Latest Gambling News: Celton Manx, Isle Of Man Online Gaming Vanguard, To Be Dissolved, 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.

Celton Manx, Isle Of Man Online Gaming Vanguard, To Be Dissolved

Veteran online gambling operator Celton Manx has applied for the dissolution of its company registration in the Isle of Man, bringing down the curtain on the SBOBet parent company as the island’s digital gaming mainstay.

Celton Manx Limited was one of eight companies that applied to be dissolved in a notification from the Department of Enterprise last Friday (October 31). The company will cease to exist after one month if no written objection is filed with the department in that time.

Celton Manx had been licensed by the Gambling Supervision Commission from 2008 to May 2025, when it surrendered its licence. In July the Commission fined the company more than £5.6m ($7.3m), discounted to just under £4m, for chronic and “systemic” violations of anti-money laundering (AML) legislation.

The fine followed an investigation that identified at least 15 contraventions of the Gambling (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) Act 2018.

Just two weeks after Celton Manx surrendered its licence, the company’s partner for its British-facing version of SBOBet, white label giant TGP Europe, surrendered its licence in Great Britain after suffering a £3.3m fine over AML failures.

Celton Manx’s departure helps to define 2025 as the year in which a chastened Isle of Man government and gambling regulator addressed growing international concern at the state of its fiscal controls and regulatory efficacy.

US government sanctions and indictment targeting Cambodia’s Prince Group recently established that a gambling-linked member of the organisation purchased two properties on the island that were worth almost £5m.

The properties were raided in a joint FBI-Isle of Man operation on the day the sanctions were announced, delivering more poor headlines for the island after months of crackdowns.

Gaming1 Takes Sole Ownership Of Circus In The Netherlands

Belgium-headquartered operator Gaming1 has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 50 percent share of BETCA, which operates its Circus brand in the Netherlands. The move brings the company to full ownership on closing.

Sylvain Boniver, chief operating officer at Gaming1, told Vixio GamblingCompliance: “By taking full ownership of BETCA, we simplify governance and gain the agility needed to execute our strategy more effectively.

"Our goal is to make Circus.nl a safe, responsible and innovative platform for Dutch players, fully in line with our pursuit of next level entertainment."

In a statement released in the Netherlands on Wednesday (November 5), the Liège-based operator noted that the Dutch market remains challenging, with "recent regulatory and fiscal changes increasing the pressure on licensed operators".

Gaming1 expects the transaction to result in greater integration and efficiencies.

The operator added: "Nevertheless, we remain confident that all stakeholders share the objective of strengthening player protection and ensuring a sustainable legal market."

Britain's Gambling Commission Slaps Big Fine On NetBet

In its latest crackdown on an online gambling licensee, Britain's Gambling Commission has fined NetBet Enterprises £650,000 ($850,000) plus costs over anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility breaches.

The operator of netbet.co.uk “will pay the money as part of a settlement with the Commission” and face an independent audit, according to a commission statement on Wednesday (November 5).

NetBet’s “anti-money laundering failures” included over-reliance on financial triggers, resulting in excessive customer spend before intervention; low-risk categorisation of customers exhibiting “concerning behaviours”; and a substandard AML risk assessment that omitted third-party businesses, high-stakes gambling and UK-domiciled foreign nationals.

The company’s “social responsibility failures” included insufficient customer interaction systems and processes, and not identifying indicators of gambling harm in time to intervene, and at times not until a “manual review” had concluded.

“The operator was instructed to take immediate action and make significant improvements to its systems and controls,” Gambling Commission enforcement director John Pierce said in the statement.

“This included strengthening their risk assessments, improving how they identify and respond to indicators of harm and ensuring the accuracy of the data they report to us.

“Alongside the £650,000 financial penalty, the operator is also required to commission an independent audit of its policies, procedures and controls to ensure the necessary improvements they have implemented are properly embedded and remain effective in practice.”

A detailed commission statement on NetBet’s failures also referred to the filing of incorrect regulatory information, a lack of website warnings against underage gambling and omitting the significant terms of a promotion for a £1m jackpot from its website.

However, the commission noted that NetBet fully cooperated with its probe, admitted fault early in the process and responded “swiftly” with an action plan to resolve its failings.

