YouTube has announced a crackdown on gambling-related content, tightening its policies to limit exposure to unapproved betting services. Under the new rules, which won’t go into effect until later this month, creators will be prohibited from verbally mentioning gambling platforms that aren’t approved by Google and displaying their logos or linking to their sites in videos.

It certainly appears that YouTube intends to be stricter with its new guidelines, which will take effect on March 19.

While YouTube’s announcement didn’t single out specific gambling platforms like Stake in the announcement, this policy only furthers Google’s crackdown approach to better online promotions. If you find yourself on the platform’s support page and venture into the help center, Google notes that it only allows links to gambling ads that “meet local legal requirements.” And if you want to link to or promote an online gambling site, the domain has to be certified by Google Ads or reviewed by YouTube.

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Another part of YouTube’s announcement is that the platform will introduce stricter age restrictions on gambling-related videos. So, viewers under 18 or those not signed into YouTube will not be able to access the videos.

The Netherlands’ gambling authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has addressed an online gambling provider on the use of gaming software with an option for autoplay. Offering autoplay is not permitted in the Netherlands.

With autoplay, a player can automatically continue playing after each bet without having to do anything. Because this option can lead to addiction, the use of autoplay is prohibited in the Netherlands. The KSA received a signal that a player at an online roulette table could automatically continue playing with the previous bet after winning; it was not removed from the table. After investigating the signal, the KSA concluded that this was indeed autoplay. The provider was then given a formal notice to immediately stop the violation and keep it stopped. The game must also be re-inspected before it can be put back into use, in order to exclude autoplay.

Because gambling providers use software supplied by third parties, there is a chance that other providers use the same software. The KSA has therefore sent a letter to all providers to draw attention to the ban on autoplay. The KSA emphasises that it is the provider’s responsibility to check software supplied by third parties for possible prohibited offers or game functions.

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Hungarian Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy appointed Zoltán Guller, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hungarian Tourism Agency, as of March 5, 2025, as the Chairman and CEO of Szerencsejáték Zrt., which will be under the ownership of the Ministry of National Economy from February 26, 2025.

The outgoing Chairman and CEO Andrea Mager will become a member of the Monetary Council of the Hungarian National Bank.

Zoltán Guller has been the CEO and then Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hungarian Tourism Agency since 2016. He will hold the management position of Szerencsejáték Zrt. while retaining his current positions.

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Márton Nagy also expressed his gratitude to Andrea Mager for her conscientious work in recent years and wished her much success in her future professional challenges.

Andrea Mager has been at the helm of Szerencsejáték Zrt. since June 15, 2022, and during the period the company has strengthened its market position and achieved revenue peaks.