Compliance Updates
Our UKGC consultation response: Failing to protect the vulnerable should not be the White Paper’s legacy
The dust has settled and the process is complete. The consultation on the proposed changes outlined in the UK Gambling White Paper is closed so now we just have to wait and see. Whilst we do so, we thought that in the spirit of transparency, we would share our own thoughts, more or less as they were communicated in our consultation response to the UK Gambling Commision.
Offering a real-time customer risk profiling tool, ClearStake’s focus was obviously on affordability checks. But then, much of the industry’s attention has been on this topic over the last few months. This is, to our mind, the single most important challenge facing the sector. Addressing it in the right way, a way that protects both punters and operators, will be the key to a sustainable, profitable future.
And with that goal uppermost in our mind, here is what we said:
1. Affordability checks must use real financial data
Certainly at the levels of spend proposed as meriting more thorough checks (£1,000 in a day or £2,000 over the space of three months), we don’t believe there is any real substitute for real financial data, by which we mean bank data. There is simply no other way of establishing whether a player can afford to lose this amount of money or not. Everything else – including data from credit reference agencies – is guesswork. We believe that the single greatest mistake that could be made during this process is not solving the problem of financial harm caused by gambling. That won’t be an issue if the government requires decisions to be made by operators in possession of a proper financial picture of their customers.
2. We can solve two problems at once
The consultation focused on affordability checks, but it would be almost perverse to ignore the wider reality at play here. Operators also have to perform anti money-laundering and source-of-funds (SOF) checks on their customers, and they do so by looking at bank statements. Given this is the case, it makes a lot of sense to us to effectively combine both these requirements within a single check.
3. At higher spend levels, it makes sense to keep customers connected
There has been a lot of talk about how frequently checks should take place, or to put that another way, whether it should be necessary to go back to a customer within six months or a year if they have already passed a check. To us, this rather misses the opportunity presented by Open Banking in particular. After the first check, assuming the player allows it, any checks in future can be entirely frictionless. The connection can remain in place and used when necessary (and only when necessary!) in order to make the ongoing compliance relationship as smooth as possible. We don’t expect ongoing connection to be mandated, but it should certainly be held up as best practice for all concerned.
4. Some of the proposed data points make little sense
When a solution that takes guesswork out of the equation is available, does it really make sense to suggest that postcodes and job titles are meaningful ways to determine an individual’s financial situation? We don’t think so. We believe that continuing to ‘lean in’ to data like this gives a misleading impression that it is good enough. It isn’t. Even as part of a broader decision-making process, it is very difficult to see where some of these data points fit in. You could say the same, of course, about missed loan repayments from three years ago.
5. The solution exists – why cobble together a new one?
Hovering behind the entire consultation process appears to be a not-quite-defined ‘solution’ to the affordability challenge. This is apparent in the various hints towards the use of CATO data (let’s just say it, even if the Commission aren’t willing to) and a hodge-podge of random data points in order to make affordability decisions, as part of a system that would have to be piloted in order to ensure a) it works and b) it doesn’t create data security issues.
Leaving aside the absurdity of asking us to judge the merits of an approach that hasn’t actually been defined, we would simply point out that in Open Banking, a solution to this challenge already exists. One that is already used by over 7 million people in the UK, by most UK operators to handle payments, and already used to handle affordability and SOF checks by forward-thinking operators. Why on earth are we re-inventing the wheel?
So there you have it. That’s what we told the consultation, albeit in language a little less colourful. I hope they listen.
TJPE cites a Brasília federal ruling that suspended the legal effects of Spribe’s AVIATOR registration and barred exclusivity claims during nullity proceedings.
The Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) has revoked preliminary appellate relief previously granted to Spribe OÜ in litigation over the AVIATOR trademark in Brazil.
In a monocratic decision, Justice Andrea Epaminondas Tenorio de Brito held that the factual and legal basis for the earlier injunction no longer exists. The court pointed to a subsequent decision by the Federal Court in Brasília that provisionally suspended the legal effects of Spribe’s Brazilian AVIATOR trademark registration and ordered Spribe to refrain from asserting exclusivity based on that registration while federal nullity proceedings are ongoing.
