Looking for the latest insights and trends from the Financial Services and Gambling industry?

Brazil’s gambling regulator has confirmed that licensed operators will be able to migrate current players to their Brazilian platforms as a new regulatory regime kicks in on January 1.

France’s National Gaming Authority has issued eight fines and one warning to operators for exceeding the return to player rate for online sports betting in the year 2022. 

Despite the rapid expansion of sports betting, supporters of legalizing internet gaming have had little success opening new states as concerns over problem gambling and the cannibalization of land-based casinos have deterred all but a few legislative efforts.

The highest court in Ontario is set to consider whether the province’s regulated online gaming sites can legally allow local gamblers to play with people outside Canada.

Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities hopes to issue an initial gambling industry code of practice in 2025, as pressure mounts on the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) to update the country’s advertising rules.

The Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have unveiled the finalised framework for operational resilience of critical third parties (CTPs) within the UK financial sector. Published in Policy Statement PS16/24, the framework establishes clear guidelines for the management and oversight of third-party services crucial to the financial system. The initiative follows extensive consultation and addresses risks tied to the growing reliance on third-party service providers.

A new survey by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that UK firms are adopting AI across a range of use cases, but remain cautious about regulatory constraints.

In a new campaign, the Dutch Banking Association, Victim Support Netherlands and police are calling on victims of "pig butchering" scams, which combine dating fraud with investment fraud, to break their silence.

The Banco de Portugal has attempted to enhance payment transparency and security by introducing new rules to identify final beneficiaries in transactions using payment references and direct debits.

Australia’s federal government and the states of New South Wales and Tasmania are walking back or delaying legislative responses to aberrant gambling, while reform leader Victoria is set to deliver a promise on carded slot machine play.

The French Senate has approved amendment 134 to the 2025 draft Social Security Finance Act that would increase taxes on certain online and brick-and-mortar gambling activities, after a similar amendment that was leaked in October was scuppered after uproar. 

The Netherlands Gambling Authority has fined notorious offshore operator BetOnline €1.1m for illegally offering its services in the Dutch market.

The rise of new variants of fantasy sports and sweepstakes has been perhaps the story of 2024 in U.S. gambling regulation, but a string of class-action lawsuits threaten to stall these new offerings in 2025.

President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed the nomination of Tether’s US custodian for a position in his incoming Cabinet.

The UK’s Labour government has unveiled the country’s long awaited National Payments Vision, which aims to drive forward issues such as open banking and fraud prevention. As part of this, the government has heralded account-to-account payments as a way to spur innovation, reduce costs and increase choice for both consumers and merchants.

The European Payments Council (EPC) has announced a call for interest from organisations aiming to offer routing and/or verification mechanisms services under its Verification of Payee scheme.

A senior European payments policy official has insisted he is "not judging" the European Central Bank (ECB) based on its position on safeguarding accounts for payments and e-money firms.

With the idea of strategic Bitcoin reserves gaining traction following Donald Trump’s election victory, Pennsylvania is in the running to become the first US state to open such a reserve.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of a law intended to strengthen protections for elders in California represents a setback for consumer protection in the US.

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has ruled that the National Assembly does not have the power to legislate gambling, allowing individual states to oversee gambling in their jurisdictions in a move that potentially ends years of disputes between local authorities and the national gambling regulator.