Latest Gambling News: Customs And Labour Inspectors Crack Down On Illegal Gambling, Employment Practices in Czechia, 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.

Customs And Labour Inspectors Crack Down On Illegal Gambling, Employment Practices in Czechia

The Czechia Customs Administration, in close cooperation with the State Labour Inspection Office (SÚIP), has carried out a coordinated enforcement operation dubbed Operation PITFALL, targeting unlicensed gambling activity and unlawful employment practices.

The joint effort, conducted between February 3-8, brought together regional customs units for the areas of Středočeský, Brno and Ostrava, along with labour inspectors, to check compliance with the Gambling Act and employment law. Five venues were inspected, including two licensed gaming halls and three unlicensed operations.

Customs officers seized 15 technical gaming devices in illegal locations and identified two individuals listed in the Excluded Persons Register, with one case involving a banned person who was found paying out winnings from unlicensed machines.

Petr Müller, director of the Supervision Service Department, underlined the authority’s long-standing focus on the sector. He said: “Combating illegal gambling has been one of the main priorities of the Customs Administration since we assumed this competence in 2017.”

Alongside gambling violations, labour inspectors identified potential breaches of employment law, including suspected use of the so-called “švarc system”, where individuals work without proper employment contracts.

Martin Melecký, general inspector of SÚIP, emphasised the benefits of joint enforcement. “Joint inspections increase our ability to effectively detect illegal employment and other violations of labour law,” Melecký said.

Authorities said the operation demonstrates the value of inter-agency cooperation in addressing both grey-market gambling and worker protection risks. Further coordinated inspections are expected as regulators continue to prioritise enforcement in the land-based gambling sector.

Dutch Study Suggests Gambling Has Been Normalised

New research from the Netherlands Gambling Authority suggests that even though gambling has become normalised in Dutch society, it's more difficult to notice or openly discuss.

In a study undertaken by the regulator to highlight the OpenOverGokken.nl platform launched in September 2025, 24 percent of the 1,000 people polled said that gambling was normal behaviour in their social circle.

In a related statistic, 22 percent of respondents said they knew people in their network of friends and family who gambled.

However, the findings also indicated that gambling was invisible to most of those taking part; 76 percent of those surveyed said they would not notice if someone had a gambling problem.

The survey suggested that this had led to an increase in problem gambling. Almost a third, 29 percent, of those questioned admitted that they would not ask for help if they were addicted to gambling, while 34 percent said they would find it difficult to confront someone about it.

Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the authority, said: “As a regulator, we believe it's our social responsibility to ensure that reliable information and support are accessible to everyone, and that no one has to face this alone”.

OpenOverGokken.nl offers independent information and is a source of support for problem gamblers, recreational players, their families and anyone interested in learning about responsible gambling or seeking support.

New Zealand Prosecutes 23 Over Embezzled Slots Grants

New Zealand is prosecuting 23 people for money laundering, forgery and improperly receiving funds after a Department of Internal Affairs probe found six community organisations embezzled NZD3.2m ($1.9m) in gambling machine grant funds.

The defendants face up to ten years in prison after being charged with more than 500 counts in the “largest ever prosecution” brought by the department, according to a February 12 statement.

The “network” of six unnamed charities and incorporated societies allegedly defrauded the government by obtaining millions of dollars “under the guise of salaries for what were essentially bogus employees”, it said.

The cash was sourced from gambling machine grant funds, which “class 4” (non-profit) slot machine operators provide to community and charitable groups at a minimum rate of 40 percent of profits.

“Indeed, a number of the charities appear to have been ‘sham’ not-for-profit organisations, set up for the sole purpose of obtaining funding,” the statement said.

“A further feature of the alleged offending was that some of the defendants ran a pokie venue and the grant funds were laundered through venue bank accounts to repay gaming machine profits back to class 4 operators in a cynical abuse of the gambling system.”

The names of the 23 defendants have been suppressed ahead of the next court hearing on April 9.

The prosecution is noteworthy because of the increasing economic and political importance of the gambling grant funds scheme.

Individual and organisational beneficiaries of the scheme rallied in their thousands last year to convince the government to raise the Offshore Gambling Duty from 12 percent to 16 percent for future online casino operators.

