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Compliance Updates

Licence to Operate: The New Regulatory Frontier in Ireland, Finland and New Zealand

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Overview

For years, many jurisdictions were content to sit back while offshore operators captured players and revenue. Ireland has created a dedicated, centralised regulator. Finland has dismantled its standing state monopoly. New Zealand is finally trying to pull a largely unregulated grey market into a controlled framework. Each of these markets is at a different stage, but the direction of travel is the same: licensing, enforcement, and a far tougher stance on consumer protection.

For operators, this is a mixed picture. Genuine commercial opportunities are opening, but the compliance bar is rising fast, and the days of entering a market through an offshore licence are numbered.

Ireland: The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI)

The main legislation dated back to 1931, enforcement was fragmented, and nobody could quite agree on who was responsible for what. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 was the overhaul the industry had been waiting for, and it came with real teeth.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) was set up in March 2025 and became fully operational in February 2026, when it started accepting licence applications. It now acts as a single national regulator with the power to supervise and issue substantial penalties.

The new licensing fees are tiered rather than flat, which is a significant change. Previously, fees bore almost no relationship to an operator’s size or revenue. Now they scale with turnover and the type of operation. That’s fairer for smaller entrants and means larger operators are paying something closer to their actual market cost.

What the Rules Cover

The new framework touches most areas of the market. A few standout provisions:

  • Licences: The GRAI’s digital Operator Portal went live in early 2026. Both remote and land-based products are covered, and the documentation requirements are clearly set out.
  • Penalties: Serious breaches can result in fines of up to €20 million or 10% of annual turnover, whichever is higher.
  • Consumer protections: Credit card gambling is banned. Gambling advertising is subject to tighter restrictions.

How to Apply

The application process runs in stages:

  1. Publish a notice of intention at least 28 days before submitting and send proof to the GRAI.
  2. Pull together the required documentation, financial records, ownership details, and operational plans.
  3. Submit the online application and pay the non-refundable tiered fee.
  4. The GRAI reviews the application.
  5. A written decision is issued. If the licence is granted, operators move into post-licence compliance obligations, including reporting any material changes to ownership, finances or senior personnel.

The GRAI was allocated €9.1 million for its first year to cover licensing, enforcement, recruitment and public awareness. Annual inspections are expected to begin shortly, with dedicated enforcement units in place by Q3 2026. There’s clearly an appetite from both domestic and overseas operators; the market is attracting serious interest.

Finland: After the Monopoly

Veikkaus has run Finland’s gambling market for a long time. Lotteries, sports betting, and online casinos all sat under one state-owned roof. That changed in December 2025, when the Finnish parliament passed landmark gambling legislation. Online casino and sports betting are now open to competition, though Veikkaus will keep its monopoly over lotteries, scratch cards and land-based slots and casinos.

It’s worth noting the transition timeline: Veikkaus retains its monopoly until 30 June 2027. Until that point, no other company may run or market gambling in Finland. The new competitive market, and with it the first licensed private operators, only goes live on 1 July 2027.

Applications opened on 1 March 2026. The regulator is targeting a three-to-six-month processing window, which means operators who move now have plenty of time to be ready for the July 2027 launch.

Structure and Costs

Operators need a Finnish licence to legally serve local players from July 2027. Applications must be submitted in Finnish or Swedish, and the authority reviews them in the language used.

Two licence types cover the market:

  • Gambling Licences: Covering betting, online casinos and money bingo. Applications are open now; operations can commence from 1 July 2027. Licences run for up to five years.
  • Gambling Software Licences: Required for developers and suppliers. Applications open from 1 July 2027. From 1 July 2028, only software from licensed providers may be used.

The application fee is €29,000, with €1,120 for licence amendments. Annual supervisory fees are linked to gross gaming revenue. Operators will also pay a 22% tax on gross gaming revenue.

For international brands, Finland is a highly attractive opportunity. It’s a high-income, digitally engaged market that has been effectively closed to competition for decades. The reform is also explicitly aimed at drawing players back from offshore platforms; estimates suggest that between €600 million and €900 million a year is currently flowing outside the regulated system. Operators who get licensed early stand to benefit from a genuine shift in where Finns choose to play.

New Zealand: Closing the Grey Market

New Zealand’s online casino market has been a grey market for many years. Offshore operators have been able to take bets from New Zealand players without holding a local licence. That’s about to change. Estimates vary, but local players are spending approximately NZ$700–750 million a year outside any domestic regulatory framework, and the Online Casino Gambling Bill is the government’s attempt to bring that spending onshore and under regulatory control.

How the Licences Will Work

New Zealand is deliberately limiting the number of licences to 15, each tied to a single brand. The allocation process runs in stages: expressions of interest, an auction, then detailed assessments covering financial strength, operational capability and consumer protection. Restrictions on how many licences a single group can hold (a maximum of three) are also built in, which should prevent a few large operators from dominating the market.

Licences run for three years with a right of renewal up to five. Application fees will cover regulatory assessment costs based on operator revenue.

