Archived Insights

The Philippine Supreme Court has ruled that the lowest tier of government, the local community “barangay”, is permitted to run bingo fundraisers without the permission of gambling regulator PAGCOR or any other government body.

One of the key agitators for overhauling gambling policy in the UK has warned that campaigners are set to return with a fresh frontier for reform: a completely new Gambling Act.

The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday voted to fine MGM Resorts International $8.5m to settle a state gaming regulator's complaint over money laundering in which a former executive allowed illegal bookmakers to gamble millions and pay debts in cash at two Las Vegas properties.

The Trump administration’s rollout of policies, including tariffs and drastic spending cuts within its first 100 days in office, continues to cause uncertainty and volatility, even if it is too early to measure the full impact on gaming companies.

Kenya’s Ministry of Health has outlined the government's response to its “deep concern” about increasing gambling addiction in the community, particularly among young people, “driven by the popularity of online gambling platforms such as Aviator”.

On March 3, 2025, the Bank of Israel (BOI) unveiled the preliminary design for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Shekel (DS), marking a significant step towards modernising the country’s payment landscape. With features such as real-time settlement, interoperability with other payment systems and digital assets, and a strong emphasis on user privacy, the DS aims to serve domestic and cross-border payment needs. The system also includes a tiered service model for payment providers, catering to varying customer requirements while maintaining compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regulations.

The Bank of Thailand has released a set of draft regulations intended to enhance the supervision of retail payment systems deemed critical to the country’s financial infrastructure.

Chile has taken a page from the EU’s playbook, with its new rules on payment security and authentication clearing taking inspiration from the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

A specialist unit of Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has begun drawing up regulatory reforms and may push for new legislation to suppress the nation’s online gambling boom.

The rise of online sweepstakes casinos in the U.S. has become a serious issue for state gaming regulators, as they believe the offshore, unregulated websites are illegal gambling operations.

Videoslots will appeal the Swedish Gambling Authority's decision to issue it with a warning and a SEK11m (€1.1m) fine, arguing it raises questions about existing legal expectations on licensees regarding duty of care requirements.

In a significant move towards strengthening financial integrity, on March 6, 2025, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia published Amendments to the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the official gazette. These amendments align Serbian regulations with EU Directive (EU) 2015/843 (5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive) and international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and MONEYVAL. The updates aim to enhance due diligence, increase transparency and reinforce oversight over digital assets and beneficial ownership structures.

The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have fined Discover a total of $250m for overcharging merchants on the same day its acquisition by Capital One was approved.

A German lawmaker has raised concerns with the European Commission over the effectiveness of its enforcement action against hawala banking practices, the informal method of cross-border transactions.

Banking and finance hubs Singapore and Hong Kong have simultaneously pushed for higher standards in the financial sector when it comes to cyber resilience.

New York is still several months away from granting three downstate casino licenses, but investors and analysts believe there is effectively only one license up for grabs in the largest untapped gaming market in the northeast United States.

Barely more than a year after approving a federal law to regulate online gambling, Brazil’s Senate is now considering whether to restrict or ban advertising and impose further limits on newly licensed operators.

The Bank of Lithuania has reported a dramatic decline in complaints related to payment services, with the number of grievances dropping nearly threefold in 2024.

A US federal judge has thrown out a Biden-era rule capping late credit card payment fees at $8 following a challenge by the Trump administration and a coalition of business groups.

A dispute has broken out in Sweden over the use of geoblocking by licensed suppliers to prevent their content from being used on the black market, a practice the country’s regulator says is not good enough.

As Kalshi announced the launch of single-game markets for Major League Baseball, the head of the U.S. gaming industry’s main trade association insisted the prediction market's sports event contracts are being offered in violation of federal law.