Curaçao passes landmark gambling law, Entain faces legal woes in Australia

Ahead of the holidays, the gambling sector saw another busy week. While BetBlocker announced its intention to introduce a Catalan-language version of its responsible gaming tool, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association confirmed the release of a new Code of Conduct.

In New South Wales, Australia, the state's gambling watchdog unveiled a new initiative that seeks to combat underage consumption of alcohol and gambling. At the same time, Austrac confirmed it initiated civil penalty proceedings against Entain.

Business & Finance

This week, the recognizable betting and gaming company with a presence across the globe, Entain, faced legal challenges in Australia amid accusations that it accepted more than AU$152m worth of wagers from 17 high-risk clients, The Guardian revealed citing court documents.

The issues intensified considering the country's financial intelligence watchdog, Austrac, announced the launch of civil penalty proceedings against Entain. The gaming and betting company was accused of failure to identify or address risks of exploitation by criminals and deliberately masking the identities of some high-risk players.

In other gambling industry developments, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA) announced the release of a new Code of Conduct. The Association confirmed that the new Code of Conduct is aimed at providing a unified set of guidelines for its operator members to follow.

A range of commitments are included in the new Code of Conduct, such as identity verification, effective methods to restrict underage gambling and identify the consumers' real age, as well as anti-money laundering, among other policies.

Responsible Gambling & Regulation

A newly announced initiative in New South Wales, Australia, seeks to help prevent underage gambling and alcohol consumption. The initiative was announced this week by Liquor & Gaming NSW, the state's gambling regulator, and seeks to strengthen the rules, ensuring that no underage individuals engage in gambling or consume alcohol.

Elsewhere, in the United States, New Jersey lawmakers proposed changes to the state's laws about underage gambling. A new proposal called for reducing the penalties for such activities.

Per the proposal, underage gambling would be subjected to civil proceedings, instead of the current criminal proceedings. This change, if approved, would reduce the penalty for underage gambling, enforcing fines between $500 and $2,000 rather than criminal proceedings.

A major development in Curaçao saw the jurisdiction's parliament approve the National Ordinance on Games of Chance. Strong support was demonstrated for the proposal that received the approval of 13 lawmakers while only six voted in opposition. Ultimately, the form of Curaçao's gambling sector seeks to introduce stricter rules for gambling licensees, among other important changes.

Recently, BetBlocker announced its plans to introduce a Catalan-language version of the tool at the upcoming ICE Barcelona. The company's tool has solidified its leadership position in a number of important markets, including the United Kingdom and across Eastern Europe. Thanks to the new Catalan-language version, the self-exclusion tool will be able to reach more users than before, providing support in their native language.

Events

This week, Casino Guru News released an iGaming Event Calendar for 2025, highlighting important events for the global gambling industry. Besides offering unique networking and business opportunities, the upcoming events will discuss different trends, emerging markets, major developments and regulatory updates from the sector. Many of the important iGaming events that are upcoming will deliver unique insights and help connect C-suite executives, regulators and other stakeholders.

Earlier this week, Clarion Gaming confirmed that the recognizable game designer behind Aristocrat and International Game Technology's top hits, Joe Kaminkow, will join the upcoming ICE World Gaming Forum. The recognizable executive with solid experience in the sector is going to join the headline speakers at the Casino & Leaders Conference which will be held on January 20, 2025.

Equally as exciting is an upcoming electrifying party with Afrojack and Dubdogz that is scheduled to close the SBC Summit Rio. The final day of the event is scheduled for February 27, 2025, and undoubtedly the planned INFINITY Rio party will help wrap up the event and bring unforgettable experiences.

The voice of the industry

In the meantime, you may have already seen Casino Guru Insiders Christmas special edition. Looking back at the busy 2024, we recorded a range of important achievements, played a key role in resolving complaints and helped benefit the community. Our special festive interview provides unique insights and highlights some of our past goals and dreams.

During this busy week, Casino Guru News also released an interview with Adrian Sladdin, a recognizable gaming industry expert and a judge in The Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative and The Best Implementation of RG Tools categories for the 2025 edition of the Casino Guru Awards.

Earlier this week, we sat down with Denis Kosinsky, NuxGame's VP Operations, John Smith, VP of sales, Gamification and Loyalty at Xtremepush as well as Smartico's Co-Founder, Yuval Mechoullam, to discuss the ever-growing-gamification tools that help operators reach their goals, engage and retain customers.

The experts shared insights about the benefits of gamification tools when engaging with younger demographics, the importance of free-to-play games and other hot topics.

On Tuesday, we sat down for an interview with Martin Burt, CEO at ClearStake, who spoke about the impact of financial requests on operators and players. The executive answered a number of interesting questions, highlighting challenges and trends affecting the iGaming sector.

At the start of the week, Casino Guru spoke with Krzysztof Poznański, Yggdrasil's Head of Games – Art, who acknowledged the success of the company's Golden Fish Tank Party slot game. The engaging slot game not only features quality graphics but delivers dynamic gameplay, making it an instant hit among players from different demographics.

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