Compliance Updates
NIGC Announces Departure of Chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) announced the resignation of E. Sequoyah Simermeyer, as the chairman of NIGC, effective Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024.
Simermeyer, confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2019, led the Agency through unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic. During this time, the Agency helped set the regulatory conditions for a multi-year, post-pandemic recovery, where Indian gaming gross revenues rose to a record $40.9B last year. Prior to his tenure as chairman, Simermeyer served with NIGC as associate commissioner and director of the Office of Self-Regulation since 2015.
Reflecting on his time at the Agency, Simermeyer said, “I’ve witnessed firsthand how tribes across the Indian gaming industry have pursued economic sustainability through gaming by relying on – and cultivating – the robust regulatory reputation for which Indian gaming is well known, and made better when supported by effective and efficient measures by Indian gaming’s regulators. I’m proud of the integral part this Agency has played in meeting the challenges of an evolving industry, and encouraged that NIGC’s strong cadre of professionals will continue to work hand-in-hand with gaming operations to ensure tribal gaming remains primarily for the benefit of its citizens as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) mandated 35 years ago.”
From day one, Simermeyer established industry integrity, preparedness, outreach, and Agency accountability as strategic goals for the Agency, leading NIGC through a period of growth and expansion of programs and services available to gaming tribes.
Under Simermeyer’s leadership, the Agency took steps to grow its capacity to provide outreach, training and technical assistance to gaming tribes, notably formalizing its Environmental Public Health and Safely (EPHS) program to assist tribes with overall operational preparedness, and expanding the Agency’s ability to provide cybersecurity technical assistance as the industry faced emerging threats from cybercrimes, including NIGC’s first Chief Information Security Officer. His “3 for 35” campaign for workforce preparedness, aimed at building regulatory capacity to future-proof tribal gaming, was also an Agency signature outreach effort during his tenure.
NIGC’s efficient and effective approach to regulation was driven by its formalized, collaborative tribal consultation process, where over the past three years, the Agency published eight final rules to keep pace with changing regulatory conditions and industry best practices, while allowing tribes the maximum flexibility allowed under IGRA to pursue efficiencies intended to help operations grow and thrive. To further strengthen its compliance and oversight functions, the Agency also rolled out the “Report a Violation” tool on its website to allow for reporting suspected IGRA violations. NIGC also provided important clarity in the wake of industry-wide questions arising from emerging topics such as significant court decisions on sports betting, the impact of cannabis on licensing and the use of gaming revenue, and the independence of tribal gaming regulatory bodies.
Simermeyer also positioned the Agency as a lead collaborator with federal agencies and organizations similarly dedicated to the success of tribal gaming. NIGC’s annual multiagency Cybersecurity Symposium, Anti-Money Laundering/Banking Security Act (Title 31) regulatory training conference and ongoing partnership with the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign to prevent human trafficking, are all examples. He also led the Agency to pursue memoranda of understanding with federal agencies like the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, to promote a shared interest in researching the impacts of lending to tribes engaged in gaming and facilitating tribal access to capital.
Focusing on Agency operations, Simermeyer led the Agency through a multi-year IT security modernization plan to improve NIGC’s internal cybersecurity and resilience. Additionally, he transformed the Agency’s Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) Audit program to better align with FBI requirements. As another step towards transparency and accountability, the Agency reimagined its fiscal annual report to better tell the story of its commitment to preserve and protect Indian gaming under IGRA, and the stories of the employees behind it. Perhaps most important, under Simermeyer’s leadership, the Agency achieved a 91% employee satisfaction rating on the 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), making the NIGC one of the best places to work in the federal government.
On transitioning to the next stage of his career, Simermeyer is grateful for his nearly nine years with the Agency. “My time with NIGC has been some of the most memorable and impactful years of my career. As a Native person, I’m truly blessed to have been surrounded by experts dedicated to protecting and preserving the valuable resource Indian gaming represents for our communities. I’m thankful for the advice and counsel of my fellow commissioners and NIGC staff, and the support and hard work of the nearly 5,000 tribal regulators who work alongside NIGC day-in and day-out to keep Indian gaming strong now, and for the next 35 years,” said Simermeyer.
