Sports betting regulation – Page 2

March 21, 2025

Finland gambling reform bill enters parliament

Finland’s government has submitted a bill on its proposed new gambling framework to the country’s parliament, raising hopes of hitting online gambling trade body Rahapeliala Ry’s target of passing laws by mid summer.

Presented yesterday (20 March), the bill sets out a new-look gambling market for Finland. The main change in regulations would be opening up the country’s online gambling market to private operators, following in the footsteps of its Nordic peers Sweden and Denmark.

At present, Veikkaus holds a monopoly on online gambling, across lottery and online sports betting and casino games. Should the bill pass in its current form, this setup would stop by the end of 2026. Veikkaus will, however, keep exclusivity for lottery and scratchcards, as well as retail gaming machines and casino games.

Previous guidelines have said operators could apply for licences from 1 January 2026, when the new regulations officially come into effect. This would be with the view of the new-look mar..

March 19, 2025

Bill to ban college prop bets introduced in Congress

While the reintroduction of the proposed SAFE Bet Act has taken up most of the oxygen when it comes to federal bills seeking to limit sports betting, another bill has entered the chat that seeks to ban prop bets on college athletes.

Introduced on 25 February, the bill – ‘‘Providing Responsible Oversight and Transparency and Ensuring Collegiate Trust for Student Athletes Act,” or the PROTECT Act – is sponsored by first-term congressman Michael Baumgartner of Washington. He doubles as the chair of the college sports caucus.

“Sports gambling on college campuses has surged in recent years,” Baumgartner said in a press release. “Student athletes dedicate themselves to their sport and education and it’s essential that we protect their integrity both on and off the field.

“This bill doesn’t ban betting on college sports games, but it targets wagers on student athletes’ individual performances. We are witnessing a troubling rise in harassment of college athletes on campuses, as well as an a..

March 18, 2025

Dutch trade bodies urge more advertising opportunities in new gambling policy

The Licensed Dutch Online Gambling Providers (VNLOK) and Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA) trade bodies have urged the government to allow for more opportunities for gambling advertising among licensed operators, as part of recommendations for new regulations.

Tomorrow (19 March), the government will host a round-table discussion on its proposals for new gambling policy. This will feature input from various stakeholders including a number of licensed operators, trade bodies and regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

Teun Struycken, minister for legal protection in the Netherlands, revealed in December that the government was working on new policy, with hopes of having a new gambling bill in place by the end of 2025.

In their submission, the industry trade bodies VNLOK and NOGA set out several key points for the government to consider before signing off on new laws. Much of these focus on protecting players from harm and on tackling unlicensed activity.

Advertising must r..

March 14, 2025

Netherlands concerned sports advertisement ban could be bypassed, points to Belgium

Dutch lawmakers have expressed concerns that its incoming online gambling sports advertisement prohibition could be bypassed by operators, pointing to apparent circumvention in Belgium.

Responding to questions from parliament on 12 March, state secretary for legal protection Teun Struycken reaffirmed the need for greater player protection but noted a complete ban on gambling advertisements was not in favour. Struycken also suggested it was possible Belgian cases of circumvention could be repeated in the Netherlands.

Since 1 January, sports clubs in Belgium have not been allowed to display gambling sponsors on their team shirts. However, there is a view this is being bypassed by operators.

For instance, the football Club Brugge was sponsored by Unibet. Now, the jersey is displaying “U-experts”, the name of an application made by Unibet that links to its casino offering. Cercle Brugge’s jersey sponsor also changed from “Golden Palace Casino” to “Golden Palace News”.

A total ban on sp..

March 13, 2025

Sporttrade founder says innovation needed to maximise US betting markets

CEO suggests tax rates tied to operator hold rates as one possible idea to level playing field.

In the ninth paragraph of an open letter to US sports betting regulators and legislators published on Thursday (13 March) morning, Sporttrade founder and CEO Alex Kane boiled his mission statement down to two sentences:

“If the goal is to have as many players as possible choosing to play in your regulated market, there must be significant changes to your regulatory approach. You must consider making a sincere effort to welcome innovative companies into your regulated market.”

Nearly seven years after the Supreme Court ruling that allowed for widespread legalisation of sports betting, the public conversation around the space has turned decidedly negative. There’s a heavy focus on a rise in problem gambling. A handful of legislators are pursuing paths to undo the legalisation in their state. The threat of federal intervention is turning up its volume and growing increasingly ominous.

Kane’..

March 12, 2025

MLB seeks CFTC “integrity framework” for prediction markets

Major League Baseball, perhaps hedging its position regarding the eventuality of trading on its product becoming being a widespread part of prediction markets, asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to create an “integrity framework” similar to those in place with states that authorise legalised sports betting.

The Closing Line substack was first to report MLB sent a letter via email to the CFTC noting that the “limited MLB event contracts available today do not carry the same integrity risks as prop bets even single-game bets, but we expect that equivalent offerings will arrive soon.”

To that end, MLB wants that integrity framework for prediction markets in a manner consistent with how it supports “legal sports betting at the state level based on robust regulation and relationships in which sports leagues are viewed as partners and integrity of competition is considered paramount.”

Watching and waiting on Kalshi

MLB’s request of the CFTC comes at a time when Kalshi ..

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 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 ..

January 14, 2025

DC Council fines Intralot $5 million for violating subcontracting agreements

The drama surrounding the Washington DC sports betting market continued with an announcement today (14 January) that the DC Council has fined Intralot $5 million (£4.09 million/€4.85 million) for violating small business subcontracting agreements in its sole-source sports betting and lottery contract.

In addition to Intralot, subcontractor Veterans Services Corporation (VSC) was also fined $1.5 million, bringing the total to $6.5 million. The fines were announced by the DC office of the attorney general (OAG).

The OAG said that when Intralot sought to secure the controversial contract in 2019, it did so with the premise that “VSC would perform 51% of the work – all with its own resources – and receive an equivalent percentage of the revenue”. DC law requires that 35% of large government contracts be subcontracted to local small businesses. The benefits to VSC and other local businesses was said to be among the primary reasons that the contract was awarded.

But that premise turned..

January 10, 2025

2025 predictions: Brazil to remain fluid, adopting novel betting types, sponsorships may be reviewed

How will the gambling sector evolve in 2025? We asked the industry to consider how key trends in 2024 will progress into this year

Ushering in 2025, the sector has hit the ground running in preparation for ICE Barcelona in a couple of weeks. Across the pond a couple of US states have kicked off their legislative sessions this year with bills supporting online gaming launches. But the holiday period provided enough downtime to reflect on ways the gaming industry evolved in 2024 and then consider what will likely dominate the headlines and earnings calls in the year to come.

Brazil’s legal online betting launch captured the most eyes in 2024’s news flow, and how the licensed market will navigate its infancy stages will pique the sector’s interest in coming months. Last summer, 113 operators applied for early-stage licences to enter the market, hoping to be among the first to launch on 1 January.

Brazil’s SPA then awarded 66 approvals at the turn of the year, including 14 full and 52..

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..

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Tag: Sports betting regulation