Insights Archive

May 16, 2023

HSBC And Scotia Capital Fined Combined $68m For WhatsApp (Mis)Use

US securities and derivatives agencies have again fined two banks whose employees used WhatsApp to discuss business matters. Regulators have handed out more than $2bn in fines since their crackdown on such recordkeeping failures started in 2021.

May 16, 2023

Another BNPL Bites The Dust - This Time It’s Fupay

Fupay has become the latest casualty of Australia’s once thriving but now struggling buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector, as firms grapple with higher interest rates and increased funding costs.

May 16, 2023

Payments Industry Entering Era Of Consolidation, Says German Regulator

In a wide-ranging annual report, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has echoed others in Europe by noticing an increase in mergers and acquisitions. It has also said complaints were up and the number of licence applications were down.

May 16, 2023

Finnish Police Issue Conditional Fine Against Betsson Over Illegal Marketing

Finland’s National Police Board has imposed what it calls a conditional €2.4m fine on a Betsson subsidiary, which will be levied alongside payment blocking if it does not comply by June 3.

May 16, 2023

Oklahoma Tribes Take Cautious Approach Toward Sports Betting

Oklahoma remains one of the key tribal gaming markets that has yet to legalize sports betting, with animosity between tribes and Republican Governor Kevin Stitt expected to forestall regulation for the foreseeable future.

May 16, 2023

Ontario Regulator Lauds Focus On Suppliers To Keep Out Offshore Market

Ontario gaming officials continue to tout the success of the province’s transition of grey-market operators into a competitive online gambling market.

May 16, 2023

Ecuador Announces New Taxes On Online Gambling

Ecuador's government has published a tax-reform package that includes a variety of proposals for both local and offshore online gambling operators, as well as Ecuadorian players themselves.

May 15, 2023

Interview: VIXIO Speaks To UK’s PSR Chief Chris Hemsley

VIXIO interviews the Payment Systems Regulator's (PSR) managing director at the launch of the watchdog’s annual plan, discussing unlocking the power of account-to-account payments, fraud and crypto.

May 15, 2023

New York Targets ’Most Comprehensive’ Crypto Regulation In The US

The New York attorney general has proposed new legislation that aims to provide the “strongest and most comprehensive” regulatory framework for crypto users, businesses and investors in the US.

May 15, 2023

NSW Moves To Ban Political Donations From Gaming-Linked Clubs

Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state government has moved to ban political donations from clubs that operate slot machines or other gambling services.

May 15, 2023

Aristocrat To Buy NeoGames, Fanatics To Buy PointsBet US Operations

As the sun came up in Melbourne on Monday, two Australian-based companies announced major transactions that significantly alter the global online gaming landscape, one as a buyer and one as a seller.

May 15, 2023

Casino Bill Collapses But Gaming Finally Gets Foot In The Door In Texas

Casinos will have to wait at least two more years in Texas and a sports-betting bill appears doomed in the Senate, but 2023 may well be remembered as the year when the gaming industry, at long last, penetrated the forbidden frontier of the Lone Star State.

May 15, 2023

Latvia May Allow Gambling Ads Again

Latvia is evaluating the impact that un-banning gambling advertising could have, as it has become “almost impossible” to prevent illegal marketing, according to the regulator.

May 15, 2023

The U.S. Sports Betting Industry At Five: What Does The Future Hold?

Almost five years later to the day, the overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) by the U.S. Supreme Court has proven to be a seminal moment in the global gaming industry. In this forensic explainer, VIXIO GamblingCompliance examines the key themes of the U.S. sports-betting industry, their impact to date, and how they are likely to impact the industry’s growth going forward.

May 12, 2023

Lithuania Fines Two More E-Money Firms

The Baltic country’s increasingly strict oversight of the payments industry has continued with more firms being publicly censured by the regulator.

May 12, 2023

Green Shoots As UK Payments Fraud Starts To Fall

UK Finance’s annual fraud report finds that overall fraud shrank by 8 percent in 2022 as the end of the pandemic reshaped the fraud landscape, again.

May 12, 2023

Week In Crypto: Another Exchange Files For Bankruptcy Following SEC Lawsuit

A major crypto exchange files for bankruptcy in the US, an Irish central banker vows to protect the public from crypto “Ponzi schemes” and Argentina bans all crypto services.

May 12, 2023

Daily Dash: Revolut’s Drama Era Continues

Revolut’s chief financial officer has quit, the EU’s artificial intelligence act has passed committee stage in the European Parliament and Singapore’s DBS Bank has been served a capital requirement order following another major outage.

May 12, 2023

Karnataka High Court Blocks 'Gambling' GST For Online Skill Gaming

Industry heavyweights are jubilant after the high court in India’s Karnataka state rejected a goods and services tax (GST) gambling classification for online companies offering skill gaming with stakes, annulling Gameskraft Technology's liability for $2.6bn in unpaid GST.

May 12, 2023

Brazil Betting Decree To Map Out Enforcement Powers, Restrict State Lotteries

Under the cloud of an escalating match-fixing scandal, Brazil’s government is set to finally publish implementing legislation to establish a regulatory regime for sports betting that will be reinforced by payments and website blocking of unlicensed sites.

May 12, 2023

Malta Defends Foreign Judgment Bill

Malta’s government ministry responsible for a bill that aims to prohibit foreign judgments from being enforced against gambling providers licensed in the country has defended its plans.