Timeline

  • Legislation: The Bill passed its first reading in July 2025 and was at its third reading stage as of late March 2026. Royal Assent is anticipated around May 2026, though the exact timing depends on parliamentary scheduling.
  • Regulations: Detailed rules on harm prevention, advertising, consumer protection and compliance are expected to be finalised by mid-2026, ahead of the licensing process.
  • Licensing opens: The three-stage licensing process is expected to begin in July 2026. From 1 December 2026, any operator without a licence or a pending application must cease serving New Zealand players entirely.

Penalties and Player Protections

Operating without a licence after the deadline, or breaching key requirements like targeting minors, carries civil penalties of up to NZ$5 million for companies – a clear enforcement signal. All licensed operators will also need to implement age verification, spending controls and integration with national exclusion systems.

The Select Committee recommended increasing that duty from 12% to 16%, which, when combined with GST of approximately 13%, would push the total tax burden for licensed operators to around 29% of gross betting revenue. Note that the 16% duty rate was still subject to final parliamentary approval at the time of writing.

The upside for operators willing to commit is a market that’s been largely uncontested from a regulatory standpoint. The 15-licence cap means the field will be small, and early movers who make it through the process will be operating in a structurally limited competitive environment.

Where This Leaves Operators

Ireland, Finland and New Zealand don’t have a huge amount in common on the surface: different sizes, different regulatory histories and different market structures. But the logic driving each of these changes is the same: governments have decided that letting offshore operators capture their markets unchallenged is no longer an acceptable policy.

For operators, that means more paperwork, higher compliance costs, and in some cases entirely new licencing regimes in markets where none existed before. It also means real, regulated access to markets that have been effectively closed. Finland’s player base has never had a competitive licensed market to choose from. New Zealand’s offshore-dominated status quo is about to be dismantled.

The operators who will do well in these markets are the ones who take the licensing process seriously from the start and don’t assume that doing things right in one jurisdiction automatically translates across borders.

The post Licence to Operate: The New Regulatory Frontier in Ireland, Finland and New Zealand appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Compliance Updates

PlayCity Partners with Streaming Platform Kick to Block Illegal Gambling Ads

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PlayCity, the state agency overseeing the gambling and lottery sector in Ukraine, has partnered with streaming platform Kick to further accelerate the blocking of illegal gambling ads on the platform.

“We are directly providing Kick’s headquarters with a list of channels that violate legislation and illegally advertise gambling,” PlayCity said.

The agency said that the first two channels on the platform were blocked during the past week.

In addition, at the agency’s request, access was restricted last week to 37 accounts across TikTok, Instagram, Twitch and Kick, with the blocked accounts having a combined audience of more than 895,000 users.

Specifically, access was restricted to 20 TikTok accounts with 473,000 followers, 11 Instagram accounts with 314,000 followers, four Twitch channels with 107,000 followers, and two Kick channels with 1200 followers.

“Blocking such content helps quickly stop the recruitment of users into gambling through illegal advertising campaigns,” PlayCity said.

The post PlayCity Partners with Streaming Platform Kick to Block Illegal Gambling Ads appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Compliance Updates

KSA – Target for Gambling Tax Increase Not Achieved: Expected Tax Revenues Turn Out Lower

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The recent increase in the Dutch gambling tax has failed to achieve its primary financial objectives. This is evident from the “monitor of the effects of the increase in gambling tax,” conducted by the Ministry of Finance and the Dutch Gaming Authority. As of January 1, 2025, the gambling tax was increased from 30.5% to 34.2%, and in 2026 the rate was further raised to 37.8%. The aim of this increase was to raise government revenue. The monitor shows that this goal is not being achieved as expected: the projected tax revenues turned out lower.

The tax increase was expected to yield an additional €108 million in 2025 compared to the previous year, and €216 million in 2026. However, the monitor shows that these amounts are turning out much lower: an additional €2 million was collected in 2025, and €57 million in 2026. Moreover, the tax increase is causing a decrease in revenue from state participations, resulting in even lower additional revenue for the State.

The fact that tax revenues are lower is due to several developments. In the years measured, various measures were taken to better protect players, causing the gross gaming result (GSR) of providers to decrease. This leads to a decrease in the tax base, the amount on which tax must be paid. The tariff increase itself may also have led to a decrease in the tax base, for example because physical establishments of gambling companies were closed in the interest of profitability.

The monitor also examined the effects on market size, channeling, and contributions to charities and sports. It is not possible to draw conclusions regarding this, as multiple changes occurred simultaneously. For instance, the aforementioned rules to better protect players and various advertising restrictions have also impacted the gambling market.

The post KSA – Target for Gambling Tax Increase Not Achieved: Expected Tax Revenues Turn Out Lower appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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LatAm: Beyond Brazil – Chile, Uruguay and Peru’s Regulatory Trajectories

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Looking beyond Brazil, which LatAm market stands out most right now, and what makes it attractive?

Liam Hoofe, Content Strategist at GameOn

Based on our research for GO Intel, I think Chile is the market to watch out for the most. The size of the opportunity is potentially massive, with the Chilean Senate’s own figures estimating that more than 5 million Chileans are already gambling online.

