Last updated: December 24, 2024
The gambling industry witnessed significant updates this week. Curaçao passed the National Ordinance on Games of Chance, reforming its gambling sector. Meanwhile, Entain faces legal scrutiny in Australia for alleged AML breaches.
The gambling sector had a busy week before the holiday season, with BetBlocker announcing its intentions to publish a version of its responsible gaming tool in Catalan, and the Social and Promotional Gaming Association verifying the distribution of a new Code of Conduct.
The New South Wales, Australia state’s gaming regulatory authority has now put up a new program relating to underage alcohol and gambling consumption. In this reporting period, Austrac announced it had commenced civil penalty proceedings against Entain.
This week, the global betting and gaming company, Entain, faced legal challenges in Australia over allegations that it took wagers of over AU$152 million from 17 high-risk clients, according to The Guardian, which cites court documents.
Matters took a new dimension as the country’s financial intelligence watchdog, Austrac, announced that it had initiated civil penalty proceedings against Entain. The gaming and betting company was accused of failing to identify and mitigate risks of being exploited by criminals and also deliberately concealing the identities of some high-risk players.
Other developments in the gambling world include a new Code of Conduct to be released by the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA). It has confirmed that the new Code of Conduct is expected to provide a comprehensive and integrated framework of rules under which its operator members shall operate.
The new Code of Conduct encompasses several commitments, such as identity verification, efficient mechanisms to restrict underage gambling and ascertain consumers’ actual ages, policies on anti-money laundering, among others.
The New South Wales, Australia government has unveiled a new program that will help in the reduction of underage gambling and alcohol consumption. Liquor & Gaming NSW, the state’s regulator for gaming, launched the initiative this week as it seeks to further tighten its regulations to ensure that no minor engages in any form of gambling or consumes alcohol.
Elsewhere, lawmakers in New Jersey, United States have drafted new proposals to alter laws surrounding underage gambling in the state. A new proposal reduced penalties for such activities.
According to the proposal, underage gambling would be brought to civil proceedings instead of the current criminal proceedings. The change, if enacted, would reduce the penalty of underage gambling to enforcing fines ranging from $500 to $2,000, rather than criminal proceedings.
A major development in Curaçao saw the jurisdiction’s parliament approve the National Ordinance on Games of Chance. Strong support was demonstrated for the proposal that received the approval of 13 lawmakers while only six voted in opposition. Ultimately, the form of Curaçao’s gambling sector seeks to introduce stricter rules for gambling licensees, among other important changes.
The company BetBlocker has recently announced the launch of its Catalan-language version at the ICE Barcelona. Its tool has secured the company a leading position in many big markets, like the UK and the entire Eastern Europe. With this new Catalan-language version to be launched, the self-exclusion tool will reach more users than ever before.
This week, Casino Today News has published an iGaming Event Calendar for 2025. The calendar will raise some of the significant events concerning the international gambling industry. Apart from providing unique networking and business opportunities, these upcoming events will address many of the trends, emerging markets, major developments, and regulatory updates in the field. A number of high-profile iGaming events lined up promise a good amount of insights and networking opportunities for C-suite executives, regulators, and more.
Earlier this week, Clarion Gaming confirmed that well-known game designer Joe Kaminkow, known for his work with Aristocrat and International Game Technology’s prominent titles, will be speaking at the forthcoming ICE World Gaming Forum. The industry veteran with over three decades of experience is scheduled to speak at the Casino & Leaders Conference on January 20, 2025.
Equally as exciting is the forthcoming electrifying event featuring Afrojack and Dubdogz, which is set to conclude the SBC Summit Rio. The final day of the event is slated for February 27, 2025, and it is certain that the anticipated INFINITY Rio party will serve to culminate the event and provide unforgettable experiences.
Meanwhile, you may have already noticed the Christmas special edition of Casino Today Insiders. Reflecting on a rather hectic year 2024 was, we captured much that happened in the year: important achievements, key participation in resolving complaints, and support to make the community better. A special festive interview with us brings some unique insights and highlights a few of our previous goals and hopes.
Throughout this challenging week, Casino Today News also published an interview with Adrian Sladdin – a well-known industry figure and judge in The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative and The Best Implementation of RG Tools categories for the 2025 edition of Casino Today Awards.
Earlier this week, we sat down with Denis Kosinsky, NuxGame’s VP Operations, John Smith, VP of sales, Gamification and Loyalty at Xtremepush as well as Smartico’s Co-Founder, Yuval Mechoullam, to discuss the ever-growing-gamification tools that help operators reach their goals, engage and retain customers.
The experts shared insights about the benefits of gamification tools when engaging with younger demographics, the importance of free-to-play games and other hot topics.
On Tuesday, we interviewed the Chief Executive Officer of ClearStake, Martin Burt. We talked about how the demands of financial requests shape operators and players. A lot of interesting questions the executive posed revolved around challenges and trends that shape the iGaming market at the moment.
At the start of the week, Casino Today spoke with Krzysztof Poznański, Yggdrasil’s Head of Games – Art, who acknowledged the success of the company’s Golden Fish Tank Party slot game. The engaging slot game not only features quality graphics but delivers dynamic gameplay, making it an instant hit among players from different demographics.
