Insights Archive

March 17, 2022

Kentucky Sports-Betting Bill Wins Unanimous Support Of House Committee

Republican state Representative Adam Koenig has successfully guided his latest proposal to legalize sports betting in Kentucky out of committee and onto the General Assembly’s agenda, but its passage is far from assured.

March 17, 2022

Lone U.S. Sports-Betting Holdout Benefits As March Madness Returns

As the betting frenzy known as March Madness commences today, the National Collegiate Athletic Association stands alone among all major U.S. sports organizations in refusing to fully enter the lucrative sports-betting market.

March 17, 2022

News In Brief: March 14-March 18, 2022

The UK government is to scrutinise Allywn's lottery victory, Swedish pandemic measures of uncertain effectiveness and Ontario's regulator issues a reminder.

March 16, 2022

I TWINT You! Switzerland’s Payments Landscape

As with its neighbours in the DACH region, Switzerland has long been a lover of cash payments. However a popular domestic payments scheme has pushed the country increasingly towards digital payments.

March 16, 2022

Bitcoin Ban Kicked Out By EU Parliament, As It Passes MiCA Draft

The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has voted down an amendment that would have effectively banned Bitcoin and other energy-intensive crypto-assets in the trading bloc.

March 16, 2022

Paytm Denies RBI Ban Relates To Chinese Data Sharing

Refuting media reports, Indian super app Paytm has said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not ban the firm from onboarding new customers because it was sharing information with Chinese affiliates.

March 16, 2022

EU Tightens Grip On Russia With Fresh Set Of Sanctions

The fourth package of EU sanctions heats up the pressure on the Russian economy, but leaves the door open to further restrictions, experts say.

March 16, 2022

Ireland's Ministry Of Justice Provides Regulator Update

Applications to become the head of Ireland’s long-awaited Gambling Regulatory Authority are only open until 3:00pm on March 21, according to an update on the timeline for reforms from the Ministry of Justice.

March 16, 2022

Thailand Poses Ongoing Challenges For Possible LVS Casino

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has revealed it is in talks with an Asian government to develop a Singapore-style integrated resort, but likely target Thailand retains challenging political and social obstacles.

March 16, 2022

Georgia Senate Rejects Horseracing Constitutional Amendment

Georgia legislators rejected a measure ahead of a key legislative deadline on Tuesday that would have given voters the opportunity to allow parimutuel and fixed-odds wagering on horseracing in the state.

March 15, 2022

Which? Flags SCA Weak Spots As Enforcement Kicks Off

Strong customer authentication (SCA) could come at a cost for certain customers and open up new ways for fraudsters, the UK consumer association warns as the full implementation deadline glides by.

March 15, 2022

Contactless Payments And AML Regs Tackled In Latest EBA Q&As

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has provided answers to two more Q&As relating to the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and strong customer authentication (SCA) rules.

March 15, 2022

Cost Of Living Bites As UK Charity Warns Of BNPL Risks

One in 12 people turned to buy now, pay later (BNPL) to cover basic costs such as food and toiletries in the last six months, new research from Citizens Advice has found in a sign that the debate of whether the products are appropriately regulated is not going away.

March 15, 2022

Chinese Caste System Revamp Looks To Unleash New Payments Opportunities

Successful implementation of reforms to China’s Hukou household registration system could give payment firms access to millions of new customers. However, vested interests of the existing system could hold back progress.

March 15, 2022

Allwyn Named UK Lottery Licensee Over Incumbent Camelot

Allwyn Entertainment has been named preferred applicant for the fourth UK gambling licence, replacing Camelot, which has run the National Lottery since 1994.

March 15, 2022

New York Budgets Include New Sports-Betting Licenses

Both chambers of the New York legislature have expressed support for expanding the number of mobile sports-betting operators in the state in their respective one-house budget proposals.

March 15, 2022

Will Inflation Threaten U.S. Gaming's Recovery In 2022?

The U.S. gaming industry’s recovery from the depths of the pandemic has been well documented as commercial casino revenue reached record levels last year, but rising inflation could dampen that recovery, especially in key markets such as Nevada and New Jersey.

March 15, 2022

Spanish Minister Backs Cities Restricting Gambling Venues

Alberto Garzón, Spain’s minister of consumer affairs, wants local municipalities to have the power and tools to introduce restrictions on gambling venues in their areas.

March 14, 2022

Merchants Seek Probe Into Visa, Mastercard Anti-Competitive Dominance

The Merchants Payments Coalition has called on U.S. Congress to investigate Visa and Mastercard’s alleged anti-competitive dominance ahead of the card giants’ planned swipe fee increase in April.

March 14, 2022

Crypto ATM? It’s Shutdown, Says FCA

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has upped the ante in its pursuance of crypto ventures in the UK, telling operators of crypto ATMs in the UK to shut their machines down or face enforcement action.

March 14, 2022

UK Regulators Give Firms Crypto Sanction Warning

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation and the Bank of England have made a call for crypto firms to adhere to the financial sanctions against Russia, following speculation that crypto-assets could be used as a way around compliance rules.