Compliance Updates
German State of Lower Saxony Issues First Federal Payment Blocking Order

As a part of the efforts to drive illegal igaming business from the country’s market, the German state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) has issued an international payment service provider with a blocking order. The companies have been banned from doing business with operators offering online casino, poker and lottery betting in Germany.
“[The] pressure is now on other payment providers to reorganise their businesses processes related to illegal gambling, if they have not already done so. Online casino is no trivial matter. [It is] banned by the State Treaty on Gambling and [offering such products is] a criminal offence. In the meantime, however, it remains a billion-Euro market,” Boris Pistorius, Minister for Home Affairs and Sports said.
The Niedersachsen Ministry of Interior handed the responsibility for implementing payment blocking controls. Its blocking orders are effective across all German states. The Ministry also sent warnings to a number of other payment service providers over links to illegal gambling. Some of these companies have already responded by ceasing to power transactions for offshore sites.
“The successful interactions with some payment service providers shows that our approach is quite effective,” Pistorius added.
Compliance Updates
Habanero nets MGA licence

Hugely popular supplier secures one of Europe’s most valuable accreditations
Premium slots and table games provider Habanero has secured a hugely important regulatory milestone through the acquisition of its Critical Gaming Supply Licence from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).
Capping an outstanding three years of growth and development across the continent for the provider, Habanero has already established itself as one of Europe’s standout studios.
Known for its engaging gameplay, flawless graphics and pitch-perfect sounds – the developer’s 100+ titles have already proven to be an established engagement and revenue driver for operators across 14 regulated European markets.
Habanero’s latest licence enables the studio to provide its content to Malta-based operators, with a number of tier-one brands already billed for announcement in the near future.
The supplier’s new certification also allows it to further progress its preliminary partnerships with Malta-based Scandinavian operators, as well as German-facing entities during the jurisdiction’s grace period.
Commenting on the acquisition of its Critical Gaming Supply Licence from the MGA, Arcangelo Lonoce, Head of Business Development Europe at Habanero said:
“Our growth in the last few years across markets such as Italy has established Habanero as one of Europe’s fastest-growing providers, so we’re absolutely thrilled to be entering the next phase in our company’s development with one of the industry’s must-have accreditations.
“Thanks to the outstanding work of all our global teams, the wonderful world of Habanero is now set to reach more European players than ever before. We can’t wait to see what our new partners and markets will make of our content, and we look forward to announcing more new partnerships soon enough!”
With a standout collection of titles, Habanero continued to cement its tier-one credentials throughout 2020 by teaming up with industry-leading operators such as Bet365, LeoVegas, and Playtech.
As well as being nominated for multiple SBC and EGR Awards in recognition of its creative approach, Habanero offers its partners a wealth of in-game promotional tools, with a hard-earned reputation for one of the industry’s most customer-centric approaches.
Compliance Updates
Soft2Bet nets PCI DSS data accreditation

Casino and sportsbook platform provider Soft2Bet has been certified by The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
The company was accredited with the certification after passing a rigorous audit, recognising its capability to securely protect the transfer of credit and debit card data between customers and payment service providers.
The news showcases Soft2Bet’s strong compliance credentials, which are also demonstrated by the SGA, MGA and Curacao licences held by the market-leading casino and sportsbook platform provider.
The company’s latest certification indicates its unwavering commitment to protecting the data of players using the 30+ operator brands in its portfolio, which is set to be enhanced with a new flagship sportsbook in early 2021 and currently includes the SBC-award winning Wazamba.
Ivan Piorischin, Product owner at Soft2Bet, said: “We take data protection very seriously here at Soft2Bet, and it’s fantastic to have that commitment recognised with a coveted accreditation from the The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
“As we look forward to entering new territories and launching further cutting-edge products in the year to come, regulatory compliance will continue to top our priority list.”
Baltics
Latvia Parliament Approves Bill to Ban Alimony Debtors from Gambling

The Latvian Parliament (Saeima) has approved at the first reading a bill to ban alimony debtors from gambling, and scheduled a second reading for January 20.
The bill would require operators to ensure that those who owe maintenance payments are not permitted to gamble either in person or online. In order to do so, they must check accounts against the national register of maintenance debtors, with the help of the Lotteries and Gambling Inspectorate, which will create an official data display for licensees.
“The restriction is intended to prevent debtors who do not provide maintenance they owe for a child from using funds unreasonably for entertainment and hobbies,” the Saeima said.
The bill was submitted by the government and has already received approval from the Commission for Human Rights and Public Affairs with no objections. If it passes in the second and third reading and is signed into law, the restriction will come into effect on April 1.
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