Compliance Updates
ANJ Sanctions Committee Imposes €800,000 Fine on SPS Betting
On 22 January 2025, the Sanctions Committee of the French National Gambling Authority (ANJ) met to examine a procedure referred by the ANJ Board concerning the operator SPS Betting, which had allegedly failed to comply with its obligations relating to the self-exclusion system offered to players on the Unibet website and application. The Committee confirmed the breaches and imposed a public penalty of €800,000, justified by the large number of players who were unable to benefit from this protection system. This decision, which is unprecedented in its scope, is a reminder of the Committee’s commitment to penalising operators who fail to meet their obligations to prevent excessive gambling.
In 2021, following reports, the ANJ services discovered a computer malfunction on the “Unibet.fr” application and website for devices using the iOS operating system. According to estimates by the ANJ and the operator, several thousand players who had requested self-exclusion for a period ranging from several weeks to several months were likely to have been able to play again within a few days. In fact, players self-exclusion requests made in months were automatically converted to days. Therefore, a player who requested a twelve-month self-exclusion was only self-excluded for twelve days.
For players who wish to take a break from gambling because they feel vulnerable or need to take a step back, the legislator has introduced a system of self-exclusion from gambling.
Online gambling operators must provide players with a mechanism enabling them to request their exclusion from gambling. Players are free to determine the duration of their exclusion, which must be a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 12 months.
The malfunction at Unibet occurred from 2 March 2021 to 11 December 2022 before being fixed by the operator. However, during an update, the malfunction reappeared and affected players playing on an iOS device from 29 December 2022 to 2 February 2023. In total, the anomaly persisted for almost 22 months.
In view of these repeated malfunctions and given their duration and seriousness, particularly regarding the prevention of excessive gambling, the Sanctions Committee confirmed the breaches observed and imposed the following penalties:
• A fine of 800,000 euros;
• The publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the French Republic;
• The display, from 17 to 31 March 2025, on the homepage of the ‘Unibet.fr’ website and the Unibet applications, of a box mentioning this sanction and referring to the press release published on the ANJ website;
• The publication of the non-anonymised decision on the ANJ website, from the date it is pronounced and for one year (until 3 March 2026). After this date, the decision published on the ANJ website and on Légifrance, as well as the associated press release, will no longer allow the operator to be identified.
This decision may be appealed to the Conseil d’État within two months of its notification.
The post ANJ Sanctions Committee Imposes €800,000 Fine on SPS Betting appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (Board) at its public monthly meeting approved a consent agreement presented by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC) resulting in a $100,000 fine to BetMGM.
In its approval of the consent agreement, the Board agreed that BetMGM failed to have sufficient procedures to prevent fraudulent behavior on its BetMGM and Borgata wagering platforms. This includes insufficient Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocols that allows for the creation, access and use of multiple accounts by individuals using personal identifying information of other individuals and the funding of those accounts using stolen or fraudulently obtained payment devices.
The consent agreement identified four individual fraud rings that:
1. operated for approximately 25 months until January 2024 with 1567 accounts created using personal identifying information of other individuals and $229,580 of combined wagering;
2. operated for approximately 34 months until November 2024 with 34 accounts created using personal identifying information of other individuals and over $14,598 of combined wagering;
3. operated for approximately 29 months until November 2023 with 119 accounts created using personal identifying information of other individuals and $895,092 of combined wagering
4. operated for approximately 19 months until December 2023 with 304 accounts created using personal identifying information of other individuals and $867,910 of combined wagering.
The Board also took actions to place 16 individuals on its various Involuntary Exclusion Lists. Placement on an Involuntary Exclusion List prohibits individuals from either gaming in a casino in Pennsylvania, via an online betting site regulated by the Board, or at a Video Gaming Terminal (VGT) location.
The actions by the Board include placement of four adults on the Involuntary Casino Exclusion list for leaving minors unattended at a casino property while they gambled:
• A male patron who left an 11-year-old in a vehicle in the parking lot at Hollywood Casino York for 52 minutes while he gambled at slot machines and table games;
• A male patron who left a 5-year-old in a vehicle in the parking lot at Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 17 minutes while he gambled at table games and the sportsbook;
• A male patron who left a 9-year-old in the parking lot at Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 1 hour 7 minutes while he gambled at table games and the sportsbook; and,
• A male patron who left two minors, ages 7 and 12, in a vehicle in the parking lot at Parx Casino for 32 minutes while he gambled at slot machines.
Actions such as these to deny statewide gambling privileges serve as a reminder that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino since it creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children. To complement the efforts by casinos to mitigate this issue, the Board created an awareness campaign, “Don’t Gamble with Kids” (DontGamblewithKids.org).
In addition to the four adults listed above, 12 others were placed on either or both of the Involuntary Casino Exclusion and Involuntary Interactive Exclusion Lists for various actions.
These matters, presented by the Board’s Office of Chief Counsel and the OEC, raise the number of individuals now on the Board’s various Involuntary Exclusion Lists to 1515.
The post PA Gaming Control Board Imposes $100,000 Fine on BetMGM appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
The Swedish government has appointed Peter Knutsson as the Director General of the Swedish Gambling Authority. The appointment will run until 31 August 2032.
Peter Knutsson most recently came from the role of Advertising Ombudsman and will take up his position as Director General on 17 August 2026.
Peter Knutsson took office as Advertising Ombudsman in August 2024, and was previously Head of Unit at the Ministry of Finance. He has over 20 years of experience as a manager and leader and has a background as a lawyer, with solid knowledge of consumer issues and consumer legislation. Peter Knutsson has previously worked for the European Commission and as an advisor to the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
“With the solid experience Peter Knutsson has from, among other things, the Ministry of Finance, consumer affairs and most recently the Advertising Ombudsman, this will be very good for the authority,” said Spelinspektionen’s Chairwoman Madelaine Tunudd.
“I welcome the government’s decision on a new Director General for the Swedish Gambling Authority and will ensure that Peter Knutsson receives a good introduction in my handover as acting Director General,” said Johan Röhr at the Swedish Gambling Authority.
The post Peter Knutsson Becomes New Director General of Swedish Gambling Authority appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
Dutch Gambling Regulator Points Out to Providers Limits of Sports Betting License
The Dutch Gambling Regulator (KSA) has reminded sports betting license holders of the limits of their licenses. Supervision has revealed that several providers offered bets that do not fall within the licensed category of sports betting. This included, among other things, bets on prize competitions, such as a Most Valuable Player (MVP) prize. In such cases, the license holders involved were addressed, and these bets were immediately removed by the license holders.
Only betting on sports matches is allowed.
Pursuant to the Remote Gambling Decree, sports betting license holders may only offer bets on events during a sports match or on the outcome of a sports match.
In addition, a sports competition must take place within organized sport recognized by NOC*NSF or similar international sports organisations.
Bets on other events are not covered by this. This applies, for example, to prize competitions where the outcome is determined by a jury or panel and does not result directly from a sports match or an event during a sports match. Bets on, for example, political elections or athlete transfers are also not permitted.
Responsibility lies with the permit holder
License holders remain personally responsible for the gaming offerings they provide, even when using external platforms or sportsbook providers.
The KSA said it expects providers to continuously monitor their offerings and take appropriate measures to prevent prohibited bets. If unauthorised bets are nevertheless offered, immediate action must be taken. The KSA will continue to supervise the gaming offerings of license holders.
The post Dutch Gambling Regulator Points Out to Providers Limits of Sports Betting License appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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