The demand is definitely there, and broader discussions about a regulatory framework are underway. Our estimates in GO Intel also put channelisation rates at 80% if enforcement and regulation ran smoothly.

The proposed ‘cooling-off’ period for operators already active there is also quite a unique approach, and it will benefit those who approach the market with the right foundations in place.

Of course, as we’ve seen with Brazil, there will no doubt be a lot of public debate around the market, and the tax structure could be complex, but of the three we researched, this one still stands out the most.

Paulina Hovar, Lead Sales Manager LATAM at BGaming

Right now, Mexico and Argentina stand out the most to me.

Mexico has been showing steady growth for a while now. It’s already a fairly mature market with strong operator presence, but there’s still plenty of room to scale. At the same time, one of the main things to watch is the tax situation and how regulation may develop in the future, since that could impact profitability and market dynamics.

Argentina is interesting for a different reason. The market is regulated at the provincial level, so it’s much more decentralized. That creates opportunities because entry can be more flexible, but it also means you need to understand the local landscape and choose partners and regions carefully.

Ramiro Atucha, Board Advisor to Kiron Interactive

Mexico stands out. The size of the market alone makes it attractive, and the current regulation is already acceptable enough for public companies to feel comfortable operating there. It’s also moving toward a more formal framework, so there’s still margin to grow. Beyond Mexico, I’d point to Chile, certain provinces in Argentina, and Colombia. All three have their own dynamics, but they’re markets you can’t ignore right now.

 

When entering markets that are still evolving from a regulatory perspective, what’s the right balance between moving early and waiting for clarity?

Liam Hoofe, Content Strategist at GameOn

That’s the million-dollar question, and it’s one I’m not sure there is a 100% correct answer to. For me, it’s about building relationships, ensuring you have the right infrastructure in place, and understanding a market before you invest.

Operators and studios that just enter with no understanding of the culture and of the way the regulatory landscape could adapt are putting themselves at risk of failing.

Trying to remain one step ahead of regulation and working alongside the regulators to help the market mature is always going to be a much better approach than just waiting for regulation to come into place and being reactive.

Paulina Hovar, Lead Sales Manager LATAM at BGaming

It depends on how mature the market is.

If the regulatory framework is already clear and established, then the best approach is to operate fully within the licensed model from day one.

But in markets that are still in a gray or transitional stage, where operators are already active, it can make sense to take a more gradual approach. That could mean building partnerships, adapting the product to local needs, and preparing for future regulation before fully committing.

You also have to be very careful about legal and reputational risks. Every market is different, so timing and level of involvement should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Ramiro Atucha, Board Advisor to Kiron Interactive

As early as possible, as long as it isn’t illegal or forbidden. That’s the right moment to enter and transition through the regulatory process. Brazil is the clearest example. Sports betting was legalized in 2018, but the full regulatory framework only came in late 2023, with licensed operations starting in 2025. The operators that used those years to attract players, test the market and build name recognition without breaking the law made a real difference. By the time regulation arrived, they were already established.

As markets like Chile, Peru, and Uruguay develop, what will separate the brands that succeed from those that struggle?

Liam Hoofe, Content Strategist at GameOn

The biggest differentiator for me is localisation, and by that, I mean real localisation, not just translating a game into Spanish and calling it a day. This means actually creating products and promotions that speak to local audiences. LatAm is not just some big monolithic market with a one-size-fits-all solution – brands that succeed there are the ones that understand this. The ones who know that a player in Chile is not the same as one in Uruguay or Brazil are going to be the big winners.

On top of that, working closely with regulators and showing genuine concern for players’ well-being in these markets will make a huge difference. It’s not enough anymore to just display simple responsible gambling tools; players want to see it in your actions, and it’s obvious to them which brands really care and which are just ticking boxes.

And finally, local partnerships. Some of the most successful companies we work with are those that really integrate themselves and find local partners that offer genuine insight into communities, and can be leveraged to build trust. This can be achieved in a number of different ways, whether it’s through working with local content creators and influencers or getting involved with local charities and events.

Paulina Hovar, Lead Sales Manager LATAM at BGaming

As markets like Chile, Peru, and Uruguay continue to develop, the following three factors will set successful brands apart from the rest.

First, strong local partnerships. Without people on the ground and a real understanding of how each market works, it’s very difficult to build a sustainable position.

Second, product adaptation. Translation alone is never enough. Companies need proper localization that reflects user behavior, cultural differences, and local audience preferences.

And third, regulatory readiness. The companies that invest early in certification, compliance, and building the right processes will have a major advantage later on. It’s expensive and takes time, but in regulated markets, long-term preparation usually makes the difference between short-term growth and lasting success.

Ramiro Atucha, Board Advisor to Kiron Interactive

Brands that bring international experience and proven competitiveness from other markets, combined with genuine local understanding, will get the best of both worlds. The international background gives you credibility and product depth. The local presence gives you a product that’s actually adapted to how players in that country behave. Neither side works on its own. In Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, the operators who get this combination right are the ones who’ll separate from the pack.

The post LatAm: Beyond Brazil – Chile, Uruguay and Peru’s Regulatory Trajectories appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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