News In Brief: April 7-April 11, 2025

After the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) revealed that it has issued 18 cease-and-desist letters to online sweepstakes casino operators, an industry trade group on Thursday (April 10) described it as “regulatory overreach.” 

“This broad regulatory action is out of step with legal precedent and industry standards,” the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) said in a statement. The SPGA noted that Mississippi, Arkansas and Maryland had rejected similar proposals. 

“These games are not gambling and do not compete with it,” the SPGA said. 

On Monday, the PGCB testified before the House Gaming Oversight Committee that none of the 18 companies held interactive gaming licenses issued by the agency and considered them to be offering illegal gambling.

The PGCB, which does not have the authority to take legal action or act against the companies, said all 18 recipients had complied with the orders.

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has issued a €1.2m fine to Kahnawake-licensed Techno Offshore Limited for offering illegal gambling.

Techno Offshore Limited operates several websites, including the nolimitbet.com and simplecasino.com websites, which did not take sufficient measures to prevent Dutch players from gambling on its sites.

Additionally, the operator had no apparent age verification process, and several banned features, such as autoplay and turboplay, were available, according to the KSA’s update on April 9.

Michel Groothuizen, chair of the KSA’s executive board, said the regulator has found illegal operators often do not implement measures to reduce risky gambling behaviour, “for example by not using age verification, enabling payments with crypto, or a lack of gaming limits”.

“We take tough action against these types of parties, because they attract players to illegal offerings and players are insufficiently protected there,” he said.

Sweden’s gambling regulator has joined trade groups in calling for expanding the scope of its powers under the Gambling Act to stop unlicensed operators that are not just directly targeting Swedish players, after reviewing the illegal market. 

The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) published its analysis on unlicensed gambling on April 9, which details unlicensed gambling, contains a survey of key unlicensed operators targeting the market and their methods, as well as an overview of how other countries tackle illegal gambling effectively, something the SGA believes “other authorities and players in the gambling market can also benefit from”.

SGA director general Camilla Rosenberg said an ongoing investigation into expanding the scope of its powers will be completed by September 17, adding that current interventions are still important and have an effect.

“It is therefore important that we continue our work to combat illegal gambling even during the ongoing investigation of the regulations,” Rosenberg said.

Gustaf Hoffstedt, the secretary general of the Swedish trade group for online gambling (BOS), said the report “plays an important role” in addressing the unlicensed market.

“We also note that the SGA in the report promises a new channelization measurement during Q2. It is very likely that the upcoming measurement will show lower channelization than the last one presented, given that the same sources are used again. At least one of these sources has recently significantly lowered its channelization estimate for Sweden, in their case from 91 percent to 72 percent,” Hoffstedt told Vixio GamblingCompliance.

The Swedish Gaming Industry Association, Sper, which represents land-based and online operators as well as suppliers, similarly welcomed the news and reiterated its demand for the government to implement five measures to tackle unlicensed gambling.

The Thai government has held off on its bill legalising casino gambling until the next parliamentary session after cancelling a debate scheduled for Wednesday (April 9) amid growing opposition to the bill and wider fallout from punitive US tariffs.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday that responding to a 36 percent US government tariff on all Thai products in force from Wednesday has replaced the bill as a priority, along with handling the impacts of a severe earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar in March.

“We will continue to communicate so that people will have a better understanding” of the bill, the Bangkok Post quoted Paetongtarn as saying.

Political, religious and community opposition to the integrated resort bill has steadily increased in recent months, despite it containing an additional and potentially self-defeating ban on casino entry for all but the wealthiest of Thai nationals.

The A$300m ($181m) takeover package committed by Bally’s Corp to save Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group from liquidation has fallen by A$100m after Star’s leading shareholder exercised an option to invest that amount.

The subscription for A$100m by Investment Holdings, a vehicle controlled by billionaire Australian pub owner Bruce Mathieson, means that Bally’s stake in the company after closure will fall from 56.7 percent to likely below 50 percent.

However, the binding term sheet for the agreement and statements by the three parties have not identified resulting shareholdings in the event of a Mathieson funds injection. Mathieson currently owns a little under 9.6 percent of the company.

In a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday (April 8), Star Entertainment said it “has now entered into a commitment letter with Investment Holdings under which [it] will subscribe for A$100m” out of the A$300m package, or the limit available to Mathieson.

The Investment Holdings funds and Mathieson’s elevated influence over the embattled casino operator are subject to the same terms that Bally’s and Star agreed to.

When contacted by Vixio GamblingCompliance on Wednesday, Star Entertainment’s media spokesperson Helen Karlis was unable to identify the revised Bally’s shareholding if the deal proceeds. Bally’s and Investment Holdings could not be contacted for comment.

A bill to strengthen enforcement measures to crack down on illegal, unregulated gambling in Nevada has passed the Senate, sending the measure to the Assembly for its approval with less than two months left in this year's session.

Senate Bill 256, authored by Democratic Senator Rochelle Nguyen, would require any operators found to have operated illegally in the state to disgorge all earnings, with the funds directed to Nevada’s general fund.

Nguyen’s bill also proposes upgrading some offenses from misdemeanors to felonies, increasing the legal consequences for participating in illegal gambling. A prison sentence could range from one to ten years, with fines from $10,000 to $50,000, according to the proposal.

Nguyen’s bill also would allow Nevada to prosecute illegal gambling operators even if they are based outside the state, as long as they accept bets from Nevada residents.

The bill has garnered support from the American Gaming Association (AGA), Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) and the Nevada Resort Association. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) does not have an official position and is neutral on SB 256 because it’s not an agency bill.

The Senate voted 20-0 with one member excused to pass the measure on Monday (April 7).

