Author: Maisie Morrison

TLDR President Lula says he will decide on Brazil’s sports betting future only after reviewing consultations with civil society He spoke to around 10 to 11 people, including families affected by gambling debt and people linked to gambling related suicides On September 1, Lula said he personally leans toward a ban and called for a “drastic decision” Lula said taxes only discourage betting companies when the taxes cut deeply into profits The betting debate has become part of Lula’s re-election campaign ahead of Brazil’s October 4 vote Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not said what he will…

TLDR Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) blocked 66,482 illegal betting domains from January 2025 through September 2026. Authorities also removed 1,511 unauthorized betting profiles during the same period. The regulator has processed 103 administrative sanctioning proceedings, with 68 already resolved. Fines issued so far total R$18.019 million, with R$3.091 million already collected. Betting inspection fees brought in R$105.04 million in 2025 and R$65.22 million through July 2026. Brazil’s gambling regulator has ramped up its fight against illegal betting operators over the past year and a half. The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting, known as the SPA, released new…

TLDR The UAE’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market. The agreement creates a framework for regulatory cooperation and supervision between the two bodies. Specific terms of the MoU were not disclosed in the announcement. Legal experts say the deal reflects growing overlap between commercial gaming and financial services, including areas like anti-money laundering and payments. The MoU does not create new rules but sets up a structure for the two regulators to coordinate oversight. The UAE’s gaming regulator has agreed to work…

TLDR Australia’s Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 on August 19. The law creates a red-flag system requiring wagering companies to identify at-risk customers and stop sending them betting offers. A new opt-out register called Adstop lets Australians block online gambling ads. New rules ban bonus bets for the first 14 days after signup and ban staff commissions tied to customer betting activity. ACMA investigated 76 gambling sites and referred 187 websites for blocking between April and June 2026. Australia has passed a new set of gambling reform laws designed to reduce harm from online betting.…

TLDR South Korea drew 12.8 million visitors in the first seven months of 2026, a record for that period. NH Investment & Securities expects mass-market casino gaming to benefit more than VIP play. Chinese VIP demand looks weak heading into China’s October National Day holiday. A proposed levy hike on casino revenue could raise Paradise Co’s Tourism Promotion Fund contribution rate. Kangwon Land plans to add tables and slot machines, with earnings growth expected from 2028. South Korea’s casino sector is drawing new attention as tourist arrivals climb to record levels. Brokerage firm NH Investment & Securities says the gains…

TLDR Indonesia’s Immigration Office arrested 5 foreign nationals, 2 from China and 3 from Vietnam, over a suspected online gambling operation. The arrests followed a raid on September 7 in Kelapa Dua, Tangerang District, where officers seized 1 computer, 1 laptop, and 26 mobile phones. Suspicion first arose after the group applied to extend their stay permits using travel tickets with altered names. Officials believe the Chinese nationals tracked transactions while the Vietnamese nationals collected money from gambling activity aimed at the Vietnamese market. Authorities are now searching for 7 other foreigners connected to the case, with 2 already named…

TLDR Macau collected MOP$7.83 billion (US$969 million) in gaming taxes in August 2026. August tax revenue rose 9.5% from July but fell 8.0% compared to August 2025. The tax figure was based on July’s gross gaming revenue of MOP$20.3 billion. Gaming taxes made up 86.4% of Macau’s total government revenue from January to August. Macau has reached 71.5% of its full-year gaming tax budget target. Macau’s government collected MOP$7.83 billion, or about US$969 million, in gaming taxes during August 2026. The figure came from gross gaming revenue, or GGR, earned in July. Macau discloses gaming tax collections one month after…

TLDR Moody’s Ratings assigned DigiPlus Interactive Corp its first credit rating, a B1 with a stable outlook. Moody’s expects DigiPlus’s 2026 EBITDA to fall 20.3% to about $181.8 million. A 2025 Philippine central bank rule cutting mobile wallet access to gaming apps is driving the drop. DigiPlus controls 38.5% of the Philippine online gaming market with 6 million monthly users. The company is expanding into land based casinos and new markets including Brazil, South Africa, and New Zealand. Moody’s Ratings has given DigiPlus Interactive Corp its first credit rating. The rating agency assigned a B1 corporate family rating with a…

TLDR LeBron James announced a partnership with Polymarket on Labor Day weekend, teasing more news to come. Polymarket aired a 90-second ad directed by Peter Berg, featuring Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Richard Sherman, John Leguizamo and Spike Lee. The campaign coincided with the launch of Squads, a social trading feature inside the Polymarket app. Polymarket ranked first on the App Store for free finance apps, ahead of Kalshi, Capital One Mobile, PayPal and Venmo. Anti-gambling advocates criticized the celebrity endorsements, pointing to a Bank of America study on household betting deposits. LeBron James posted a short video on X during…

TLDR Lagos State and FSGRN declared Stake.com unlicensed and illegal in Lagos and 24 other Nigerian states. Regulators say Stake.com ignored compliance notices and failed to pay taxes for two years. A 2024 Supreme Court ruling confirms Nigerian states have the authority to regulate gambling. Enforcement will target Stake.com’s directors, banks, payment firms, and promoters. The announcement lines up with Africa’s first Safer Gambling Week, running September 7 to 11. Stake.com has been declared illegal in Lagos and 24 other Nigerian states. The decision came from the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, working with the Federation of State Gaming…