UK Authorities Seized 110K GBP, Laos Deported 41 People, Ireland to Inrease its Gambling Oversight & More Weekly iGaming News

This week’s iGaming news will show you all of the hottest events that took place over the course of the last 7 days. As always, the Nostrabet.com team and I took the time to analyze everything and sum up what’s important. There is a lot to talk about here, so let’s dive deep and see what’s next.

Authorities Seized 110K GBP and Gold Related to Illegal Gambling

The UK is in the news once more, but this time, the authorities targeted South Yorkshire. According to the information, the police confiscated around 110K GBP in cash, as well as gold, during a raid that targeted illegal gambling operations. The raid itself is part of a broader operation involving the local police, the Gambling Commission, and the Yorkshire & Humber Regional and Organized Crime Unit.

Aside from confiscating the funds and gold, a 36-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman were arrested. This makes the raid look very similar to the one that took place in Manchester a few weeks ago.

An interesting fact is that the Gambling Commission actually increased the risk related to money laundering in the gambling software section. I would not be surprised if local authorities continue to raid different parts of the country.

Land-Based Casinos in Uganda Have to Pay a 15% Winning Tax

Uganda was one of the places where land-based casinos had the opportunity to avoid paying a 15% winning tax to their customers. Sadly for them, this will no longer be the case because the president removed the exemption. This means that land-based casinos will now have to follow the same rules as their online counterparts.

The new changes in the legislation should allow Uganda to gain around $17.5M in total. According to statistics from Uganda’s authorities, the country generated around $435.3M in gross winnings in 2025. If everything goes well, the sector will reach over $1B by 2029.

Uganda is just one of the many African countries that have made changes to their tax regulations lately. Kenyan authorities decided to add a 5% levy on every withdrawal and a 5% excise duty on deposits. In Nigeria (Lagos), there is also a 5% withholding tax on people’s winnings.

A Study Revealed that Brazilians lost $12.5B in Betting in 2025

Brazil became the largest iGaming market in South America when it decided to open its doors to foreign betting companies. The market has been active for some time now, and a recent study shows that households in the country lost around $12.5B in 2025 alone.

What’s really shocking is that the underground betting operations (those that do not have a license) are responsible for up to 51% of that amount. In other words, local authorities have a serious problem that they need to sort out.

Some of these stats will not come as a surprise because Brazil is one of the largest countries in the world. We expect to see a tighter grip on illegal gambling sites in the future.

The positive note is that a study found the illegal gambling market declined in the first six months of 2026. This is definitely good news and authorities can only hope that the trend will continue.

Laos Deported 41 People from Thailand due to iGaming Operations

Southeast Asia is in the news again, but this time, it is Laos. The country’s authorities deported 41 Thai individuals after suspecting them of running an online gambling website. The police arrested them and transferred them to the Thai border.

After a briefing, it became clear that they worked as administrators for three online gambling websites. They were working on 12-hour shifts and earned money daily and monthly.

The idea of deporting these nationals is not new because Laos has been trying to “fight” illegal gambling for some time now. Early in June, authorities arrested close to 600 suspects who were involved in online gambling and telecom fraud. The same happened in May, albeit there were fewer arrests.

Laos is trying to follow the example of its neighboring countries related to iGaming. Cambodia, Thailand and China are taking serious measures to ensure these things don’t happen and it seems like Laos is doing the same.

Polymarket and SS Lazio ended their Partnership

Polymarket, one of the world’s largest prediction market platforms, had a sponsorship deal with the Italian football club SS Lazio. The two signed a deal in April that was set to run until the 2027/28 Season, but it seems it has come to an end. Both decided to terminate it mutually after it became clear that local authorities in Italy had declared Polymarket a prohibited site.

This decision came a few weeks ago and it means that Italy joined the likes of Czechia, Spain and France. All of them are preventing their residents from accessing Polymarket due to consumer protection concerns.

The fact that SS Lazio has lost this partnership deal is a big blow, as the stats show it was valued at around $22M. Polymarket will have to obtain the necessary permits and operate in the countries it wishes to expand into if it is to become more popular.

Stake will Now Offer Games from 1spin4win

1spin4win decided to expand and will now offer its games on one of the leading cryptocurrency iGaming platforms – Stake. This follows an impressive H1 in 2026, during which the GGR increased by 47%.

Nowadays, casino software suppliers offer around 200 online slots, and all of them are available on Stake. Fans will have access to high-RTP titles like Lucky 423 Ways, Cash the Gold, Hold the Gold, and more.

NYC Authorities are Investigating the Prediction Market Platforms

Authorities in New York City launched a new investigation targeting the four major prediction market platforms. The allegations are that they use advertising practices that could potentially target minors.

Julie Menin, the New York City Council speaker, sent letters to all 4 platforms – Gemini Titan, Coinbase, Kalshi and Polymarket. The latter wants the sites to explain how do they comply with the consumer protection laws and whether these measures actually protect residents adequately.

Based on the information we have, the letter contains more than 60 different questions related to the platforms’ operations. The idea is for the council to understand how these sites operate and how they comply with the regulations.

Aviator and BetClick Joined Forces

Aviator is the most popular crash game in existence, and the people behind it have entered into an important partnership deal. Aviator Studios joined forces with BetClick, a large iGaming site that operates in Europe. Under that deal, the site will provide Aviator games and allow people to access them through one of the more prominent iGaming operators. This is not the first time Aviator Studios has started working alongside a prominent iGaming site.

Ireland is Looking to Increase its Gambling Oversight

Ireland will make changes to its AML strategy because of the increased money laundering issues in the gambling industry. According to the country’s Minister of Finance, gambling and cryptocurrencies will be affected by the new framework. The new changes will introduce elements already present in other European countries.

In the case of gambling, people who withdraw their winnings must use the same payment method used for their deposit. The idea is for operators and regulators to know where the funds are coming from.

Keep in mind that this is not Ireland’s first measure related to AML in gambling. The country actually prohibited credit card betting and removed it from both online and land-based venues. All of these measures are part of the broader efforts in Europe to fight money laundering, as those who launder money are becoming much more innovative.

Kenya’s High Court Ruling Clears the Way for Gambling Licensing to Resume

The High Court in Kenya decided to lift a rule that prohibited the Gambling Control Regulations 2026. In other words. The court ruled that the new framework can result and it allowing the Gambling Regulatory Authority to process license applications. It can also conduct due diligence and enforce different anti-money laundering and consumer-protection rules.

Assuming there are no big changes to how the licensing will work, operators wishing to set foot in Kenya have to pay KSh5M for their application. They also need to have at least a KSh100 million capital and will have to pay KSh50 million in licensing over three years.

Some people believe that these requirements are too high and will force operators to close or reduce their investments.

Yggdrasil is now Available in Bulgaria

Yggdrasil, one of the leading software studios, is now available to Bulgarians after the operator joined forces with alphawin. The deal will allow the latter to provide different titles from the operator, as well as its different studios. People can expect to find options like Raptor 2 DoubleMax and Valley of the Gods.