Latest gambling news: France Caps Gaming Operators’ 2026 Marketing Budgets, 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.

France Caps Gaming Operators’ 2026 Marketing Budgets

France’s National Gambling Authority (ANJ) has capped the country's gaming operators’ 2026 promotional budgets after reviewing their “aggressive strategies” to leverage this year’s busy global sporting calendar.

The plans submitted by 17 licensed online and two monopoly operators included a €156m, or 25 percent rise, in promotional activity to €785m compared to 2025.

With the Winter Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup taking place in 2026, the increase covers both €319m for marketing and €466m for player retention, including bonus payments and cross-selling incentives.

The €69m (28 percent) rise in the marketing budget, makes up 40 percent of the overall planned spend for 2026, with 21 percent of that allocated to June and July when the World Cup takes place.

In its Friday (January 9) announcement, the ANJ said it wanted to prevent what it called “excessive advertising exposure” and problem gambling, as well as protecting minors.

While the ANJ had approved their budgets, the operators have been warned not to exceed them and to strictly limit any reallocations. The ANJ warned that it could roll out targeted inspections to monitor their compliance with its “stringent requirements”.

Gibraltar Gambling Act Could Be Passed in Q1 2026

Gibraltar’s draft Gambling Act could become law in the first quarter of 2026 after a delay to its original implementation date of October 1, 2025.

The legislation was to have had its first and second readings in parliament on December 11. It is now expected to be tabled for the January 13 session, although the agenda was not available at the time of publication.

A source at Gibraltar’s gambling regulator said that while they could not provide an exact date when it would pass, they expected it to be “within the next one to two months”.

That timeline would mirror the schedule outlined by justice, trade and industry minister Nigel Feetham in his budget speech in July, when he said the legislation was due to be debated after parliament’s summer break and come into force on October 1.

Cambodia Extradites Prince Group's Gambling, Scam Kingpin

Chen Zhi, the US and UK-sanctioned chairman of Cambodia-based conglomerate Prince Group, which has been linked to cyber-scamming and online gambling compounds, has been arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China.

The Cambodian interior ministry said in a statement on Wednesday (January 7) that Chen, 38, and two other China-born suspects were removed to China on Tuesday at Beijing’s request and after months of joint investigative work.

The ministry added that Chen’s “Cambodian nationality was revoked by a Royal Decree” in December.

The extraditions mark a new and possibly crippling blow for Prince Group, which the US Treasury and US Justice Department slapped with sanctions and indictments in October over human trafficking and rights abuses, laundering billions of dollars using cryptocurrency, and wire fraud conspiracy.

The crackdown on Prince Group has spread throughout Asia, with Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other territories arresting associates and freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.

The FBI has also raided linked assets in the Isle of Man, though other properties linked to Chen through family and colleagues remain untouched in the UK and the United Arab Emirates.

On Thursday, the National Bank of Cambodia announced that most Prince Bank services have been suspended – though withdrawals are permitted – and all operations placed under the control of an independent auditor.

Chen’s downfall comes as Cambodia ramps enforcement against the nation’s ubiquitous illegal online gambling precincts and scam farms that have enslaved hundreds of thousands of workers.

Some of these illegal operations have also been severely disrupted by Thai military strikes against border casinos housing illegal online activity, facilities that Bangkok has alleged were used by Cambodian snipers and for storing munitions.

Polish Trade Association Backs Presidential Veto On Gambling Tax Rise

The Association for the Elimination of the Grey Market in Gambling and Betting (Graj Legalnie) has given its support to President Karol Nawrocki’s decision last month to veto a proposed increase in Poland’s tax on gambling winnings.

Under proposed changes to legislation, the tax on winnings from competitions, games and betting, or prizes related to promotional sales, would have been increased from 10 percent to 15 percent. However, President Nawrocki vetoed the proposal in December.

In response, Graj Legalnie said the decision by the president to veto the proposal was “the right one”.

The trade association said if the tax increases were introduced,  it would only benefit illegal operators, which it says currently account for 40 percent of the Polish online casino market.

Graj Legalnie explained that increasing the winnings tax to 15 percent would give players a “strong incentive” to stop playing in the legal market.

“If a participant has a choice between a legal operator with a 15 percent tax on any potential winnings (given that, already at the stage of placing a stake in sports betting, a 12% betting tax has been charged, reducing the stake), this will be an additional argument in favour of choosing the offer of illegal operators,” the trade body commented.

It added that if players did leave the legal market, it would lead to a “complete lack of revenue” for the state budget and would also pose significant risks to players, including identity theft, no guarantee of payout and a lack of player protection measures.

Additionally, legal operators will find themselves in a “worse competitive position” and may withdraw from the market.

These arguments form part of the trade association’s ongoing calls for the country’s gambling law to be reformed, with the body describing the current regulation as “ineffective” in the fight against illegal operators.

Graj Legalnie cited research by EY, which estimated the total value of lost gaming-tax revenues to the grey market between 2018 and 2023 at roughly PLN2.5bn (€594m).

Virginia Legislature To Debate Online Gaming Bill

Lawmakers in Virginia will once again debate the issue of legalizing online casino gaming with regulation and oversight by the state’s lottery board.

House Bill 161, authored by state Delegate Marcus Simon, a Democrat, allows each casino gaming operator to conduct up to three iGaming platforms in the state, along with a $2m fee for each platform they seek to operate. The bill also requires an initial licensing fee of $500,000.

In a summary of the bill, Simon proposes to use the platform fees to fund start-up costs and other costs associated with the implementation and creation of a Virginia Gaming Commission. The tax rate is set at 15 percent of an operator’s adjusted gross iGaming revenue.

Last year, Simon introduced House Bill 2171 that would have legalized iGaming with regulation by the Virginia Lottery. The bill was referred to the General Laws subcommittee, which recommended laying the bill on the table, effectively ending its chances of passage by the General Assembly.

As of Wednesday (January 7), HB 131 has not been referred to a House committee. The Virginia General Assembly will reconvene on January 14 for a session lasting 60 days, and the governor will introduce a new two-year biennial budget for the 2026-2028 fiscal years.

Virginia is not the only state set to debate the issue of legalizing iGaming. New York state Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr., a supporter of iGaming, was expected to file another bill this year.

Currently, Maine’s Democratic Governor Janet Mills is considering whether to veto an iGaming bill passed by the legislature in June 2025 that would allow four skins under the control of the state’s four Native American tribes.

Lawmakers in Maine reconvened on Wednesday, meaning the governor now has three days to sign or veto the bill.

Gibraltar Minister To Engage With UK Government Over Tax Increases

Nigel Feetham, Gibraltar's Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, has said his government will “engage constructively” with the UK Treasury around the impact of the upcoming gambling tax increases set to come into effect in April.

In April, remote gaming duty will be increased to 40 percent from 21 percent while online betting duty will be increased from 15 percent to 25 percent from April 2027.

When the tax increases were announced in November, Feetham warned that the incoming rises would directly affect public revenue in Gibraltar, given the territory’s close links with the UK-facing online gambling sector.

Feetham had reiterated Gibraltar’s serious concerns regarding the tax increases before Christmas, but has been informed that the budget will proceed as proposed.

Now that the Gibraltarian government has received this information, it will closely monitor its impact on the sector, particularly in relation to employment, tax revenues and the integrity of the regulated gaming sector in both the UK and Gibraltar.

Separately, the government will continue to engage with regulated gaming operators in Gibraltar to inform its assessment of the potential impact.

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