News In Brief: March 17-March 21, 2025

Genting Berhad, Resorts World Las Vegas and its affiliated companies have agreed to a $10.5m fine for allowing illegal bookmakers to gamble and failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering (AML) protocols at the resort, according to a settlement filed Thursday (March 20).

The fine would be the second largest assessed by Nevada regulators and still needs approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC), which is scheduled to meet on March 27. The highest fine, $20m, was paid in 2019 by Wynn Resorts to settle a sexual harassment complaint involving co-founder Steve Wynn.

If approved by the commission, the settlement would resolve a 13-count complaint initially filed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) on August 15, 2024. Under the conditions of the settlement, Resorts World would be required to provide regular reporting of AML activities to the control board. 

Resorts World would also be required to provide updated AML training to the resort’s compliance committee. 

The resort has already restructured its board of directors by adding Jim Murren, former chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International; Brian Sandoval, a former Nevada governor and former NGC chairman; and AG Burnett, a former chair of the control board.

On Thursday, the NGCB also posted a revised complaint eliminating references to potential “organized crime” activities at the casino.

The consumer protection authority for the state of São Paulo has fined online gambling operator PixBet more than R$1.1m (approximately US$199,000) for alleged violations of consumer protection laws.

In a statement published on its website on Wednesday (March 19), Procon-SP said PixBet’s published terms and conditions include “several abusive clauses … that put consumers at an excessive disadvantage”.

Non-compliant terms cited by the agency include the ability of PixBet to prevent or limit withdrawals of funds deposited by bettors.

PixBet is one of several dozen operators with a permanent or provisional license to operate online sports betting and casino games across Brazil. It also has a state license in Rio de Janeiro.

Procon-SP said PixBet was entitled to appeal the fine, which appears to be the first such action brought against a licensed online gambling operator in Brazil by a state-level consumer protection agency.

Corbett Bookmakers Limited has been fined £686,070 fine for social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failings, including failing to identify that a consumer was experiencing harm after they staked £23,674 in 13 days.

The land-based gambling business which operates 36 premises “failed to adhere to vital regulations designed to make gambling safer and free from criminal activity,” the Gambling Commission’s director of enforcement, John Pierce, said in a press release on March 20.

“As a result, it will not only pay a significant fine but also undergo a rigorous audit to ensure full compliance with anti-money laundering and safer gambling measures,” he said.

Additionally, Pierce said the regulator expects the operator to “swiftly and fully “implement the audit recommendations.

“Failure to do so will prompt our compliance team to reassess the situation and take further action as necessary,” he warned, adding that “all operators should carefully consider this case and the price this operator is now paying.”

The failings occurred between February 2022 and May 2024 and were revealed during a two-day Gambling Commission compliance assessment.

Other social responsibility failings included inadequately interacting with consumers who lost vast sums of money during long gambling sessions, including one consumer who staked £47,416 and lost £6,741 over 10 weeks.

There was also a host of AML failures, including customers being allowed to stake and lose significant sums without the licensee receiving sufficient Know Your Customer (KYC) evidence or source of funds verification.

One customer was able to stake approximately £47,000 and lose £14,000 during eight months without “verifying the legitimacy of the monies accepted from the customer”.

The new Finnish Gambling Act has been submitted to Parliament, marking a major milestone in the country’s bid to open licensing for betting activities, online slot machines and casino games.

Minister of the Interior, Mari Rantanen, said the bill aims to direct consumers to a regulated online offering and balance market opportunities with the risks of gambling harm, in an update on March 20.

The bill will now be forwarded to the Parliament's sub-committees, where it will be reviewed. There were no major changes to the previous draft.

Veikkaus would retain the exclusive right to offer lottery-style games, scratchcards, land-based gambling machines and casino games.

The proposed gambling tax is 22 percent of gross gambling revenue (GGR).

The government underlined that gambling operators could apply for a licence from the beginning of 2026 and licensed gambling activities could begin at the beginning of 2027. Suppliers will need to be licensed a year after the market opens.

Starting in 2027, licensing and supervision of the gambling market will be entrusted to a new gambling regulator.

A separate government proposal on the reform of the state's regional administration and the establishment of the Licensing and Supervision Authority was submitted to parliament on March 13, 2025.

The legal change is expected to increase the marketing and visibility of gambling, as marketing is allowed in the act subject to restrictions.

There will be bans on several types of marketing, including the use of influencers or directing marketing to minors or other vulnerable groups. There are also strict rules surrounding the use of sponsorships for both teams and individuals. 