Funds derived from the 4 percentage-point increase in the duty have now been “ringfenced specifically for community returns – creating an entirely new funding stream for New Zealand communities”, internal affairs minister Brooke van Velden said in October.

It was not immediately clear if any of the 23 defendants were among the thousands of people who submitted written feedback to a parliamentary select committee that reviewed the online casino gambling bill ahead of the minister's decision to lift the duty.

Illinois Governor Calls For Table Games Tax Hike, New Gaming Regulator

Following a series of recent tax increases on sports betting, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is now proposing another tax grab on the state’s land-based casino industry.

In his 2027 executive budget released on Wednesday (February 18), Pritzker proposed to reverse a 2020 tax reform for casinos’ table games and “realign the tax treatment” for table games with the higher graduated rates currently applied to slot machines.

Table games are currently taxed at either 15 or 20 percent, while slot-machine revenue is taxed at varying rates from 15 percent to 50 percent.

Pritzker said the prior change to create a lower top rate for table games “drastically reduced the effective tax rate for larger casinos while providing relatively little tax relief to smaller casinos”. The tax change would apply to 15 of Illinois’ 16 casinos but not the Bally’s land-based casino in Chicago. The governor expects the higher rates for table games to generate $120m in extra tax revenue in the upcoming fiscal year.

Separately, the governor’s budget also proposes to merge the Illinois Gaming Board and Illinois Racing Board to create a unified Department of Gaming Regulatory and Enforcement in order to “regulate, audit, oversee, and collect taxes due to the state from casino gambling, video gaming, horse racing tracks, off-track betting, racinos, and sports wagering”.

The Illinois governor’s budget follows tax increases on sports betting and iGaming proposed in recent weeks by counterparts in Michigan, Arizona and Iowa.

French Trade Body Urges Proportionate Response After Regulator Flags Growth in Youth Gambling

The Association Française des de Jeux en Ligne (AFJEL) has reiterated its commitment to youth protection and regulatory compliance following heightened public and regulatory scrutiny over underage gambling in France.

The response comes amid broader concern triggered by recent survey data showing substantial levels of gambling experimentation among minors.

Trade association AFJEL emphasises that “all licensed online operators adhere strictly to French law”, which categorically prohibits gambling by persons under 18, and notes that rigorous systems are in place to enforce age verification and block access. Operators are subject to comprehensive oversight by the French regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) and other authorities, including approval requirements for advertising that, by law, must not target minors.

In a statement published on February 18, AFJEL said accusations of systematic targeting of minors in advertising are “misleading and risk undermining public confidence in the French regulated market”. The body noted that most under-18 play documented in studies relates to categories such as scratch games and physical point-of-sale access, with far lower participation via regulated online accounts.

AFJEL also voiced concern over illegal operators and non-regulated channels – factors that complicate enforcement and can expose young people to harm outside the regulated environment. The association called for stronger cross-sector cooperation among regulators, operators, parents and digital platforms to better prevent underage access.

Looking ahead, AFJEL said it will continue to engage with ANJ and other stakeholders to refine prevention efforts and ensure regulatory strategies are grounded in robust evidence rather than rhetoric.

Gambling Commission Confirms Gambling Act Review Evaluation Is On Track

Britain’s Gambling Commission has provided an update on the progress of its evaluation of a subset of regulatory reforms forming part of the Gambling Act Review, with insights expected to be delivered by the end of 2026.

Working in conjunction with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the regulator has partnered with the National Centre for Social Research to assess the implementation and early impacts of the Gambling Act Review’s policy measures.

The evaluation is intended to strengthen the evidence base underpinning the Gambling Commission’s regulatory strategy and to better inform future policy design.

Prioritised policies currently within the scope of the evaluation include online slots stake limits, financial vulnerability checks and changes to direct marketing practices. The evaluation now enters its final phase of evidence gathering, with renewed engagement efforts to increase stakeholder participation in the remaining research.

The regulator  detailed how  consumers, operators and specialist advisory panels had  contributed to qualitative and quantitative research activities through methods such as interviews, focus groups, diary studies with young gamers and large-scale surveys.

The regulator stated that, at this time, it must prioritise certain policies based on the implementation timeline and  scope of the evaluation.

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