Compliance Updates
Belgium Ignites Global Debate by Changing Gambling Age, Highlighting Huge Regulatory Gaps
Belgium has ignited a global debate by raising its legal gambling age from 18 to 21, citing concerns over gambling addiction. The move sets Belgium apart from other EU countries like Sweden, Germany, Finland, and Austria, where the legal gambling age is 18.
Miranda Raaff, Head of iGaming Information for casino resource portal, Minimum Deposit Casinos (MDC), said there were striking disparities in legal age limits across activities like drivers licenses, smoking, alcohol consumption, gambling, and watching adult content.
“If Belgian lawmakers believe that 21 is the right age for gambling, then shouldn’t this age limit be instituted for all high-risk activities like drinking, smoking, driving, and watching porn? It seems arbitrary to single out gambling while leaving other equally, if not more risky behaviors less regulated. Perhaps, they should apply the same logic to all these activities.”
Raaff explored this further:

“What’s clear is that 18-year-olds in most countries are allowed access pornography. So, this is the perceived maturity level despite the dangers online,” said Raaff.
“Alcohol poses huge health risks, and driving a vehicle requires even more responsibility with potential life-threatening consequences, still, we allow 18-year-olds, and in some nations, even younger people to drive. Addiction is also not limited to gambling. It can also happen with alcohol, smoking, and porn.”
Belgium’s decision raises key questions about the perceived maturity of young adults. Raaff said a more holistic approach is needed – one that addresses all risky behaviors the same.
“We need a broader global debate about legal age. If we trust 18-year-olds driving, smoking, consuming alcohol, and accessing porn, why should gambling be treated differently? Protecting young adults means taking the same step. We also need to recognize that maturity levels do not change much between 18 and 21. By aligning these regulatory gaps, we will create a more realistic framework.”
The post Belgium Ignites Global Debate by Changing Gambling Age, Highlighting Huge Regulatory Gaps appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Casino Gaming
PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg Becomes the Fifth Approved Casino Facility Operator in Virginia
Last Wednesday, PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg LLC became the fifth approved casino facility operator in Virginia. The Virginia Lottery Board unanimously approved its application for licensure. PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg LLC plans to open a casino near the intersection of Interstate 95 and Wagner Road.
This comes after a comprehensive review of application materials submitted by PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg LLC and an extensive background investigation by the Virginia Lottery. Under legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2020, the Virginia Lottery licenses and regulates casinos and sports betting in the Commonwealth.
The planned casino in Petersburg will join four other approved casinos in the Commonwealth: in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.
The Virginia Lottery was created in a 1987 referendum by Virginia voters. Under legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2020, the Lottery also assumed regulatory oversight of sports wagering and casino gaming in the Commonwealth. While proceeds from traditional games offered by the Lottery support a variety of K-12 programs, the taxes generated by sports wagering and casino gaming will benefit other priorities of the Commonwealth as determined by the General Assembly.
The post PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg Becomes the Fifth Approved Casino Facility Operator in Virginia appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
BLOCKRATIZE INC
Nevada Gaming Control Board Files Civil Enforcement Action Against Polymarket
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has filed a civil enforcement action in the District Court for Carson City against BLOCKRATIZE INC. d/b/a POLYMARKET; QCX LLC d/b/a POLYMARKET US; and ADVENTURE ONE QSS INC. d/b/a POLYMARKET. In its complaint, the Board asked the court for a declaration and injunction to stop Polymarket from offering unlicensed wagering in violation of Nevada law.
Polymarket operates a derivatives exchange and prediction market where it offers event contracts for sale. These products are offered for sale on Polymarket’s mobile app and are made available to people in Nevada. The Board considers offering sports event contracts, or certain other events contracts, to constitute wagering activity under NRS 463.0193 and 463.01962 and, therefore, entities offering such event contracts must be licensed.
The Board has deemed Polymarket’s operations to be unlawful in Nevada and in violation of NRS 463.160, NRS 463.350, NRS 465.086, and NRS 465.092.
