Insights Archive

December 16, 2021

South Africa's National Gambling Amendment Bill On Last Legs

South Africa’s National Gambling Amendment bill has once again failed to gain majority approval from the National Council of Provinces.

December 16, 2021

UK Gambling Commission Fines Buzz Bingo Parent

The Gambling Commission has fined Buzz Group, operator of buzzbingo.com, £780,000 for failures in social responsibility and anti-money laundering policies.

December 15, 2021

UK Antitrust Watchdog Becomes Latest To Call Out Bigtech Monopoly

Apple and Google’s duopoly limits competition and choice, and consumers are missing out, suggests the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s interim report into the mobile ecosystem.

December 15, 2021

’Eyewatering And Staggering!’ - NatWest Pay Big Price For Money Laundering Scandal

NatWest has been fined a staggering £264.8m following an anti-money laundering scandal; however, experts are divided on whether this is justice served for one of the UK’s largest retail banking institutions.

December 15, 2021

Cross-Border Payments Evolution And Revolution Run Head-To-Head

There is probably a widespread consensus that cross-border payments need to be reformed but there is less agreement on whether such an overhaul should take place through transformative changes to the existing infrastructure or a whole new technology.

December 15, 2021

Nevada Regulators Reviewing Remote ID Verification

The Nevada Gaming Control Board will hold another workshop on Thursday as regulators consider whether to approve a regulatory amendment submitted by Sightline Payments that would enable remote verification of casino wagering accounts, but not for sports betting and pari-mutuel accounts.

December 15, 2021

Battle Being Fought Over Brazil Gambling Bill

The leader of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies is pushing to quickly pass a sweeping new bill to regulate casino-resorts, bingo halls and all forms of online gambling, but is struggling to overcome stiff opposition from evangelical lawmakers.

December 15, 2021

Finnish Parliament Approves Gambling Law Amendments

The Finnish parliament has approved the government’s proposal to amend gambling laws, including a modified version of its payment blocking plan.

December 14, 2021

Prosecution Of Sanctions Violations Ineffective In EU, Says New Report

There are very few individuals and businesses held effectively accountable for sanctions violations, a recently published report finds, urging EU agencies to take a more coordinated effort when addressing wrongdoers.

December 14, 2021

More Time Needed! Which? Asks Banks To Halt Branch Closures

Consumers’ association Which? is calling on banks to pause their branch closures until the UK finds a solution to protect access to cash.

December 14, 2021

News In Brief - EBA CLEARING Completes TIPS Migration

EBA CLEARING has announced that it has successfully completed the migration of its RT1 technical account from TARGET2 to the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS).

December 14, 2021

EBA Begins To Set New Standards For Remote Onboarding

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a new consultation to align standards in the EU on how customers can be remotely onboarded to financial institutions.

December 14, 2021

Georgian Trade Group Protests Ad Ban Plan

The Georgian gambling industry has hit back at plans by the Prime Minister to introduce an advertising ban and hike online casino taxes.

December 14, 2021

U.S. Sports-Betting Start-Ups Face Regulatory Challenges

Investors are split on whether new operators can disrupt a marketing-dominated sports-betting space, but many point out that companies need to understand the regulatory challenges they face in doing so and in setting their own valuations for potential acquisitions.

December 14, 2021

Uncertainty Over UK White Paper Release

The UK government’s white paper on the Gambling Act may not be published until after the National Lottery licence is awarded in February 2022, according to a story in the Guardian.

December 13, 2021

Impact Analysis: Remittances In Growth Markets - An Untapped Opportunity?

Remittances provide an essential economic backbone for the large growth markets of Indonesia and the Philippines, but innovation in this space has been scarce. However, rapidly changing consumer habits coupled with recent regulatory developments may provide the perfect opportunity for disruptors to capture an important and lucrative market in two of Asia’s hottest fintech markets.

December 13, 2021

India To Review Merchant Service Charges To Ensure Economic Viability

In a new effort to boost the usage and the economic viability of digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India has announced plans to update its payment system fees, connect feature phones to its instant payment infrastructure and enable offline payment for low-value transactions.

December 13, 2021

PSR Publishes New Payments Architecture Regulatory Framework

The UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has issued a regulatory framework for the New Payments Architecture, laying out requirements for both Pay.UK and any future central infrastructure provider to address risks, and promote competition and innovation.

December 13, 2021

WhatsApp Payments Trial Shows Meta’s Continued Payments Shift

Meta is running a trial to provide U.S. WhatsApp users with the ability to send and receive money using the technology giant’s digital wallet vehicle, Novi.

December 13, 2021

Request To Pay Breaks New Ground With Visa And SIX Announcements

After a relatively quiet year in the news, Request To Pay is once again making headlines as two leading payments firms announce new plans for the overlay messaging service.

December 13, 2021

Alberta Soliciting Proposals For Retail, Mobile Sports Betting

Alberta gaming regulators are accepting bids from perspective operators that want to be licensed in the province to offer retail and online sports betting.