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India’s online gaming industry remains mired in legal limbo after the Supreme Court deferred hearing challenges to the country’s sweeping real-money gaming (RMG) ban until January 2026, prolonging a crisis that has already brought much of the sector to a halt. Gaming companies had pressed the judiciary for urgent relief against legislation that has effectively frozen their operations nationwide. However, their petitions will not be taken up in the near term. On December 11, a

The United Arab Emirates has taken a historic step by permitting legal online betting through licensed platforms, signaling a significant shift in the nation’s long-standing stance on gambling. For the first time, residents and visitors can place real-money bets online within a federal regulatory framework designed to control access and protect consumers. At the center of this change is Play971, the UAE’s first approved internet gaming and sports betting website. The platform

Uganda’s National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB) has intensified its crackdown on illegal gambling operations, netting scores of Chinese nationals and their Ugandan accomplices in a nationwide operation targeting unlicensed slot machines and gaming equipment that have deprived the government of significant revenue.   The enforcement drive, code-named Operation Mashine Haramu —Swahili for “illegal machines”—is part of a broader effort by the regulator to stem th

After almost a year of operating under a 19% value-added tax, Colombia’s gambling industry appears to be just days away from relief, following a decisive vote in Congress to reject legislation that would have permanently enshrined the levy.   Colombia’s Congress has voted down the proposed Financing Law, which sought to make permanent a 19% VAT on online gambling activities. The measure was defeated last Tuesday in the Senate’s Fourth Committee, where lawmakers voted 9–4 agai

Poland has entered what is shaping up to be its most forceful phase yet in the battle against illegal online gambling, as authorities expand enforcement well beyond traditional tools and into the promotional and financial ecosystems that sustain the grey market.   Marek Plota, managing partner at RM Legal, points to a level of coordination between law enforcement, the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Supervision Authority that has not previously been seen in the country’

Macau recorded a significant rise in gaming-related crime during the first three quarters of 2025, with police logging 1,737 cases, a year-on-year increase of 70.1 percent from the 1,021 cases reported over the same period in 2024. The figures were announced on December 12 by Secretary for Security Chan Tsz King.   Chan said the steep increase was mainly the result of changes in how gaming-related crimes are counted following the introduction of new anti-illegal gambling legi

South Africa’s exploding online gambling crisis is being fuelled by a convergence of greedy domestic financial institutions and opportunistic offshore betting operators, creating not only a social catastrophe but a growing threat of large-scale money laundering. The sector’s rapid expansion, now approaching disastrous proportions, is not occurring in isolation. It is enabled by permissive regulatory and tax environments, exactly the kind produced by South Africa’s outdated an

Italy’s far-reaching redesign of its online gambling framework is finally taking shape, and the results point toward a future where dominant incumbents thrive while smaller operators are pushed out of the market.   When the country implemented its long-anticipated overhaul in November 2025, it did so with the precision of a government intent on restructuring — not merely regulating — its digital gambling sector.   What had been discussed and delayed for nearly five years arri

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has issued an impact assessment for a draft decree intended to replace Decree 03/2017 on casino operations, a move that local outlet VietnamNet reports is aimed at clearing long-standing regulatory hurdles and bringing the legal framework into alignment with current national laws. The release comes shortly after two landmark decisions: the government’s approval of permanent locals gaming at Phu Quoc’s Corona Resort & Casino and the authorisation

Finland is preparing for one of the most significant shifts in its gambling landscape, as the country transitions from its long-standing state-controlled model to a fully regulated, licensed framework.   The Administrative Committee of the Finnish Parliament has now completed its report detailing the backbone of this reform — a reform that lawmakers expect to pass through Parliament without any further modifications.   The roadmap outlines several major milestones relevant fo

Gaming Corps has confirmed a new content partnership with UK operator MrQ, bringing its portfolio of slot and instant-win titles to the platform as the Swedish supplier continues to expand its footprint among licensed British brands. MrQ, which entered the UK market in 2018, now offers a catalogue of more than 1,000 games and has positioned its platform around simplified play conditions, distinguishing itself as one of the few UK casinos that do not impose wagering requiremen

Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of the Sweden Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS), has sharply criticised AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth’s call for Sweden to raise taxes on online gambling operators. Hoffstedt characterised the proposal as an act of “self-harm” that would damage the country’s regulated market.   Skarplöth’s suggestion, made earlier this week, urged Sweden to mirror the UK’s recent decision to increase tax levels on licensed onli

Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court has placed all municipal lotteries across the country on immediate hold, casting significant uncertainty over their future.   The precautionary suspension follows a filing from the Solidarity Party, which argued that these locally run lotteries were violating national betting regulations.   The decision, issued on Wednesday by Minister Nunes Marques, freezes every municipal law and decree that establishes, authorises, or governs lottery and spor

Nigeria’s Senate has officially passed the Central Gaming Bill, 2025, pushing the country closer to repealing the National Lottery Act of 2005 along with its 2017 amendment, despite persistent objections from state-level regulators.   The bill, brought forward by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, successfully completed its third reading on 4 December and now moves to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for his signature.

Lawmakers in Estonia have granted final approval to a bill that will gradually lower the tax rate on remote gambling to 4 per cent by 2029. The legislation cleared its third reading in parliament on Wednesday, passing by a vote of 51-31, with one abstention. As first reported in October by Gaming Intelligence, the bill reverses an earlier plan to increase the remote gaming tax in Estonia to 7 per cent in 2026. Under the new legislation, the tax rate will gradually fall from i

Brazil has settled on an 18% tax rate for fixed-odds betting operators, marking the latest and most significant fiscal adjustment in the country’s newly formed gambling regime.   The decision follows today’s approval by the Senate’s Committee of Economic Affairs (CAE), which endorsed the plan to lift the gross gaming revenue (GGR) tax from the existing 12% to 18% through a phased process beginning in 2026.   Under the CAE-approved proposal, the tax rate will rise to 15% by 20

The £825,000 penalty imposed on Done Brothers Cash Betting Limited, trading as Betfred, has brought renewed attention to ongoing deficiencies in anti-money laundering (AML) controls within the retail gambling sector. According to the first paragraph of the regulatory report, the fine resulted from an investigation that concluded the operator had “failed to maintain effective anti-money laundering oversight for customers using B3 gaming machines.” Regulators determined that th

Macau’s casino operators entered the week on a strong note, with shares climbing again Monday as the market reacted to a November gross gaming revenue (GGR) report that surpassed expectations and reinforced the sector’s robust 2025 performance.   Casinos in the special administrative region reported $2.63 billion in revenue last month — a 14.4% increase year over year — extending Macau’s streak of monthly gains to ten consecutive months. The total also exceeded the consensus

New research suggests that Australia’s nationwide ban on using credit cards for online gambling has indeed curbed sports betting — but not because it restricted access to borrowed money.   Instead, the reduction appears to stem from the added inconvenience the policy introduced for bettors.   The study, conducted by economists Aditya Maitra and Matthew Maltman and published by the e61 Institute, examined anonymized bank-transaction data from before and after the federal gover

Advocate General Siewert Lindenbergh has issued guidance indicating that gambling agreements entered into before the Netherlands introduced its licensing system in April 2021 should not be regarded as invalid by default. His opinion comes in response to questions raised by the district courts of Amsterdam and Noord-Holland, both of which are handling test cases brought by players who are seeking repayment of losses accumulated before the country formally regulated online gamb