Industry News

UKGC: How will the ban on gambling with credit cards affect the industry?

Published

6 years ago

January 17, 2020

U.K’s Gambling Commission recently made a decision to ban gambling with credit cards. The Commission has been on a mission to promote responsible gambling and it looks like this is the next step. From now on players won’t be able to bet the money they don’t have on online games. The initiative has been around for over two years, ever since charity groups GambleAware and Citizens Advice first suggested the idea. According to the commission, around 22% of problem gamblers use credit cards to play, so it makes sense to introduce this ban in order to avoid credit card debt. This could be the start of the revolutionary approach to gambling that we haven’t seen yet. The U.K is pioneering the movement aimed at putting an end to risky gambling and promoting the responsible approach instead.

What the commission hopes to accomplish

By imposing this ban the commission hopes to promote the approach that urges the players to only spend within reason. When gamblers use credit cards it can become harder to know when to stop, because you’re not losing the money you already have. The whole appeal of the credit cards is also their biggest downside. They prevent you from thinking about money in a responsible way, in the industry where money can so often become an issue, it seems irresponsible to gamble away by using a credit card.

With this move, the commission hopes to promote a more balanced approach to gambling and it might be setting an example for other countries to follow as well.

This ban hasn’t been made official yet, and U.K’s major betting websites including PokerStars, 888, Betfair and Bet365 are still accepting credit cards on their websites and have previously received criticism for along their players to get themselves into huge debts.

It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it is likely that payment services like Paypal and various e-wallets will also be banned.

This is a huge shift in the gambling industry and the feedback has been mixed. While this move will definitely help those with the spending problem to get their bad habits in check, for those who have no problem gambling responsibly even with credit cards it might become an inconvenience. But since the topic of responsible gambling has become so relevant, it makes sense that the U.K made this decision.

We’ve seen a major shift in the way authorities approach gambling and according to industry authority VegasSlotsOnline, there are more regulations coming in the way of the casino industry, such as the record fine of 2.34 million Euro imposed on Blackrock Media by the Malta Gambling Authority.

The future of gambling

Gambling has become a huge part of the entertainment industry and online casinos have only taken its popularity further. But with online casinos, it also became harder to control some aspects of gambling. For example with online gambling it might be harder to control whether or not the player is underage, there is more room for fraudulent activities and overall online casinos have presented a whole new set of challenges for the gambling community, playing with credit cards being one of them. The proactive approach aimed at creating a more regulated gambling scene will definitely make the change for the better in the industry, but it is a fine line between trying to regulate the negative aspects of it and then trying to keep the casinos under tight control. The second one will definitely not last very long while the first option can only bring positive changes to the community.

This trend of promoting responsible gambling can be seen in other parts of the world as well, and if the U.Ks effort turns out to be successful we will likely see the wider adoption of the new regulations across other countries as well.

AI

Despite AI’s Rise, Fraud Teams Keep Growing — SEON 2026 Report

Published

3 days ago

March 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

despite-ai’s-rise,-fraud-teams-keep-growing-—-seon-2026-report

SEON, the command centre for immediate Fraud Prevention and AML Compliance, has unveiled AI Reality Check: 2026 Fraud & AML Leaders Report, the second iteration of its sector research, derived from a worldwide survey of 1,010 leaders in fraud, risk, and compliance spanning payments, fintech, financial services, retail, eCommerce, and gaming.

The figures reveal an unforeseen narrative: AI is ubiquitous, yet operations are not becoming easier to manage. Currently, 98% of organizations utilize AI in fraud and AML processes, with 95% expressing confidence in its effectiveness; meanwhile, headcount plans rose from 88% to 94% year-over-year, and 83% anticipate budget increases in 2026.

Complexity Is Surpassing Automation

AI has not lessened the workload — it has revealed the extent of work that has always existed. Fraud losses are increasingly approaching revenue growth, threats are advancing more rapidly, and disjointed systems restrict the true potential of AI at scale. Key year-over-year shift:

Leadership’s confidence in their teams’ performance is lagging. The number of leaders who disagreed with the statement, “fraud losses are growing faster than revenue,” dropped by almost 40% from the previous year

Inside the Numbers:

AI is baseline, not experimental

98% already integrate AI into daily workflows (only 2% still planning)
95% are confident AI can detect and prevent fraud (52% very confident)
Top use case: AI/ML for transaction monitoring (30%)

Fraud and AML investment keeps climbing

83% expect fraud/AML budgets to increase in 2026
94% plan to add at least one full-time hire (up from 88% in 2025)
85% plan to add a vendor, 49% plan to replace one

Fragmentation is the bottleneck

95% claim “some integration” between fraud and AML systems
Only 47% run fully integrated workflows; the rest rely on partial connections
80% say getting a unified view of data is challenging

For many, time-to-value remains slow

Only 10% go live in under two weeks
38% take 1–3 months, 24% take 4+ months
When implementations run long, top impacts include increased costs (52%) and prolonged fraud exposure (47%)

Teams are growing, not shrinking

94% plan to increase headcount despite automation gains
85% see AI agents as support/augmentation, not replacement (only 12% see eventual replacement)

Top fraud threats reported:

Account takeovers: 26%
Promo/discount abuse: 18%
Return fraud: 18%

“Fraud and financial crime were supposed to become more manageable as AI matured,” said Tamas Kadar, CEO and co-founder, SEON. “Instead, 2026 is the year leaders are confronting a more complicated reality. AI adoption is real, confidence is high, but the scale and pace of fraud — compounded by fragmented systems — continue to drive increased investment rather than reduced overhead. The bottleneck is no longer whether AI works. It’s everything around it: disconnected data, siloed teams, slow implementations. The organisations that pull ahead will be the ones that unify fraud and AML intelligence, shorten the distance between threats and controls, and treat integration as strategy, not plumbing.”

