igamingbusiness . com FEATURE
There are mixed views on whether current enforcement actions are sufficiently stifling unlicensed actors in licensed markets . Statements notifying the sector of geo-blocking efforts and financial penalties being issued appear almost every day , but ultimately illegitimate operators are circumnavigating these efforts by launching mirror websites and making their operations too difficult for authorities to track down .
IP blocking has proven particularly ineffective according to authorities . KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen told Dutch industry news outlet Casino Nieuws last October the process to block a site could last up to year as individual cases are put to a court .
“ I am jealous of [ our ] colleagues at the Authority for the Prevention of Online Terrorist Content and Child Pornography ( AKTM ). In some cases , they can have things removed from the internet within an hour ,” he said . Of course , online gambling is much lower down the government ’ s priority list .
Similarly , Google ’ s policy in Germany changed last September to reject certification applications from gambling operators and affiliates without local licences . The GGL has since reported favourable results from the measure , but DOCV vice president Simon Priglinger- Simader is not so sure it is working , as operators can circumvent the measure .
“ It ’ s a great step forward in Germany and definitely a best practice example for other markets ,” he remarks . “ But when it comes to the final impact , we ’ re not sure yet .”
BRAZIL ’ S BLACK MARKET CRACKDOWN
Meanwhile , in preparation for the launch of licensed online betting earlier this month , Brazil ’ s government ordered the country ’ s telecoms regulator Anatel
“ Customers simply do not want to hand over private financial information . In that scenario they will either stop betting , or consider shifting to the black market ”
Grainne Hurst , BGC to block over 5,000 blacklisted sites . However , Anatel president Carlos Baigorri cast doubt on the task last November , suggesting the authority lacks the technology and manpower to effectively shut down illegal domains .
“ When you talk about 3,000 [ illegal ] websites on 20,000 [ telecoms ] networks , that is 60 million checks . Today we cannot guarantee that the blocking is being carried out ,” Baigorri warned in a recent interview with Brazilian newspaper Folha . “ As things stand today we are just mopping up ice , and the blockade we have in place is very ineffective .”
Brazilian stakeholders have instead put their support behind measures to block payments between players and illegal operators . Hugo Baungartner , CCO of local betting firm Aposta Ganha , insists this is likely the only enforcement action that will prevail in the long term . The ministry of finance ’ s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets has committed to prohibiting unlicensed players from using instant payment method Pix , which is operated by the government ’ s Central Bank of Brazil .
32 • ISSUE 137 • ICE 2025