Insights Archive

March 1, 2024

Paytm Seeks UPI Lifeline As Banking Shutdown Nears

The parent company of India’s Paytm Payments Bank is seeking a new regulatory approval to ensure that customers can still use Unified Payments Interface after the bank is shuttered later this month.

March 1, 2024

Week In Crypto: Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks Light Sentence Due To ‘Charitable Works’

The former head of FTX seeks leniency based on his “good deeds” and “charitable works”, two Binance executives are detained in Nigeria, and the European Central Bank claims Bitcoin is ready to crash.

March 1, 2024

Russia Proposes BRICS Bridge Payment Platform

Russia has proposed a digital settlement and payment platform for the BRICS countries to trade in their national currencies, as it aims to bypass the US dollar in international transactions.

March 1, 2024

Daily Dash: UK MPs To Investigate Whether Sanctions Are Working

Following the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury Select Committee has launched an inquiry into the efficacy of the UK’s programme of economic sanctions, while the Bank of Lithuania’s new data management programme has gone live.

March 1, 2024

Dutch Court Trashes Lottery, Betting Monopoly

The East Brabant District Court has ruled that Dutch gambling regulation is not “horizontally consistent” because it allows multiple licences to be awarded for online casino and other forms of gambling, but restricts betting shops and instant lotteries to a single operator.

March 1, 2024

IGT Merges With Everi To Create $6.2bn Gaming Supplier Giant

International Game Technology (IGT) has announced a deal to spin off its gaming and digital businesses and combine them with Everi Holdings in a deal that values the new company at $6.2bn.

March 1, 2024

News In Brief: February 26-March 1, 2024

North Carolina announces mobile betting licenses, discord brews in Arizona over gaming machines and Wyoming confirms intention to adopt sports-betting rules.

March 1, 2024

New Jersey’s Rebuck Retires After Blazing Regulatory Trail For U.S. Online Market

The state official chiefly responsible for setting the regulatory foundations for the multibillion-dollar U.S. online gambling market has abruptly retired from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

February 29, 2024

Dutch Regulator Fines Malta Operator €19.7m For Unlicensed Gambling

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has issued its highest-ever fine, €19.7m, to a Malta-licensed company, Gammix, for offering gambling to Dutch residents without a licence.

February 29, 2024

South Africa Looks To Tokenisation, Stablecoins To Drive Digital Payments Innovation

Growing momentum in tokenisation and stablecoins could allow South Africa to establish a domestic market, supporting the government’s broader goal to foster innovation in digital payments.

February 29, 2024

Criminals That Used E-Money Institution As Front Taken Down In EU Cross-Border Case

Judicial and law enforcement authorities in Italy, Latvia and Lithuania have taken action against a large-scale money laundering business, centring around Trustcom Financial, an e-money institution based in Lithuania.

February 29, 2024

Daily Dash: Mastercard Launches New Open Banking Tools For Account Opening In US

Mastercard has launched new open banking features to streamline the account opening process for US card issuers, and New Zealand has reported widespread fuel payment outages due to a leap year glitch.

February 29, 2024

Australian Minister Discussed Ad Ban, Harm Reduction With European Regulators

A member of Australia’s government has held meetings with representatives from European regulators to discuss how to best minimise harm, as the country debates the introduction of a gambling advertising ban.

February 29, 2024

U.S. Commercial Operators Concerned Over New Tribal Compact Rules

New rules from the U.S. Department of the Interior recognizing the possibility of tribes offering statewide online gaming via an Indian gaming compact is concerning to commercial operators, because it limits their potential to profit from the activity, according to tribal gaming law expects.

February 29, 2024

Austrian Ministry Reportedly Prepares Online Casino Tender Under Monopoly System

Austria’s Ministry of Finance is preparing to launch a new tender for online casino licensing under current regulation, because negotiations for new gambling laws have failed, according to Die Presse newspaper.

February 29, 2024

Massachusetts Attorney General Cracks Down On Fantasy Sports Operators

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has ordered ten fantasy sports operators to cease offering pick’em style games, and while two of the most popular daily fantasy operators did not receive such an order, they are voluntarily altering their offerings in the state.

February 28, 2024

Georgia House Considering Fantasy Sports Bill

While the Georgia House of Representatives has been slow to take up sports-betting legislation in 2024, a House committee began discussions Tuesday on legislation that would regulate fantasy sports.

February 28, 2024

Percentage Of Finnish Gamblers Declines As Problem Gambling Rate Increases

The number of gamblers in Finland has declined by 8 percent since 2019, while the percentage of at-risk or problem gamblers has increased by 1.2 percent during the same period.

February 28, 2024

Sweden Becomes First Non-Euro TIPS Member

Sweden has become the first non-euro area country to join the Eurosystem TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform, allowing payment service providers to settle transactions in Swedish kronor.

February 28, 2024

UK Companies To Be Named And Shamed As FCA Commits To Enforcement Overhaul

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that its enforcement strategy will evolve to deliver maximum impact, as the regulator commits to naming companies that it is investigating.

February 28, 2024

Daily Dash: Amex Now, Pay Later

American Express has launched a new buy now, pay later option in the UK, while Sweden’s government has set out proposals to ban credit card payments for gambling.