Latest News
Roberto Carlos exclusive: the Global Ambassador for Football for Friendship answers the questions of Young Participants from all over the world
The former Brazilian international, three-time winner of the Champions League and Global Ambassador of the Gazprom International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship (F4F), Roberto Carlos, spoke in an exclusive press conference with Young Players and Young Journalists about his life, his career and his support for F4F.
Roberto Carlos won the World Cup with the Brazilian national team in 2002. He also won the UEFA Champions League title three times (1998, 2000 and 2002) with Real Madrid as well as numerous national league championship titles. Currently, he is working as a youth coach at Real Madrid. Since 2020 he has also been a Global Ambassador for Football for Friendship. He has supported the programme since 2019, when he presented the winners of the F4F World Championship the cup at the closing events in Madrid, having taken part in other important highlights of the tournament as well.
In an online press conference at the end of May, he answered a wide range of questions from Young Players and Young Journalists with charm and wit. The topics ranged from the highlights of his career to his relationship with his family, his native country Brazil, and his support for Football for Friendship.
Asked about his most famous goal, Roberto Carlos couldn’t suppress a smile at first because, as he explained, he is often asked this question. But he then went on to mention his free kick against France on 3rd June 1997 at the Tournament of France in the 21st minute of the game and also his spectacular goal against CD Teneriffa on 21st February 1998. He also explained that the derby match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona had always been a highlight. He said that the Brazilian national team of 2002 and Real Madrid with its galacticos were his favourite teams, and argued that whether or not football was becoming more and more commercialised depended a lot on the actual club. Overall, football would continue to develop both technically and tactically.
He told David Sargent from Ireland that it was true that he had been named after the famous Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos Braga. It had been the wish of his father, whose favourite singer this was. He, Roberto Carlos, was a great admirer of the Brazilian singer Alexandre Pires. He explained that his family had been poor and that, when he was twelve, he had wanted to become a lawyer. But then everything had quickly turned out differently: a football career in Brazil, the national team and an invitation to play in Europe. He said that his family had always supported him, particularly his father, who had played football himself. And, of course, it had been painful to leave his family when he was just 13 years old.
Kinley Deki Yangzom from Bhutan asked him what he would do differently. He replied that everything had gone well and had helped him to develop personally and professionally. He told Miriam Sheahan from Ireland that he had never been afraid. But of course he had had dreams, for example to be able to build his parents a house.
In his view, respect towards others, and good, friendly behaviour – towards one’s opponent as well – were important qualities. He told Dominic Kramberger from Sweden that teamwork was an important precondition for success. And his answer to the question from Xuance Li, a Young Journalist from China, was that, because he himself had always behaved properly towards others, he had never been offended by anyone. Mihajlo Nasik, a Young Journalist from Serbia, played Roberto Carlos a serenade on his piano and then asked him about his creative hobbies. Roberto answered that he didn’t have any special talents and that his life was taken up with football 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Doro Yusupov from Tajikistan wanted to know what, in his view, were typical traditions in Brazil. The football star’s answer was good fortune, good food, respect for one’s family and the desire to spend the weekend with one’s family. Aahana Kamboj from India observed that Brazil had so many good footballers and asked whether it was to do with a particular kind of sand on the beaches there. Carlos replied that he had lived in India for some time and had a great love for the country. He went on to explain that the sand on the beaches most certainly wasn’t the reason why Brazil had so many good footballers. Quite simply, the people in his country played football everywhere and everyone wanted to become a star.
What he found good about Football for Friendship was that so many Young Players and Young Journalists meet up and can interact with one another. He thanked the young people for their many interesting questions and wished them all every success.
The 9th season of Football for Friendship is taking place in an online format from 14th to 29th May 2021. This year, F4F is bringing boys and girls together from more than 200 countries and regions. Young Players aged 12 are taking part in the 2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship (eF4F). The competition is being played on “F4F World”, the football simulator, which is available free of charge in 27 languages on MS Windows, Apple MacOS, Android and iOS.
Young Journalists report in the International Children’s Press Centre on the events in the 9th season of Football for Friendship and share with their friends the most important values in the programme: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour.
You can watch the video of this press conference by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi6qD7wkhWA.
Aahana Kamboj, India: “I really enjoyed the session with Football for Friendship Global Ambassador, Roberto Carlos, where the Young Journalists from different countries asked questions related to his football career. Even I got the opportunity to ask a question. According to Roberto, teamwork is the key to success, and everyone must follow this rule to be successful in life.”
