Compliance Updates
Ukraine’s Evolving Gambling Landscape: Insights from the Panel of European Gaming Congress in Warsaw
The panel discussion last week, at the European Gaming Congress made me feel inspired to contemplate on critical facets of Ukraine’s burgeoning gambling industry, positioning the nation as an appealing prospect for Western European investors. Although unique challenges, including historical financial corruption and external pressures, exist, Ukraine’s European identity makes it an attractive hub for investment. As the country grapples with ongoing conflict, it must simultaneously address customary market concerns such as safeguarding against Russian interference and protecting the personal data of its citizens.
A striking parallel emerged between Ukraine’s gambling landscape and the realm of cryptocurrencies, where combating money laundering and terrorist financing poses significant challenges. The National Bank, equipped with the capacity to monitor financial flows, plays a pivotal role, in conjunction with law enforcement agencies. A comprehensive strategy to combat mis-selling and gray schemes is being executed by the National Bank of Ukraine, alongside the Commission and the Ministry of Finance, resulting in the revocation of licenses, particularly among operators with Russian ties. Comparable license revocations have occurred in several European nations that have issued cryptocurrency licenses.
However, amid the ongoing struggle against these challenges, errors have emerged, exemplified by the imposition of sanctions on prominent Ukrainian industry leaders like Parimatch and Pokermatch. These sanctions have not only significantly impacted the legal gambling sector but have also cast a shadow of caution over Western investors. Notably, the President’s directive to the Cabinet of Ministers, prompted by a citizen petition with 25,000 signatures, seeks to investigate the circumstances leading to the inclusion of Parimatch in the sanctions list of the National Security and Defense Council.
In the wake of the Parimatch case, it’s worth noting that the Cosmolot brand has also recently faced heightened scrutiny, with law enforcement agencies conducting searches and investigations, further emphasizing the need for a robust law enforcement process. Ukrainian Gambling Council, representing 80% of licensed gambling operators, committed to serving its members by actively working on player protection, advertising regulation, and acting as a valuable business ombudsman for the industry, contributing to a more secure and transparent gambling landscape in Ukraine.
As technical impediments are surmounted, the regulatory body demonstrates its efficiency. Critical issues, such as streamlining market access through license issuance, promoting responsible gambling, stricter advertisement rules, and reinvigorating investments, are coming to the fore.
Once the security concerns are addressed, Ukraine is poised to unleash pent-up demand in its gambling sector. This situation will spur investors to contemplate their entry into the market, whether through direct investment, partnerships, or mergers and acquisitions, underlining the evolving landscape of opportunities in Ukraine’s vibrant gambling industry.
Article by Viktoriya Zakrevskaya, Founding Member and Deputy Chairwoman for Communications, Ukrainian Gambling Council
Viktoriya was a speaker at the European Gaming Congress by Hipther, that took place on 31 October at the InterContinental Warsaw. She discussed the emerging Ukrainian iGaming market at the Panel “The Greek Odyssey, La Dolce Vita, La Fiesta Española, The Ukrainian Spirit, and The Portuguese Fado”.
The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has published its Match-fixing Trend Analysis for 2025.
The number of reports of possible match-fixing in 2025 remained roughly the same as in 2024. However, there was a change within the reports: gambling providers reported more athletes betting on their own competition, which wasn’t the case in 2024.
Gambling providers are obligated to prevent match-fixing as much as possible. They can do this, for example, by not offering bets on high-risk matches. If a provider suspects match-fixing, it can report it to the Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) of the Royal Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA). In recent years, the KSA has actively worked to raise awareness about filing these reports.
In 2025, the KSA received 12 reports of match-fixing from 9 different license holders, compared to 13 reports the previous year. It is striking that 4 of these reports concerned betting on the club’s own competition, while this category did not occur in 2024. In this context, the KSA increased its focus on preventative education for athletes in 2025, informing them about what is and is not permitted and the associated risks.
Last year, the KSA published a guideline, “Commitment to Integrity,” to provide providers with additional tools to combat match-fixing. Furthermore, an ongoing investigation into the sports betting offerings of various providers was conducted throughout 2025. This investigation resulted in several warnings and a penalty for prohibited offerings.
The post Dutch Regulator Publishes Match-fixing Trend Analysis 2025 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) is putting gambling operators on notice that social media influencers are a key focus of its regulatory priorities for 2026.
L&GNSW is responsible for monitoring online wagering and gaming machine advertising visible to the NSW community, including posts on social media, to ensure they comply with NSW laws.
Hospitality and Racing Deputy Secretary Tarek Barakat said with the rise of social media influencers promoting gambling, it was important businesses including online bookmakers and gaming machine operators understood the law and their responsibilities.
“We are putting gambling operators on notice that a key priority for us this year is examining their marketing and customer retention practices, including the use of social media personalities,” Mr Barakat said.
“Gambling operators should be careful about any affiliate or partnership arrangements as we are holding them responsible for the advertising of their products.
“The things we are targeting include paid and unpaid promotional partnerships with wagering operators and gaming machine operators, influencer content that normalises betting behaviour or glamorises gaming products, and in particular, the use of platforms, including podcasts, with large youth or vulnerable audiences.
“These practices may increase the risk of gambling harm by blurring the line between entertainment and marketing, and by exposing at‑risk groups to persuasive promotional content.
“L&GNSW will require social media content creators to demonstrate that their social media and website content complies with legal requirements.
“We also work with other responsible agencies as required to ensure people abide by the law and gambling harm is minimised.”
Mr Barakat said other 2026 regulatory priorities are targeting:
• barriers to closing gambling accounts, VIP or loyalty programmes and other marketing practices, including direct advertising used by casino and gaming venue operators
• casino governance and integrity
• alcohol-related harm hotspots, including areas experiencing increasing rates of alcohol-related crime and high-risk events.
By publishing its annual regulatory priorities, L&GNSW aims to communicate the key regulatory issues that it is addressing and provide industry with an opportunity to proactively modify or cease behaviour that may raise concerns.
The post Liquor & Gaming NSW Targets Social Media Influencers Promoting Gambling Products appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
REEVO, the iGaming aggregation powerhouse, has announced that its aggregation platform has received official certification in Peru, enabling operators in the region to seamlessly integrate a wide range of premium third-party content through a single, high-performance API connection.
With this certification in place, Peruvian operators can now:
• Launch faster with a single API, robust orchestration, and a proven back-office system.
• Optimize performance through real-time insights, flexible promotional tools, and streamlined content management.
• Localize efficiently with market-ready technology built for compliance, reliability, and growth.
“Peru is a rapidly developing iGaming market in Latin America, and this certification marks another milestone in our mission to deliver seamless, compliant aggregation solutions across the region. Our focus remains on speed, scalability, and content excellence, helping operators bring quality entertainment to players faster and smarter,” said Karl Grech, Head of Business Development at REEVO.
The post REEVO’s Aggregation Platform Secures Official Certification in Peru appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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