Protecting the player and responsible gambling

Emerging Trends in Responsible GamblingResponsible Gambling (RG) has become a fundamental aspect of the global regulated gambling industry, with regulators, operators, and technologists continuously evolving strategies to mitigate gambling harms. Recent research shows a shift from voluntary RG programs toward public health measures that limit access and product features, aiming for more effective supply-side controls. Regulatory TrendsIn the European Union (EU), regulation is fragmented across member states, with varying approaches balancing consumer protection and market freedoms. For example, Germany enforces a centralized self-exclusion system with deposit and time limits; Malta mandates operator-led player monitoring and mandatory betting limits; Spain applies strict advertising bans and automatic player risk classification. The EU is pushing for pan-European standards, increased use of AI and machine learning to detect risky behavior, and stronger cross-border cooperation. The United Kingdom has adopted a proactive, interventionist stance via the 2023 White Paper focusing on consumer safety. Measures include mandatory staff training, multi-operator self-exclusion, deposit limits, advertising restrictions, and the introduction of financial vulnerability checks. From 2026, a statutory levy will fund research and treatment, with NHS England overseeing public health related to gambling. In the United States, regulation varies by state, with California emphasizing tribal sovereignty and exclusion programs, Nevada focusing on employee training and voluntary limits, and New Jersey pioneering data-driven interventions for early risk detection. The U.S. regulatory environment is moving towards mandatory, data-driven protections, including stricter advertising controls and financial oversight. Industry InitiativesIndustry groups globally complement regulatory efforts by promoting safer gambling through campaigns and codes of conduct. In Europe, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) drives pan-European harmonization, with rising voluntary use of RG tools and significant funding for problem gambling research. The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) enforces strict advertising codes and has seen millions adopting safer gambling tools. In the US, the American Gaming Association (AGA) promotes national campaigns and responsible marketing standards, with research collaborations using AI for personalized RG messaging. Technological InnovationsTechnological advances are reshaping RG with AI and machine learning enabling real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and personalized interventions. Standard RG tools include self-exclusion, deposit limits, and reality checks, increasingly integrated across platforms. Emerging tech like VR/AR, blockchain, and biometric wearables offer new engagement and safety possibilities but raise privacy and ethical concerns. Looking AheadFuture trends include enhanced real-time AI interventions, integrated identity verification systems, behavioral science-driven design for safer gambling, and better cross-operator data sharing. Regulatory frameworks, especially in the EU, will classify certain AI tools as “high-risk,” demanding strict compliance. Transparency and explainability of RG technologies will gain importance.Overall, RG is advancing towards a multi-layered ecosystem combining regulatory safeguards, industry collaboration, and cutting-edge technology to protect consumers while supporting innovation. Early data from Europe and the US indicate high adoption of RG tools, with most adults accepting gambling if personal and financial safety measures are ensured.

The gaming industry has spent years treating responsible gambling and fraud prevention as completely separate problems. Different teams, different budgets, different tech stacks. That's rapidly changing, and 2026 is when the industry stops pretending these can stay siloed.Regulators are pushing this along, whether they realize it or not. New requirements around player protection, AML compliance and transaction monitoring keep piling up, but they're coming from different directions depending on where you operate. One market wants strict deposit limits and session controls. Another focuses on suspicious activity reports and transaction patterns. Operators end up running parallel compliance programs that should be talking to each other but aren't. Consider self-exclusion. It exists to protect vulnerable players, but we're seeing fraudsters exploit it more aggressively. They'll self-exclude, claim the operator didn't enforce it properly, then demand compensation or threaten reputation damage. Self-exclusion fraud has become one of the fastest-growing schemes we've tracked over the past 18 months. When your protection mechanism becomes an attack vector, something's broken.What's interesting: the signals that indicate problem gambling behavior look a lot like fraud signals. Unusual deposit patterns, long sessions at odd hours, erratic betting behavior – these show up in both contexts. The same device intelligence that catches multi-accounting can also flag attempts to bypass self-exclusion. Most operators are still running these investigations separately. That's expensive and it misses connections.What Changes in 2026The operators that figure this out will build unified risk programs where player protection and fraud prevention share infrastructure and insights. Platforms that can adjust screening based on combined risk signals will have a real advantage. If someone's showing problem gambling indicators and their account shows signs of compromise, that's a different intervention than either signal alone.The business case is straightforward. Better data means fewer false positives, which means less friction for legitimate players. It also means stronger regulatory positioning because you're not just checking boxes; you're actually understanding risk across dimensions.Real-time data enrichment, behavioral analytics and device intelligence can feed both fraud models and responsible gambling monitoring. The hard part is building systems flexible enough to handle different regulatory frameworks without becoming impossible to operate.In 2026, some operators will keep running separate programs and watch their compliance costs climb while their player experience suffers. Others will treat player protection as part of platform integrity, not a cost center but a core function that integrates with fraud prevention and AML. The second group will have lower costs, better compliance posture and most importantly, they'll actually be protecting players instead of just documenting they tried.