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Casino Hi Five
EGT installs PH 50 V AWP cabinets at Hi Five Casino in the Netherlands
The Berg en Dal venue adds single-screen AWP units supplied with EGT’s Bonus Prize Collection multigame.
EGT has expanded its footprint in the Dutch AWP market with a new installation at Hi Five Casino in Berg en Dal. The venue has added PH 50 V AWP cabinets supplied with the Bonus Prize Collection multigame.
According to EGT, this is its first installation of single-screen AWP cabinets in the Netherlands. Yuliana Ilieva, Director of EGT Netherlands, said: “This is the first time we have installed single-screen AWP cabinets in the country. The operator, as well as the players, are impressed by the aesthetics and overall design of the cabinets, perfectly blending eye-catching outlook and maximum comfort. The combination with titles such as Mighty Sparta and Amazons’ Battle is a guarantee of a captivating gaming experience, and the results shown so far are eloquent proof. I am confident that we will see more installations of these products very soon.”
The PH 50 V AWP cabinet is powered by EGT’s Exciter IV platform and features a 50-inch vertical monitor, ergonomic functions, and enhanced video and audio capabilities, the company said. Bonus Prize Collection includes 10 games and features including Cash Heat, Epic Cash, Prize Multipliers, and Wild bonuses.
Micha van Bochem from Casino Hi Five said the machines have been live for a month. “EGT’s new cabinet for the Dutch market has been a big hit so far. The machines have been running for a month now and are being enthusiastically received by players. They look beautiful and innovative, with a large screen—and hopefully, in the future, with games that feature expanding reels —that would be absolutely fantastic on such an elegant cabinet. So far, it’s been nothing but positive, and we’re looking forward to the future.”
The post EGT installs PH 50 V AWP cabinets at Hi Five Casino in the Netherlands appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Betting and Gaming Council
BGC Responds to Gambling Commission’s Announcement on FRAs
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has responded to the UK Gambling Commission’s decision to introduce Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) in stages.
Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said:
“We are deeply disappointed and frustrated that the Gambling Commission has decided to press ahead with Financial Risk Assessments despite the significant concerns raised over the last 18 months by the BGC, operators, racing, parliamentarians and customers.
“The fact that the Gambling Commission has delayed implementation, raised thresholds and abandoned its original timetable is a clear recognition that the concerns raised by the BGC and others were well founded. Unfortunately, the central issues around reliability, consumer impact and the practical operation of these checks remain unresolved.
“The Commission has failed to address the fundamental issues identified during its own pilot. It has not demonstrated that the data underpinning these checks is accurate, reliable or consistent enough to support regulatory decisions affecting customers.
“The pilot exposed inconsistencies in the information returned by credit reference agencies, with the same customer potentially receiving different outcomes depending on the provider. Customers risk being wrongly identified as financially vulnerable based on a system that remains unproven. That is not a sound basis for regulatory intervention.
“The Commission has yet to publish a full evaluation of the pilot, so neither the industry nor the public has seen the evidence needed to justify introducing these checks.
“These checks cannot be described as genuinely frictionless if they produce unreliable outcomes, lead to unnecessary account restrictions or ultimately result in customers being asked to provide documents or open banking information.
“While the Commission has announced implementation groups, it has given no indication that they will resolve the outstanding questions around reliability, consumer impact and how the system will operate in practice.
“We support evidence-led, proportionate regulation that protects vulnerable people while allowing the 22.5 million adults in Britain who bet each month to do so safely. But until the Commission can demonstrate these checks are accurate, consistent and genuinely frictionless, our fundamental concerns remain, including the risk of driving customers towards the growing illegal gambling market.”
The post BGC Responds to Gambling Commission’s Announcement on FRAs appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Latest News
The Malta Gaming Authority Publishes its 2025 Annual Report and Financial Statements
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has published its Annual Report and audited Financial Statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2025. The report outlines the performance of Malta’s land-based and online gaming sectors during the year, while detailing the Authority’s key regulatory activities and developments. It also provides a forward-looking perspective on the gaming industry, examining emerging trends, regulatory shifts and market dynamics expected to shape the sector in the years ahead.
Key Highlights from 2025
Authorisation Activities
• Between January and December 2025, MGA received 38 applications for new gaming licences and issued 19 licences. In addition, the Authority received a further 10 gaming licence renewal applications from operators to renew their gaming licence which was bound to expire during the twelve-month period of 2025 and issued eight licence renewals.
• As part of the oversight of low-risk gaming activities, MGA issued 2043 permits for non-profit tombola, 22 permits for non-profit lottery and 118 certificates for commercial communication games.