Nevada’s public policy, as expressed by the Legislature, is that the gaming industry is vitally important to the economy of the state and the general welfare of the inhabitants and therefore must be licensed, controlled, and assisted to protect the public health, safety, morals, good order, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the State.
The post Nevada Gaming Control Board Files Civil Enforcement Action Against Polymarket appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Compliance Updates
SEON Launches Identity Verification Built on Real-Time Fraud Intelligence
SEON, the command centre for real-time fraud prevention and AML compliance, today announced the launch of its AI-powered Identity Verification solution, bringing ID verification, liveness detection and proof of address checks into its unified risk platform.
Unlike traditional tools that only validate documents, SEON’s solution is built on more than 900 real-time fraud signals, helping organisations assess not just whether an ID is real, but whether the person can be confidently approved based on identity and risk signals.
Most identity verification tools focus on validating documents, but lack the risk context needed to determine whether a user meets an organisation’s risk-based requirements. As a result, both high-quality fakes and legitimate documents used by fraudsters can still pass these basic checks. SEON’s Identity Verification solution addresses this gap by combining core KYC checks with live fraud intelligence. This allows teams to filter out low-risk users through onboarding, while filtering out high-risk users before they consume KYC resources.
The solution supports identity document verification for global government-issued IDs, biometric liveness checks, proof of address verification and optional government database checks. Organisations can build verification workflows tailored to customer segment, risk profile or regulatory requirement, combining fraud signals, identity checks and AML screening based on their specific needs. All identity and fraud signals are surfaced in a single dashboard, reducing friction and eliminating silos among fraud, compliance and risk teams.
“Organisations have told us they’re managing separate tools for fraud detection, identity verification and AML compliance – each with its own data, workflows and operational overhead,” said Tamas Kadar, CEO and Co-Founder, SEON. “We built Identity Verification to bring those decisions together. When you combine AI-powered document checks with real-time fraud intelligence, you stop attacks earlier, reduce wasted KYC spend and make faster, more confident approval decisions with a clear audit trail.”
The initial Identity Verification rollout focuses on Europe’s demanding regulatory environment. SEON worked closely with gaming and betting operators to meet strict compliance requirements while maintaining operational efficiency and improving both conversion and fraud outcomes. The solution strengthens SEON’s position across regulated industries including iGaming, fintech and digital platforms.
“The industry is moving toward bringing identity verification, fraud and AML into one decision layer, and SEON is helping to lead that shift,” said Filip Gvardijan, Head of Fraud Prevention at industry leading operator, Superbet. “That shift matters. It cuts out pointless and expensive KYC cycles on users who were never legitimate, and also clears a faster path for legitimate users, removing a huge amount of avoidable and often manual work.”
The post SEON Launches Identity Verification Built on Real-Time Fraud Intelligence appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
-
Compliance Updates7 days agoRomanian B2B Licence Granted to iGP, Boosting Its Regulated Operations in Europe
-
Compliance Updates7 days agoGlobal Gaming Solutions welcomes the Isle of Man Government’s commitment to the iGaming sector
-
Alex Baliukonis Game Producer at BGaming5 days agoCrack the Vault in BGaming’s Mystery Heist
-
Latest News4 days agoSKIP THE QUEUE WITH THE MIDNITE SHUTTLE: MIDNITE TEAMS UP WITH SNOOKER LEGEND TO OFFER FANS A FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE FROM ALLY PALLY STATION
-
EveryMatrix7 days agoMatias Montero joins EveryMatrix as Managing Director for Latin America
-
Austria4 days agoEU Court Ruling on Online Gambling Liability: Players Can Sue Foreign Operators’ Directors Under Their Home Country Law (Case C-77/24 Wunner)
-
Africa6 days agoAmusnet Appoints Cameron Green as Country Manager for South Africa
-
Central Europe5 days agoRing Casino in Nürburgring at the Finish Line with NOVOVISION



