Compliance Updates
Interpol Illegal Gambling Investigation Leads to 5100 Arrests
In a massive international operation targeting illegal football gambling and its associated criminal activity, authorities made over 5100 arrests and recovered more than USD 59 million in illicit proceeds.
The operation, code-named SOGA X and conducted between June and July 2024, was a collaborative effort involving INTERPOL and 28 countries and territories. It was designed to tackle illegal online football gambling during the UEFA 2024 European Football Championship, which was predicted to generate a surge in betting turnover, and lucrative profits for criminal organisations.
The illegal gambling market is worth a staggering USD 1.7 trillion globally, according to research by the Asian Racing Federation, and is closely tied to other criminal enterprises. Beyond shutting down tens of thousands of illegal websites, SOGA X investigations also led to the rescue of trafficked workers and the exposure of money laundering syndicates.
Hundreds of human trafficking victims rescued in the Philippines
In one significant case in the Philippines, local authorities, supported by INTERPOL, dismantled a scam centre operating alongside a licensed gambling site. The operation resulted in the rescue of more than 650 human trafficking victims, including almost 400 Filipinos and more than 250 foreign nationals from six different countries. Many of the victims had been lured to the location with false promises of employment and were kept there through threats, intimidation, and even passport confiscation. They were then forced into working for the legal gambling site, while also running illegal cyber scams, including romance scams and cryptocurrency-related fraud.
An INTERPOL Operational Support Team provided vital assistance to Filipino authorities on the ground, providing expertise in extracting and analysing forensic evidence from seized devices, tracing illicit financial flows and identifying potential victims and suspects in other jurisdiction.
The SOGA X operation also cracked down on large-scale illegal betting sites and complex financial crime schemes.
One notable example from Vietnam, where online gambling is prohibited for citizens, saw authorities dismantle a sophisticated gambling ring that was generating a staggering USD 800,000 in daily transactions.
The syndicate, powered by servers located in multiple countries, used an elaborate network of bank accounts and e-wallets to receive illegal gambling bets and distribute payouts.
In Thailand, police raided two locations hosting major illegal betting websites, arresting the ringleaders and their network for gambling and money laundering offenses and seizing assets worth over USD 9 million.
In Greece, authorities took down a major illegal betting ring that exploited fake and mule user accounts to place bets on sports events. The organised crime group, which employed Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass internet blocks in Greece, operated at least seven illegal gambling sites and had access to accounts on 60 other illegal websites.
The group managed 3000 fake and ‘mule’ user accounts on legal gambling websites in Greece, Cyprus and Spain. The accounts had been created using both stolen identity cards and forged documents and often utilised e-wallets to facilitate their illegal activities. During the investigation seized laptops were found to contain 9000 pictures of fake ID cards.
The goal of this type of scheme is to break down large sums of money into smaller, less detectable amounts. By dispersing their profits across multiple accounts, criminals aim to avoid detection by law enforcement, financial institutions and legitimate gambling sites. It’s a method also used to facilitate money laundering.
SOGA X was a coordinated effort led by INTERPOL, with crucial support from the Asia-Pacific Expert Group on Organised Crime (APEG), the INTERPOL Match Fixing Task Force (IMFTF) and operation partner UEFA. INTERPOL facilitated intelligence sharing among participating countries, providing case mentoring and training for local authorities.
Stephen Kavanagh, INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services, said: “Organized crime networks reap huge profits from illegal gambling, which is often intertwined with corruption, human trafficking, and money laundering. The successes of Operation SOGA X would not have been achieved without global information sharing and significant efforts by law enforcement authorities on the ground.”
Illegal gambling can also be closely tied to match-fixing as criminals attempt to manipulate the outcome of sports events to guarantee profits. When illegal gambling is rampant, it becomes easier for corrupt individuals to influence games, so the SOGA X operation also aimed to intercept and interrupt any signal of manipulation. Related investigations are still ongoing.
The post Interpol Illegal Gambling Investigation Leads to 5100 Arrests appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
TJPE cites a Brasília federal ruling that suspended the legal effects of Spribe’s AVIATOR registration and barred exclusivity claims during nullity proceedings.
The Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) has revoked preliminary appellate relief previously granted to Spribe OÜ in litigation over the AVIATOR trademark in Brazil.