• As part of MGA’s application assessment process, the Authority carried out 1266 due diligence screening checks on authorised persons, persons holding qualifying interest, directors, key persons, and any third-parties providing funding or otherwise exercising control over an authorised person from both the land-based and online gaming sectors.
• Applications of a more complex nature were escalated to the Fit and Proper Committee. It assessed findings relating to 20 entities and 38 individuals. In seven cases, the Committee determined that the criteria to be considered as fit and proper were not satisfied.
• The Supervisory Council considered gaming licence applications referred to it for review, including applications for new licences and licence renewals. These figures reflect the Council’s decisions on applications during the reporting period and therefore may differ from the number of licences ultimately issued during the same period. During 2025, 17 new gaming licence applications were approved, while two applications were rejected following the completion of the “Minded Letter” process, on the grounds that the information or submission made to the Authority was found to be false, misleading, inaccurate, or materially incomplete. In addition, 10 gaming licence renewal applications were reviewed and approved.
Supervisory Activities
• In 2025, MGA concluded 15 full-scope compliance audits, which were complemented by 109 thematic reviews across compliance, player protection, and sport betting integrity.
• As part of MGA’s efforts to safeguard players and promote responsible gambling, the Authority resolved a total of 3718 requests for assistance, including cases carried forward from 2024.
• Between January and December 2025, MGA received 1757 player funds reports and carried out 14 data extractions to support the safeguarding of player funds.
• As MGA continued to strengthen its efforts to identify unauthorised URLs linked to unregulated gaming activity, the Authority reviewed a total of 109 URLs, and 42 were found to contain fraudulent references to the Authority or its licensees. These were subsequently added to the publicly available list on MGA’s website.
• The Commercial Communications Committee made six decisions regarding possible breaches of the Gaming Commercial Communications Regulations.
• During 2025, 21 AML/CFT compliance examinations were initiated by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) or by MGA on its behalf, while 21 such compliance examinations were concluded.
• A total of 30 closure letters were issued to licensees to either formally conclude examinations carried out by the MGA or the FIAU, or to formally conclude the remediation process where findings were not deemed serious or systemic. Additionally, MGA have also issued two potential breaches letters as a formal notification to licensees of potential non-compliance with AML/CFT obligations, where further clarification, explanation, or remediation was required before these could be treated as confirmed breaches.
• The FIAU imposed a remediation measure and/or administrative penalty amounting to just under €26,500.
• MGA also conducted 29 interviews on prospective MLROs to ensure that candidates meet the required standards of knowledge and awareness of the Maltese AML/CFT legal framework.
• During the reporting period, MGA carried out a total of 7903 inspections on Gaming Premises (including Casinos and Commercial Bingo Halls), Controlled Gaming Premises, National Lottery Outlets (including National Lottery Outlets – Controlled Gaming Premises), and Non-Profit Tombola.
Enforcement Actions
• Between January and December 2025, MGA issued a total of 35 cease and desist letters, 22 warnings and 30 administrative penalties amounting to €162,520. The Authority also suspended one licence and cancelled two.
• During 2025, one appeal was lodged, which remains pending, while eight appeals lodged in previous years were withdrawn.
National and International Cooperation
• Between January and December 2025, MGA received 280 suspicious betting reports from licensees. As part of its continued efforts to fight against match-fixing and malicious betting, MGA shared 192 alerts on suspicious betting with licensees, following enhanced risk-based filtering, and participated in 66 investigations across the globe.
• The MGA also collaborated with enforcement agencies, sports governing bodies, integrity units, and other regulatory authorities on 56 requests for information and participated in 85 instances of data exchanges.
• The MGA received 66 requests for international collaboration from other regulators, and it sent 12 requests. These requests received were primarily related to generic requests for cooperation or requests for background checks as part of authorisations process.
• The MGA issued 58 official replies to provide feedback on the regulatory good standing of its licensed operators to other regulatory and industry stakeholders requesting this information.
• During the reporting period, MGA collaborated with local regulating authorities and governing bodies on 200 requests for information.
“The challenge facing regulators today is not to regulate more, but to regulate better,” CEO Charles Mizzi said.
“Throughout 2025, we refined the way we regulate – strengthening our risk-based approach to oversight, improving engagement, streamlining processes, and making better use of data and technology to focus our efforts where they matter most. That is how we strengthen confidence in the Maltese licence, safeguard players, and support the long-term sustainability of Malta’s gaming sector.”
The post The Malta Gaming Authority Publishes its 2025 Annual Report and Financial Statements appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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