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Georgia has moved its new International iGaming Licence regime from a pilot phase to full rollout, creating a licensing framework for operators targeting customers outside the country. The framework was introduced through amendments to Georgia’s gambling legislation adopted by Parliament in June 2026. The amendments established new permit categories for the international organisation of online casino games, slot games and sports betting. Georgian citizens are prohibited from

A growing dispute over illegal gambling advertising in the Netherlands has put the country’s gambling regulator under increasing pressure, after lawyer Justin Franssen accused the Dutch Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, or KSA) of failing to use enforcement powers that are already available to it. Speaking at the SBC Summit during a panel examining the Netherlands’ regulatory challenges, Franssen argued that the regulator has the legal means to take action against Met

A significant UK tax ruling has overturned a £13.2m Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) assessment imposed on online casino supplier Jumpman Gaming, delivering the Guernsey-based company a major legal victory while potentially establishing an important precedent for the treatment of promotional free spins. The Upper Tribunal ruled in Jumpman’s favour last week, reversing key findings made by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) in 2025. The decision means that, for the periods covered by the

Greater Manchester Police have arrested two men on suspicion of money laundering after two separate vehicle interceptions on the Manchester motorway network led to the seizure of approximately £160,000 in cash. The operation, described by police as an intelligence-led and coordinated response, involved officers stopping vehicles travelling into Greater Manchester from Merseyside. The arrests followed a series of developments on Friday, 2 October 2026, when Greater Mancheste

Belgian authorities have launched a major investigation into suspected money laundering and organised criminal activity involving companies, allegedly fictitious commercial transactions and individuals acting as nominal company managers. The investigation came to public attention after Belgian investigators conducted 15 searches on 29 September 2026. The operation was carried out by Belgium’s Federal Judicial Police in Charleroi as part of an inquiry into an alleged compens

The Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) is expanding controlled access to the Netherlands’ beneficial ownership register for recognised institutions subject to anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and sanctions obligations, giving eligible organisations new ways to obtain certified information about ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs). The development restores and broadens practical access to UBO information after restrictions on the register. The changes introduce

Brazil’s National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) have asked the country’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) to immediately suspend Provisional Measure 1.394, which prohibits the operation of online betting platforms in Brazil. The organisations submitted a “Statement on Supervening Fact” to Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux in connection with three direct actions of unconstitutionality concerning Brazil’s regulated

Malta’s overhauled tax framework for the gaming sector came into force on 1 October 2026, introducing a new structure for gaming taxes alongside significant changes to the VAT treatment of gambling services. The reforms are intended to make the system more predictable while reshaping how different forms of gaming are taxed. The changes were enacted through Legal Notices 84 and 86 of 2026, covering gaming tax and VAT respectively. The government and Malta Gaming Authority (M

A California technology executive is facing a money-laundering conspiracy charge in connection with an alleged scheme to divert more than $300 million worth of controlled computer servers to China, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Greg Lui, the owner of Earthmade Computer Inc., was arrested on October 1, 2026. Prosecutors allege that servers containing graphics-processing units manufactured in the United States were exported to China without the necessary auth

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined Zheng Da International Financial Holding Limited HK$7 million for a series of regulatory deficiencies involving anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) controls, client trading systems, deposits and futures-order monitoring. The regulator has also suspended the licence of Zheng Da’s responsible officer, Zhong Hao, for seven months. His suspension runs from 28 September 2

The European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) has finalised three sets of draft regulatory technical standards designed to establish greater consistency in how companies and professionals apply anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements across the private sector. The standards, announced by AMLA on 1 October 2026, focus on three key areas: identifying business relationships and occasional or linked transactions, customer due diligence,

A report released by Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has raised concerns over the use of Tether’s USDT stablecoin in financial networks linked to Iran and its regional proxies. The report analysed blockchain transaction data from 846 cryptocurrency wallets that had been sanctioned or targeted for seizure because of alleged links to Iran and associated groups. It found that 84% of the wallets had transacted exclusively or almost e

Diesel has become the most expensive fuel at European filling stations, with the average price across the European Union reaching a record €2.226 per litre on 21 September 2026. According to the European Commission’s Weekly Oil Bulletin, the figure represents the highest EU-wide diesel price recorded since the series began in 2005. It is also 13.4 cents per litre higher than the average price of Euro-super 95 petrol. At current prices, filling a 50-litre diesel tank costs

New Zealand is set to begin auctioning the right to apply for its first regulated online casino licences on Tuesday, September 29, marking the second phase of the country’s newly established online gambling licensing framework. The Department of Internal Affairs has confirmed that operators that successfully completed the expression-of-interest process have been invited to take part in the auction. A maximum of 15 operators will be able to secure the right to proceed to the

Hundreds of additional unauthorised betting domains have emerged in Brazil within just two days of the government announcing a ban on online betting, highlighting the scale of the challenge authorities face as they move to curb the country’s illegal gambling market. Monitoring conducted by Bet Legal in collaboration with cybersecurity company Iron Security identified 710 unauthorised betting domains by Sunday evening, a sharp increase from the 295 domains recorded at 18:00

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has instructed fund managers and self-managed investment funds to submit their statistical returns for the third quarter of 2026 by October 30, 2026, warning that failure to file on time or submitting incomplete information could result in administrative penalties. In a circular issued this week, CySEC said the reporting obligation covers Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs), UCITS management companies, internall

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has secured confiscation orders totalling £851,402.27 against two men convicted of operating a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme that caused at least 65 investors to lose £1,541,799. At a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on September 28, 2026, Raymondip Bedi was ordered to pay £603,404.28, while Patrick Mavanga was ordered to pay £247,997.99. The orders follow a fraudulent investment scheme operated by Bedi and Mavanga between Febr

Tighter Chinese capital controls are unlikely to have a direct impact on Macau's gross gaming revenue, although they could weigh on high-roller sentiment, according to CreditSights. In a September 28 report, analysts Nicholas Chen and David Bussey said recently introduced restrictions on outbound investments by Chinese individuals, including investments involving Hong Kong and Macau, may have affected gambling sentiment in August. The analysts said tighter regulatory scrutiny

Vietnamese national Trung Nguyen Van, 37, has been charged in the United States with two counts of money laundering over his alleged role in cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes that targeted U.S. victims. The criminal complaint, filed in the Western District of Missouri and unsealed following Van’s initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that cryptocurrency wallets attributed to him received approximately $53.3 million in assets linked to wire fraud sc

A 26-year-old California man has been sentenced to seven years and 10 months in federal prison for his role in a $10 million real estate fraud scheme involving fake identities, shell companies, fabricated property documents and the laundering of proceeds through Las Vegas casinos. Gilberto Barron, formerly of Delano and Las Vegas, was sentenced on September 28, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. He pleaded guilty on June 29 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud,

Eurojust and the United Arab Emirates have signed a Working Arrangement aimed at strengthening judicial cooperation and information exchange in investigations involving serious cross-border crime, including money laundering, fraud, cybercrime and drug trafficking. The arrangement was signed on September 28, 2026, in Abu Dhabi by Eurojust President Michael Schmid and UAE Minister of Justice Abdullah Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi during the United Nations Congress on Crime Preventi