Author: Charles Shephardson

Tim Miller has joined Spectrum Gaming Group as a senior regulatory advisor, adding to a growing portfolio of roles across the regulatory consulting space. The appointment follows Miller’s recent launch of his own consultancy, GamReg Consulting, which he established ahead of taking on these new positions. Miller had already secured a strategic advisor role with Gaming Compliance International before this latest addition to his professional commitments. In his new capacity, Miller will work as an independent senior regulatory advisor supporting Spectrum’s global portfolio of government and regulatory clients. Spectrum Gaming Group CEO Fredric Gushing welcomed the hire, stating: “Tim Miller’s…

VNLOK, the Dutch trade association for licensed gambling operators, has formally summoned Meta to appear before an Amsterdam court in a landmark legal dispute. The lawsuit marks the final phase of a prolonged battle between the trade body and the social media giant over the widespread promotion of illegal gambling services. VNLOK is asking the court to assess whether Meta is complying with the European Digital Services Act and to order it to take stronger action against unlicensed operators targeting Dutch consumers. The association first threatened legal action back in June, citing Meta’s repeated failure to block illegal gambling advertisements…

Brazilian President Lula has banned online gambling overnight, a dramatic reversal given his own administration established and regulated the market at the start of his term. The move comes in the final weeks of a closely fought presidential election, adding a charged political dimension to what is already a seismic regulatory decision. Local industry sources have confirmed to NEXT.io that operators are preparing a legal challenge as a united bloc, signalling the ban will not go uncontested. Further uncertainty surrounds the provisional measure’s requirement for congressional approval, meaning the long-term fate of the ban remains genuinely unclear. Global lottery giant…

ThrillTech, known as the Side Bets Company, has officially launched ThrillArena, a new tournament platform designed to transform how operators engage players across multiple gaming verticals. The platform spans Casino, Live and Sports categories, bringing together three distinct products under a single unified tournament proposition aimed at driving player engagement. ThrillArena introduces opt-in, player-funded side bets into the tournament experience, shifting the financial model away from operator-funded prize pools entirely. Rather than requiring operators to bankroll tournament prizes, participating players contribute through side bets, creating the potential for upgraded prize pools that grow organically. This approach simultaneously generates incremental revenue…

The slots market is becoming increasingly crowded with complex, feature-heavy games designed to look impressive on streaming platforms and social media highlights. Not every player, however, wants to spend time learning how a game works before they can begin enjoying it properly. That tension between spectacle and simplicity is at the heart of how 24Karot Games approaches its entire development philosophy. The studio believes there is a clear and growing appetite for games built around intuition rather than instruction manuals and tutorial screens. “Our games are built around intuition. We want players to understand what’s happening from the very first…

Onlyplay has announced the launch of Hyper Play by Onlyplay, a dedicated product initiative designed to push the boundaries of modern iGaming development. The initiative represents a strategic move by the company to explore and establish entirely new game formats within the iGaming space. Hyper Play is built around the idea that new formats can grow over time into distinct genres and subgenres in their own right. Onlyplay brings six years of iGaming experience to the project, combining that expertise with fresh approaches drawn from mobile and PC game development. The initiative places a strong emphasis on pace, ensuring that…

NEXTPredict, The World’s Prediction Markets Summit, has officially named Radar as its exclusive Geolocation Partner for the 2026 edition of the annual event. The summit is scheduled to take place on October 22-23, 2026, at Convene 30 Hudson Yards in New York City. Radar’s partnership brings a sharp focus on fraud prevention and jurisdictional access controls, two critical challenges facing prediction market platforms today. For prediction market operators, verifying the physical location of users is essential for enforcing geographic restrictions and protecting legitimate participants from bad actors. Radar combines precise location verification with device and network intelligence to help platforms…

Star Entertainment’s Sydney casino licence suspension has been extended until June 2027 by the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission, citing persistent concerns over governance, leadership and culture. The NICC pointed to unresolved questions about the operator’s progress with remediation as the key reason for prolonging the suspension beyond its previous deadline. Star Sydney has operated under a suspended casino licence since October 2022, when the Bell inquiry found the operator unsuitable due to serious money-laundering, governance and compliance failures. A second inquiry conducted in 2024 concluded that significant shortcomings remained at the casino, reinforcing the regulator’s decision to maintain…

Brazil has executed a stunning policy reversal, with President Lula signing a provisional measure that completely dismantles one of the world’s most anticipated regulated betting markets. The dramatic decision, confirmed on September 25, 2026, leaves licensed operators facing a rapid shutdown with no reimbursement for their licence fees. President Lula had originally signed the legislation establishing Brazil’s regulatory framework back in December 2023, making this reversal all the more extraordinary. The measure prohibits the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting across Brazil, covering both sports betting and online casino products. It directly dismantles the framework established by Law…

Brazil may be on the verge of a dramatic shift in gambling policy as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva prepares to sign a provisional measure targeting the sector. Local media reports indicate the decree would go further than originally anticipated, covering not just online casino games but also fixed-odds sports betting. The announcement was scheduled for 5pm local time in São Paulo on 25 September 2026, marking a significant escalation in Lula’s campaign against the gambling industry. Stakeholders received an invitation from the Ministry of Finance to what was described only as an “Announcement of Economic Measures,” with no…