Regulatory Compliance: Around the world in July

As a world-leading provider of sportsbook products and solutions to multiple countries, Altenar understands the importance of focusing on the latest regulatory updates worldwide.

Keeping abreast of these developments ensures we remain at the forefront of the industry and provide our clients with unmatched solutions to any potential challenges.

Check out our update of July’s regulatory changes in jurisdictions where Altenar is licensed or certified.

LICENSED COUNTRIES

UK

Gambleaware has called on the UK government to be stricter on gambling advertising and is seeking a ban on gambling marketing at all sports events, as well as a pre-watershed ban on all gambling ads on TV, streaming and radio.

There has also been discussion around whether all gambling advertisements should come with a health warning.

This could be introduced in line with the summer 2026 initiative that all Premier League clubs have agreed to ban front-of-shirt gambling sponsors.

Malta

The Malta Gaming Authority has launched an Environmental, Social and Governance hub on the MGA website.

The aim of the hub is to provide licensees with detailed information on ESG reporting and help online gaming companies align with best practices.

Romania

In a crackdown on B2B providers selling content to illegal operators, suppliers licensed in Romania must soon inform the regulator of any deals they make anywhere in the world.

Under the draft regulations, B2B licensees operating in Romania through a local company or through a company having a permanent establishment in Romania will have to notify the regulator if they sign a contract with an operator in any part of the world unless that operator already has a licence in Romania.

In addition to the above, a supplier will need to acquire a declaration from its operator customer that the B2C provider will restrict access to its platform from Romania if it is not licensed in the country.

CERTIFIED COUNTRIES

Denmark

Amendments to Denmark’s Gambling Act came into effect at the beginning of July. The changes are as follows:

• The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) may require licensees to provide information to prevent match-fixing with the exchange of information between relevant parties.
• The DGA will increase its data processing to include profiling, linking, and the exchange of game data to prevent money laundering and match-fixing.
• Additional sanctioning options for the DGA.

The DGA, Gambling Board and Danish Consumer Ombudsman have also entered into a cooperation agreement to streamline their work and create a combined and coordinated effort to regulate the marketing of gambling companies.

Working alongside the Gambling Advertising Board, the above organisations will regularly inform each other of relevant cases and hold annual meetings.

Finally in Denmark, the DGA announced updates to their betting and online casino certification programme due to the introduction of supplier licences from January 1, 2025. The certification programme will become mandatory as of July 1,, 2025, but the DGA has recommended it should be used as soon as possible.

Brazil

The Ministry of Finance’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) has confirmed that online betting systems used within Brazil can only be located in countries that have a formal cooperation agreement with Brazil on matters of both civil and criminal law. Countries listed include:

• United States
• Canada
• UK
• Netherlands

Notable exceptions on the list include Malta.

The SPA has also published anti-money laundering regulations for fixed-odds betting. Requirements for operators of fixed-odds betting include:

• Adopt anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) policies, procedures, and internal controls.
• Carry out annual internal assessments to identify and measure the risks of using their products and services in AML/CTF practices.
• Adopt procedures to verify and validate the identity of bettors or platform users.
• Classify bettors and platform users in risk categories based on information obtained for their qualification.
• Any bets that are found to indicate evidence of money laundering, terrorist financing or other related crime must trigger a notification to Brazil’s federal AML authority.

The deadline for operators to submit an application to guarantee they can go live on day one of Brazil’s regulated market at the start of 2025 is August 20.

Spain

The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling has announced a requirement for gambling operators with a sports or horse race betting licence to join the Global Betting Market Investigation Service (SIGMA).

Operators must flag up any suspicious sports bets or potentially fraudulent activity, and respond to any subsequent requests for further information.

Colombia

There is a continued effort by Colombia’s Coljuegos to block websites of unauthorised operators. A total of 8,676 sports betting and online casino websites have been blocked by the country to date.

Netherlands

From the start of September, a new duty-of-care unit will be launched to focus on compliance, sanctions and penalty procedures whilst aiming to increase the speed of supervision.

Need more information?

Our expert Licensing and Regulatory Compliance Team ensures Altenar has the necessary licences and procedures to meet regulatory requirements, speeding up the go-live process for operators and ensuring a smooth licensing process. Get in touch to discuss your sportsbook needs and hear how Altenar’s expertise can provide a competitive edge.

Disclaimer

This information is not intended to be legal advice and is solely extracted from open sources. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal advice and Altenar does not accept any liability in relation to its use.?