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.
Compliance Updates
Spelinspektionen Continues its Work Against Illegal Gambling in the Second Quarter of 2026
During the second quarter of 2026, the Swedish Gambling Authority continued its work against operators suspected of offering games without a Swedish license.
New regulatory cases were initiated and several operators corrected themselves during the processing, which means that the regulatory cases were closed without further action. This shows how important it is for the Swedish Gambling Authority to identify operators suspected of offering games without a Swedish license at an early stage and initiate supervision against them.
During the quarter, the Authority also worked on an in-depth analysis of marketing for unlicensed gambling. The analysis shows that marketing continues to be a central part of how unlicensed operators reach Swedish players. Therefore, it is important that the Swedish Gambling Authority also takes action against those who promote participation in illegal gambling.
Marketing for unlicensed gambling
Marketing today takes place through several different channels, including social media, influencers, banners, SMS, sponsored search results and other ways to drive traffic to gaming sites. In certain environments, such as gaming and social media platforms, there are particular risks as young players may be exposed to games outside the Swedish licensing system.
However, the majority of marketing for games is still for companies with a Swedish license, especially in established, traditional marketing channels. The Swedish Consumer Agency has the main responsibility for supervising the marketing of licensees, while the Swedish Gambling Authority is responsible for supervising the marketing of unlicensed operators.
“Marketing is one of several ways for consumers to access unlicensed gaming. Therefore, the work against promotion is an important part of our supervision. We see that clear information and early contact can lead to actors correcting themselves,” said Ewa Gabrielsson, investigator at the Swedish Gambling Authority.
The post Spelinspektionen Continues its Work Against Illegal Gambling in the Second Quarter of 2026 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
One of the largest prediction market websites has been threatened with court action if it does not geoblock Ireland, the head of the Irish gambling regulator has said.
Prediction markets are platforms where users can trade bets and gamble cryptocurrency on sports, the financial sector, politics and more, including events relating to the war in the Middle East, the existence of aliens, and tweets posted by Elon Musk.
Anne Marie Caulfield, who has been chief executive of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) since it began operations last year, said prediction markets amount to betting and therefore fall under her remit.
She said the GRAI enforcement team has already been active in the space, with one of the largest such markets already geoblocking on foot of “intervention” from the authority.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week radio programme, Ms Caulfield said a second “is in the process of doing so”.
She added: “And if they don’t, it’s open to us to go to the High Court.”
She said sites were withdrawn in Ireland in the “vast majority” of the almost 30 interventions the GRAI had made.
She added that this had happened as quickly as 35 minutes after the intervention.
Asked what the High Court action may look like, Ms Caulfield said: “In the instance where they don’t do so, we can go to the High Court and get a blocking order for access to the site, and also in relation to the funding involved.”
Pressed on whether that action had been threatened, she said: “We have issued warning letters, yes, to that effect.”
Ms Caulfield did not name the prediction markets involved.
However, users from Ireland are already prohibited from trading “event contracts” on the prediction market Kalshi, as per its membership agreement which also lists 55 other restricted countries.
One of the other main prediction markets, Polymarket, has seen restrictions in more than 30 countries including Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, the UK, and Poland – while it operates in the US with additional compliance measures.
In May, Tánaiste and Finance Minister Simon Harris said he would ask gardaí, regulators and government departments to examine “suspicious bets” made on Polymarket.
He raised “grave concerns” around a “Wild West” of unregulated betting on the platform, as he said it would be prudent to examine if there was money laundering occurring.
His comments came after reports highlighted a million dollars worth of betting on the outcome of the Dublin Central by-election, with hundreds of thousands of that volume placed on Gerry “The Monk” Hutch not to win a seat – which is what transpired.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on behalf of any candidate.
Mr Harris said: “What seems to be developing at a global scale and indeed a rapid pace now is a kind of Wild West where people are placing bets in the form of cryptocurrency in a secretive, murky and unregulated manner.”
The post Irish Gambling Regulator Threatens Prediction Market with High Court Action appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has observed a pattern of websites impersonating MGA-licensed operators and misleading consumers into believing that they are licensed, regulated or otherwise authorised by the Authority in accordance with the Gaming Act (Chapter 583 of the Laws of Malta) and the regulatory instruments issued thereunder.
In light of this, the MGA published a list of three websites impersonating licensed operators. The websites are:
• www.manekicasino.bet
• www.dragonaracasino.uk.com
• www.slot-hunter.at
“The MGA is hereby declaring that it has no connection with the above listed URLs and any other website, platform and/or entity impersonating the Authority and/or MGA-licensed operators. Any reference to the MGA and/or gaming licence/s said to be issued by it, as stated on these domains, are false and misleading,” the MGA noted.
“The MGA would like to remind consumers not to utilise services provided by an entity unless they have ascertained that the entity in question is duly authorised to provide such services by the Authority. Whereas MGA-licensed operators comply with strict legal requirements in the interest of consumers, the activities of unlicensed entities are unregulated, and do not provide the necessary safeguards delineated by virtue of the gaming regulatory framework, making transactions with such entities risky for consumers.”
The post The MGA Publishes Notice on Websites Impersonating Licensed Operators appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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