It is that time of the week again. The team at Nostrabet.com has researched the internet once again and found some of the gambling news that deserves more details. Some of the things you are about to read may seem shocking, so let’s dive in.
The Wyoming Gaming Commission’s Warning to People
Online gambling has become extremely popular in the US following the infamous Supreme Court decision. Despite that, some states are yet to legalize all forms of gambling, and Wyoming is one of them.
Sports betting and fantasy sports are legal in the state, and the latter regulates them. However, this is not the case for online casinos, including poker. Consequently, all websites that offer such services in the state are illegal, and the Gaming Commission decided to remind people of that.
Despite the restrictions, a lot of the big online casinos in the US are targeting Wyoming players. Some of them do not have any license but claim to be legit because they use Wyoming-registered LLCs.
It will probably take just a matter of time before online gambling becomes legal in the state, but for now, people have to stay away from casinos.
“Behind the Labels” Campaign at Roland Garros
Roland Garros is one of the world’s most important and interesting tennis tournaments. It’s a part of the Grand Slam, so it’s no surprise that it attracts millions of people from around the globe.
Due to its popularity and the rising number of iGaming fans in France, the country’s National Gaming Authority decided to launch a campaign called Behind the Labels. The latter’s goal is to target the different risks associated with sports betting.
The campaign focuses on various statistics from the French authorities related to gambling. For example, it became clear that more than 1.17M people have some kind of gambling problems in the country. What’s more, there were over 360000 individuals who were classified as excessive gamblers in 2024 alone.
An interesting fact about his campaign is that this isn’t the first time we see it. In fact, the first time France tried implementing it was during the EURO 2024. The idea of supporting responsible gambling comes following reports that many people in France have some kind of problem related to it. The idea is to reduce excessive gambling rates by informing people about the potential issues.
Gregory Petts is the Chairman of the Isle of Man’s Gambling Supervision Commission
There are a couple of world-famous gambling regulators, and the one in the Isle of Man is one of them. The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission is responsible for some of the big licenses around the world and as of a few days ago, it has a new Chairman.
Gregory Pitt is a recognizable name in the industry because he was a member of the Commission. He will oversee GSC’s regulations and ensure that everything runs smoothly. It will be interesting to see whether this commission will eventually become as popular as the one in Curacao or Malta.
Laos and Vietnam Took Down a Cross-border Online Gambling Ring
Southeast Asia is an interesting place when it comes to online gambling because some countries there have loads of gambling fans. While Thailand is still debating whether to allow casinos in the country, Vietnam and Laos joined forces and took down a cross-border online gambling ring.
According to the information, those involved in the activities facilitated nearly $50M in illegal betting. This became clear following an investigation and several police raids in both Laos and Vietnam.
Following the arrests, the police released details, and we learned that the individuals took part in operating foreign-hosted gambling sites. What’s more, these people used various marketing tools, including social media, to attract new players.
Based on the research, the police in Vietnam arrested 29 individuals, whereas the authorities in Laos confiscated numerous phones, laptops and desktop computers.
Georgia’s Supreme Court Dismissed Spribe’s Appeal
Spribe is one of the most recognizable companies in online betting, especially in the last couple of years. The brand is behind the legendary Aviator game that transformed the crash game category in online casinos.
Despite its popularity, the company has had problems because of an ongoing intellectual property dispute regarding the name Aviator. In other words, the company wants to own the rights to the Aviator name and the images associated with it.
Sadly for Spribe, Georgia’s Supreme Court dismissed the company’s appeal. Based on the court, it becomes clear that the trademark was registered in bad faith and it infringes Aviator’s copywriting protection. Speaking of copywriting, Aviator secured a massive $300M ruling in damages against Spribe in August last year.
Former Police Officer Jailed After Being Found Guilty of Accepting Bribes
Everyone familiar with Singapore knows that the country is not messing around regarding its local laws and their enforcement. Following an investigation, it became clear that a Singapore police officer was accepting bribes from different illegal gambling operators. He tried to evade justice for almost 17 years, but he was finally caught and the authorities sent him to 9 years in prison.
Koh Kian Tiong used to work for the Criminal Investigation Department and communicated with Chua Chin Hoe. The latter is famous in Singapore for running illicit gambling dens. It seems like the two became close because Koh Tiong took around $35K in bribes so that he could provide different information about the police’s investigation against Chua.
In addition to prison time, Koh will receive an S$1000 fine and have to repay the bribes. Before his arrest, Koh fled to China and stayed there for many years. He was jailed because of other issues in which he was involved. Once he returned to Singapore, the authorities captured him, and he was eventually sentenced.
The Swedish Gambling Authorities Issued Penalties to Charity Organizations For Violating Lottery Operations
Based on information from Sweden, the country’s regulator (Spelinspektionen) issued several warnings and even penalized several charitable and political organizations. The regulator’s decision was based on an investigation that revealed these entities held lottery operations.
These actions from Sweden’s regulator come just a few months after the Swedish National Audit Office criticized the commission for not regulating this industry. As reported last week, the gambling regulator also added additional supervision for operators and loads of other small things that make Sweden’s gambling market more transparent.
Scientific Games Got a UAE Supplier License
The UAE will soon become one of the hottest destinations for casino enthusiasts because the country is about to open its first casino. After IGT and Aristocrat received a casino supplier license, Scientific Games joined them as well. The company got a gaming-related vendor supplier license, and people will be able to access its services soon.
An interesting fact is that Scientific Games operates in more than 50 countries worldwide and serves 150 lotteries. It also operates the UAE Lottery, which started its existence in late 2024.
The UAE gaming market will be intriguing because many experts believe it will compete with the one in Macau. Legalizing casinos will definitely attract even more people from around the world, but it will take a while until the UAE matches Macau. After all, the latter is known as the Vegas of the East for a reason.
Football Clubs in Brazil are Against the Betting Ad Restrictions
Brazil has become one of the hottest gambling hubs in the world and the leader in South America, especially in terms of sports betting. Tons of world-class operators started offering their services there. To attract more customers, many of them also started sponsoring different football clubs, and the latter benefit greatly because they receive a lot of money.
Due to the growing popularity of sports betting, however, the authorities have a proposal whose goal is to impose commercial restrictions on the advertising rights of betting operators at different sports venues. In other words, the companies won’t be able to advertise their services at football stadiums.
As expected, this proposal was not met with open arms, so several Brazilian football clubs released a joint statement. In it, they expressed their concern about the proposal and warned about potential legal complications.
Despite the concerns and the debates, Brazil’s Senate approved the bill to restrict gambling advertising. According to some of the smaller football clubs, this will have a huge impact on them (in a bad way). It seems like they rely a lot on the money coming from the operators.
Authorities Bust Online Gambling Call Centers in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia seems to be the center of attention for various gambling-related scandals recently. The last is from a few days ago, and it involves an illegal gambling call center in the country.
Following an investigation and a police raid, the latter arrested 30 people aged between 20 and 27 for running an online gambling call center. The operations took place in Kuala Lumpur, but it did not target locals. Instead, everything focused on Chinese players.
Assuming the suspects receive a sentence, they can stay up to 3 years in prison. Moreover, they will need to pay as much as $10600 in fines.
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