Insights Archive

November 10, 2021

EU Finance Ministries Pile On Political Pressure For The EPI

Seven of the EU’s national finance ministries have published a joint statement in support of the European Payments Initiative (EPI).

November 10, 2021

Now Is Not The Time For A Retail CBDC, Singapore Says

On balance, the case for a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Singapore is not urgent, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has said in a new research paper.

November 10, 2021

U.S. Continues Crackdown Against Ransomware In Whole-Of-Government Effort

In a coordinated multi-agency effort, the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Justice have taken a series of actions against ransomware groups, including the designation of a virtual currency exchange network, the seizure of $6.1m paid in ransom, and the release of an updated ransomware advisory for financial institutions.

November 10, 2021

BNY Mellon Offers Solution To Facilitate ISO 20022 Transition

The U.S. bank has launched a one-stop-shop online resource center to help financial institutions prepare for the adoption of the new message standard that is going to be mandated in major economies within the next couple of years.

November 10, 2021

Eleven Bookmakers To Be Prosecuted In NSW, Sportsbet Fined

The gambling regulator in Australia’s New South Wales state is prosecuting 11 bookmakers in 15 cases, VIXIO GamblingCompliance has learned, with market leader Sportsbet the latest to be convicted.

November 10, 2021

Risky Financial Products Replacing Gambling Sponsorships, Researchers Warn

Risky gambling-like trading and cryptocurrency products are filling the void left by gambling football sponsorships as they are outlawed by regulators, academics have warned.

November 10, 2021

New Jersey Governor Vetoes Bill Permitting Sports-Betting Promo Deductions

Days after being re-elected to a second term, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has vetoed legislation that would have allowed sportsbook operators to deduct bonuses from their taxable revenues.

November 10, 2021

Curaçao 'Licensees' Clog Gambling Blacklists, Rile Regulators

Buccaneering Curaçao-based online gambling companies crowd blacklists all over Europe and Australia, with nearly 40 percent of all blacklisted companies in 18 countries traceable to an address on the Caribbean island.

November 9, 2021

Nordic Payments Council Consults On Changes To Credit Transfer Rules

The Nordic Payments Council (NPC) is consulting on proposed changes to its rulebooks, including levelling up its old ISO 20022 messaging format to the latest 2019 version. The changes are aimed at ensuring the payment schemes keep up with the evolution of the payment market, and follow the SEPA payment schemes as much as possible.

November 9, 2021

Lithuania’s FIU Uncovers 20x Increase In Suspicious Transaction Reports

Lithuania has transformed into one of the EU’s hubs for fintech, but as a result is increasing the volume of suspicious transactions — have payment institutions and the regulators got the resources they need to cope?

November 9, 2021

U.S. Passes Historic Infrastructure Bill With Crypto Reporting Provision

Following lengthy negotiations, the U.S. Congress has passed the $1.2trn Infrastructure Bill that will update the country’s infrastructure. As passed, the act will require certain crypto transactions to be reported for tax purposes.

November 9, 2021

Online Slot Harm Report Shocks Researchers

Researchers in the UK have said they were shocked to find no significant correlation between behavioural markers of harm and the volatility, return to player or hit rate of online slot games.

November 9, 2021

New York State Of Nine: Gaming Commission Selects Sports-Betting Operators

The New York State Gaming Commission has selected nine operators to offer mobile sports betting in the most coveted market in the United States, with bet365 and Penn National's Barstool among those failing to secure a license.

November 9, 2021

Dutch Trade Groups Agree On Responsible Slogan

Gambling associations in the Netherlands have jointly backed the introduction of a new responsible gambling slogan, saying they could quickly implement it as a temporary measure.

November 9, 2021

Crypto Cowboys: Wyoming Wants To Be Pioneer On Virtual Currency Wagering

With an economy based largely on cattle, oil and mining, policymakers in Wyoming have grabbed the attention of gaming operators, attorneys and payment processors after becoming the first state to regulate the use of cryptocurrency for wagering on sporting events.

November 9, 2021

Malaysian Deputy Minister Touts Review Of Gambling Laws

Malaysia’s deputy home minister has confirmed the government is continuing to review legislation related to gambling, amid lawmaker complaints over ease of access to online products, but did not say if regulation is on the cards.

November 8, 2021

Competition Authority Envisages UK Open Banking Future

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has published a new update regarding its vision for the “future entity” to replace the Open Banking Implementation Entity.

November 8, 2021

China’s New CBDC Wallet To Have No Transaction Cap, Confirms PBOC Official

Some 140m people had opened wallets for China's new digital yuan as of October and used it for transactions totalling around 62bn yuan ($9.7bn), according to a senior official at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

November 8, 2021

mCBDC Could Save Global Corporates $120bn In Cross-Border Transaction Costs

A multi-central bank digital currency (mCBDC) network could disrupt cross-border payments as they exist today and save global corporates $100bn in transaction costs annually, a joint research report published by J.P. Morgan and Oliver Wyman has found.

November 8, 2021

U.S. Lawmakers Call For Broad Interpretation Of Beneficial Ownership Law

Senior Congressional Democrats have called on the U.S. Treasury to speed up the implementation of an important law that will crack down on anonymous shell companies, and interpret the law as broadly as possible.

November 8, 2021

Chinese Police Crack Gambler 'Network' For Tigre De Cristal

Chinese police are prosecuting 75 suspects after breaking up a finance and recruitment network for gamblers traveling to Russia’s Tigre de Cristal hotel-casino near Vladivostok.