Compliance Updates

UGC Once Again Appeals to Google to Stop Blocking Legal Gambling Ads

Published

1 year ago

October 22, 2024

ugc-once-again-appeals-to-google-to-stop-blocking-legal-gambling-ads

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Ukrainian Gambling Council (UGC) has appealed to Google to stop blocking all advertising of Ukrainian licensed gambling organisers, as it does not comply with the current legislation, leads to losses for both business and the state budget of Ukraine, and helps illegal operators to enrich themselves.

Combating illegal online gambling advertising is an important component of counteracting the development of the shadow gambling market. However, over the past year, an unbalanced policy in this regard has led to extremely negative consequences – search engines have begun to block all advertising related to the activities of primarily licensed Ukrainian gambling market organisers that have established and unchanged domain addresses in the Ukrainian Internet segment. However, illegal operators, who can easily change the names of their websites and move from one domain to another (in different jurisdictions), have hardly felt the effects of the bans.

In fact, Google considers Ukraine as a country where all types of gambling, except lotteries, are currently prohibited, and it blocks advertising mainly from legal companies. This situation leads to negative consequences and the expansion of the illegal services market. Licensed companies have obtained state licences and launched marketing campaigns, including sponsorship of sports competitions, but they cannot legally advertise their services online. As a result, companies lose customers and profits, and the state loses taxes.

It is worth noting that lotteries are among the services allowed on Google in Ukraine. However, all lottery operators, without exception, operate in Ukraine on the basis of licences that expired back in 2014. In fact, lotteries imitate gambling – betting, online casinos, slot machines – without having the appropriate licences. They also do not pay any taxes and licence fees to the budget. However, lottery operators are not subject to any restrictions on gambling advertising.

In order to remedy the situation and streamline the system of prohibitions in order to prevent further losses of business and state funds, the Ukrainian Gambling Council (UGC), a non-governmental organisation that unites licensed gambling organisers, has once again appealed to the management of the regional office of Google in Ukraine, namely, Paul Terence Manicle, Director of Google LLC, and Tetiana Lukyniuk, General Director of Google Office in Ukraine, with a request to lift the existing restrictions and provide an opportunity to officially advertise gambling, in particular, on the territory of Ukraine using Google services:

• activities related to the organisation and conduct of gambling in gambling establishments;

• organising and conducting casino gambling on the Internet;

• organising and conducting betting activities in betting shops and on the Internet;

• organising and conducting gambling in slot machine halls;

• organising and conducting poker games on the Internet.

Also, to remove the existing restrictions and allow official advertising of mobile applications on the territory of Ukraine using Google services and provide all opportunities for the official placement of mobile applications for organising and conducting online gambling on Google services.

The post UGC Once Again Appeals to Google to Stop Blocking Legal Gambling Ads appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Arizona Department of Gaming Releases December Sports Betting Figures

Published

26 minutes ago

February 23, 2026

Wladimir P.

arizona-department-of-gaming-releases-december-sports-betting-figures

Bettors in Arizona wagered approximately $822 million on sports and events in December 2025, according to a recent report from the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG).

This total reflects an approximate 3% year-over-year decrease compared to December 2024, marking a slight pullback in betting activity.

Despite the decrease in handle, the report highlights that the state collected roughly $6.6 million in privilege fees during December, contributing to Arizona’s continued revenue from regulated event wagering. Since launching legal sports betting in 2021, bettors in the state have wagered more than $31 billion, generating over $165 million in privilege fees to date.

For the fiscal year 2026 year-to-date, regulated event wagering and fantasy sports have generated about $33 million in privilege fees, including $32.3 million from sports betting and $774,167 from fantasy sports activity.

Jackie Johnson, Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, noted that the December figures conclude the 2025 calendar year, during which Arizona sports bettors wagered more than $9 billion on sports and events, further demonstrating the size and scale of the state’s regulated betting market.

The Department’s monthly reports detail wagering and fantasy sports revenue figures from licensed operators, offering transparency into the evolving sports betting landscape in Arizona.

Disclaimer: December figures are self-reported by operators and may be adjusted after audit.

Full report available at gaming.az.gov/resources/reports

The post Arizona Department of Gaming Releases December Sports Betting Figures appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Compliance Updates

Arizona Department of Gaming Releases December Sports Betting Figures

Published

26 minutes ago

February 23, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

Bettors in Arizona wagered approximately $822 million* on sports and events in December of 2025, according to a newly released report by the Arizona Department of Gaming (Department). This represents an approximate three percent decrease year-over-year when compared to December of 2024.

“Today’s report closes out the 2025 calendar year for Arizona sports betting figures, with the year exceeding nine billion dollars in event wagering activity,” said Jackie Johnson, Department Director. “Additionally, legal, regulated event wagering allowed the state of Arizona to collect more than $53 million in privilege fees for the calendar year.”

The state collected approximately $6.6 million in privilege fees for the month of December. Since the launch of legal sports betting in Arizona, people have wagered over $31 billion, generating over $165 million in event wagering privilege fees for the state.

For fiscal year 2026 year-to-date, regulated event wagering and fantasy sports have generated approximately $33 million in privilege fees, including $32.3 million from event wagering and $774,167 from fantasy sports.

The Department publishes monthly Event Wagering and Fantasy Sports Revenue Reports on its website, reflecting figures from operators licensed by the Department. The full December reports are available at: gaming.az.gov/resources/reports

* Disclaimer: These numbers are self-reported by the operators; as such, these numbers are subject to adjustments after audit and review by the Arizona Department of Gaming (“Department”). The Department makes no assurances regarding the accuracy of these numbers.

The post Arizona Department of Gaming Releases December Sports Betting Figures appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

AI-Powered Compliance and Player Support

DigerCompanion — Digicode’s AI Solution for Compliance and Player Support in Regulated iGaming

Published

11 hours ago

February 23, 2026

Wladimir P.

digercompanion-—-digicode’s-ai-solution-for-compliance-and-player-support-in-regulated-igaming

Digicode unveiled DigerCompanion, an advanced AI-powered platform tailored specifically for regulated iGaming settings. DigerCompanion streamlines essential player interactions, maintains top regulatory compliance standards, lowers operational costs, bolsters compliance monitoring, and greatly improves the player experience.

The platform provides adaptable deployment choices, allowing operators to run DigerCompanion on-site or in a private cloud, guaranteeing complete ownership and management of sensitive player information.

Comprehensive Features and Capabilities

DigerCompanion incorporates six core functions essential to excellence in compliance and player support:
Responsible Gaming Automation: Enforces strict self-exclusion protocols while minimizing manual compliance efforts.
Promotion and Terms & Conditions Mapping: Centralizes promotional terms and automates player eligibility verification.
Game Rules Knowledgebase: Consolidates detailed game mechanics and odds, enabling accurate and regulator-aligned responses to player queries.
Bet History API Access: Provides players with transparent, self-service access to verify betting outcomes.
Smart Escalation Engine: Employs behavioral analytics to escalate VIP and high-risk cases to specialized human teams appropriately.
Multilingual Support: Delivers native-level, context-aware responses across more than 25 languages.

Advantages of Operations

The integration of DigerCompanion leads to significant operational improvements, featuring a decrease in support requests by as much as 40% and a 99% rise in compliance precision. Moreover, the average time taken to handle tickets drops significantly from more than five minutes to less than twenty seconds. Every player interaction is completely traceable, with the platform adjusting in real-time to changing regulatory standards.

The post DigerCompanion — Digicode’s AI Solution for Compliance and Player Support in Regulated iGaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.