Insights Archive

September 7, 2021

Hong Kong Payment Firms In Firing Line

Hong Kong's National Security Department is issuing messages to various firms to hand over information about anyone they encounter upon request. Financial firms, including payments firms, are expected to bear the brunt of the enquiries.

September 7, 2021

News In Brief - September 7, 2021

Swedbank is under investigation regarding its regulatory compliance with the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and Latvia's financial industry comes together on access to cash.

September 7, 2021

FCA Chair Comes For Kim Kardashian

The chairperson of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has criticised the financial promotion of crypto-assets on social media, while talking up the benefits of regulated cryptocurrencies in the payments space.

September 7, 2021

Arizona Judge Quashes Sports-Betting Injunction

An Arizona judge denied a request for an injunction Monday night that would have impeded the planned launch of the state’s sports-betting program this week.

September 7, 2021

Former Top Official Jailed Over Japan Casino Corruption

The politician formerly at the head of Japan’s integrated resort (IR) project, Tsukasa Akimoto, has been jailed for four years for receiving bribes from a Chinese gaming company and interfering with witness testimony.

September 7, 2021

The Road To Maturity: Iowa's Two-Pronged Sports-Betting Launch Continues In 2021

In Iowa, sports betting has effectively seen two distinct launch points, the first coming in 2019 and the second at the beginning of 2021.

September 7, 2021

Flutter Puts £500 Spending Limit On Under 25s

Flutter UK and Ireland is introducing a spending backstop of £500 per month for all customers under the age of 25, but the move has failed to silence criticism from some health specialists pushing for enhanced consumer protections.

September 6, 2021

Adequacy - The GDPR’s Great Stumbling Block

Everyone has heard of the European Union's "equivalence" regime which allows various countries to trade with it freely in certain financial areas, but few have heard of the "adequacy" regime that it applies to data protection. How quickly can it remove a country from its list of "adequate" partners? How quickly can the UK remove the EU from its own list?

September 6, 2021

Fed Gauges Businesses’ Payments Policies

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused U.S. businesses to need faster access to funds and they are starting to look strategically at payments, according to a Federal Reserve survey.

September 6, 2021

The Scope Of The Whistleblower Directive

The EU’s new whistleblowing directive will protect whistleblowers at the EU level, but it is up to member states to ensure legislation protects them under national law.

September 6, 2021

India's Karnataka To Ban Online Gaming, Including Skill Products

The government of India's Karnataka state has announced it will ban all online “wagering or betting” following court demands for clarity, but it remains unclear if eventual legislation will target online skill gaming with stakes.

September 6, 2021

European Funds Most Likely To Exclude Gambling, Survey Says

The percentage of investment funds with policies that exclude gambling is highest in Europe and lowest in North America, according to a Morgan Stanley survey of environmental, social and governance issues.

September 3, 2021

Keep Crypto Regs National, Says New EU Poll

Despite the European Commission’s plans to regulate crypto-assets through an EU-wide set of rules, a majority of EU citizens would prefer to see their own national legislation in operation, according to a new poll by Redfield And Wilton Strategies.

September 3, 2021

More Tales From The Compliance Career Market

In this conversation with an executive at a compliance recruitment firm in the City of London, we identify the European countries from which compliance recruitment business drifts in to the UK, the backlog in authorisations at the Financial Conduct Authority, and the phenomenon of small — and not so small — payments firms coming to the UK under the regulatory umbrellas of the big banks.

September 3, 2021

Canada Modernizes Payment System With Lynx

The opening of Canada’s new high-value payment system is another step towards the country's objective of modernizing its payment system and making it more adaptive to innovation.

September 3, 2021

ESPN Explores Sports-Betting Deal Where Other Media Companies Have Failed

Disney’s ESPN has long been viewed as the crown jewel of U.S. sports betting-media partnerships, but analysts are warning there's no guarantee a big-money tie-up would even be successful.

September 3, 2021

Gambling Companies Buoyant On US, Depressed Over Germany

Germany and the US have been top of mind for publicly traded gambling companies this earnings season, for opposite reasons: one expanding, the other contracting.

September 3, 2021

Gambling Problems More Prevalent In Esports Bettors, Says Study

Esports bettors experience higher levels of gambling problems and harm than traditional sports bettors, according to a new research article.

September 3, 2021

News In Brief: August 30-September 3, 2021

The UK Gambling Commission appoints its new chair, IGT wins European legal case, Bet MGM secures Puerto Rico partnership and India's Dream11 seeks another major funding round.

September 2, 2021

EU Proposals to Strengthen the AML Framework and Potential Impact on Financial Market

In July 2021, the European Commission presented a package consisting of four legislative proposals to strengthen the EU anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) framework.

September 2, 2021

Full Steam Ahead To More Regulation, Says New Zealand Report

Financial services and payments regulation is expanding and its proponents are aiming to produce more inclusive and resilient systems, according to a report by Payments NZ, a quasi-official body whose stated mission is "making sure payments are simple and secure for Kiwis."