Throughout 2026, the industry will continue to see the evolution of best-in-class compliance and safer gambling practices. The debate will no longer be about reactive, backward looking assessments. Instead, the industry will be defined by its ability to proactively identify and support financially vulnerable players in real-time. The challenge has always been to achievethis without introducing unnecessary friction that penalises the majority.The solution to this challenge will be the deep convergence of open banking and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This combination is moving us beyond outdated compliance checks – which often rely on static, backward looking or incomplete data – to a more intelligent, real-time understanding of financial vulnerability.This opportunity lies at the point of deposit. This is the moment that matters and it is where technology can make the biggest difference. We are already seeing the power of Yaspa’s Intelligent Payments, which combine instant account-to-account payments with AI-driven risk assessments for source of funds and safer gambling. With player consent, this technology allows an operator to analyse transactional data for subtle red flags - such as reliance on overdrafts, sudden spending changes, or missed bill payments - all within the payment journey.This isn't about blocking players. It's about enabling a more responsible and personalised relationship. I predict that operators will not only be asking 'Can this player afford this deposit?' but also 'Is this player showing markers of financial distress?'The ability to answer that question allows for a graduated, supportive response. Instead of a blunt refusal, an operator can dynamically adjust deposit limits or proactively offer support resources, intervening constructively at the earliest possible stage. This proactive, data- informed approach is the best way to help prevent harm while maintaining a seamless experience for positive play.The key challenge for businesses is to adapt and embrace this technology. Regulators, operators, financial institutions and fintech partners must collaborate to build a trusted framework where players are informed and consent to the use of their data for their own benefit. Businesses that adapt will not only meet their compliance demands but will build the deep,lasting player trust that is essential for a sustainable and responsible future in our industry.

Player protection and responsible gaming in the iGaming industry have been on a rollercoaster ofevolving regional compliance across markets employing a broad range of standards for overtwenty-five years. Since the Isle of Man introduced the Online Gambling Regulation Act, theawareness of, and the need for, player protections have definitely been growing. Yet back in 2001,there were global platforms operating entirely without licensing, offering no responsible gaming tools,and without as much as a mention of responsible gaming on their website.Here’s the scary part... they still exist today.From where this piece is being written in Spain, I just Googled a well-known skin-gambling site,estimated to net over $10M per month, which is entirely unlicensed. I am able to deposit by card anduse open banking, which also localises bank access to my region. Overall there are 22 paymentoptions available across FIAT and crypto. I also hopped on my VPN, and was able to access thissame site from the UK, Germany, France, Brazil, etc...This is why the industry cliché about over-regulation pushing players toward unregulated marketskeeps appearing in webinars, panels, keynotes, and roundtables. It may be overused, but it’sgrounded in reality. For instance, in Sweden, one of Europe’s most mature regulated markets, theGambling Authority reported that around 14% of total play still occurs with unlicensed operators,showing that stricter rules alone don’t guarantee player channelisation. What a lot of people do notrealise, is that those unregulated operators are not competing 1:1 on everything but friction, a lot ofthe time, they are already providing a more appealing iGaming experience. This is particularly true ofyounger generations whose expectations have been moulded by video gaming ecosystems andfeatures, which are reflected in the unregulated operators’ offerings. It’s familiar to them, it’s rebelliousand it’s cool, in contrast to the website your boomer uncle Gary won that acca on before losing it whileplaying the ‘Right On Groovy’ slot.The illegal online gambling market in the U.S. alone was estimated at $41 billion in 2023,dwarfing the legal sector in several states, a tremendous number. So while it may be a little ambitiousto expect that as soon as 2026 regulators and operators will innovate in light of just how easy andappealing illicit operators can be, to anyone, but particularly Gen-z and young Millennials, it’s certainlygoing to be something which flashes increasingly brighter on radars as time goes by. And, as usual,when the impact on the bottom line becomes undeniable, then action will be taken. This will either bein the form of enhanced education, interest representation or dynamic and reactive compliance whichaims to reduce friction for the end users, but likely all three.The trick is to strategically ease regulation, safely and just enough to allow for innovation that keepsup with unregulated operators’ products and features. Branding trust as part of the experience(something which banking has excelled in) all while reducing friction such that compliance becomesalmost invisible, meaning that the safest players are the ones who never even know it’s there. And inthe absence of immediate regulatory action, reducing friction becomes essential. In fact Sumsub datashows that reducing verification friction can cut onboarding drop-offs by up to 30%. These effortscombined will be the defining factor between the operators who struggle in regulated markets, andthose who truly flourish.

