Ethiopia’s Sports Betting Market, Thailand’s Police To Work with Meta Against Illegal Gambling, Brazil’s Sports Betting Ban & More Weekly iGaming News

We are back with the latest iGaming news from this week! Following last week’s turbulent events in Brazil, it’s time to see what has happened in the country. We will also take a good look at all other notable events from the last couple of days. As always, the team at Nostrabet.com and I have analyzed everything, so let’s see what you may have missed.

Lotteries in Europe want more regulations for Prediction Markets

Lotteries in Europe issued a press release discussing the rapid expansion of prediction markets. The association that represents these lotteries is concerned that their popularity is skyrocketing, and this could lead to regulatory loopholes.

According ot them, countries should take a firm stance against what’s going on and come up with new regulations that ensure prediction markets follow strict rules. Keep in mind that Gibraltar already has a unique license for these kinds of products, so we may see something happening elsewhere really soon.

It’s also worth remembering that a total of 9 European countries joined forces and targeted unlicensed prediction market platforms. It’s clear that governments are unhappy that people have free access to these operators.

The Dutch Gambling Authority Revoked a Fake Lottery License

Continuing on the topic of licenses, the Dutch Gambling Authority recently revoked the license of a fake lottery. It seems like someone faked documents and registered a lottery in the name of Quick Boys, an amateur football club. After obtaining the license, the fraudsters used it to open several websites that offered lottery tickets to Dutch clients.

Once the scam became clear, the Dutch gambling regulator advised everyone who had something to do with these sites to file a police report. Interestingly, this is not the first attempt to obtain licenses through illegal means. The KSA has had several instances like that in the past, so it knows how to handle these situations.

The Attorney General in Brazil Wants the Recent Betting Laws to be Considered Unconstitutional

Brazil’s in the news once again after the country’s president decided to ban online betting a few days ago. There has been an ongoing backlash from many sources, but the country’s attorney general’s office decided to do something different.

The latter sent an official statement to Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court and asked it to declare the laws from 2018 and 2023 as incompatible with the country’s constitution. An overview of the request shows that these laws do not provide the needed protection for children. It even states that there has been a massive 140% increase in cases related to gambling addiction.

Keep in mind that all of that happens at a time when operators and regulators in the country are trying to deal with Lula’s ban. It will be very interesting to see what the final outcome is after all the recent events.

Speaking of the ban, many football clubs in Brazil are protesting it by displaying special advertising boards during matches.

Sweden’s Regulator Revoked a License Due to an Investigation

It became clear that the Swedish Gambling Authority temporarily suspended the license of Charm Entertainment AB. Following that, the company won’t be able to operate any land-based casino gaming activities. The decision is effective as of October 1 and will remain in effect until April 1, 2027, or until it becomes clear that there are no issues with the company.

A deeper dive into the case shows that the regulator suspended its license because the company no longer fulfills the requirements to hold its permit. The two executives (current and former) received charges for different crimes. In fact, Lucky 21 (another operator that lost its license) and Charm appear to have coonections throught their illegal activities.

Keep in mind that this isn’t the first time Sweden’s regulator has taken such actions. In fact, it imposed a financial penalty on LeoVegas because it thought that the operator had violated the country’s gambling act. LeoVegas decided to go to court about it, and the court lifted the penalty.

Police in the Philippines Arrested Over 200 People

It’s been over 2 years since Ferdinand Marcos, the President of the Philippines, called for a permanent end to offshore gambling. Despite that, many people are still involved in it one way or another, which has led to the arrests of around 244 people across two police raids. Locals call it the biggest POGO bust of 2026, and for a good reason.

The information we have shows that the majority of these arrests took place in Alicia and Siay. It also became clear that most of them were from China. There were also people from Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Alongside the arrests, the authorities also seized computers and more than 3000 smartphones.

It is clear that the Philippines is taking this seriously and will continue to “hunt” everyone involved in illegal gambling.

Two people in the UK Receive Suspended Prison Sentences for Illegal Gambling Activities

The Gambling Commission revealed that two men who got funds generated through an illegal gambling activity in Cardiff received suspended prison sentences. The two had run illegal poker games and had a total of six tables between 2022 and 2024.

Once it became clear what was going on, the authorities arrested the two and they had to go to court. After the trail, the Cardiff Crown Court sentenced both to three years in prison, but suspended the sentences for three years.

This case may turn out to be more important than people think because it could set a precedent for the future. It will be very interesting to follow the news around it.

Thailand’s Government Will Work with Meta against Illegal Gambling

The Government in Thailand decided to take firm action against the illegal gambling scene in the country. As a result, the country’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society decided to work with Meta and TikTok to fight against the illegal gambling ads.

According to the authorities, there will be special monitoring data that social media companies will send to the Thai Police. People in Thailand believe that social media platforms are among the big reasons why the black market is growing.

In fact, Thailand’s Consumer Council actually filed a lawsuit against Meta earlier this year. It seems this affected the company’s behavior, as it began working closely with local authorities.

Speaking of the gambling market in the country, the numbers are truly shocking because some sources state it’s worth around 25M GBP annually. That’s why it’s not surprising that local authorities will do everything possible to put an end to it.

Bet365 won the award for the best Casino app in the UK

Bet365 is one of the most recognizable names in the world of online gambling and it proved it yet again. The company won the award for having the best casino app in the UK after experts evaluated its game portfolio, innovation and user experience.

The site’s application features a good range of slots, live dealer games and exclusive titles. Its overall appeal also increased following the We Know Betting campaign, which has been around for some time now.

Bet365 remains one of the big players in the international gambling scene. Considering how it is going, it will most likely remain in this position for a while.

Greece to target Influencers Related to illegal Gambling

Greece became the latest country to try to fight against the domestic illegal gambling scene. The country filed several complaints against 18 influencers because they were promoting illegal gambling. These actions are a part of a wider campaign to push out unlicensed gambling operators.

An interesting fact is that the Hellenic Gaming Commission has a lot of power. It can take down any site that promotes illegal gambling and it can even do that to other online channels that endorse this activity. When it comes to penalties, the HGC can actually impose them right away. It’s interesting that they can reach up to 50,000 EUR per violation.

We’d like to remind you that Greece is not the only country that’s trying everything possible to tackle illegal gambling by targeting influencers. A court in Finland actually sentenced a creator and fined him 2480 EUR for promoting offshore casino bonuses. Spain is also making big moves as it is about to introduce new rules regarding celebrity and influencer gambling marketing.

Ethiopia To Relaunch its Betting Market

Ethiopia may be the latest African country to open its doors to the iGaming industry. It is slowly preparing to relaunch sports betting and digital lotteries after the country banned both several months ago. In fact, the government revoked all sports betting licenses in December 2025.

There was a big audit in the country that showed sports betting and lotteries processed around BR199 billion in transactions. This happened after Ethiopia had a total of 22 operators.

Following the audit and the numbers, it seems like the country may decide to relaunch its gambling sector once more. If that happens, Ethiopia may quickly become among the hottest destinations for iGaming because the country has a huge population.