2025 Gambling Year in Review - Global Stories

Every year I break down the biggest stories in gambling in my 'Year in Review' pieces. Below find the Top 5 stories in from around the world. Shocking developments rules the roost, taking several of the top 5 spots.

5 – Curaçao’s gambling board quits!

Despite its small size of about 158,000 people, Curaçao located in the Dutch Caribbean is known for hosting many large operators, including Pinnacle Sports and Stake.us. In 2024, the Ministry of Finance, led by Javier Silvania which oversaw the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (CGB), later renamed the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), approved a new gambling law called the Landsverordening op de Kansspelen (LOK) which was designed to make gambling in the country more transparent and stop problems related to corruption and money laundering. Silvania was particularly concerned about the frequent use of cryptocurrency for deposits and withdrawals which were untraceable. He was also concerned that without any changes Curaçao would be blacklisted by other jurisdictions who would view their regulations as inferior. The country at the time had 200 licensees with over 1,000 other applications pending.

In July 2025, Prime Minister Gilmer Pisas announced that he was taking control of the CGA and Shalten Hato, the Minister of Justice, would take over for Silvania and oversee the implementation of LOK. There were also reports that Pisas told all workers and supervisors at the CGA that they would now report to him directly, which the CGA has denied. Supervisors at the CGA said that this move was a clear violation of the rules, which demanded the regulator be a separate entity from the government, and because of loyalty to Silvania and suspicion that Pisas was up to no good, they all decided to quit en masse in September! Silvania resigned as well. Most people familiar with the situation feel that Pisas is somehow benefitting from the gambling industry personally and he wants to make sure that regulations don’t go to far that will upset the operators.

As a result, Curaçao had no supervisory oversight and it left companies currently operating there in limbo. It also had some companies with applications wondering whether to proceed with a license. Nevertheless, the CGA announced in October that LOK would go ahead and that nothing had changed. They also said that a new supervisory board would be appointed as soon as possible. In the meantime, a full investigation has been launched into the CGA by the Curaçao and Saint Maarten Financial Supervision Board which could also involve the country of Netherlands, which has oversight of the country. According to reliable sources, all of the uncertainty and lack of transparency seems to be making operators there quite nervous.

4 – Massive tax on remote gambling in the Netherlands leads to a mass exodus of operators

Gambling in the Netherlands has always been quite robust and it was reported at the beginning of 2025 approximately 5.5% of the population or about 790,000 people bet online with regulated sites. All gambling is controlled via the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA). The country has one of the highest tax rates on gross revenue in the world but authorities have deemed it’s not enough. So, in 2024 the KSA announced a tax hike on GGR effective January 1, 2025 from 30.5% to 34.2% and then increasing again to 37.8% in January 2026. This applies to all forms of gambling, including land-based betting, lotteries and iGaming. The government said the move is necessary to support social programs and education as well as to address gambling addiction. Opponents, however, said that the move will cause operators to leave The Netherlands and simply cater to people from offshore where they will avoid the tax and warned that the move would have effects as early as 2025. More concerning, the country’s biggest land-based casino operator, Holland Casino, said the move would make it impossible to be profitable and said they were already operating at a loss. 

The new tax did go into effect on January 1st and, as analysts warned, there was a mass exodus and a large number of operators moved offshore. Consequently, recent reports by the KSA say that the country has seen a 25% decline in GGR and will leave a shortfall of 200 million Euros or about USD$236 million in the tax collected. Most of the high rollers in the Netherlands have moved to the black market where they are able to get better payouts and promotions from companies offshore and while the number of accounts with legal operators increased, it’s not enough to offset the decline in betting. There is an expectation things will get even worse when the 37.8% tax goes into play on New Year’s Day and consequently there are now calls for the government to halt the proposed tax increase and also address the ramifications of its tax decision to try and get operators to return. 

