There is a big rumble between Malta and the European Commission. The row revolves around a new Maltese gambling law, Article 56A, added in 2023.
Live betting is not a quiet hobby. It’s adrenaline, eyes on the screen, fingers poised over the button. It can be addictive – but also interesting if you know what you’re doing.
On Monday 8 July, Flutter Entertainment confirmed that there has been a data leak at gambling sites Paddy Power and Betfair. In the process, players’ personal data was captured.
It’s a staggering amount: in 2024, the largest European gambling companies paid a combined €3.8 billion in taxes.
Everyone plays differently. Some like excitement at the roulette table, others follow every second of Anderlecht with their finger on the betting button.
Björn Fuchs is no unknown name in the world of online gambling. As chairman of VNLOK, the industry association for legal online gambling providers, he knows exactly what is going on. He is also Chief Digital Officer at the Janshen-Hahnraths Group, the company behind Fair Play Online.
Let’s face it: if you like to gamble, you want a platform that is reliable, works smoothly and doesn’t cheat you. In Belgium, then, one name quickly comes up: Bwin. But why really? What makes that site so popular with Belgian players?
German gambling watchdog GGL came out with figures for 2024. According to them, things are going pretty well. More people are playing legally, and they are said to have cracked down on quite a few illegal websites. But the casinos themselves don’t believe any of it.
Björn Fuchs (48) lives in Zutendaal, Belgium. He once started at RTL, where he worked his way up to Manager Sport & Entertainment. Now he is Chief Digital Officer at Janshen-Hahnraths Group and responsible for Fair Play Online in the Netherlands.
You know the drill: you walk into PepperMill or open the website, see a wall full of colourful dice slots and think…. Which one should I pick?
Since 1 July, gambling companies have been banned from advertising through sports clubs in the Netherlands. The ban in our neighbours particularly affects football, where many clubs had deals with online casinos. A notable example is Telstar, which said goodbye to main sponsor 711 BV on social media.
The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) is now tackling gambling influencers faster. It has imposed an order for a penalty payment on LeftlanePapi. This is the first time it has gone this far. The Ksa wants to crack down on influential gamblers on social media, especially if they reach young people.
The European Championship, World Cup or Champions League is about more than football. It’s emotion, excitement, noise in the square and swearing at the screen. And yes: it is the moment when betting is suddenly much more alive than usual. Everyone wants to score – including you.
Gambling Club spoke to Steven Gillis Vrolijk, representative of the Keurmerk Verantwoorde Affiliates (KVA) in the Netherlands. In a world where online gambling is receiving more and more attention – as well as more regulation – the need for transparency and responsible behaviour is growing. KVA wants to make a difference in this respect.
A growing number of Dutch websites promoting online casinos are choosing to affiliate with illegal parties. The switch is often motivated by financial motives. On average, legal providers pay several tens of euros per new player. In the illegal market, those amounts run into thousands of euros.
In autumn 2024, the Kansspelautoriteit and self-help group AGOG asked people with a gambling problem how they experience their addiction. It yielded 139 completed questionnaires. The answers give an honest insight into what goes wrong – and why quitting is so difficult.
From 1 July 2025, there will be a total ban on gambling sponsorship in sport in the Netherlands. This means that sports clubs will no longer be allowed to advertise online casinos. This hits clubs hard, especially the smaller ones. The BBC devoted an entire episode of Business Daily to this topic.