Additional details regarding the transition will be forthcoming.
Compliance Updates
BETBY JOINS ESIC AS OFFICIAL TIER 1 ANTI-CORRUPTION PARTNER

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The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) is pleased to welcome BETBY as its newest Tier 1 Anti-Corruption Partner. As a sportsbook solutions provider operating across global markets, BETBY’s collaboration with ESIC demonstrates a commitment to mitigating integrity risks within the esports ecosystem.
ESIC’s Anti-Corruption Supporter program brings together betting operators and key industry stakeholders who contribute directly to the detection, analysis, and investigation of suspicious betting activity. Supporters play a vital role in safeguarding esports from threats such as match manipulation, betting fraud, and related integrity breaches by providing data and operational cooperation in ESIC’s monitoring and enforcement framework.
As part of its Tier 1 Anti-Corruption Partner role, BETBY will share critical insights with ESIC, enhancing the Commission’s capacity to identify and address potential risks in real time. BETBY’s cooperation strengthens ESIC’s ability to protect the integrity of competitions and reinforces BETBY’s alignment with global standards of transparency and accountability in esports betting operations.
By joining ESIC’s Anti-Corruption Supporter program, BETBY becomes part of a global network of operators and stakeholders working with ESIC to uphold fairness, credibility, and trust within the esports ecosystem. This collaboration highlights the shared industry responsibility to establish sustainable standards of integrity and ensure long-term confidence in the growth of esports and esports betting.
Stephen Hanna, CEO of ESIC, commented: “BETBY’s recognition as a Tier 1 Anti-Corruption Partner reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the integrity framework of the global esports ecosystem. ESIC’s Anti-Corruption Supporter program relies on the proactive cooperation of stakeholders like BETBY, whose data and operational insights contribute directly to our ability to identify and mitigate integrity threats. This cooperation is another important step towards ensuring that esports competitions remain fair, credible, and sustainable for all participants and stakeholders.”
Leonid Pertsovskiy, CEO at BETBY added: “Integrity has always been at the heart of BETBY’s values and vision. Esports is one of the fastest-growing sectors in our industry, and with that growth comes a responsibility to ensure it develops on a foundation of fairness, trust, and transparency. By joining forces with ESIC, we are not only supporting higher standards of governance in esports, but also reaffirming our dedication to creating a sustainable and ethical competitive environment. At BETBY, we believe that innovation and excellence can only thrive when they are built on integrity, and this partnership reflects our long-term commitment to the future of esports.”
The post BETBY JOINS ESIC AS OFFICIAL TIER 1 ANTI-CORRUPTION PARTNER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
TaDa Launches Slot Games in Sweden, Breaking into Established Market

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Launching a new company and new products in emerging markets takes skill and discipline to achieve success: but entering an established and sophisticated iGaming market requires an entirely different approach. Announcing receipt of the Swedish Spelinspektionen licence in June 2024 was TaDa’s first step to approaching this exciting but very crowded market.
Subsequently, the innovative content provider has been working behind the scenes to gather deep data and market understanding to ensure that launch day would be a guaranteed success. Read on to find out more about TaDa’s long-term plans for building its brand in one of iGaming’s more iconic and demanding jurisdictions.
Is iGaming in Sweden a Saturated Market?
A long-term regulated market since 1 January 2019, Sweden is an innovative hub for the iGaming industry across all verticals, making it a key destination for ambitious content providers.
But having played a very significant role in developing and popularising the industry, especially via software providers, regulations and mobile-optimised slot game design, is there any potential for new entrants?
Currently, CAGR is estimated about 3–6% meaning that by-2030, iGaming is expected to be worth around €2.0–2.3BN (SEK 22–25BN). This matches other European market estimates for steady but not explosive growth in the regulated sector and requires a specific type of content provider to be able to deliver differentiation and innovation in a very established and crowded market.
