Compliance Updates
Texas Lottery Moves to Ban Lottery Courier Services
Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Ryan Mindell on Monday, Feb. 24, issued a Policy Statement, announcing that lottery ticket courier services are not allowed under Texas law and that the agency will move forward with proposed rule amendments prohibiting lottery courier services within the state.
The Policy is effective immediately and aligns with legislative efforts to address serious concerns raised by players and state leadership regarding the integrity, security, honesty, and fairness of lottery operations. Under the proposed amendments, a retailer that works in concert with a courier service would have their lottery ticket sales agent license revoked. The rule amendments will be formally proposed by agency staff to the Commission board at an open meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 4, with the intent for the amendments to be adopted at an April open meeting following a 30-day public comment period.
Couriers are unregulated companies that take lottery ticket orders from customers online. Upon receipt of funds from a customer, the courier purchases lottery tickets from a licensed lottery retailer with whom the courier has a private business arrangement. In practice, the courier and the retailer are often located in the same building or office. The courier transmits a scanned image of the ticket to the customer and retains the ticket until it is determined to be a winning or non-winning ticket. Couriers charge a fee for their service to purchase and manage their customers’ tickets. These activities all occur without the oversight of a regulating authority to ensure that the public is protected from potential crime and other harms.
“The Texas Lottery was established to provide a secure and transparent system for players to purchase tickets in person from licensed brick-and-mortar retailers for the purpose of generating revenue for public education and veterans’ services in a responsible manner. Lottery courier services operating in Texas have been a significant concern for many of our stakeholders. Previously, the agency interpreted its authority as not extending to the regulation or prohibition of these services. Since I became executive director less than a year ago, I have been keenly focused on making changes to improve the public’s perception of Texas Lottery games and how they are played and operated. In recent days, our agency conducted a review of our authority under the State Lottery Act. As a result of this review and information from recent retailer investigations, the Commission will revoke the license of a retailer that works with or assists a courier service and we are moving to prohibit courier services in Texas to ensure all ticket sales comply with state law and agency regulation as well as to maintain public trust,” said Mindell.
The impact of lottery courier services has raised public concerns regarding consumer protection, compliance with state law, the proliferation of crime, and the potential for unauthorized expansion of lottery sales. In recent years, scrutiny over the role of these services has increased, with calls for regulatory action to ensure all ticket purchases remain within a clearly defined, secure, and enforceable legal framework.
“Our priority is to protect the security and integrity of the Texas Lottery and the public’s confidence in our games. By this rule proposal, the agency will take decisive action to ensure that ticket sales remain in full compliance with state law. Maintaining a well-regulated lottery system that serves the people of Texas is essential to fulfilling our mission of responsibly generating important revenue for public education and veterans’ services in our state. I look forward to adopting these rules and continuing our commitment to the people of Texas. The Texas Lottery Commission is dedicated to upholding the integrity of lottery operations and will work in full cooperation with the Legislature to implement any further changes deemed necessary,” Robert G. Rivera, Chairman of the Texas Lottery Commission, said.
The post Texas Lottery Moves to Ban Lottery Courier Services appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Channelisation
Swedish Gambling Authority consults tighter duty of care rules as channelisation slips
The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has opened a consultation on new gambling responsibility (spelansvar) regulations that would replace the current Regulations and General Advice on Responsible Gambling (LIFS 2018:2). The consultation was issued on 16 June 2026, with stakeholders given until 10 August 2026 to submit comments.
According to the consultation summary, the draft rules would formalise parts of existing Swedish case law while adding “new, detailed and strict requirements” for licensed operators. The proposals cover player monitoring and assessment factors, earlier intervention expectations, expanded mandatory responsible gambling measures, documentation and Duty of Care Action Plan requirements, player communications, and more detailed provisions on responsible gambling logos and limits for login and deposits.
The consultation lands as the regulator reports a slight dip in channelisation. In its latest report, the SGA estimates that 84% of Swedish consumer gambling took place with licensed operators during 2025, down from 85% in 2024. The authority also estimates that around 94% of players used a licensed operator at least once during the year, while noting that channelisation remains “significantly lower” for online casino than for betting.
In parallel, the Administrative Court has overturned an SGA enforcement decision against Roar Vegas Ltd (LeoVegas). On 12 June 2026, the court set aside the SGA’s warning and SEK 8 million sanction fee linked to alleged duty of care breaches, where the regulator had argued the operator intervened too late for customers showing indicators of excessive gambling.
The decision adds further judicial scrutiny to how duty of care expectations are applied in Sweden, even as the SGA continues to emphasise timely interventions when harm indicators are identified. For operators, the consultation and the court ruling together raise the stakes on process, documentation, and the evidentiary standards likely to be tested in future supervision and appeals.