The Gambling Commission has made an example of a number of online licensees in 2025,  including slapping a £3.3m fine on white-label titan TGP Europe, which chose to flee the market rather than pay the fine and reform its practices.

Argentina Regulates Online Gambling Ads, Influencers

Argentina’s federal government has published a new regulation that modifies how online gaming and betting sites are advertised on television and radio, and by social media influencers, to include two mandatory warnings.

Published in the Official Gazette, Resolution 446/2025 requires any promotion of iGaming to include the message that “Compulsive Gambling is Harmful to Your Health” and “+18.”

Under the regulations approved by the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce of the Ministry of Economy, all television advertisements must show the captions on screen for at least five seconds.  For radio advertisements, the messages must be broadcast without background music and at a reading speed similar to the rest of the gaming advertisement.

“Lack of clarity and excessive information in advertising can lead to ill-informed or even misleading purchasing decisions,” the resolution states. “Simplifying messages ensures that consumers fully understand the characteristics, benefits, and, above all, the risks of a product or service.

“Through this regulation, advertisements will be simpler and cleaner, containing the essential information in a concise and easily understandable way.”

As for regulating social media influencers, Article 6 of the resolution creates an online portal for the public to report individuals who promote gaming sites without following the regulations. Those reports will go to the Enforcement Authority who will oversee those influencers promoting gaming through social media or any other format without the mandatory disclaimer.

The regulation will go into effect on December 2, 30 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

The new federal resolution was approved as a bill that would enact a nationwide ban on many forms of online gaming advertising remains under review in the Argentine Senate. The bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in November 2024 and is currently being considered by a joint working group of several Senate committees.

New Jersey Senate Introduce Bill To Ban Micro Sports Betting

A New Jersey senator wants to ban sports-betting companies from offering or accepting micro bets, introducing a bill to block operators from posting wagering on the next pitch in a baseball game, or whether the next play in a football game will be a run or a pass.

Senator Paul Moriarty, a Democrat, introduced S4794 which defines a micro bet as a proposition “wager on the outcome of the very next play or action to occur in a game.” The bill has been referred to the Senate Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee for consideration.

Moriarty’s bill bans all micro bets, but not all prop bets. Other “side wagers” that do not concern the final outcome of a game, such as how many goals a hockey player might score in a game, would not be covered by the proposed ban.

His bill is a companion piece of legislation to A5971 introduced last July by Democratic Assemblyman Dan Hutchison. As of Monday (November 3), Hutchison had yet to release any text of his bill.

Moriarty’s bill language expressed concern over the risks that micro bets post to the integrity of sports and gamblers.

“Over the last several years, sportsbooks have developed new methods of wagering which are more enticing and engaging for bettors but carry additional risks to the bettor’s health and wellbeing, and the integrity of sports more broadly."

“Because of the rapid speed of many sporting events, and therefore the speed at which bets can be placed and settled, micro bets provide a method for fans to stay engaged in every play,” the senate bill reads.

“Consequently, bettors have less time to research and consider the details of their wagers before placing them, and bettor losses can accumulate quickly.”

Spribe Responds To UK Licence Suspension

Gaming content provider Spribe, which had its licence suspended by Britain's Gambling Commission (GC) due to reported hosting violations, confirmed that it is working on restoring its licence.

“We acknowledge the GC’s announcement and are taking this matter extremely seriously,” the company said in a statement issued on Friday (October 31). “We are working diligently to resolve the issue as swiftly as possible.”

The GC issued the licence suspension on Thursday after accusing Spribe of offering hosting activity despite lacking the necessary licence. In addition, Spribe was required to inform everyone affected by the disruption of its services.

“Spribe has held a remote operating licence in the UK market since late 2020 and has complied with all its terms, including annual audits, regulatory returns and transparent communication, with the GC regarding any questions or concerns throughout all these years.”

In its response, Spribe also confirmed that it only came to its attention recently from the GC that, “due to our technical setup, we need to add a hosting licence to our existing one.”

“Until we obtain this licence, the commission, at its discretion, opted to suspend our current remote operating licence. We are taking all necessary steps to comply with the commission’s requirements in order to reinstate the delivery of Aviator to the UK market.”

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