Compliance Updates

UK Government launches review to ensure gambling laws are fit for digital age

Published

6 years ago

December 9, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Culture Secretary has launched a major and wide-ranging review of gambling laws to ensure they are fit for the digital age as committed to in the manifesto.

Online restrictions, marketing and the powers of the Gambling Commission will be looked at as part of a call for evidence, to examine in detail how gambling has changed over the past 15 years.

Protections for online gamblers like stake and spend limits, advertising and promotional offers and whether extra protections for young adults are needed will all be explored.

The findings will be used to inform any changes to the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure customer protection is at the heart of the regulations, while giving those that gamble safely the freedom to do so.

The review will also look at evidence on the action customers can take where they feel operators have breached social responsibility requirements, such as intervening to protect customers showing clear signs of problematic play, and how to ensure children and young people are kept safe from gambling-related harm.

The Government recognises the need to balance the enjoyment people get from gambling with the right regulatory framework and protections.

It has also been announced today that the minimum age for playing the National Lottery will be raised from 16 to 18 from October 2021.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, said:
“Whilst millions gamble responsibly, the Gambling Act is an analogue law in a digital age. From an era of having a flutter in a high street bookmaker, casino, racecourse or seaside pier, the industry has evolved at breakneck speed.

“This comprehensive review will ensure we are tackling problem gambling in all its forms to protect children and vulnerable people. It will also help those who enjoy placing a bet to do so safely.

“This builds upon our clear track record of introducing tough measures to protect people from the risk of gambling harm – banning the use of credit cards, launching tighter age verification checks and cutting the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals.”

Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage Nigel Huddleston said:
“We’re committed to protecting young people from gambling related harm which is why we are raising the minimum age for the National Lottery. Patterns of play have changed since its inception, with a shift towards online games, and this change will help make sure the National Lottery, although already low-risk, is not a gateway to problem gambling.”

It follows a range of measures recently introduced by the Government to protect consumers from the risk of gambling-related harm. These include cutting the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals, bringing in tighter age and identity checks for online gambling, banning gambling using credit cards and expanding national specialist support through the NHS Long Term Plan.

In September the Government launched a call for evidence to explore young people’s experiences of loot boxes in video games. This will provide a clearer picture of the size of the loot box market in the UK and fully examine any evidence of harms or links to problem gambling.

The review of the Gambling Act 2005 will also consider the Gambling Commission’s powers and resources to ensure it can keep pace with the licensed sector and tackle the black market.

In October the Gambling Commission introduced new rules on VIP schemes, and has called for evidence around how to ensure operators identify and intervene where people are at risk of harm, including through carrying out affordability checks. The Commission will also soon set out new rules on safer game design for online slots and withdrawing winnings.

Alongside the launch of the review, the Government is announcing its decision to raise the minimum age to play the National Lottery from 16 to 18, to protect young people from gambling related harm.

Since it began in 1994 the National Lottery’s games portfolio has changed significantly and there has been a growing trend towards online play and instant win games like scratchcards. Following a consultation, from October 2021 it will be illegal to sell all National Lottery products to under 18s.

The Government is working with the Gambling Commission and Camelot to roll out the new age limit across the National Lottery products as quickly as possible and to ensure that it is in place by October. Under current plans, online sales to 16 and 17 year olds will stop in April 2021.

Source: gov.uk

Aviator

Pernambuco court revokes Spribe’s interim relief in Aviator trademark dispute

Published

8 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

pernambuco-court-revokes-spribe’s-interim-relief-in-aviator-trademark-dispute

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.

Aviator

Pernambuco court revokes Spribe interim relief in AVIATOR trademark dispute

Published

8 hours ago

July 7, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

pernambuco-court-revokes-spribe-interim-relief-in-aviator-trademark-dispute

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.

activity report 2025

GGL Publishes Activity Report 2025

Published

11 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

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.