TJPE said its earlier relief relied on the presumption that Spribe’s trademark registration before Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) was fully valid and enforceable. With the federal court suspending the registration’s effects, the Pernambuco court found the underlying circumstances had materially changed.
The court cited Article 296 of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure as the basis for revoking the preliminary relief in light of the changed legal situation.
The post Pernambuco court revokes Spribe’s interim relief in Aviator trademark dispute appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
The Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) has revoked preliminary appellate relief previously granted to Spribe OÜ in ongoing litigation over the use of the AVIATOR trademark in Brazil, citing a change in the legal circumstances supporting the earlier decision.
In a monocratic decision, Justice Andrea Epaminondas Tenorio de Brito concluded that the factual and legal basis for the prior injunction no longer exists. The ruling follows a decision by the Federal Court in Brasília that provisionally suspended the legal effects of Spribe’s Brazilian AVIATOR trademark registration.
According to the press release, the federal court also ordered Spribe to refrain from asserting exclusivity based on that registration until the federal nullity proceedings are resolved.
TJPE said its earlier decision had relied on the presumption that Spribe’s trademark registration with the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) was fully valid and enforceable. With the federal court now suspending the legal effects of that registration, the Pernambuco court held that the foundation for interim relief had materially changed, prompting revocation under Article 296 of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure.
The post Pernambuco court revokes Spribe interim relief in AVIATOR trademark dispute appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
The German Gambling Authority (GGL) has published its latest activity report for 2025. The report highlights the GGL’s measures in supervising legal providers and its latest work against illegal gambling.
Supervision and Licensing of Legal Providers Further Systematised
While previous years focused primarily on granting licenses, in 2025 the emphasis shifted significantly to the structured supervision of licensed providers. Key instruments included supervisory discussions, both ad hoc and proactive measures based on reports and market observations. Internal collaboration between the relevant departments was further intensified, contributing to a uniform and consistent supervisory practice.
Further Development of the Technical Infrastructure and Supervisory Systems
The expansion of the technical infrastructure was further advanced. The goal is to create a reliable and comparable data basis for supervision, analysis and future regulatory decisions. Enforcing the mandatory and correct use of the safe servers by the authorised providers remained a challenging process in 2025, but it is the foundation for the necessary improvement in data quality.
Focusing the Fight Against Illegal Gambling on the Entire Market Environment
In 2025, the approach to combating illegal online gambling was further refined and consistently aligned with the entire market environment. In addition to measures against the operators themselves, the focus is increasingly shifting to the service providers involved. This approach ensures that illegal offerings are not viewed in isolation, but rather addressed within their market and process contexts.
In 2025, GGL worked closely with platform operators to further reduce the visibility of illegal content in the digital space.
Market measurement has been further developed scientifically. Due to its opaque and dynamic structure, the evaluation of the development of the illegal gambling market requires a particularly robust methodological basis. The 2025 activity report therefore does not include any independent figures on the size of the illegal market for the year 2025. Instead, the presentation is based on the results of the scientific study “Investigation of the black market and channeling of gambling on the internet based on a survey of gamblers”.
GGL deliberately chose this approach to increase the validity and comparability of the market data and to ensure methodologically sound results.
This study, already published, shows that in 2024 the market volume of illegal and therefore unregulated online gambling will be 23%. This results in a channeling rate of 77%. This means that legal or regulated offerings account for more than three-quarters of the online gambling market.
The existing study will be continued so that a scientifically sound data basis on the development of the illegal market can be provided.
Outlook 2026: 5 Years of GGL Mean Evaluation and Further Development
The developments so far show an increasing consolidation of the supervisory and enforcement structures within the framework of the State Treaty on Gambling 2021.
The focus in the coming years will be on the legally required evaluation, the preparation of the new licensing cycle from 2027 onwards, and the further strengthening of data-based and scientifically sound supervisory instruments.
The 2025 activity report can be found under Publications of the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States – Annual Reports.
The post GGL Publishes Activity Report 2025 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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