Gambling Regulatory Deadlines to Watch in February 2026

Each month, we leverage data from our gambling regulatory updates to bring you a glimpse of the key response deadlines and legislation effective dates coming up, so you can plan and take action around some of the most important regulatory developments unfolding right now.

For February, there are 10 regulatory deadlines on the horizon — with 4 key consultation and request for proposal periods coming to an end and requiring a response and 2 actionable deadlines to be aware of coming into effect.

What are the regulatory deadlines to watch in February?

Brazil

On November 10, 2025, Brazil's Secretariat of Prizes and Bets under the Ministry of Finance (SPA-MF) published regulations regarding the placement of bets by self-excluded persons. 

Normative Instruction No. 31 establishes systems that must be in place to prevent bets being placed by self-excluded people. Ordinance No. 2,579/2025 updates existing self-exclusion rules.

Of note, under Normative Instruction No. 31: 

• Operators must consult the Betting Management Platform (SIGAP) when a person first logs in or first registers to their platform to determine if the patron is present on the self-exclusion list.
• This check must be conducted when the user logs in, and periodically every 15 days.
• To conduct SIGAP checks, operators must utilize the user's Brazilian taxation identification number (CPF). Two results will be displayed "Blocked - Centralized Self-Exclusion" or "Not Blocked".
• For users who already have accounts but register as "Blocked", operators must initiate closure of accounts within three days of notifying SIGAP and block the processing of any new bets.
• The operator must notify the user regarding the user's blocked status through email, or message within one day and notify the user that they have two days to withdraw all funds.
• If the user does not voluntarily withdraw their funds, the operator has two days to return all funds to the user under their registered bank account.
• All communication must contain dates, times, and content, and must be maintained for five years.

Furthermore, under Ordinance No. 2,579/2025:

• Operators must provide additional responsible gambling tools and collect additional data from users such as gender identification, full address, country of residence, telephone number, email, payment account details, betting limits, and scanned copy of a valid photo ID.
• Any funds not returned by the operator to the user will be used for social benefit programs.
• Operators are not permitted to advertise or send direct and targeted communications to users notifying them that they have been removed from the exclusion program.

Operators who do not comply with either of these regulations will be sanctioned, and both regulations come into effect immediately. However, operators have 90 days to make required changes to their systems, as outlined in Ordinance No. 2,579, and 30 days to make required changes outlined in Normative Instruction No. 31.

Finland

On November 20, 2025, Finland notified the European Commission of two draft technical regulations under the new gambling framework. The proposed new Gambling Act is still pending before the national parliament as of March 20, 2025.

The draft regulation on reliability and information security of gaming systems details requirements for the accreditation of inspection bodies, information security testing and vulnerability testing.

The draft Regulation on random checks details requirements for the accreditation of inspection bodies performing testing on the reliability and randomness of specific components, the audit report and testing methods.

Both regulations are scheduled to enter into force in 2026, without a specific date being mentioned within their provisions. The notifications’ standstill period ends on February 23, 2026.

Peru

‍

On October 14, 2025, the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP (SBS) published regulations pertaining to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) for online gambling and sports betting operators under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR).

The regulations were made in consultation with MINCETUR, and were a result of public feedback on establishing the requirements, obligations, procedures and guidelines that operators must follow to sustain AML/CTF policies. The regulations set forth certain noteworthy aspects such as: 

• The application of customer due diligence, directors, employees and suppliers.
• Training in ML/TF prevention, the prevention manual and code.
• The transaction log and compliance officer's annual report.

The regulations allow a 120 day period for operators to implement the new policies.

South Africa

On January 15, 2026, South Africa's National Treasury issued a notice, announcing the extension of the deadline for responding to the Draft National Online Gambling Tax Discussion Paper.

Following requests from numerous stakeholders, the deadline to submit comments on the proposal has been extended from January 30, 2026 to February 27, 2026. Responses can be sent by emailing to gamblingtax@treasury.gov.za.

The treasury has proposed a 20 percent tax on the gross gambling revenue of the online and interactive gambling industry via the discussion paper. It contains an overview of the gambling industry in South Africa, highlighting the current legislative framework for online gambling in the country, while including international practices on the taxation of online gambling.

There is a general prohibition on online gambling in South Africa, except for online sports betting and betting on lawful contingencies, which shall be permitted by the respective provincial licensing authority (PLA).

Pennsylvania

On January 22, 2025, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) issued updated industry guidance on interactive gaming account multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirements.

In industry guidance issued directly to interactive gaming and sports wagering operators and certificate holders as well as interactive gaming manufacturers, the PGCB notified such stakeholders of enhanced requirements pertaining to the know-your-customer (KYC) process, which are designed to align Pennsylvania with emerging best practices in other jurisdictions and industries to prevent fraud, bonus abuse, account sharing and unauthorized account access by self-excluded individuals and those under the legal age of 21. 

According to the guidance, operators must implement the enhanced KYC requirements on a going-forward basis and are not required to reverify existing accounts. The enhanced KYC requirement addresses:

• Enhanced MFA requirements.
• Payment method requirements for new accounts less than six months old or accounts that have been inactive for six months.
• Payment method requirements for accounts in good standing and greater than six months old or accounts with gaming activity in the last six months.
• Geolocation checks.
• Annual KYC recertification.

The MFA, payment methods, and geolocation check requirements are meant to ensure the security of the interactive gaming account and provide insightful information to the operator that must be used for proactive identification of possible fraudulent activity. The MFA, payment methods, and geolocation checks portions of enhanced KYC, MFA, and fraud prevention requirements must be implemented by February 28, 2026.

‍

We’ve only shown you a snapshot of February’s deadlines.

Want to see them all? Book a demo with a member of our team, who can show you the full Regulatory Deadlines Calendar for this month.