Governor Wes Moore and top Democrat leaders in the Maryland legislature announced a deal Thursday (March 20) on a budget framework that includes raising taxes on sports betting, but not raising money from legalizing online casino games.

According to various local media reports, the budget agreement includes a plan to raise taxes on sports betting from 15 percent to 20 percent of gross revenue.

Moore’s initial budget proposal released in January would have doubled the sports-betting tax rate from 15 percent to 30 percent, as well as increasing the table game tax rate to 25 percent from 20 percent.

The proposed tax increase could still change as the 2026 budget makes its way through both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly; however, Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, supports the framework that was designed to close a $3.3bn budget deficit.

“Another change is an increase in the gaming and cannabis tax rate,” Ferguson said during a news conference in Annapolis to announce the 2026 budget framework. 

“Maryland is aligning these rates with our neighboring states, ensuring we remain competitive while generating additional revenue for state programs,” Ferguson added. 

Ferguson also confirmed that the budget framework does not include “raising money from iGaming.”

High 5 Casino, a division of High 5 Entertainment, has received a cease-and-desist letter for offering unauthorized online gaming activities in Maryland. 

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency (MLGCA) accused High 5 Casino of offering and conducting online gaming activities in the state without legal authority to do so. The only legal online gaming in Maryland is sports betting and fantasy competitions. 

The MLGCA’s letter noted that they have no record of High Entertainment being issued a sports wagering license, a casino license, or registration as a fantasy competition. High Entertainment has ten dates from the date of the letter, which was March 18, to cease its operations in the state. 

So far, Maryland regulators have issued a total of 14 cease-and-desist letters to offshore online sweepstakes and sports betting operators, including BetAnySports and VGW, which operates Chumba Casino and Luckyland Slots.

“Maryland Lottery and Gaming periodically contacts the operators of online gaming platforms that appear to be operating illegally in Maryland,” the agency said on its website. “Such operators are asked to either confirm that they are not operating illegally, or to cease and desist gaming activities that they are not licensed or registered to conduct.”

New Zealand’s racing and internal affairs ministers have rejected a NZ$150 ($87m) bid by wagering monopoly TAB for an online casino licence, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported on Wednesday (March 19).

Racing minister Winston Peters and internal affairs minister Brooke van Velden refused to consider amending legislation to allow the TAB into the nation’s upcoming online casino market, according to documents seen by RNZ.

The ministers also rejected the TAB’s push for an online casino market limited to one or two licensees instead of the 15 licences on offer.

Both requests were included in a December 2023 letter to van Velden. The TAB had offered a full upfront payment for the ten-year licence.

“I don't believe that the government should be involved in casino gambling,” van Velden said.

“I look at the government trying to address the core services that people need in their lives and providing an online service for casino games is not what I think the government should be involved in.”

Peters supports a bill before parliament that would expand the TAB’s monopoly on retail sports betting and horseracing into the online space, but he drew the line at online casino products.

“Casino products are fundamentally different to wagering products and the minister has advised TAB NZ of his expectation that it retains its focus on sports and racing,” a spokesperson for Peters told RNZ.

An amended bill that would ban the sale or purchase of winning Oregon Lottery tickets was overwhelmingly approved by the House, as the measure also seeks to establish a structure to determine the validity of scratch-off tickets.

House Bill 3115, introduced by Representative John Lively, a Democrat, also prohibits individuals from claiming a winning ticket for another person for compensation. 

The bill was amended in the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection allowing lottery winners to keep their identities private unless they provide written authorization. The amendment also adds an effective date of 91 days following the legislature’s adjournment on June 29.

It entitles lottery retailers to pay winning ticket holders up to $5,000 after validating the ticket at their businesses. The proposed validation system established by the Oregon Lottery Commission would only verify “claims to prizes greater than $600.”

HB 3115 was approved by the House on Monday (March 17) by a vote of 52-1 with seven members excused, before being referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Business.

Illegal gambling accounts for around 10 percent of the Danish internet gambling market, according to new figures published by the country’s regulator.

In its annual review of the black market, the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) reported an online channelisation rate of 90.29 percent.

Its attempts to protect that high rate of licensed gambling include a programme of website blocking.

The authority said it blocked 162 websites throughout 2024, after a streamlined legal process that came into effect at the start of that year made it easier for the regulator to blacklist websites.

The DGA began working with streaming platform Twitch in 2024 to take down content that advertised unlicensed gambling, much as it has done with Google and Apple in the past.

