Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved the establishment of a gambling Commission to regulate gambling and lotteries. Its work is scheduled to launch in November this year.

The Gambling Commission will issue licenses, monitor and control the activities of gambling business operators.

“The launch of the commission will make it impossible for illegal gambling establishments to operate under the guise of state lotteries. And the legalization of gambling will stimulate the economy, attract investment, create additional jobs and receive a significant source of additional revenue,” the Ministry reports.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed the establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) by 2021.

According to a statement from the ministry in April, the new body will be a statutory board and will be reconstituted from the current Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA).

“The Ministry of Home Affairs will establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority and complete the review of gambling-related legislation in 2021,” a spokesperson said.

Notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, the Singapore authorities said they were pushing forward with the plans to create the new body that will be responsible for “regulating the entire gambling landscape in Singapore.”

The Singapore authorities have said the move to consolidate regulatory functions under the GRA would ensure Singapore was “abreast of technological and global trends,” and could “respond faster to emerging products in particular those that cut across different domains, and take a more holistic approach to gambling policies and issues.”

To improve the safety of players and tackle problem gambling, the UK Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has unveiled a new code of conduct for the design of online games.

The new code of conduct follows on from the Safer Gambling Commitments published by the BGC in 2019 and is further evidence of the industry body’s commitment to driving up standards.

Among the major commitments included in the new code are minimum game cycle speeds of 2.5 seconds, the ending of turbo play, which allows players to speed up games, and the scrapping of multi-slot play, where a player can place multiple stakes on different games at the same time.

The code also introduces further mandatory checks on players’ activity to introduce breaks in play. All of these measures will be in place by the end of this month.

Michael Dugher, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said:

“The BGC was set up last year with the aim of leading a race to the top in terms of standards within the regulated betting industry.

“The new Game Design Code of Conduct is yet another example of our determination to address concerns head on and meet our safer gambling commitments.

“I’m sure that our members will embrace this approach and commit to its objective of improving player safety.

“And as we prepare for the forthcoming Gambling Review, it is further evidence of our industry’s commitment to improving standards – unlike the completely unregulated black market.”