil-facing Betnacional brand. The deal is worth $350 million (£266.5 million/€316.0 million).

For the nine months ending 30 September, Flutter reported year-on-year revenue growth in Brazil of 4%. In its earnings call following the Q3 results release, CFO Rob Coldrake spoke of the operator’s excitement for the market opening.

“We’re very confident about our approach in Brazil,” Coldrake told reporters. “We’ve grown with our brands that we’ve got there already. We’re very excited about the NSX acquisition.”

The NSX acquisition will create a new..

November 14, 2024

Betting with benefits banned in Brazil pending final approval

Minister for Brazil's Federal Supreme Court Luis Fux has filed an injunction to ban betting via Brazil's Bolsa Familia social welfare cheque. The measure will be put to an emergency session of the Brazilian chamber of deputies today with plans to enforce it effective immediately.

The decision was made after a two-day hearing at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), initiated on Monday 12 November, sought to investigate the impacts of betting in Brazil and determine whether the law governing the upcoming legal market is constitutional.

The STF hearing was called following a request from Brazil’s third biggest trade union, the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), filed an ADI (Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade) which is a legal action in Brazil intended to overturn a law that conflicts with the country’s Constitution.

Brazil’s betting sector, which is preparing to receive initial licences shortly, has faced significant backlash from politicia..

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Tag: Legal & compliance