We are slowly approaching 2026, but this does not mean that the gambling news has stopped. On the contrary, Nostrabet.com’s team has been monitoring everything for the last couple of days and decided to share some of the most intriguing events. It’s time to sit back and enjoy our in-depth weekly iGaming news coverage.
Europol Launched an Action against Illegal Gambling
There is an ongoing campaign against illegal gambling in many parts of the world and Europe is one of them. In fact, Europol announced it has arrested 5 people who were believed to be involved in a criminal network related to illegal gambling and money laundering in Stockholm. This comes following a police raid in the city and in Spain. The raid resulted in the seizure of cash and other luxury goods.
According to the research, people behind these actions were known for intimidating others. Aside from money laundering and illegal gambling, this group was also linked to drug trafficking in Sweden and other countries. The stats are shocking because Europol estimated these people earned close to 20M EUR per year.
Austria Could Make a Licensing Overhaul in Online Gambling in 2027
Austria is one of the European countries where gambling laws have remained unchanged for a long time. The current gambling laws in the country only feature one license for lotteries and online gaming. There is only one company that holds this license (Win2day), and it sits alongside other land-based casinos where the state has a majority share in all of them.
With that said, the recent elections in Austria and the fact that Win2day’s license expires in 2027 could push the authorities to update their gambling licenses. The country’s single-license model has been criticized by the European Court of Justice many times, so it seems like now is the time for that massive gambling reform.
This is definitely one of the most interesting cases we’ll follow. If Austria decides to change its system, it will likely accept many new operators. All of those things will make the country one of the “big players” in the online gambling industry in Europe.
10 Foreigners Arrested in Thailand over a Poker Game
Thailand is in the news again after the local police decided to arrest 10 foreigners. Based on the information, these people were participating in an illegal poker game and rented a house on Koh Phangan, one of the many interesting islands in the Asian country. The arrests come following a late-night raid by the tourist police in the country.
What’s interesting here is that the police attempted to record what was happening inside the house before raiding it. It became clear that there were six people from Russia, one from Romania, one German, one Israeli, and one from the UK and all of them were playing poker.
The police arrested all of them and charged them with engaging in illegal gambling for profit. The person who was renting the house got an additional charge for hosting gambling activities.
Finland to have a Dual-License Framework for 2027
Finland is one of the European countries undergoing a significant shift in its gambling legislation. Instead of having a state-monopoly gambling model, the country is moving to a competitive licensing system and the new framework is set to take off on January 1, 2027. Once it arrives, there will be mandatory B2B supplier licensing and Veikkaus, the state-owned company, will be separated into a different entity.
Experts believe that the dual-license structure will include the B2C gambling game licences and the B2B game-software licenses. Companies that offer gambling services can get a 5-year license and will have to pay a 22% tax. The key here is that licensed operators must use software approved by the B2B providers. Those wishing to provide their services in Finland can apply for a permit and people believe the application process will begin in 2027.
What’s interesting is that Veikkaus will be divided into two separate entities. The first one has the exclusive rights to offer lottery products, physical slot machines and land-based casinos in Finland. As for the second one, it will allow the company to compete against other brands in the online betting and casino market.
Sweden’s Gambling Regulator Conducts Staff Match-Fixing Training Courses
Based on the information from Sweden’s gambling regulator, the entity has been undertaking match-fixing courses with the staff so that it can raise awareness about this issue. Instead of focusing on football, however, the course’s main target is ice hockey. Sweden’s regulator believes this sport has more loopholes and problems related to match-fixing.
The training itself consists of two parts. The first one focuses on the specific sport’s rules and how people conduct match-fixing. As for the second one, it is mainly aimed at the different gambling-related harms.
Uruguay Prepares Online Gambling Regulation in 2026
South America’s iGaming scene is booming and the latest example comes from Uruguay. It seems like the country is going to take a leap in the gaming world because the government announced plans to introduce a new legislative package that will regulate online gambling in 2026.
Based on inside information, the government is working on several legislative bills aimed at modernizing the regulatory framework. One of the bills will focus on the debate over licensing for online casinos. While some people are sceptical about the new legislation, the gambling industry in the country employs more than 20,000 people, so it seems like local politicians are in favor of it.
There were also rumours that Uruguay may decide to create a state-run online platform. There will also be new regulations about slot machines available in bars and other places. Authorities believe that there are close to 50,000 or even more illegal slot machines throughout the country, even though the legal ones are only around 6000.
Sports Betting Companies Spent R$1.117B for Shirt Sponsorships in Brazil
Brazil has become one of the most popular destinations in the world for online sports betting. The changes in the local laws allowed many different bookmakers to start offering their services, and as expected, this changed everything.
Based on recent research, the sports betting brands have spent close to R$1.117B in 2025 for shirt sponsorship. This number is jaw-dropping because it was just R$496M in 2024. In other words, betting companies have pretty much replaced all other industries that advertised their services in Brazilian football.
If we examine different clubs, we’ll see that Flamengo is leading with its sponsorships, notably with Betano, which is worth around R$268M. To illustrate the magnitude of this, the club’s previous deal was worth R$85, which represents a 215% increase.
The current situation is very interesting because 18 out of 20 clubs in Brazil’s Serie A have a bookmaker sponsorship. We will definitely follow this industry to see what happens. There are many people in Brazil who are not happy with what’s going on.
Betsson won a Responsible Gambling Campaign Award
Aside from Brazil, the online gambling sector is also booming in Argentina. You can find many big iGaming names in the country and Betsson is one of them. It seems like this brand is doing great because it recently won the Martin Fierro Award for its world-class responsible gambling campaign.
What’s interesting about the campaign is that the company achieved it in collaboration with Boca Juniors. Betsson filmed interesting videos with the likes of Edinson Cavani, Lautaro Blanco and Miguel Merentiel. The focus was on showcasing the different responsible gambling tools and how they work.
Bolivia May Remove its Gaming Tax
Following the recent elections, Bolivia’s new president, Rodrigo Paz, may revolutionize the country’s economy. One of his ideas is to make a major move in the gaming sector, as he may propose exempting all taxes on it. According to him, this will be one of the many moves to “ease the fiscal burden” on many different industries. He also thinks this would attract investors from different parts of the world.
He believes that the current gambling tax is not working effectively. The idea behind it was to redistribute wealth from the high-income sectors to others. Sadly, it seems like this did not work properly. He also said that close to $7B in capital is not a part of the country’s economy because of regulatory uncertainty and tax pressure.
If the local authorities in Bolivia decide to make this move, the country will become one of the hottest options in South America.
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