As we approach 2026, responsible gaming and player protection will stand as the defining compliance priority for the gaming industry. Across various markets, regulators, operators and technology partners are rallying around a shared understanding: gambling can no longer be managed solely as an entertainment industry—it must be viewed as a regulated behavioural ecosystem, where sustainability depends on safeguarding the player and preventing harm before it occurs.From mature European markets to rapidly expanding SouthIn the American and African economies, the industry faces a dual challenge: the explosive growth of online gambling and the parallel rise of unlicensed, unregulated operators. Whilst EU regulators have tightened licensing frameworks, research shows that between 20% and 50% of all gambling traffic still flows through unlicensed sites. These shadow platforms majorly operate from offshore locations, erode public trust, reduce tax revenue due to capital flight and—most critically—expose players to addiction, fraud and data abuse. The growth in online casino engagement illustrates the urgency of intervention.Closer to home, in one of the emerging markets that we are engaged in, we recently enabled the regulator to identify a pattern amongst players that ranged from those that placed bets of up to1,500 per month, on average, to most addicted players who recorded up to 250,000 bets per month. In this context, betting limits and voluntary exclusion tools are fundamental safeguards.Proactive communication, such as alerting a player before reaching their self-imposed limit, might be more effective than traditional reactive warnings. These volumes indicate a growing pattern of problematic behaviour that not only requires early intervention and proactive safeguards but is also an indication of possible fraud.From Reaction to PreventionTraditional responsible gambling tools—warnings and helplines—are no longer enough. The future lies in proactive engagement, such as notifying players before they exceed self-imposed limits or offering timely nudges that encourage reflection and control.Equally transformative is the push towards a Unique Player Identifier (UPI) system—a regulatory and technological breakthrough designed to unify oversight across all licensed platforms. Through a “Know Your Player” (KYP) process, the UPI would enable regulators to identify each player across multiple operators; prevent underage gambling; track individual betting behavioural anomalies that might be indications for fraud and money laundering; summarize winnings and losses in real time; and guarantee full transparency and data integrity.Why a Unified View MattersIn 2025, over 1.9 million players across monitored African jurisdictions – equivalent to over 12% of the population for some countries – engaged in at least one online gambling transaction.Without a unified view of player behaviour across platforms, both regulators and operators remain blindsided to the full spectrum of gambling intensity and risk in their respective ecosystems.The UPI changes that paradigm. It strengthens oversight, fosters accountability, and empowers players to make informed decisions—all while supporting compliance and market integrity.Sharp Vision’s Approach: Collaboration for ImpactAt Sharp Vision, we believe the future of compliance will hinge on collaboration and shared data across the entire value chain. Our model advocates for a shared exclusion list among licensedoperators combined with a secure portal for players to manage their gambling profile. This approach ensures that players who self-exclude cannot simply open new accounts elsewhere, while also deterring identity fraud and promoting transparency across the ecosystem.The Road AheadUltimately, the future of responsible gambling will undoubtedly be defined by a balance of transparency, personalization and enforcement. 2026 will favour businesses that see compliance not as a constraint, but as catalyst for innovation: using data ethically and intelligently to keep players in control.

My prediction for 2026 is that regulators will continue to intensify their focus onplayer protection, introducing tighter controls and shifting a growing share of the responsibilityonto operators themselves.This trend is already visible in the expansion of affordability checks, new stake limits, andmarketing restrictions across several European markets. These measures aim to create a safer gambling environment, but they also come at a cost. They are reshaping the competitivelandscape of the industry.The increasing regulatory burden will weigh most heavily on small and medium-sized operators, who already face high compliance costs and limited brand visibility. Larger operators are better positioned to absorb new requirements and maintain scale, while smaller ones will need to find new ways to remain commercially viable without compromising compliance. I believe this pressure will trigger a wave of creativity within the industry, as these companies search for new methods to attract, engage, and retain players responsibly.One of the most promising directions lies in product innovation, particularly through gamification. By integrating additional layers of interactivity and progression into their platforms, operators can create a gaming experience that goes beyond traditional casino play. Gamified structures can also serve a protective purpose: by adjusting achievements, bonus frequency, or reward progression, operators can subtly moderate gameplay intensity and promote responsible behaviour without diminishing the entertainment value.This is where data and creativity meet. Using behavioural data, operators can design adaptiveexperiences that respond to player activity in real time, making the product both engaging andsafe. When implemented thoughtfully, such tools can help operators comply with regulationswhile maintaining trust and sustainability.In my view, 2026 will mark the beginning of a new era where responsible gambling becomes not just a regulatory requirement but a design principle. The operators that thrive will be those that manage to turn compliance into innovation, using technology and creativity to build a balanced, sustainable form of entertainment for both players and the industry.