The Importance of Licencing and Certification
With clear licencing regimes and growing regulatory oversight designed to reduce legal ambiguity and deliver more stable potential revenue, regulated markets are tightening their controls against unlicenced operators. This also increases the value of being licenced and certified, something TaDa has focused on across the last two years.
Consequently, anticipating that regulation across Europe and indeed globally would only increase in both scope and demands, TaDa set its go to market strategy to secure licences for regulated markets across Europe first and subsequently begin its B2B development building.
In this way, TaDa integrations are always a compliant, fully tested and secure process for its clients and deliver the right products and services for players.
Ensuring technical readiness, expert localisation and certification for all games aimed at regulated markets enables TaDa quickly to deliver highly successful engagement and retention figures for casino operators, plus scale via aggregator integrations.
Announcing TaDa’s First Integration with Videoslots
TaDa successfully received its Spelinspektionen licence in a shorter than anticipated timeframe and, following deep data mining and review of its localisation strategy, was ready to go live in May 2025. The first integration is with Videoslots with distribution through Light & Wonder Inc.
Currently home to over 7,000 games, Videoslot’s clients will now have access to TaDa’s innovative portfolio including Fortune Coins; Jackpot Joker; Pirate Queen 2; and Devil Fire 2.
Part of the Hit the Cash concept, Fortune Coins is the first release in the series.
Hit the Cash is designed around three interconnecting mechanics of Multipliers, Lock & Respin and Jackpots. Played out on a 3×3 grid with 5 fixed paylines and 3,000x max win, Fortune Coins is a classic fruit slot with a twist.
Enhanced with Fortune Coins and Fortune Coin Bonus symbols, the polished visuals and crisp graphics highlight the clean interface for players without making the slot appear basic.
The gameplay is built around proven mechanics and nostalgic fruit symbols but delivers a twist in the tale as collector coins can appear in both the base and bonus games, triggering jackpots and accumulating wins, plus a random bonus game can trigger any time.
Fortune Coin symbols only appear on the 1st and 3rd reel in all rounds.
The top of the screen will display the bonus, which is the player’s bet amount x multiplier of x1, x2, x3, x5, x8, x10, and x12 the player bet.
The Fortune Coin Bonus symbol, appearing only on reel 2 is both a collector and a trigger for the bonus game. During the bonus round, multiple collector coins can be active at once, increasing the chance of accumulating higher payouts.
Players can also win one of four dynamically fixed jackpots, with the top prize reaching up to 1,000x the stake.
Keeping players on high alert, in the main game, when any Fortune Coins appear they will fly to the pile of coins on the top of the screen and can randomly trigger the “Throw Fortune Coins” feature.
When triggered, the pile of coins will throw at least 1 and up to 9 Fortune Coins on to the grid, maximising a bonus win potential and definitely helping players hit the cash.
Jackpot Joker
When the saucy Joker tells you it’s showtime, you’d better believe her. This game may seem like a classic fruit inspired slot with a 3×3 grid and five fixed paylines. But when you see the numbers, it’s a whole new story.
Multipliers, a unique free respin bonus and four fixed multiplier jackpots drive the excitement for up to 15,000x.
Each spin, there’s a chance to add a multiplier win of x1, x2, x3, x5, x10 and a very welcome x15 so the total win for that round = (total line wins or jackpot wins) x the multiplier x bet!
Even better, the multiplier obtained can also be applied to the jackpot prize. Three jackpot symbols will trigger one of four jackpots: the prize is the player’s bet x the fixed multiplier for Minor (5x-10x); Major (15x-30x); Grand (50x-200x) and a whopping 1,000x for the Joker Jackpot.
Adding a twist to the excitement, if two Jackpot symbols land in a non-winning combination, the “Extra Buy” feature is triggered. After purchasing, the two reels will remain in place while the remaining reels spin once more. This feature can be repurchased until triggering the Jackpot Free Spin game.
This innovative interplay of mechanics and features for big win potential with nostalgia inducing symbols and graphics has seen Jackpot Joker take the top spot in multiple markets.
