Coverage desk · 13 files
Licensing & regulatory change
Licence openings, market reforms and regulatory rules, with proposed changes kept separate from law already in force.
Source-checked reporting
Every file in this desk
94 tasks
A detailed plan without a representative national baseline
Ukraine · harm strategy
Ukraine approved 94 gambling-harm tasks without a national prevalence baseline
Ukraine's strategy runs to 2035 and assigns 94 tasks for 2027 to 2029, but its own evidence base lacks a representative national harm estimate.
Open the Watch file15 licences · 1 December exit
The auction grants a right to apply, not a licence
New Zealand · licensing
New Zealand starts screening operators for 15 online-casino licences
New Zealand is assessing expressions of interest before a September auction, with non-applicants required to leave the market from 1 December.
Open the Watch file2 categories excluded
Sports and entertainment leave the dealer route; other contracts remain under review
Canada · prediction markets
CSA and CIRO reject dealer route for sports and entertainment event contracts
Canadian securities regulators say sports and entertainment event contracts do not belong in their regime. That is not a nationwide gambling ban.
Open the Watch file1 October 2027 · proposed opening
The notified draft is not enacted law
Austria · draft reform
Austria's draft would open online gambling licences from October 2027
Austria has sent a multi-licence online gambling draft into EU review, alongside central exclusions, deposit limits and payment blocking.
Open the Watch file47 responses · 25% chosen
The final headline increase was not a consultation option
United Kingdom · funding
UK rejects three fee options, then chooses a 25% Gambling Commission increase
The UK chose a 25% headline gambling licence-fee rise after consulting on 30%, 20% and a ringfenced hybrid that operators largely opposed.
Open the Watch file9 regulators · 1 warning
Sponsorship legality is territorial
Europe · prediction markets
Nine European regulators put prediction-market partnerships on notice
Regulators from Portugal and eight other countries warned sports bodies to check prediction-market legality before signing major partnerships.
Open the Watch file50 applications · €29,000 each
The licensing queue is real; the competitive market is still a year away
Finland · market opening
Finland drew 50 licence applications before its gambling market even opens
Most applicants are foreign, each 2026 application costs €29,000 and the target processing time is six months before the July 2027 launch.
Open the Watch file2 declared companies
Tradeable digital rewards enter a purpose-built regulatory experiment
France · Web3 gaming
France put Sorare and CYLIMIT inside a three-year Web3 gaming experiment
France now regulates games with tradeable digital items under JONUM rules that allow crypto rewards but forbid prize money in euros.
Open the Watch file3 licence categories open
An application begins scrutiny; it does not end it
Ireland · licensing
Ireland opened its new betting licence portal - an application is not yet permission to trade
Remote betting, intermediary and in-person applications are open under the GRAI's phased regime, with suitability and funding checks still ahead.
Open the Watch file3 remarks · 2 warnings
One review produced two different levels of regulatory action
Sweden · physical lotteries
Sweden closes five lottery reviews with three remarks and two fee-backed warnings
The regulator found ticket-information and technical-rule failures, but its summary does not publish the two sanction-fee amounts.
Open the Watch file2 regulators · one formal channel
Gaming and financial supervision now share a route for coordination
UAE · regulatory cooperation
The UAE gaming regulator now has a formal information channel with Abu Dhabi finance
A new GCGRA-FSRA agreement covers supervisory coordination, investigations and information exchange where commercial gaming meets finance.
Open the Watch file2,000+ pages · 85 companies
The new archive shows parts of the reasoning behind authorisation
Brazil · licence files
Brazil opened 2,000 pages behind 85 betting authorisations - here is what they can prove
Brazil has begun publishing the files behind 85 authorised betting companies, including suitability, source-of-funds and licence-fee records.
Open the Watch file29 July · rule live
Immediate removal begins with written regulatory notice
Great Britain · machines
Britain's new machine rule can trigger immediate removal - but only after written notice
A new licence condition now requires land-based operators to remove specified non-compliant gaming machines after written Gambling Commission notification.
Open the Watch file