Archived Insights

Thailand’s Cabinet has approved and will send to parliament a draft Integrated Entertainment Business Act that would legalise integrated resort casino operations, while the government doubles down on its desire to regulate online gambling.

The first Swedish influencer could be convicted of promoting illegal gambling after they were taken into custody last week.

New Jersey’s licensed gaming operators would be mandated to disclose their businesses in other jurisdictions under a new rule being considered by state regulators.

The US consumer protection watchdog is seeking input on strengthening measures to prevent what it says is "harmful surveillance" in digital payments, particularly those offered through large technology platforms.

As technology grows more sophisticated, financial criminals are adapting their methods accordingly. On November 11, 2024, as part of the Treasury Department’s efforts to address technological risks, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert to assist financial institutions in identifying and combating fraud schemes involving deepfake media created with generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. According to the alert, in the previous two years, “FinCEN has seen an increase in suspicious activity reporting by financial institutions describing the suspected use of deepfake media in fraud schemes targeting their institutions and customers."

A spokesperson for the European Securities and Markets Authority has confirmed to Vixio that unauthorised stablecoins cannot be offered to the public under the Market in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA).

Lawmakers in Rwanda have approved two pieces of legislation that aim to strengthen the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) framework and align it more closely with that of regional partners.

The EU’s digital payments framework is neither accountable nor supported by data, and problems persist with open banking and IBAN discrimination, the European Court of Auditors has warned in a highly critical new report.

Italy’s €4bn lottery concession is up for tender once again, with major operators believed to be circling one of the world’s most lucrative national lottery contracts.

Michigan regulators have issued a summary suspension order to the Churchill Downs-owned TwinSpires platform for continuing to operate advance deposit wagering on horseracing in the state despite an order to cease operations. 

Canada's attempt to create a national framework for regulating sports-betting advertising is “effectively wiped out”, Massachusetts regulator approves a $10,000 penalty to Penn Sports Interactive and the UAE issues a gaming-related vendor licence to Miami-based Xpoint Tech.

The Ministry of Sports has confused the Brazilian gambling market by publishing an ordinance limiting players to only wager on esports accepted by the International Olympic Committee. 

After Brazil and Peru launched their regulated online gambling markets, attention should shift in 2025 from licensing and expansion to the prospect of stricter regulations in key Latin American jurisdictions.

A US regulator is caught warning banks against dabbling in crypto, the head of the CFTC resigns, and the creator of TerraUSD is (finally) extradited to the US to face trial.

Meta’s push into India’s payments market has received a boost from a key regulator, after a long-standing user onboarding cap on WhatsApp Pay was removed with immediate effect.

Singapore’s deputy prime minister has been probed on issues such as credit card fraud, customer data misuse and joint account protocols in the latest spate of questions from the country’s lawmakers.

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has granted recognition to the Financial Data Exchange, Inc. as an official standards-setting body under its Personal Financial Data Rights rule.

US-based casino operator Wynn Resorts has announced it will acquire the boutique casino Crown London, also known as Aspinalls, from Crown Resorts to help feed customers to its future resort in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

While most disputes over sports betting and online gaming legalization often center around which stakeholders stand to benefit and which stand to lose out, a hearing Wednesday in Minnesota served as a reminder of the presence of anti-gambling opponents.

Lawmakers in Singapore have enacted a first-of-its-kind bill that empowers the police to freeze the bank accounts of scam victims without their consent.

The Reserve Bank of India has mandated that all banks connected to two major funds transfers systems must introduce a beneficiary account name look-up facility by April 1, 2025.