Kenya’s Finance Bill 2023 proposes increased taxation on the gaming industry, including higher taxes on betting and winnings. The bill also includes a 3% housing levy and higher VAT; it was likely to pass, the article said, citing the governing coalition’s parliamentary majority.
Higher betting and winnings taxes could affect operators and sports sponsorship funded by gambling companies.
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The Parti Québécois won Quebec’s 5 October election and is expected to pursue a private online gambling model, according to reports. The party has indicated it would take a regulatory approach similar to the Liberals’ proposal, but the rules and oversight body remain undecided. The article estimates that 73% of play currently takes place outside regulated channels.
The House of Lords Liaison Committee urged the UK government to ban gambling advertising. Its follow-up report also called on ministers to drop the aim of growing the licensed industry and return to a policy of tolerating gambling without promoting it. Industry figures and researchers dispute the report’s treatment of survey data, advertising measures and illegal-market risks.
The House of Lords Liaison Committee has urged the government to ban gambling advertising "as soon as practicable" and to abandon its aim of growing the licensed industry, in a follow-up report published on 17 September. The committee said there is "no evidence for the safety of gambling advertising" and that voluntary measures "have not gone far enough". The government has two months to respond.
Alberta awarded Brick House Recovery Centre $2.4m for gambling addiction treatment and recovery services, ahead of payments expected from regulated gaming operators. The province said it expects $76m in iGaming revenue this year, representing 20% of revenue from regulated sites, and that 1% of gaming profits is allocated to addiction treatment. Alberta’s iGaming Corporation listed 31 sites as legally open for business at the time of the report.
Reportedly, a provincial survey put participation in regulated online gambling among Ontario secondary school students at 12%, compared with 8% in 2023. The outlet also described parents providing identification or accounts that enabled their teenage children to gamble.
The UK Gambling Commission examined several licensed operators’ anti-money-laundering controls after investigators found that money from an alleged Spanish investment fraud had passed through online gambling operators in the UK. The report also cites a 2021 government response saying regulatory settlements involving four operators exceeded £6.2 million and were directed towards compensation for identified victims.