The country is also coming under a lot of scrutiny by civil rights groups for a rule it implemented last year that went into full force in 2025 that requires gambling operators to provide an affordability check on gamblers. The rule requires operators to limit monthly deposits to 350 euros for new players over 24 years of age and150 euros for anyone under 24 years of age. To get a deposit increase, which is limited to 700 euros for new players and 300 euros for those under 24, the bettors must prove to operators that they can afford it. Operators must ask players to submit pay slips and tax returns which the operators will use to make a decision if the deposit increase won’t cause financial hardship. Needless to say, this rule has resulted in bettors who can afford to gamble simply setting up offshore where they aren’t asked such personal questions nor are required to provide personal financial information to gambling companies. 

In both cases, gambling analysts have said that the rules were passed without much thought and the country is suffering as a result.

3 – Gambling ban in India

While gambling has always been popular in India as a result of its British roots, it was never really illegal - although gambling houses were deemed illegal in 1867 under a British law. In 1947 India gained independence from Britain and the 1949 constitution was created which left the ability to control gambling up to the states. Two states, Goa (with a population of about 1.6 million people today) and Sikkim (with a population of about 700,000 people) put up  land-based casinos. Both of those states, along with Daman and Diu with a combined population less than 400,000 have legalized online gambling and players from across India can gamble on iGaming sites set up there. A report was released in India last year which indicated that online gambling was thriving and upwards of 450 million people lost over $2.3 billion USD online and on apps in India since online gambling began. These figures led legislators and anti-gambling groups to try to combat the perceived problem. Citing financial hardship and the necessity to control the activity, the Indian legislature created a bill called The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gambling that was was put forward in early 2025. The bill called for a complete ban on all online gambling, and in August the bill passed overwhelmingly. eSports and social gambling games have received a carve out under the new law and the government said it would be encouraging and promoting eSports and non-money social gambling. 

The penalties for violation under the law are extreme. Anyone caught offering, promoting or financing online gambling could be jailed for up to five years. India’s Prime Minister justified the law saying that a third of the Indian population lost money with online gambling, leading to widespread addiction, financial stress and suicide. The government also noted (without proof) that the industry was wrought with fraud, money laundering and financing of terrorism and said a ban was the only solution.

While the ban has been heralded by the government and anti-gambling groups, many groups in the  gambling industry have said that the law is not realistic and would be ineffective against offshore operators. They claim that if gambling is banned with currently legal Indian sites, then residents would just bet offshore as they are already doing without issue. And being offshore the government has no control and savvy gamblers who will always find a way to access sites outside of India. Opponents to the law say a better solution would be to do what the United States, Canada and most countries in Europe have done and legalize and regulate the product by putting in place a tax to generate revenue and create strict rules relating to underage and problem gambling as well as money laundering and fraud. There was also calls for better resources to help problem gamblers. Several cricket clubs are also upset with the ban since the Indian Premiere League has advertising agreements with fantasy sports betting apps, which are also included in the ban, and civil rights groups are saying this is an infringement on the rights of citizens.

Consequently, while the law has passed it still has not gone fully into effect since there have been several appeals launched that challenge it. India’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear them all as a batch and will make a ruling in the near future. Until that time, there has been no enforcement of the law and online gambling proceeds as before.

2 – Kenyan tax on withdrawals has operators worried worldwide

Kenya has been in the news over the last few years as a result of its liberal sports betting policies. But it was in 2025 that a new rule was put in place that caught the eye of operators, payment processors and bettors alike. Under the Finance Act 2025, the old tax of 20% on gambler’s winnings was scrapped in exchange for a 5% tax on all e-wallet withdrawals. An additional 5% excise duty on gambling deposits was applied. The move is being heralded by many in government as a great move that will help bolster government coffers but operators and gamblers feel it’s a terrible move that will put the burden on casual gamblers. The government said this new tax will double tax revenue and make collecting tax easier since it’s taxed at the source of withdrawal rather than tracking a person’s wins or losses. But opponents, including the Kenyan Parliamentary Budget Office, have opposed the rule saying that it is grossly unfair, since it’s a blanket tax that will force even losers to pay tax, and that it will drive bettors offshore. They say it will also stymie the fast-growing Kenyan gambling market that has spurred on tech startups and ingenuity. They also note that many times bettors withdraw money not because they won but rather because they need the cash flow. So effectively they are punishing those doing the right thing and taking money from a gambling account to pay bills. 