In a monocratic decision, Justice Andrea Epaminondas Tenorio de Brito held that the factual and legal basis for the earlier injunction no longer exists. The court pointed to a subsequent decision by the Federal Court in Brasília that provisionally suspended the legal effects of Spribe’s Brazilian AVIATOR trademark registration and ordered Spribe to refrain from asserting exclusivity based on that registration while federal nullity proceedings are ongoing.
TJPE said its earlier relief relied on the presumption that Spribe’s trademark registration before Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) was fully valid and enforceable. With the federal court suspending the registration’s effects, the Pernambuco court found the underlying circumstances had materially changed.
The court cited Article 296 of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure as the basis for revoking the preliminary relief in light of the changed legal situation.
The post Pernambuco court revokes Spribe’s interim relief in Aviator trademark dispute appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
The Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) has revoked preliminary appellate relief previously granted to Spribe OÜ in ongoing litigation over the use of the AVIATOR trademark in Brazil, citing a change in the legal circumstances supporting the earlier decision.
In a monocratic decision, Justice Andrea Epaminondas Tenorio de Brito concluded that the factual and legal basis for the prior injunction no longer exists. The ruling follows a decision by the Federal Court in Brasília that provisionally suspended the legal effects of Spribe’s Brazilian AVIATOR trademark registration.
According to the press release, the federal court also ordered Spribe to refrain from asserting exclusivity based on that registration until the federal nullity proceedings are resolved.
TJPE said its earlier decision had relied on the presumption that Spribe’s trademark registration with the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) was fully valid and enforceable. With the federal court now suspending the legal effects of that registration, the Pernambuco court held that the foundation for interim relief had materially changed, prompting revocation under Article 296 of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure.
The post Pernambuco court revokes Spribe interim relief in AVIATOR trademark dispute appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
The German Gambling Authority (GGL) has published its latest activity report for 2025. The report highlights the GGL’s measures in supervising legal providers and its latest work against illegal gambling.
Supervision and Licensing of Legal Providers Further Systematised
While previous years focused primarily on granting licenses, in 2025 the emphasis shifted significantly to the structured supervision of licensed providers. Key instruments included supervisory discussions, both ad hoc and proactive measures based on reports and market observations. Internal collaboration between the relevant departments was further intensified, contributing to a uniform and consistent supervisory practice.
Further Development of the Technical Infrastructure and Supervisory Systems
The expansion of the technical infrastructure was further advanced. The goal is to create a reliable and comparable data basis for supervision, analysis and future regulatory decisions. Enforcing the mandatory and correct use of the safe servers by the authorised providers remained a challenging process in 2025, but it is the foundation for the necessary improvement in data quality.
Focusing the Fight Against Illegal Gambling on the Entire Market Environment
In 2025, the approach to combating illegal online gambling was further refined and consistently aligned with the entire market environment. In addition to measures against the operators themselves, the focus is increasingly shifting to the service providers involved. This approach ensures that illegal offerings are not viewed in isolation, but rather addressed within their market and process contexts.
In 2025, GGL worked closely with platform operators to further reduce the visibility of illegal content in the digital space.
Market measurement has been further developed scientifically. Due to its opaque and dynamic structure, the evaluation of the development of the illegal gambling market requires a particularly robust methodological basis. The 2025 activity report therefore does not include any independent figures on the size of the illegal market for the year 2025. Instead, the presentation is based on the results of the scientific study “Investigation of the black market and channeling of gambling on the internet based on a survey of gamblers”.
GGL deliberately chose this approach to increase the validity and comparability of the market data and to ensure methodologically sound results.
This study, already published, shows that in 2024 the market volume of illegal and therefore unregulated online gambling will be 23%. This results in a channeling rate of 77%. This means that legal or regulated offerings account for more than three-quarters of the online gambling market.
The existing study will be continued so that a scientifically sound data basis on the development of the illegal market can be provided.
Outlook 2026: 5 Years of GGL Mean Evaluation and Further Development
The developments so far show an increasing consolidation of the supervisory and enforcement structures within the framework of the State Treaty on Gambling 2021.
The focus in the coming years will be on the legally required evaluation, the preparation of the new licensing cycle from 2027 onwards, and the further strengthening of data-based and scientifically sound supervisory instruments.
The 2025 activity report can be found under Publications of the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States – Annual Reports.
The post GGL Publishes Activity Report 2025 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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