Regulatory Correspondent · Regulation, licensing, compliance, gambling law
Marta Ferreira reports on how the online gambling industry is regulated — new licensing regimes, tax reform, advertising and affordability rules, and the regulators driving them. She maintains the publication's jurisdiction tracker and translates dense legal change into what it means for licence-holders and applicants.
Regulation · Europe
Financial-risk and affordability interventions are spreading across Europe in incompatible forms — stake limits in the UK, cross-operator deposit caps in Spain, credit bans in Sweden and youth loss limits in France — with no common template.
People · Careers
Beyond the operators lies a large B2B industry of platform, payments, data and compliance suppliers — and a wide range of careers most people outside gambling never see.
Regulation · Tax
The Remote Gaming Duty rise confirmed for April 2026 nearly doubles the tax on online casino gross gaming yield, landing on top of a new statutory levy and tighter stake limits.
Regulation · Spain
Spain already runs one of Europe's strictest advertising regimes; from June 2026 the DGOJ adds cross-operator joint deposit limits and mandates AI-driven risk detection, reshaping how operators can acquire and retain players.
Regulation · Italy
Italy awarded 52 nine-year online concessions at €7 million each in 2025, abolished the old 'skins' model and lifted GGR tax rates — consolidating the market around operators able to write a large upfront cheque.
Regulation · LatAm
Twelve months after Brazil's regulated betting and iGaming market opened, first-year figures show a market that has already become one of the largest new regulated markets in the world.
Regulation · Ireland
Ireland's first dedicated gambling regulator opened in March 2025 and issues its first remote-betting licences from July 2026 — the start of a phased rollout that will not reach online gaming until 2027 and beyond.
Regulation · Nordics
Finland is ending the Veikkaus monopoly on online casino and betting and moving to a licensing model from 2027 — the last major Nordic market to open up.
Regulation · United States
America regulates online gambling one state at a time — a split that leaves online casino legal in seven states, online betting in around thirty, and a widening set of federal-versus-state fights over sweepstakes and prediction markets.
Regulation · Canada
The AGCO–iGaming Ontario conduct-and-manage model has matured into North America's benchmark open market — just as a court fight over international liquidity and Alberta's July 2026 launch reshape the Canadian landscape.
Regulation · Malta
The Malta Gaming Authority underpins a large share of the global supply chain through its Critical Gaming Supply licence, even as an EU infringement case over Bill 55 hangs over the jurisdiction.
Regulation · Sweden
Sweden's 2019 open-licence market added a B2B permit, a full ban on gambling on credit and a wider territorial scope — all while the industry argues its channelisation rate is slipping.
Regulation · Netherlands
The Netherlands pushed its gambling tax to 37.8% of GGR from January 2026, but the extra revenue never materialised — reviving a debate over whether the rise is now feeding the black market.
Regulation · Germany
Nationwide licences for virtual slots and sports betting exist, but a €1 stake cap, stake-based taxation and a broken blocking power leave Germany with a persistent channelisation problem.