The Assembly Judiciary Committee unanimously passed Assembly Bill 58 on Monday, which would allow the NGCB to administratively approve new casino games without additional approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission. The bill heads to the Assembly floor for consideration. 

Hawaii is on the verge of being the first state to legalize sports betting in 2025, following a favorable vote in the Senate on Tuesday (April 8).

The Senate voted 15-10 to pass House Bill 1308, a bill which would legalize online sports wagering in the state and permit the state’s Department of Law Enforcement to issue at least four licenses to operators who offer gaming in at least three U.S. jurisdictions.

The bill includes favorable terms for operators to enter the market, including a $250,000 license fee for operators to obtain a five-year license and a 10 percent tax on gross revenues.

The passage marks a surprise turnaround in Hawaii, as past efforts to legalize any type of gambling expansion have quickly flamed out in recent years.

The bill will still require a concurrence from the House, which passed a version of the bill that was later amended last month, and a signature from Governor Josh Green to be enacted.

“If the legislature passes it to me, I’ll strongly consider letting it become law, it probably would become law, because frankly, we need revenues, and people, especially men, are already doing it, but we have to be careful about addiction,” Green told Honolulu TV station KITV on Monday.

The New York Supreme Court’s appellate division has thrown out an appeal by China's state-owned construction goliath against a $1.6bn judgment in favour of Baha Mar integrated resort developer Sarkis Izmirlian.

The appellate division ruled that Supreme Court Justice Andrew Borrok made no ruling unsupported by evidence, confirming his finding that China Construction America (CCA), the US subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, defrauded Izmirlian’s company and breached the terms of their investment agreement.

The appeal court upheld every aspect of the judgment, including the justice’s withering account of deception and fraud employed by some or all of the Chinese parties that led to chronic delays, the sabotaging of the opening of the property in 2015 and Izmirlian’s ouster from the project.

Control of Baha Mar eventually transferred to Hong Kong-based jewellery and gambling company Chow Tai Fook.

CCA said in a statement that it will appeal to the New York Court of Appeals.

Dozens of people in the Netherlands have reported seeing adverts for illegal gambling offerings on many online platforms, with some of the adverts featuring the logos of banks without permission.

The reports were made to "Report Fake Gaming" (Meld Vals Spel), which was established by two trade groups, the Licensed Dutch Online Gambling Providers (VNLOK) and the Dutch Online Gambling Association (NOGA).

“Many of these reports mention misleading content or advertising aimed at minors. The fact that the majority of the reports relate to the platforms of Meta and Google shows that illegal providers are able to reach their target group relatively easily,” according to a press release on the Report Fake Gaming website on April 4.

Banks that had their logos used have been alerted to the situation by VNLOK, which found the development “extremely worrying”.

VNLOK said recently there has been less illegal advertising on technology platforms such as Google and Meta, but it reiterated that they must “enforce their advertising rules around gambling more strictly and to completely exclude illegal providers from their advertising channels”.

The reporting centre was launched in November 2024 and is aimed at professionals from the licensed gambling industry.

The Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) confirmed Monday (April 7) that it had issued a cease-and-desist order to VGW Luckyland, a subsidiary of Australian-based VGW Holdings, for offering unlicensed online gaming.

After an investigation, Delaware officials concluded that VGW misrepresented its services as a promotional sweepstakes while enabling players to purchase coins for casino-style games, leading to potential cash winnings. 

“These types of real money games offered to Delaware residents by an unlicensed entity” violate the state constitution and several state laws, including the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act passed in 2012.

Effective April 2, Delaware residents were no longer able to participate in VGW Luckyland’s gaming platforms, the agency said. 

Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, a Republican, believes there are not enough votes to pass sports betting during Alabama's current 2025 legislative session, as lawmakers in both chambers still need to approve budget bills.

“With 12 meeting days remaining in the session, both budgets still awaiting approval, and other important bills and measures demanding focus and attention, the comprehensive gaming bill … is simply too little, too late, and has too few days to pass,” Gudger said in a statement.

His statement was released in response to two state lawmakers introducing plans to legalize gaming.

Representative Jeremy Gray, a Democrat, filed House Bill 490 to legalize sports betting and create the Alabama Gaming Commission to regulate the industry. Under the bill, sports betting would be taxed at 10 percent.

Gray’s bill was referred to the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee but was not listed on the committee’s agenda for Wednesday (April 9).

Republican Senator Greg Albritton outlined his plans last week to legalize online sports betting, a state lottery, and allow for up to four tribal casinos operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians under gaming compacts negotiated with the governor.

“We’ve been struggling with this for 25-26 years already … . I don’t see anything changing,” Albritton told AL.com.

Louisiana has become the tenth U.S. state to introduce a bill banning online sweepstakes casinos and sports-betting sites, while targeting the suppliers and increasing fines from $20,000 up to $100,000 for each violation.

Senate Bill 181, filed by Republican Senator Adam Bass, also proposes possible imprisonment “with or without hard labor” for not more than five years. The bill would also give the Louisiana Gaming Control Board standing to bring civil enforcement actions requiring the companies to take down the illegal websites and mobile applications.

The measure expands existing state law that prohibits “gambling by computer” to include “any game, contest, or promotion that is available on the internet or accessible by mobile phone or similar access device … to exchange the currency for any prize or award or cash or cash equivalents that utilizes a dual currency system of payment or any chance to win any prize or award or cash or cash equivalents, and simulates any form of gambling”.

The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) that represents sweepstakes companies issued a statement on Sunday (April 6) claiming SB 181 “recklessly misclassifies legitimate sweepstakes as illegal gambling”.

“This misguided legislation endangers lawful businesses and sends a chilling message to investors, jeopardizing Louisiana’s burgeoning tech sector,” the SPGA stated.