Compliance Updates

EU Report Suggests Consumer Protection Approach to Tackle Loot Boxes

Published

5 years ago

July 31, 2020

Reading Time: < 1 minute

A report commissioned by the EU Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee has recently come to the conclusion that the EU should stop approaching loot boxes as a gambling issue and treat the practice as a consumer protection issue.

The report concludes that while the problematic practice can be dangerous due to the way that it can prey on obsession and addiction, especially in younger players, gambling can only be regulated on a country to country basis. This would leave the rule of law for loot boxes and gambling in gaming fragmented among the Member States that make up the EU as each country will be allowed to create there rules separate from the others.

“Since gambling is a national competence of the Member States, approaching the issue from this angle may lead to a fragmented market for video games within the EU… It is therefore recommended to tackle problematic game designs from a wider consumer protection perspective,” the report said.

As a result of this report, the recommendation has been made that loot boxes and problematic game designs be treated as a consumer protection issues, which the EU has the power to set standards for across all Member States. This conclusion comes from the risks that loot boxes can pose to vulnerable and younger players who either may build addictive behaviours, or not understand the true values of their purchases.

Asia

PAGCOR Enforces Accreditation for All iGaming Service Providers by 2026

Published

1 hour ago

October 15, 2025

Niji Narayan

pagcor-enforces-accreditation-for-all-igaming-service-providers-by-2026

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has given gaming affiliates, developers and support service providers until early 2026 to comply with its newly implemented B2B Accreditation Framework, a regulatory system that formalises participation in the iGaming supply chain.

Companies that submit applications by December 31, 2025, will qualify for a three-year initial accreditation, while unaccredited foreign content providers face removal from licensed platforms after March 31, 2026.

The framework, which took effect on October 2, sets mandatory accreditation requirements for all third-party entities providing gaming content, systems or technical support to PAGCOR-licensed operators.

Accreditation covers several categories, including gaming affiliates, game content providers (GCPs) and support service providers (SSPs). Gaming affiliates may act as aggregators that distribute multiple game titles to operators, while GCPs are developers or studios supplying electronic game software or live-streamed content.

Accreditation is valid for two years from the date of PAGCOR Board approval, an increase from the previous one-year term.

Foreign data or content streaming providers that fail to secure accreditation by the March 2026 deadline will have their content deemed “non-compliant and unauthorized.” They may appoint a Philippine-registered company or a PAGCOR-accredited Gaming System Administrator as their exclusive distributor instead of setting up a local office.

PAGCOR has warned that licensed operators using unaccredited service providers may face sanctions.

The post PAGCOR Enforces Accreditation for All iGaming Service Providers by 2026 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

CGA

Curacao Gaming Authority statement

Published

6 hours ago

October 15, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Gaming Control Board (GCB) is a foundation established on 19 April 1999 with the specific purpose of becoming the supervisor of the entire gaming industry operating in and from Curaçao. With the entry into force of the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) on 24 December 2024, the GCB has been designated as the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) and will continue operations under this name.

The CGA is led by a Board of Directors under the supervision of a Supervisory Board. Until recently, the CGA fell under the political-administrative responsibility of the Minister of Finance; since 19 august 2025 this responsibility has been transferred by the government to the Minister of Justice, as announced by the government on 13 october 2025.

In the context of its activities and its commitment to transparency, the CGA confirms that the Supervisory Board resigned in mid-September. The process to appoint new members by the government has already begun. This development has no impact on the performance of the CGA’s supervisory duties, including the continued implementation of the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK). All licensing and supervisory activities continue uninterrupted.

The Curaçao Gaming Authority remains committed to ensuring the integrity and reliability of the gaming sector in Curaçao.

The post Curacao Gaming Authority statement appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Compliance Updates

KSA: Monitoring report autumn 2025: turnaround in market development, concerns about illegal share

Published

7 hours ago

October 15, 2025

George Miller

ksa:-monitoring-report-autumn-2025:-turnaround-in-market-development,-concerns-about-illegal-share

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The growth of the legal online gambling market appears to be stagnating, but the illegal market continues to grow. This turnaround in the legal market is partly due to the positive effects of measures introduced a year ago to protect players. This is according to the Dutch Gaming Authority (Ksa) in its autumn 2025 monitoring report. Although the number of players is still increasing, the gross gaming result (GSR) of the legal market is lagging behind.

The gross gaming result (GSR, stakes minus prizes paid out) for the first half of 2025 is €600 million. Six months earlier, it was 16% higher, at €697 million. This is partly due to the introduction of new rules to better protect players, which also include a deposit limit.

Number of players and accounts

The number of accounts played on a monthly basis has increased: in the second half of 2024, this averaged 1.18 million accounts. In the first half of 2025, this number rose to 1.29 million. On average, 7.1% of the accounts are new. More new accounts are likely being created because, with the implementation of the new rules at the end of 2024, players will be able to deposit less per account monthly without sharing their income data with the provider.

A player can have multiple accounts, so the number of accounts doesn’t equal the number of people gambling. It’s estimated that in the first six months of 2025, there were 839,000 active players with legal providers. This means that 5.7% of the adult population gambled legally online during those months. That’s slightly more than the previous six months, when that percentage was 5.4%.

Loss

The average player’s monthly losses have decreased substantially since the implementation of the protective measures. While the average loss per player was €146 per month at the end of 2024, it has dropped to €119 per month by the beginning of 2025. This takes into account the fact that players play with multiple providers and may not be active every month.

Young adults (ages 18 to 24) played with 23 percent of the accounts used in the first half of 2025. This is relatively high, as they represent only 9.3% of the adult population. They do lose less money per account on average than adult players, namely €37 per month compared to €78 for adults. Compared to the total player population, young adults also engage in relatively more sports betting.

Illegal market

The channeling in terms of players (the percentage of people gambling with legal providers) is stable: approximately 94% gamble exclusively legally. The channeling in terms of BSR (the amount of total gambled money going to illegal providers) has shown a slight downward trend that continued in the first half of 2025: from 51% at the end of 2024 to 49% at the beginning of 2025. This downward trend may be explained by players shifting to illegal offerings due to the new player protection regulations, where these perceived restrictive rules do not apply. The Ksa considers this a worrying development, as players in the illegal market are much less well protected.

Source: kansspelautoriteit.nl

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