Latest Gambling News: Advertising Fears Loom Even As Czech Industry Cheers Election Result, and more

Catch up on some of the stories our gambling compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news

Advertising Fears Loom Even As Czech Industry Cheers Election Result

There are hopes that Czechia’s seismic election results could lead to a crackdown on the black market, but whatever emerges from impending government negotiations, the industry faces the reality of growing political backing for an all-out assault on gambling advertising.

Elections in Czechia earlier this month completed the return to power of right-wing populist Andrej Babiš, as he delivered the strongest vote share of any single party in the country’s history.

But that rousing victory was still not enough for his ANO party to secure a parliamentary majority in the lower house, meaning that weeks and maybe months of negotiations to form a government lie ahead.

There are hopes from industry representatives that once a new government is in place, it will be tougher on illegal gambling than its predecessor.

This belief is largely derived from pre-election comments by some of ANO’s likely coalition partners.

With anti-EU and pro-Russia parties at the extreme fringes of Czech politics performing worse than expected in this month’s election, and a deal with the main opposition, the centre-right SPOLU, off the table, that leaves a small number of candidates for Babiš to negotiate with.

The leading theory is that he will form a coalition with the anti-environmentalist Motorists and far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) parties, which together won 16 seats in Czechia’s 200-seat Chamber of Deputies.

Both parties spoke in the run-up to the vote of a need for Czech gambling authorities to crack down harder on the black market, both offline and online.

There are also clues to be gleaned from Babiš’ previous period as Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021.

Platinum Gaming Suffers Second Major UK Fine

Britain's Gambling Commission has slapped a £10m ($13.3m) fine on FDJ United's Platinum Gaming over “anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings”.

The operator of the Unibet and uk.bingo.com sites will also be warned and required to undergo third-party auditing as part of the penalty, the Commission said in a statement on Wednesday (October 22).

Anti-money laundering (AML) breaches included allowing former customers with AML risk profiles to open new accounts with impunity, in part linked to an AML policy that “lacked clarity” in terms of due diligence protocols and capacity.

There was also “no evidence that potential high-risk factors such as high-risk occupation, high levels of transactions through deposits and withdrawals and a high level of loss, had been considered when customer reviews were undertaken”.

Social responsibility failings included faulty customer interaction systems that exposed users to harm and failed to detect or act upon problem gambling that led to serious losses.

“While industry wide progress has been made in reducing unchecked high spending, the failings at Platinum Gaming are particularly disappointing,” said John Pierce, the Commission’s director of enforcement.

“Alongside the £10m financial penalty, this operator is required to conduct a follow-up independent audit and internal investigation - providing regular updates to the Commission.

“These added conditions are designed to drive meaningful change, reinforce accountability and embed a culture of compliance,” he said.

EU Readies Digital Fairness Law That Will Target ‘Addictive’ Design

The European Union is preparing yet another monumental piece of digital legislation, which gambling experts are warning will be the most impactful on the industry to date.

The Digital Fairness Act (DFA) is designed to eliminate unfair and deceptive practices deployed by B2C companies in the EU.

It is also expected to take aim at digital marketing, especially by influencers and, perhaps most sensitively for gambling companies, will introduce new regulations governing the addictive design of digital products.

The project is expected to be the flagship piece of digital legislation for the current European Commission, which will remain in office until 2029.

The Commission is currently consulting on the act and has opened a call for evidence which runs until October 24.

“We need to take further action to ensure a fair digital environment for all Europeans – one where rules are clear, simple and effectively enforced,” said Michael McGrath, commissioner for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection.

“We are calling on consumers, businesses and stakeholders to help us design a new Digital Fairness Act, by sharing the issues they face online and the most effective ways to address them.”

Gambling companies are already being warned to prepare for the compliance challenges that the new rules may create.

“While the legislative process promises to be long and unpredictable, it would not be surprising if the DFA ultimately proves to be the most consequential digital measure for the gambling sector than the recent wave of regulations,” said experts from London-based law firm Wiggin.

Suppliers Face Tough Choices As They Navigate The New Normal

The demise of East Timor’s nascent licensing project and the growing confidence of the black market betray a complex landscape for suppliers looking to find reputable partners.

Regulatory change across the world has been intense in the past five years, and for suppliers it has quickly engulfed a sector that flourished for years with minimal oversight.

That has meant an unprecedented level of scrutiny on B2B firms, with authorities in some markets demanding that they apply for licences, and in others requiring radical disclosure of business dealings.

The latter is a growing technique in the arsenal of gambling authorities around the world as they face up to the reality of a resurgent black market and the shrinking of the grey online gambling world.

In an effort to starve illegal operators of prime gambling content, regulators in nations like Sweden and Denmark have created rules that criminalise selling to both licensed and unlicensed B2C companies.

In countries like Romania, licensed suppliers must declare any deals they have with companies not licensed by the Romanian National Gambling Office (ONJN), so that officials can sift through the data to see if their clients are breaking local regulations.

And in Brazil, plans are already in motion to regulate suppliers with exactly the same motivation.

When the head of the country’s gambling regulator, Regis Dudena, confirmed this agenda, he specifically called out B2B companies that sell to both licensed Brazilian operators and offshore companies still active in the market.

Playtech Identified As Company Behind Dossier Against Evolution

Swedish online casino tech provider Evolution has named London-listed rival Playtech as the company that hired Israeli intelligence firm Black Cube, whose contentious probe into Evolution alleged global illegal activity.

Evolution said in a statement on Tuesday (October 21) that Playtech was “responsible for commissioning” the report at the centre of a defamation suit in New Jersey Superior Court against the authors of the report and a law firm distributing it.

The report, which the law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky presented to gambling regulators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, contained “highly inflammatory and knowingly false claims about Evolution and its business practices that was intended to substantially harm the company for anti-competitive reasons”, it said.

Those claims include allegations of doing business in jurisdictions where online gambling is illegal or unregulated, based in part on secret tapes of former and current employees and board members interviewed by Black Cube investigators under “false personas”.

However, the tapes and other evidence cited in the report failed to convince the regulators, and did not impress the court, which ordered the identity of Black Cube to be revealed in April, followed by Playtech in September.

“Evolution will amend its complaint to include Playtech as a defendant in the lawsuit,” the statement said. “Now that the identity of the party responsible for commissioning the defamatory report is known, the litigation can proceed in earnest and is expected to extend through 2026.”

Playtech shares fell as much as 40 percent on Tuesday’s opening price on the London Stock Exchange before closing at 266.5 pence ($3.55), or down 23.7 percent.

But Playtech was unmoved on Tuesday, setting the scene for many more months of public warfare and investor unease.

While admitting to commissioning the report, Playtech denied being “engaged in a smear campaign”, and instead “welcomed court examination of the report and its findings”, adding that the lawsuit is “designed to distract from serious questions about Evolution’s business practices”.

“Playtech stands by the decision to commission the report,” it said.

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