Xmas Magic

About Xmas Magic

She mentions an ongoing lawsuit against Meta, which will be expected to be very challenging. The VNLOK-filed litigation is seeking to take action against the illegal gambling ads allowed to filter through to consumers across Meta’s various platforms.

“There are about 70,000 ads every single month for illegal operators or offerings – and there’s only two or three thousand from the legal market. It’s really unbalanced and they should regulate more.

“As a trade organisation we are trying to work together with our regulator because we feel that we have a shared interest of getting a good legal market. And of course we’re talking to politicians to do something about putting illegal operators on notice. I think it is really positive at the moment in the Netherlands that the operators have really teamed up,” Petra continues.

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FATF’s warning on illegal and offshore gambling will resonate in Denmark. Last year, Spillemyndigheden secured a court order to block 178 unlicensed gambling sites, the largest such action in the regulator’s history. 

The case highlighted how illegal operators disguise their presence through multiple site variations, a tactic the FATF report also flags as a red flag indicator. 

Denmark’s approach reflects a wider pattern that FATF has tracked for years through its own grey and black listing system. Under this system, jurisdictions with weak AML/CTF controls face increased monitoring or reputational sanction.

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Before moving to the private sector, Rodano served as the director of remote gaming at Italy’s regulator, Agenzia Dogane e Monopoli, for almost a decade.

He played a significant part in establishing Italy’s national online gaming framework and liaised with international regulatory bodies.

During his time in the role he also acted a member of an EU-formed group for gaming experts. Overall Rodano has spent 20 years in the sector.