The Australian Senate has passed the Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 which placed a ban on internet poker and in-play sports betting. The Senate has been reviewing the proposed changes since November 2016. The main goal of this law was to close a number of regulatory loopholes. For example, some major operators have been offering in-play […]

Despite the heavy criticism from the European Commission (EC), Germany approved a new federal gambling treaty. Industry experts believe that this move could lead to an expansion of Germany’s sports betting market. The leaders of 16 states of Germany voted to approve the new State Treaty on Gambling. It lifts the previous treaty’s controversial cap […]

China issued draft rules that, if enacted, would require exchanges to identify their clients. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) circulated new guidelines to regulate the country’s Bitcoin industry. The new rules would subject domestic bitcoin exchanges to current banking and anti-money laundering laws. According to the document, Chinese Bitcoin trading platforms would also have […]

EU Parliament members have published new draft legislation, seeking to regulate digital currencies. The proposal is deliberating to extend the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD) and include the virtual currencies like bitcoin. The existing AMLD, published in May 2015, does not include coverage on such currencies. The draft law could possibly end the […]

Cypriot attorney-general Costas Clerides commanded the local police to launch investigation into OPAP. The order came after the Greek lottery and betting operator refused to show its financial records for a government audit unless a confidentiality agreement is signed. According to the local press, the treasurer of the House finance committee sought the advice from […]

A deal for creating the first ever casino resort in Cyprus is expected to be closed in the next few weeks. This information was confirmed by Finance Minister Harris Georgiades during the meeting of the parliamentary committee on development plans and public expenditure control. The minister said that the government is dealing with the final […]

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) platform provider Oulala.com received the first ever Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) B2B Skill Games Licence. Oulala announced that the obtained licence was a culmination of a target set four years ago to be „regulated separately from other iGaming activities“. Due to “the lack of proper regulation”, Oulala was unable to operate […]

In an interview with CalvinAyre.com, Corinne Valetta of the Malta Gaming Authority discusses Malta being at par with other gambling jurisdictions, EU directives and cryptocurrency in the gambling industry. It’s a common example today that government turns to the gambling industry in order to increase the budget for social services. For example, Philippines. According to […]

The Swiss parliament pushed through a vote that required internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to illegal gambling websites. International online gambling operators will be blocked from offering their serviced to nationals within the country. Previously, the upper house accepted the proposal and now the lower section of the House of Representatives gave the […]

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) presented its latest report which revealed more information about the levels of gambling participation, attitudes and behaviour of British customers. The survey shows that 48% of respondents aged 16 years or older have placed bets over the past four weeks at the time of the research. This marked a 3% […]

Now that Czech National Court ruled that the decision to block illegal gambling sites in the country is constitutional, the authorities will move forward with igaming block. This month we saw the launch of PokerStars.cz, the first licensed online poker and casino operator since the new Gambling Act was introduced in Czech Republic on January […]

Russian authorities have approved new penalties for internet service providers (ISPs) who fail to restrict access to unauthorised online gambling domains. A few weeks ago Russia’s Duma adopted Bill 1102471-6, which amended the Russian Federation Code of Administrative Offences. The amendments increased fines for ISPs who fail to block websites that have been flagged by […]