Pirate Queen 2
Set sail for adventure and wealth with the dancing Pirate Queen who offers free spins, cascading reels and Bomb bonus multiplying multipliers that can be accumulated to give up to 5,000x max win.
A player favourite feature, cascading reels, appears in Pirate Queen 2 and can create multiple winning combinations with one spin when eight or more identical symbols land. After every spin, winning combinations are paid and all winning symbols disappear. Empty positions are replaced with new symbols until no more winning combinations appear.
Packed with winning chances in both the base game and free game, the black Bomb bonus symbols bring multipliers of 2x to 100x and wins resulting from eliminations are multiplied by the bonus multiplier! When multiple bonus symbols appear in the same game, the multiplier effect is added.
And, if that were not treasure enough, the fiery Super Bomb bonus will deliver multipliers from 200x or 500x to an incredible 1,000x that will be added to the win!
During each calculation of win points in the free game, the current prize multiplier will be retained and added to the win points multiplier effect for the next time players win with a Bomb bonus combination. No wonder the Pirate Queen is dancing!
Devil Fire 2
Smoking hot gameplay and fiery wins have made this a player favourite through 3-row, 5-reels and 40 paylines, generous free spins, multiple bonus win potential and four fixed jackpots alongside stunning animations and a heavy metal inspired soundtrack for 15,000x max win.
The Devil Wild will only appear on the central position of the three rows, five reels grid. Once free spins begin, the Devil Wild locks into position, increasing payout potential and boosting your chance of triggering one of the Mini, Minor, Mega or Grand jackpots.
Bonus symbols are padlocked and will only unlock with the appearance of the little Devil Wild who will collect all the values, add them together and apply them to your win.
He’s a very generous little Devil Wild as he can also trigger the Free Game. Throwing gold coins to the flying Piggy Banks either side of the grids, six free spins could be randomly triggered when the piggy bank swells and bursts.
Mixing quirky humour and dynamic gameplay, Devil Fire 2 is beloved by operators as well as players as its simple rules and quickfire rounds keep players engaged and ready to come back for more.
What Players in Sweden Can Expect from TaDa Gaming
With a portfolio of 200+ RNG titles to choose from and constantly growing, players in Sweden can anticipate an avalanche of diverse gaming experiences still to come.
Initially, TaDa and its partners will focus on delivering slots but according to industry surveys, gaming in Sweden is currently seeing a rise in social multiplayer formats, with 65% of Swedish gamers playing cooperatively.
Additionally, Sweden’s gaming market saw 58% of Swedish Gen Z accessing hybrid arcade and VR formats. These older digital natives are the strongest demographic making the crossover from digital to iGaming and TaDa’s fish-shooting releases have become a natural destination.
The post TaDa Launches Slot Games in Sweden, Breaking into Established Market appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
EGBA Welcomes Approval of European Standard on Markers of Harm

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The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has welcomed the positive outcome of the vote on the draft European standard on markers of harm in the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). An overwhelming majority of national standardisation bodies voted in favour of the standard, representing a significant milestone for player protection in Europe.
“The positive outcome of this vote is a real testament to the power of collaboration across our sector,” said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA. “When EGBA first proposed this initiative to CEN, we envisioned creating a commonly agreed standard that would benefit players across Europe. We’re delighted with the support the standard has received, and I want to personally thank all the stakeholders who participated in this process. The result shows what happens when we work together to strengthen player protection.”
“After years of driving this project, through its conception and development, seeing the overwhelming support it has received is incredibly rewarding. This will be the first commonly agreed European standard for identifying risky gambling behaviours and it will offer an essential building block for effective harm prevention in Europe. The cooperation to develop the standard was extremely valuable, bringing together diverse expertise from across the continent,” said Vasiliki Panousi, Senior Manager of EU Affairs at EGBA.
The voting process closed on 25 September. While the outcome of the vote is a significant milestone, the standard must now go through the formal CEN finalisation process before it will be published. This process can take several months, and includes language translations and other procedural requirements. The finalisation process is expected to be complete by early 2026.
The post EGBA Welcomes Approval of European Standard on Markers of Harm appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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