Betfair has just been fined more than AUD 870,000 (~£490,000) for sending promotional messages to its VIP customers without their explicit consent.
On January 1, 2025, the entry into force of the regulated betting regime in Brazil marked a historic milestone. In the first six months, the Federal Revenue Service (RFB) collected R$3.8 billion (approximately US$650 million) in taxes from licensed operators. This figure confirms the scale of the emerging regulated market, but quickly raises concerns about the tax burden on the companies involved.
This is a major turning point for the regulation of gambling-related harm in the United Kingdom. After years of advocating for stable public funding, the charity GambleAware will cease operations for good in March 2026. The announcement was made following the introduction of a mandatory statutory levy to replace the current system of voluntary contributions from gambling operators.
On 16 July 2025, a 16-year-old teenager saw a Hollywoodbets advert displayed on the Virtual Football League (VFL) website, an e-sports portal. His profile clearly indicated that he was a minor, yet the advert was shown to him despite this. This breach prompted the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to launch a thorough investigation.
Since the law on remote gambling came into force in 2021, the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), the Dutch gaming regulator, has so far imposed more than €56 million in fines on illegal operators. The Ksa was determined to hit back hard. However, a recent report shows that only 2.5% of these fines have been collected.
Since July 2025, a growing group of Labour MPs outside government have been raising their voices in opposition to the party leadership. These elected representatives, both new and old, are calling for the 2005 Gambling Act to be abolished, as it has been described as outdated in the face of current digital practices.
The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) has taken a decisive step: not only is it now identifying advertisements for illegal gambling in newspapers and magazines, but it is also imposing stiff penalties, including financial penalties. Until now, its intervention had been limited mainly to raising awareness and providing advice.
The UK government is considering raising the tax on online gambling from 21% to a record 41%. The move, which would be one of the most aggressive in the UK gambling industry’s tax history, is part of a budgetary strategy to plug a public deficit estimated at more than £30 billion.
On 10 October 2025, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will roll out a new system of financial penalties. The key element: the amount of fines will be directly linked to the percentage of GGY (gross gambling yield) generated by the operator during the period in question. A radical reform designed to strengthen justice, fraud prevention and player protection.
Faced with the growing threat of the black market in gambling, Germany’s interior ministers are calling for immediate reform of the sector and an expansion of the powers of the national regulator, the GGL.
ADM has just selected the 46 operators who will take part in the next licensing phase. This is an important decision for players in the sector and for the Italian regulatory ecosystem.
In view of the imminent opening up of the Finnish online gambling market, Veikkaus is embarking on an ambitious transformation. Buoyed by new talent, modernised technological tools and an offensive strategy, the company hopes to win back a market it has long dominated. Here’s how Veikkaus is preparing its return to the top in a rapidly changing iGaming landscape.
On 3 July 2025, the Swedish Gaming Authority (Spelinspektionen) struck a blow: it ordered WinBet NV, operating under the trade name Superb.bet, to immediately cease all activity aimed at the Swedish market. This decision comes after the authority determined that WinBet, despite its Greek licence, was offering its services in Swedish krona and Swedish – a direct violation of the law.
A new page in European gaming history was written when the Austrian group NOVOMATIC, already a technological giant in the sector, completed its acquisition of Vikings Casinos. The deal, announced last January, has finally been approved by the French authorities, giving NOVOMATIC not only lasting access to one of the continent’s most demanding markets, but also a strong signal of its international expansion.
On 1 July 2025, the Swedish Supreme Court handed down a major ruling: Betsson, via its Maltese subsidiary BML Group, must reimburse €527,395 to a player suffering from gambling addiction. A significant decision, which puts the responsibility of online operators in a new light.
At the beginning of June 2025, the British giant Entain, owner of the Sportingbet trademark, saw its complaint rejected by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The company was seeking to prevent Italian operator Sportbet S.R.L. from registering the ‘Sportbet’ trademark. But against all expectations, the EUIPO rejected Entain’s opposition, ruling that the terms ‘sport’ and ‘bet’ are too generic to be protected by an exclusive right.
