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Catch up on six of the stories our gambling compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

IGT Investigates Cybersecurity Breach

International Game Technology (IGT) has confirmed that it is investigating a cybersecurity breach, which was detected on November 17 and is affecting the company’s internal IT systems.

IGT disclosed the incident in a with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has activated its cybersecurity incident response plan, which includes taking “certain systems offline to help protect them,” as well as consult with external advisors, and “remediate the unauthorized activity".

“The company is communicating with its customers and other stakeholders, as appropriate, and where possible, the company has implemented alternatives for certain operations in accordance with its business continuity plans to mitigate disruptions and continue servicing its customers.”

IGT has not yet determined whether this incident is material, according to the filing.

The cybersecurity incident comes after IGT shareholders recently approved a deal with Apollo Funds, an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, to take its gaming and digital business and Everi Holdings private in an all-cash deal that values the combined business at $6.3bn.

IGT did not comment in its SEC filing whether the breach has affected the businesses sold to Apollo Funds.

Nevada Sportsbooks Can Rescind Wagers Under New Rule

The Nevada Gaming Commission voted unanimously Thursday (November 21) to approve amendments to Regulation 22, which governs the operations of sportsbooks in the state.

The changes to Regulation 22.0603 would require a sportsbook reporting these bets to the chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).

John Michela, senior deputy attorney general of the Gaming Division of the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, said although immediate reporting is still required, 45 days is now allowed to provide a supplemental report with all the details.

Those details must include the causes for accepting the bet, corrective actions, actions taken with respect to payouts and any other information that may be required by the NGCB chair.

Michela said the changes to Regulation 22.115 clarifies that licensed sportsbooks do not need NGCB chair approval to recognize that an attempted wager is void if placed after the event has already been determined. A previous draft would have allowed a broader recission without chair approval if a sportsbook’s house rules provided for recission in certain circumstances.

“However, the board’s Enforcement Division reviews house rules and they must be approved by the chair,” Michela said. “Based on this, the Enforcement Division was concerned that it would be inundated with new and novel house rule proposals allowing rescission without board chair approval under a myriad of circumstances.”

Michela said that is why the changes to Regulation 22.115 have been limited to specify that board chair approval is not required after a past-posted wager is declared void.

Gambling Returns To 2025 Alabama Legislative Agenda

Republican state Senator Greg Albritton has said the issue of legalizing gaming in Alabama is not going away and will be on the table when the legislature reconvenes next year.

“It is here. It is here to stay,” Albritton told WIAT-TV in Montgomery about illegal gambling in the state. He said the only thing lawmakers can do is try to get a handle on the illegal market to protect the public.

Albritton originally sponsored the gaming bill in the Senate but voted against it after a water-down gambling and lottery bill emerged from a conference of the Alabama House and Senate. The compromise would have legalized a state lottery plus slot machines at four racetracks and three existing bingo facilities.

Despite a consensus in that committee, the compromise measure was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 20-15, one vote short of the 21 votes required to formally approve the legislation by the required three-fifths majority.

Albritton told WIAT that it will be hard to find a lawmaker who will sponsor a comprehensive bill after it did not pass last year. Republican Representative Andy Whitt, who also sponsored a bill last session, expects several gaming bills to be introduced, but he is not planning on filing any legislation.

PayBy Receives UAE's First Gambling Payments License

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) gambling regulator has awarded its first payments provider licence and fifth licence overall to local fintech PayBy Technology Projects.

PayBy said in a statement on Monday (November 18) that the gaming-related vendor licence will allow it to “provide a range of services, including digital wallets, secure payments, and advanced fraud detection systems” to commercial gaming operators licensed by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).

The GCGRA has since added PayBy to its webpage of gaming licensees without comment, joining the under-construction , lottery monopoly , and fellow vendor licensees and .

PayBy was acquired by UAE fintech Astra Tech in 2022 after 17 years in the sector, and received permission from the UAE Central Bank to support Astra Tech’s global payments app in January 2023.

The GCGRA has yet to issue licences for internet gaming or sports wagering, although the inclusion of both categories on the regulator’s licensee webpage indicates that licences will be issued at some point.

Tasmania Suspends Slots Pre-Commitment Plan

The Tasmanian state government has backflipped on a promise to create Australia’s first mandatory cashless slot machine market.

Following a recommendation from the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission, the conservative government had promised in 2022 that it would introduce a mandatory pre-commitment card with annual and daily loss limits by the end of 2024.

But after delays and months of media speculation that the government was retreating from its commitment, Premier Jeremy Rockliff confirmed that officials have “deferred progress” on the initiative and will align with pre-commitment strategies of other state governments.

The government said in a statement that MaxGaming, the company implementing the pre-commitment plan, referred to a “likely significant cost increase and implementation delays” and the need to “create a centralised banking system”.

Crossbench fury over the backflip resulted in a Greens party no-confidence motion in the minority Liberal government, which was defeated with the support of the opposition Labor party.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Reverend Tim Costello said in a statement that the suspension of mandatory carded play represented “inexcusable capitulation to the power of the gambling lobby”.

“To claim that there are technological challenges to implementing this system is complete spin and misdirection,” Costello said.

“Crown Casino in Melbourne has now implemented a cashless card — they have proven the lie to those who claim it cannot be done.

“The government has effectively moved to protect the obscene super profits that are being made in Tasmania’s 90 poker machine venues — at the cost of the public of Tasmania who are being devastated by pokies losses.”

Swedish Trade Group Publishes AML Intel

Swedish online gambling trade group BOS has published a report into anti-money laundering (AML) policies in Sweden's licensed market, alongside a checklist of AML good practice.

The is based on several interviews with Swedish online gambling companies and includes proposals for bolstering AML standards.

The document is often critical of the Swedish Gambling Authority. It quotes one respondent as saying: "The Swedish Gambling Authority needs to decide what they want— a risk-based approach or something else. They need to establish a framework within which operators can work risk-based and have an open dialogue without fear of repercussions. There must be room for improvement!"

Commenting on the release of the checklist and , BOS secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt said: "Today we take this comprehensive approach to the problem of money laundering. The purpose is to make visible how the work against money laundering in the gambling industry can be improved. We present our report and checklist completely openly, so that even a gambling company that is not a member of BOS can use the material, if they so wish. We all win from that."

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