The post Swedish Gambling Authority consults tighter duty of care rules as channelisation slips appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Australia
Former Star Entertainment Executives Mathias Bekier and Paula Martin Disqualified and Ordered to Pay Penalties
The Australian Federal Court has disqualified former Star Entertainment Group Limited executives Mathias Bekier and Paula Martin from managing corporations for six and seven years respectively and ordered them to pay pecuniary penalties for breaching their duties by failing to properly manage serious risks at one of Australia’s major casinos.
The Court ordered:
Mr Bekier, the former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, to pay a pecuniary penalty of $700,000 and disqualified him from managing corporations for six years.
Ms Martin, the former General Counsel, Company Secretary, and Chief Legal and Risk Officer, to pay a pecuniary penalty of $400,000 and disqualified her from managing corporations for seven years.
His Honour also ordered that Mr Bekier and Ms Martin pay 45% of ASIC’s costs of the proceeding.
The Court previously found that both Mr Bekier and Ms Martin breached their duties owed to Star Entertainment in relation to their handling of the risks associated with money laundering and criminal activity.
ASIC Chair Sarah Court said: “senior executives have a critical responsibility to identify, escalate and properly manage serious risks within their organisations.
“These failures occurred in a highly regulated environment and contributed to significant governance breakdowns at Star.
“Penalties of this scale reflect the seriousness of their conduct and send a strong message to other senior executives of listed companies that failures of this type are unacceptable.”
ASIC has an enduring enforcement priority focused on governance and directors’ duties failures.
In relation to Mr Bekier, His Honour Justice Lee said:
“Senior executives of casino operators, and public companies conducting enterprises pregnant with risks more broadly, must understand that failures of the kind established by the contraventions may attract substantial personal consequences.”
Further, in respect of Ms Martin he found that “the community is entitled to expect that a solicitor occupying such positions and having such responsibilities, within one of Australia’s largest casino operators, will display professional independence, accuracy and judgment of a high order. The conduct established … represented a very serious departure from those standards” and that
“Ms Martin knew of a miscellany of alarming information pertaining to [an overseas gambling junket] … She was required to report such matters to the Board but failed to do so. This is all the more concerning when considered against the backdrop of Ms Martin being the most senior solicitor employed by Star”; and that
“The more pervasive the failures of governance and culture become, the greater the obligation upon those entrusted with legal and risk responsibilities to insist upon compliance with legal obligations and proper standards of corporate conduct.”
The post Former Star Entertainment Executives Mathias Bekier and Paula Martin Disqualified and Ordered to Pay Penalties appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Compliance Updates
Kentucky AG Files Lawsuits Against Companies Allegedly Operating Illegal Betting, Gambling Platforms
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced on Wednesday that his office has filed separate lawsuits against three online platforms he claims are operating without licenses and engaging in illegal sports betting and gambling.
The lawsuits were filed in Franklin Circuit Court against:
Kalshi, a prediction market platform, and its affiliates including Coinbase;
Polymarket, a prediction market platform, and its affiliates; and
VGW, an online casino platform with brands including Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and LuckyLand Slots.
The suits against Kalshi and Polymarket allege that they allow users to place wagers on game winners, point spreads and player statistics, and that they are doing business in Kentucky without a gaming license or following state regulations.
The suit against Kalshi states that it offers so-called “event contracts” on several topics; sports betting made up approximately 70% of its trading volume during a selected sample period in 2025.
The Polymarket suit states that the platform’s flashy advertisements on social media and elsewhere give the false and misleading impression that it is authorized to offer sports wagering under Kentucky law. The platform offers many of the same traditional sports bets as a licensed sportsbook.
“Kalshi and Polymarket are operating illegal sportsbooks in Kentucky and breaking our laws. These multi-billion dollar corporations and their legal fictions don’t pass the sniff test. As one of our state legislative leaders said it best, ‘If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck’,” said Coleman on the suits.
The suits also allege that each company offers few or no resources to identify or seek help for a gambling problem.
The suit against VGW and its affiliates states that they allegedly operate unlawful sweepstakes casino websites that use two different types of virtual gambling chips.
The games on websites are designed to look and feel like slot machines and blackjack.
The alleged online casinos offer two types of chips: one free and one with cash value.
According to the suit, users pay real money for so-called Sweeps Coins, just as gamblers pay for poker chips at a real casino, or they can cash out their winnings.
“This company may use new technology and a new scheme to hide, but the reality is the same,” Coleman said on the suit. “Our Office has a duty to stop illegal gambling in Kentucky regardless of how it’s packaged.”
In recent months, Coleman has joined in national bipartisan efforts to regulate prediction markets.
The post Kentucky AG Files Lawsuits Against Companies Allegedly Operating Illegal Betting, Gambling Platforms appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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