Insights

Playtech has postponed a special meeting to approve an offer from Aristocrat Leisure to give another potential acquirer, JKO Play, time to develop a potential bid.

As cryptocurrency use continues to grow, regulators are adapting existing regulations for the crypto world, focusing on mitigating money laundering risks and enhancing consumer protections to match the security of payments in fiat currency. However, because of the challenges of effectively regulating crypto activities, money laundering may continue underground, prompting authorities to impose bans on cryptocurrency activity and provide their own central bank digital currency, as several countries have already done. This analysis seeks to understand the current state of the actions that legislators in the UK and EU are taking to regulate and limit the money laundering capability of cryptocurrencies.

The Eastern European nation of Georgia has introduced stringent new rules across its gambling sector, including an advertising prohibition and new taxes for online casino players.

Arkansas regulators have unanimously approved rules that will open the door for mobile sports betting in the state but kept a provision that could prevent many of the industry’s most familiar names from participating.

Senior officials depart the Malta Gaming Authority, a trio of appointments at the Florida gaming regulator and Wynn Macau names its new CEO.

The U.S. gaming industry is unlikely to ever have a more powerful government official as its advocate and defender than former U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, who died of pancreatic cancer on December 28, just after his 82nd birthday.

A new law passed in Córdoba a few days after Christmas means each of Argentina’s five largest provinces has now approved legislation for online gambling, with 2022 set to be a pivotal year as operations launch across one of Latin America’s most complex markets.

In the last news roundup of the year, we are looking at a wide range of payments topics around the globe, including the FCA’s new rules on climate-related disclosures, the EC adequacy decision for South Korea, a U.S. buy now, pay later inquiry, Swiss e-ID principles and the latest AML fine, this time in Lithuania.

As part of Indonesia’s extensive digitalisaton plans, Bank Indonesia has launched the country’s new retail payments infrastructure that enables payment transactions to be sent real-time, around the clock.

The European Banking Authority has released two new sets of guidelines seeking to encourage coordination between different authorities and to set new expectations for financial institutions.

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts has been fined A$1m ($722,000) for “deliberate disobedience or wilful blindness” toward the Victoria state gaming regulator over improper junket activity in 2015 and 2016.

​​​​​​​Flutter Entertainment said it has agreed to acquire Sisal for €1.91bn (£1.62bn), giving it a leading online and retail presence in Italy.

Finland’s president has signed into law the country’s gambling reforms, ensuring new enforcement powers and marketing rules are set to come into effect from January 1.

A lottery betting company has surrendered its suspended licence after the UK Gambling Commission found that the company targeted the elderly, including a 100-year-old man who bet nearly £24,000 in five months.

Two California cardrooms have filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate a sports-betting initiative on next year’s ballot to legalize retail wagering at Indian casinos and four racetracks, which they argue violates the state constitution.

As the calendar flips to 2022, the conversation surrounding the glut of sports-betting advertising in the United States is likely to only intensify, particularly as the country’s largest media market is set to launch online sports wagering.

Resort casino zones could come to Azerbaijan, Dutch operator warned over match bets and Ohio sports betting is approved.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has revealed more details about its central database on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) in the EU, a key tool for coordinating efforts to counter illicit finance in the bloc.

2021 has tested the anti-money laundering (AML) regimes of world economies, shedding light on gaps in the existing frameworks and forcing legislators to cast the net wider to fight the flow of illicit money.

In a major milestone for instant payments across the EU, the European Central Bank has announced the first wave of automated clearing houses (ACH) to move their technical accounts to its low-value instant settlement system.