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.
Compliance Updates
DCMS Concludes Consultation on Gambling Regulation Funding
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published its consultation response on the funding of the Gambling Commission which took place between January and March this year.
The 2023 White Paper committed to a review of the Commission’s fees to ensure sufficient resources to deliver its core responsibilities and the commitments outlined in the Gambling Act Review.
The consultation findings now provide certainty on the Commission’s future income for the coming years.
Licence fees will increase by 25% overall, but the specific changes to fees will be different for each type of operating licence. New fee categories will also be introduced for most licences. Operators are strongly encouraged to review the annexes to the Government’s consultation response to understand how these changes affect their business.
Fees for society lotteries will be held at their current levels, and a new system of fees calculation will be implemented for non-remote general betting limited licence holders. Fees for personal licences will increase by a flat 25%.
Changes to the fees are subject to the passage of secondary legislation and will take effect on 1 October 2026.
Over the coming weeks, operators will be contacted by the Commission with further details about how this affects them and information about alignment to any new category. The criteria for the revised fee categories are set out in the DCMS consultation response. An operator’s submitted regulatory return data for 2025 to 2026 will be used to determine its new fee category.
For further information about the findings of the consultation you can visit the DCMS consultation response webpage.
The post DCMS Concludes Consultation on Gambling Regulation Funding appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
Tim Miller Announces Departure from UK Gambling Commission
The UK Gambling Commission has announced that Tim Miller, Executive Director of Policy & Research, has decided to leave the Commission in September 2026 after 10 years of service.
Following his departure, Tim will take up a new role outside of the British regulated gambling industry, supporting governments, regulators and other organisations that are developing and overseeing gambling regulatory systems around the world.
During his time at the Commission, Tim has played a leading role in strengthening the Commission’s research and evidence base, bringing greater rigour and robustness to its research framework. He has overseen the development and launch of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain – the largest survey of its kind anywhere in the world – helping to transform the evidence available to inform gambling regulation and policy.
Tim has also led the Commission’s work to implement the Government’s Gambling Act Review White Paper, overseeing the introduction of a wide range of new protections and regulatory measures. These include reforms to age verification, financial vulnerability checks, remote game design, direct marketing controls and wider measures to make gambling safer, fairer and free from crime.
Tim Miller said: “I have worked at the Commission longer than anywhere else during my career and have found it the most rewarding and fulfilling role. In large part this has been due to the amazing and dedicated colleagues that I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside. That’s what made it a hard decision to leave but after ten years I felt ready for the next challenge.”
Sarah Gardner, Acting Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “Tim has provided outstanding service to the Commission for ten years. I would like to thank Tim for his significant contribution to gambling regulation and wish him every success in the future.”
The post Tim Miller Announces Departure from UK Gambling Commission appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
AGCO
AGCO Fines Great Canadian Entertainment $120,000 for Using Unauthorised Gaming System Software at Four Casinos
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has ordered monetary penalties totalling $120,000 against Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE) for using unauthorided gaming system software at multiple Ontario casino sites, a serious compliance failure that bypassed requirements designed to protect the integrity of casino gaming.
Gaming equipment and systems are central to casino operations. They process payments and wagers, support slot-game play and help maintain controls that protect the integrity, safety and security of the gaming environment. When these systems are used or operated without required testing, monitoring and approval, it weakens safeguards designed to detect and prevent unlawful conduct, including money laundering, and can undermine public confidence in Ontario’s regulated casino sector.
The AGCO reviewed 40 instances in which revoked or unapproved bill validator software had been installed across four casino sites between February 20 and March 15, 2025. Bill validators are components within gaming machines that accept and process cash and help support anti-money laundering controls.
The AGCO’s Standards for Gaming require gaming equipment and software to be tested and approved before being deployed in casinos. Bill validators verify the authenticity and value of cash inserted into electronic gaming machines and are an important safeguard. That is why these systems must undergo rigorous testing and approval to confirm they operate as intended, perform critical functions reliably and are authorised before being introduced into a live casino environment.
Casino operators are responsible for ensuring that changes to gaming systems are properly reviewed, tested and authorised before implementation. Using unapproved software in a live casino environment is a serious compliance failure.
A casino operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty has the right to appeal the Registrar’s action within 15 days to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative body that is part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.
“The AGCO requires casino operators to protect the integrity of their gaming systems by making sure they are independently tested, approved and operating as intended. When unauthorised software is used in a live casino environment, it bypasses critical safeguards that are meant to uphold the integrity of gaming and the public’s confidence in the system. The AGCO will continue to hold all casino operators accountable for meeting Ontario’s high standards of gaming system integrity,” said Dr. Karin Schnarr, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer at AGCO.
The post AGCO Fines Great Canadian Entertainment $120,000 for Using Unauthorised Gaming System Software at Four Casinos appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
-
Compliance Updates6 days agoPlayCity Partners with Streaming Platform Kick to Block Illegal Gambling Ads
-
3 Oaks Gaming7 days ago3 Oaks Gaming releases Joker Glitz x1000 slot with stacked multipliers
-
3 Oaks Gaming6 days agoWeekend Reels | Week 26: Slot Drops & Trends
-
appointments6 days agoOS Studios names Ishaan Arya country manager to lead India expansion
-
Casino Content6 days agoPopOK Gaming secures Argentina certification to supply iGaming content
-
Latest News6 days agoRelax Gaming Releases its Latest Slot Game “Midnight Marauder – ClusterBreaker”
-
Bragg Gaming6 days agoMega Casino launches Bragg Gaming slot 10 Hot Diamond Desire as exclusive
-
Compliance Updates6 days agoKSA – Target for Gambling Tax Increase Not Achieved: Expected Tax Revenues Turn Out Lower



