Entain said its May 2026 research identified more than 30 unregulated gambling websites promoting to UK consumers. The company reported 72 promotional instances across 44 accounts on seven platforms, and warned that activity could increase during the World Cup.
The findings may inform UK enforcement and platform responses to unregulated gambling promotion reaching young audiences.
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Entain said the UK Machine Games Duty rate on machines with a stake of at least £1 will rise from 20% to 25% on 1 April 2027. The group estimates an annual cost of about £25m for its UK&I Retail division before mitigation, while keeping its 2026 guidance unchanged and aiming to offset the impact by the end of 2028.
Entain has estimated an additional annual cost of about £25m from changes to UK gambling taxation, the company said in a notice published through the London Stock Exchange's RNS service. The estimate covers the group's UK&I Retail division, which includes its shop operations in the UK and Ireland, and was made before any mitigation measures. Entain said its guidance for 2026, issued on 15 October, is unchanged.
Brazil's election and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reported plan to repeal the 2024 betting law have left the industry's future uncertain, according to the account. It says an emergency decree would require betting agencies to close by 25 October and players to complete withdrawals by 5 October, but the measure's fate remains subject to Congress and a possible Supreme Court challenge.
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced his intention to repeal the 2024 betting law, according to the report, nine days after the first round of voting on 4 October. The repeal took the form of an emergency presidential decree requiring betting agencies to close by 25 October and players to complete withdrawals from their accounts by 5 October.
Rank Group and Entain shares each rose about 5% in morning trading on 21 October after reports suggested the UK Treasury was considering a smaller Machine Games Duty increase than previously feared. The reported rate was 25%; the change had not been confirmed, and the Budget was due on 28 October.
Reportedly, the International Association of Gaming Regulators is holding its annual conference in Lima from 19 to 22 October 2026 with Peru's MINCETUR. Sessions cover cross-border self-exclusion standards, illegal gambling and the role of digital intermediaries, with regulators and industry bodies including the WGBA taking part.
The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) is holding its annual conference in Lima from 19 to 22 October, with harmonising player self-exclusion rules, tackling illegal gambling and developing data-based regulation among the themes, according to the report. The event is organised with Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) under the title "Steady Hands, Shifting Ground: Advancing Regulation in a Connected World". Participants include international regulators, responsible-gambling experts and industry organisations, among them the World Gaming and Betting Association (WGBA).
New Zealand's Problem Gambling Foundation has called for a ban on gambling advertising ahead of the country's online casino market launch, its advocacy director Andree Froude told RNZ. Froude said current advertising laws are not fit for purpose and questioned why applicants with past non-compliance should receive licences. The Department of Internal Affairs confirmed 11 applicants paid a collective NZ$15m for all 15 online casino licences, with unlicensed offshore operators told to cease by 1 December.
New Zealand's Problem Gambling Foundation has called for gambling advertising to be prohibited, ahead of the launch of the country's online casino market. Andree Froude, the foundation's advocacy director, made the call in an interview with RNZ's Morning Report show. She said current advertising laws are not fit for purpose and need tighter restriction and stricter enforcement.