Tennis Player Banned for Match Fixing, South Korea Cracked Down on a $2.3B Illegal Gambling Operation, Spain to Introduce Gambling Limits & More Weekly iGaming News

Our weekly iGaming news roundup is back with another fresh batch of the hottest news from the week. There is a lot going on in many parts of the world, so keeping track of everything is challenging. Luckily, our team at Nostrabet has done the impossible and scanned through everything out there.

Some of the stories you are about to read have been a topic of discussion for a few weeks now, whereas others are new. Each one is interesting on its own, so let’s see what we have.

South Korea Cracked Down on a $2.3B Illegal Gambling Operation

South Korea is one of the most interesting “illegal gambling markets” in the world because of its huge potential. Local authorities regularly take part in different raids regarding illegal gambling activities, and the most recent one targeted an illegal betting scheme.

Based on the reports, the police discovered a $2.3B ongoing scam and arrested two people. An interesting fact is that the arrests took place in the UAE and both people were sent to South Korea. With that said, officials are still waiting for the UAE to extradite the leader of the illegal organization.

The information indicates that the government has been tracking these people’s movements to the UAE for some time. The group has also been linked to other illegal betting activities in Malaysia and the Philippines. An interesting fact is that these people even sponsored Swansea City’s football shirts at some point with their BETEAST brand.

This has been one of the biggest iGaming scandals of the year because the amounts of money involved are truly mind-blowing. It will be interesting to see what happens to the suspects once they face their trial in South Korea.

Australia Issues Guidance on Gambling Advertising Ban Involving Celebrities and Influencers

The Australian Communications and Media Authority released information about the country’s upcoming gambling advertising restrictions. They should take effect on January 1, 2027, which is less than two months from now.

According to the new rules, gambling ads on TV, websites, radios and social media can’t feature any notable individuals. This includes former athletes, celebrities, influencers, and other public figures. All licensed operators will be prohibited from entering promotional or sponsorship agreements with these kinds of people.

Unsurprisingly, many people in the industry have already criticized the broad definition of notable persons. They also warned that these compliance challenges can have potential consequences.

Keep in mind that these restrictions are a part of Australia’s wider gambling reforms. Outside these restrictions, the Australian authorities also banned advertisements during live sports broadcasts. There are also measures regarding consumer protection and the targeting of illegal gambling services.

A tennis player from Serbia Was Banned for 24 Years

Tennis is one of the sports that are often involved in match-fixing. Recently, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced that it has been investigating Stefan Milcevic, a 29-year-old tennis player, for 24 years. He will also have to pay a fine of $70k after it became clear that he took part in match fixing several times.

The investigation concluded that the player fixed a total of six matches between 2022 and 2024 and took part in five of them. We also made an attempt to fix an additional six games, but failed to do so.

He tried to “recruit” several other professional players to his idea. In the end, there was an investigation that proved he made several additional attempts to take part in match fixing.

Given that the player is 29 years old, the ban will end when he turns 53, meaning he will no longer play professional tennis. Furthermore, the player is banned from coaching or even attending any tennis events organized by the WTA, ITF and ATP. This even includes the Grand Slam tournaments.

Flutter to Cut 1400 Jobs in the UK

Flutter Entertainment is one of the largest gambling companies in the UK, but it seems like the new gambling taxes will take their toll. The company plans to cut around 1400 jobs in the UK and Ireland due to the increased gambling taxes. Based on the information, the layoffs will affect people in Porto, Leeds, Dublin and Cluj-Napoca.

It seems like the high taxes have significantly impacted the profitability of regulated gambling operators. This happened after the UK increased the so-called “remote gaming duty” from 21% to 40%. As for the remote betting industry, it will now be at 25% in April 2027.

Outside of Flutter, Betfred, Bet365 and Evoke also mentioned that they will have workforce reduction. There may also be additional taxes on gaming machines and if that happens, there will be additional pressure on the gambling industry in the UK.

Premier League Gambling Ads Remain Popular Despite Shirt Sponsorship Ban

According to a study from the University of Bristol, gambling advertising remains highly visible in the Premier League. This happens despite the regulator’s efforts to ban the front-of-shirt betting sponsorships for the 2026/27 season.

The research shows that there were more than 15K gambling-related messages during the first weekend of the competition. Although this is a 10.5% decline from last season, it remains prominent across live broadcasts.

Outside of that, the study also identified more than 1000 paid Facebook and Instagram advertisements. The stats show that these ads reached around 153.2M accounts, but around 93% of gambling marketing lacked clear advertising labels.

Isle of Man Regulator Warns That There Are Fake Gambling Licenses

The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission issued a warning related to illegal gambling websites. It seems some of them are falsely claiming to have a license from the regulator, when in reality they don’t.

The regular added 9 suspicious URLs to its list, bringing the total to 162 brands. Outside of that, the regulator reminded everyone that having a logo and displaying licensing documents does not mean that the site has a permit. Consumers need to verify an operator’s licensing status before gambling online.

The Malta Gaming Authority also noticed that some websites are using fake licenses. In fact, it identified 42 sites and issued 35 cease-and-desist letters to some operators in 2025.

Shuffle and its Relationship with Thailand

Shuffle is one of the big iGaming websites available worldwide that accepts crypto payments. An interesting fact is that the site is associated with Sirichok Sopha, a member of the Thai parliament. It seems like her husband actually has a 1% sharehold stake in the company. It seems like Thai nationals are no longer allowed to use the platform.

Speaking of Shuffle, the site generates close to $100m in revenue each year and many rank is one of the top 3 crypto casinos. Sadly, since online gambling is prohibited in Thailand, locals won’t be able to access it. In fact, the authorities have already blocked more than 600K URLs between 2025 and now as they want to battle the illegal gambling sector.

The Curacao Gaming Authority Filed Complaints in Three Countries

Curacao’s Gaming Authority got int ot he news again after it filed complaints in three countries. This happened after the data breach from Lilith Wittman, the German hacker.

The regulator filed complaints in the Netherlands, Germany and Curacao. The hacker gained access to the regulator’s online portal and revealed thousands of different documents related to the ownership structure of firms based in Curacao.

Once it became clear what had happened, the regulator actually took down its portal. It also confirmed that it is working on a new one that will replace the compromised alternative.

Spain Launched Gambling Portal Ahead of Universal Deposit Limits

Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs decided to introduce a new player portal to support the gambling deposit limits. The latter should be added in March 2027.

Based on the information we have, it will be accessible through the Cl@ve identification system. This portal will allow players to monitor their gambling accounts, losses, deposits and winnings. They can also keep track of how much they spend over numerous operators and can get alerts of indeed.

Regarding the limitations, the default limit will be set to 700 EUR per day and 1750 EUR per week. There will also be a monthly limit of 3300 EUR, and the authorities will limit how often you can change your limits.

What’s concerning, however, is that operators have not prepared for the changes yet. Also, many believe that these measures will force some people to start using offshore betting operators instead.

Big Daddy Gaming Secured a UKGC License

Big Daddy Gaming became the latest software supplier to secure a license from the UKGC. The approval comes after the studio also got permission from the Malta Gaming Authority and the Swedish Gambling Authority.

The software supplier is ambitious and wants to become one of the leaders in its segment. People are patiently waiting for the company’s latest title, called Los Luchadores, which will have a Double Gamble Feature.