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency (MLGCA) has ordered VGW Games Ltd., to stop offering Chumba Casino and Luckyland Slots to residents, ordering the company to exit the state. 

Michael Eaton, managing director of gaming with the MLGCA, told VGW it is “offering and conducting online gaming activities in Maryland without legal authority to do so.”

“The only online gaming permitted in Maryland is mobile/online sports wagering and online fantasy competitions,” Eaton wrote in a two-page letter to VGW. 

Eaton reminded VGW that it is prohibited from offering sports betting and fantasy sports unless it is licensed by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission. Online casino gambling is not permitted in Maryland.

“The commission has no record of VGW being issued a sports wagering license, a casino gaming license, or registration as a fantasy competition operator,” Eaton wrote. 

Eaton asked VGEW to confirm in writing no later than March 27 whether it is still offering sports betting, casino gaming, or fantasy sports in Maryland. If VGW is not, the MLGCA is asking for a confirming statement to that effect. 

If, on the other hand, VGW is offering any of these online games in Maryland, regulators want a detailed description of the name of each casino game, along with its mobile link, or retail local and trade name, if applicable.

The MLGCA also wants the same information for each sports betting and fantasy competition, as well as a legal analysis or opinion interpreting Maryland law.

Google Ads is updating its gambling and games policy for Nigeria to begin allowing ads from licensed gambling operators in Lagos State on March 31, 2025.

“Only entities authorized by the Lagos State Lotteries & Gaming Authority (LSLGA) will be eligible to advertise in Lagos State,” according to Google’s update.

Certified Google advertisers will allow bingo, lotteries, sports betting/fantasy sports, online casino games and other online games.

This follows recent statements by the LSLGA insisting the Nigerian “market is open” in response to concerns raised by online operators and other stakeholders after national licenses were voided.

The Federation of State Gaming Regulators of Nigeria (FSGRN) plans to introduce a Universal Reciprocity Licence (URL) regime, essentially allowing state licensees to offer their digital services throughout Nigeria.

However, currently, none of the other states have been updated to the Google Ad policy.

KalshiEX LLC, the New York-based prediction market platform, has been granted extra time to leave Nevada or fight a cease-and-desist order issued by state gaming regulators.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) issued a statement that outside counsel representing Kalshi had contacted the regulator about an extension to the Friday March14 deadline the regulator sought in a March 4 cease-and-desist letter to the company.

“The company’s counsel requested, and the NGCB did not object to, a limited period of additional time for Kalshi to address the NGCB’s order,” the statement said. “Further details will be provided when available.”

The control board issued a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi, alleging that the company's contracts on sporting events and political elections are unlawful under state law and instructing Kalshi to cease offering them by last Friday.

The control board also pointed out that even licensed sportsbooks in Nevada are not permitted to accept wagers on elections, and therefore the contracts “are in direct violation of Nevada’s public policy.”

A key Republican lawmaker has suggested that Governor Mike DeWine’s proposed doubling of Ohio’s sports-betting tax rate will not be included in the state's final budget package to be approved by lawmakers.

Representative Brian Stewart, who chairs the House Finance Committee, told the Statehouse News Bureau that it was “very unlikely we include tax increases in the budget”.

DeWine’s proposed budget would raise the sports-betting tax rate to 40 percent from 20 percent of gross revenue, with the $130m to $180m in additional tax revenue going towards developing public facilities and improving the infrastructure of existing stadiums.

In the state’s 2023 budget law, the tax was doubled from 10 percent to 20 percent. DeWine, a Republican, first proposed the increase barely two months after the launch of wagering on January 1, 2023. 

The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) plans to make sports-betting license applications available on May 15 so that interested parties can start the process of gathering the necessary documents to complete their applications.

“Our licensing rules are scheduled to become effective August 30, so this interim period from May 15 to August 30 will help ensure that the commission has time to properly review applications before decisions are made and temporary licenses are issued,” the commission said in a statement.

“With this timeline, sports wagering will go live by the constitutionally required start date of December 1.”

Missouri voters narrowly approved Amendment 2 when some 50.05 percent of the state’s roughly 2.8m voters cast their ballot to legalize sports betting, barely meeting the required majority to enact the amendment.

An earlier launch for sports betting was delayed after Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the MGC’s bid to adopt regulations on an emergency basis, saying the proposed rules do not actually constitute an emergency as defined under state law.

The MGC had planned to have the first wagers being placed as soon as June.