The law went into effect on July 1st and the two biggest e-wallets in Kenya or mPesa and SportsPesa say that looking at early results, more people are keeping money in their gambling accounts rather than withdrawing it. So, it seems the tax benefit the government hoped for is being countered by bettors who don’t want to pay the tax by simply not withdrawing until they have a large enough balance to make it worthwhile. Skrill is a popular worldwide money transactor for gambling and said that with the new law is making them reconsider whether to remain in the country. PayPal also operates in Kenya but few transactions are for gambling and most transactions are for eBay and such.

Not surprising, this move by Kenya has attracted interest from other jurisdictions that tax gambling winnings to see if it is a better method to ensure winners pay tax, but many e-Wallets have hinted that if any other countries move in this direction they do not want to be involved.

1 – Big changes in Brazil to combat problem gambling

For most of the 20th century gambling in Brazil was illegal, although it was occurring online in the grey market. In 2018 a framework was put into place to legalize sports betting and iGaming, but there was quite a bit of opposition to the idea among some in the government. So a compromise was reached whereby sports betting was legalized in 2023 while iGaming was taken out of the framework. After President Jair Bolsonaro was voted out and the new President Luiz Lula da Silva came in, iGaming was revisited and da Silva promoted the idea of iGaming, which included online sports betting, as long as strict regulations were put in place relating to taxation, marketing and promotions and very stringent rules on foreign operators. The government finally came to an agreement to legalize iGaming and on January 1, 2025 it was instituted in the country.

The first licenses were given to some local operators as well as names familiar to those in North America including SportingBet and Betano. By the middle of 2025 there were 14 more operators including BetMGM, Pinnacle Sports and Matchbook, and later in the year Flutter Entertainment entered the market with PokerStars and FanDuel. It is expected that by New Year’s Eve there will be around 60 operators either with a license or with an application in the queue.

Not surprisingly, with the legalization also came concerns of underage betting, problem gambling and wagering by those who can’t afford it in a country where 23% of the population live in poverty and almost 4% live in extreme poverty. Consequently, in August a bill was put forward in the Senate by Humberto Costa that proposed increasing the minimum gambling age to 21 from 18 and limiting monthly betting to the equivalent of one month’s minimum wager or approximately $200 USD. The bill also proposed banning gambling sponsorships. The bill has not yet been passed and has received heavy criticism from gamblers and gambling operators who said that while there is a lot of poverty in the country, there are far more people who can afford to bet more than that without any issue and in fact there’s also many Brazilians who are quite rich. They claim the proposed limit is insulting and operators said that the limit could make operating in Brazil long term unrealistic.

Another bill was put forward to stop those on social assistance from gambling. Brazilian law requires users to register for assistance with an individual tax ID and have a separate account for gambling. So, a bill was put forward to ensure that no money being given to those on welfare is used for gambling. To ensure this, operators are required to check a social assistance database and disallow anyone who is on there from setting up a gambling account. The law was enacted in September and consequently operators must check Bolsa Família and the Continuous Benefit Payment System against the unique ID to make sure those with an account listed aren’t on there. That means that approximately 50 million adult Brazilians would be unable to gamble. Civil rights agencies said that this is an infringement of their rights and while nobody believes that welfare recipients should be using money for food, clothing or shelter to gamble, they feel there are better methods that are less intrusive to stop it from happening. There is also belief that it won’t be effective and those on assistance will just find other ways to gamble should they desire. Nevertheless, the law is in effect but only time will tell if it proved successful.

Check out the Top 10 gambling stories in North America for the year that was 2025 here!

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