Fast-Growing Companies Invest in Integration Early

Organisations growing 51%+ are nearly twice as likely as slower peers to report that achieving unified visibility is “not very challenging.” They treat integration as infrastructure, not an IT project.

What’s Next: From “Does AI Work?” to “Can We Trust It?”

With adoption near-universal, the conversation is shifting to governance, explainability and accountability:

78% say decentralised digital identity will become central to fraud/AML
33% cite data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) as the biggest external force shaping AML
25% point to criminals’ advancing use of AI and obfuscation techniques

The post Despite AI’s Rise, Fraud Teams Keep Growing — SEON 2026 Report appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Ashley McCulloch Vice President North America at Evoplay

Evoplay Names Ashley McCulloch Vice President North America

Published

3 days ago

March 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

evoplay-names-ashley-mcculloch-vice-president-north-america

Evoplay, the acclaimed game development studio, has named Ashley McCulloch as Vice President North America, strengthening its strategic emphasis on growth throughout the US and Canada.

McCulloch has over 15 years of experience that includes land-based, VLT, and online gaming. She has occupied high-level commercial positions at IGT and Light & Wonder and most recently worked as Director of Account Management North America at Inspired Gaming Group, where she led strategic account development and assisted with new market entry projects.

In addition to her commercial success, McCulloch serves as a board member for Women in Sports and Events, is part of Global Gaming Women, and was recognized in the 2024 Emerging Leaders in Gaming 40 Under 40, highlighting her influence in the industry.

At Evoplay, McCulloch will lead partnerships, regulatory licensing, product launches, and broader business development efforts as the provider speeds up its growth in the North American market.

Evoplay has secured a significant presence in the area, launching in Ontario via collaborations with prominent operators in the province, such as BetMGM and Caesars Entertainment.

In November 2025, Evoplay made a notable initial move into the United States by joining the lottery sector in Washington DC, establishing a connection to the US online gaming landscape.

With McCulloch’s hiring, the company aims to leverage this momentum and continue its expansion throughout regulated US states.

Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, said: “North America represents one of the most exciting growth opportunities for Evoplay, and Ashley McCulloch’s appointment is a major step forward in realising our ambitions in the region.

“Her extensive experience across land-based and online gaming, combined with her track record in commercial strategy, makes her the ideal person to lead our efforts as we scale.”

Ashley McCulloch, Vice President North America at Evoplay, added: “I’m very excited to be joining the Evoplay team at such a pivotal moment in its growth journey.

“The studio has built a strong reputation for high-quality content, and I look forward to developing partnerships and driving sustainable growth across North America.”

The post Evoplay Names Ashley McCulloch Vice President North America appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Africa

VeliGames Secures SiGMA Africa’s Industry Rising Star Award

Published

3 days ago

March 4, 2026

Wladimir P.

veligames-secures-sigma-africa’s-industry-rising-star-award

VeliGames, a game aggregation platform from VeliTech, has received the Industry Rising Star award at the SiGMA Africa 2026 Awards, highlighting the platform’s swift innovation and significant influence on African iGaming.

The Industry Rising Star award highlights a developing company that displays remarkable potential, creativity, and influence, rapidly positioning itself as a forthcoming leader in the iGaming sector. It emphasizes VeliGames’ dedication to providing not just a content pipeline, but also genuine innovation and a comprehensive growth engine for operators in developing markets.

“Winning the SiGMA Africa Award for Industry Rising Star 2026 is a proud moment for our team. From day one, we built VeliGames with African operators in mind, combining local-fit content, practical tooling, and pricing that makes sense on the ground. We back it all up with hands-on operational know-how from working in the region. That’s what being a true content partner looks like.” Irakli Kakhidze, CEO at VeliGames.

Tailored for Africa’s infrastructure challenges, device characteristics, and user habits, VeliGames provides a performance-oriented casino content layer aimed at thriving in areas where conventional, high-bandwidth aggregation methods struggle. Rather than solely competing based on catalogue size, VeliGames prioritizes the key factors that genuinely contribute to casino success in Africa: speed, accessibility, conversion, and session stability.

The platform delivers content in a highly efficient, mobile-centric setting designed to function dependably amid variable connectivity, restricted device storage, and brief gaming sessions, assisting operators in ensuring seamless gameplay and enhanced player experiences on a larger scale.

Alongside curated third-party titles, the platform includes exclusive in-house content:

VeliPlay: bold, crash-and-fast titles built for immersion, retention, and high replay value
Heaven of 7: high-impact slot content designed for strong engagement, session after session

Visit VeliTech at Stand 096 from March 3-5 to learn why VeliGames was honored as the Industry Rising Star. Discover live game demonstrations, witness performance features in action, and learn how operators can create unique iGaming brands with a platform designed for regional requirements.

The post VeliGames Secures SiGMA Africa’s Industry Rising Star Award appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.