News

United Kingdom: 643,000 betting accounts restricted in 2024

27 Jul 2025

In 2024, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) revealed that 4.31% of active betting accounts (643,779 accounts out of nearly 15 million) had been subject to commercial restrictions. These actions ranged from betting limits to outright closure, with no direct link to anti-money laundering or financial vulnerability.

Economy

Hollywoodbets advert banned after complaint from teenager

Glen

26 Jul 2025

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.

Sensation

Reforming gambling, focusing on health: Labour on the offensive

Glen

21 Jul 2025

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representatives, both new and old, are calling for the 2005 Gambling Act to be abolished, as it has been described as outdated in the face of current digital practices.

Legislation

ASA sanctions Play’n GO: ads for their slot machines deemed too childish

Sarah

19 Jul 2025

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has targeted three banner ads from games publisher Play’n GO Malta Ltd. Distributed via the Adroll platform, the ads featured a superhero bunny, a DJ robot and anime-style princesses. The ASA considers that these visuals, despite their ‘18+’ labels and responsible gaming messages, were likely to attract under-18s.

Sensation

United Kingdom: Will gambling tax explode?

Glen

17 Jul 2025

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.

Economy

How Wimbledon is stopping live betting cheats

Sarah

16 Jul 2025

For the 2025 edition of Wimbledon, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club has broken new ground. Gone are the suspects spotted solely via the bookmakers’ odds: Wimbledon is now deploying undercover agents (“spotters”) in the stands to track down courtsiders, the live bettors who exploit the time lag between the actual point and its televised broadcast.

Sensation

UKGC reform: fines based on revenue

Glen

16 Jul 2025

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.

Economy

United Kingdom: A fatal tax increase for horse racing? 

Sarah

13 Jul 2025

Since April 2025, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has been sounding the alarm: the British government is planning to merge taxes on online betting, raising the tax on horse racing betting from 15% to 21%, the same rate as for casino gambling. This change would represent a loss of at least £66 million a year (around €76 million) for the industry, with a risk of £160 million (€185 million) if the rates rise further.

Economy

iGB Live: Punished gambling companies remain active

Ron

11 Jul 2025

A major international gambling fair took place in London in early July: iGB Live. More than 15,000 people from the gambling world gathered there.

Sensation

Major data leak at Betfair and Paddy Power: everything you need to know

Ron

10 Jul 2025

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.

Sensation

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Entain fails to prevent the registration of the name ‘Sportbet’ with the EUIPO

Glen

5 Jul 2025

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.

Sensation

White labels in the UK: a model as useful as it is risky

Alex

27 Jun 2025

In the highly regulated world of British gambling, the white label model has become a strategic entry point for many foreign brands. Rather than obtaining their own licence (a long, costly and complex process), these companies join forces with an operator already licensed in the UK.

Legislation

Match-fixing: 6 British basketball pros banned

Sarah

20 Jun 2025

The world of British basketball has been rocked by a vast match-fixing scandal. Six former players in the British Basketball League (BBL), including five former members of Surrey Scorchers, have been sanctioned for serious offences relating to the manipulation of results and illegal sports betting.

Sensation

Ladbrokes accused of targeting minors with its Ladbucks ad

Alex

17 Jun 2025

The world of online gambling is under intense scrutiny, and Ladbrokes has just paid the price. In promoting its Ladbucks rewards programme, the British operator has crossed a red line in the eyes of the UK’s advertising regulator.

Sensation

A grandmother wins too much in the lottery: she receives a visit from a private detective

Alex

13 Jun 2025

This story is not new, but it illustrates the luck of some players on this Friday the 13th. Amelia Barnham, a 69-year-old grandmother from London, found herself at the centre of a bizarre scenario: after winning more than £23,000 in accumulated lottery winnings, she was unable to collect her final prize of £800.

Sensation

United Kingdom: More tax = less revenue? 65% of gamblers will choose illegal games

Glen

12 Jun 2025

The United Kingdom could standardise its tax regime on online gambling, bringing the tax on sports betting (15%) into line with that on remote gaming (21%). The intention? To simplify administration. But for the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC), this measure conceals a threat: driving regular gamblers towards unauthorised sites.

Economy

Who will get their hands on Bet365?

Maxime

3 Jun 2025

Founded in 2000 by Denise Coates, Bet365 has become one of the largest online betting companies in the world, with an annual turnover of £3.7 billion.

Economy