In view of recent events that have highlighted the persistent risk of the threat posed by cyber-attacks (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39899646) we strongly advise our customers to apply the following security update, released by Microsoft on March 14th, 2017: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396, if not having done so already. Microsoft have announced a vulnerability in Microsoft Server Message Block 1.0 (SMBv1) […]

In view of recent events that have highlighted the persistent risk of the threat posed by cyber-attacks (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39899646) we strongly advise our customers to apply the following security update, released by Microsoft on March 14th, 2017: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396, if not having done so already.

Microsoft have announced a vulnerability in Microsoft Server Message Block 1.0 (SMBv1) server. This service (SMB) is utilised to present shares, printers and more on a Microsoft Domain network.

This vulnerability exposes core Active directory components to Remote Code Execution from unauthenticated attackers. They would be able to execute any code they wished to potentially gain access to the entire network.

The patches Microsoft have provided should be tested installed as a matter of urgency.

Specific Security reports of the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) are below:

Windows SMB Remote Code Execution Vulnerability : CVE-2017-0143
Windows SMB Remote Code Execution Vulnerability : CVE-2017-0144
Windows SMB Remote Code Execution Vulnerability : CVE-2017-0145
Windows SMB Remote Code Execution Vulnerability : CVE-2017-0146
Windows SMB Remote Code Execution Vulnerability : CVE-2017-0148

The released patches target the SMBv1 service and the way it handles the particular requests that can be used to exploit it.

Please be assured that NetShop ISP continues to take the necessary measures to ensure that our IT environment remains secure, in order that our customers, who depend on the resilience of our infrastructure for continuous service, remain secure also.

For any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact our 24/7 Support team via e-mail (support@netshop-isp.com.cy) or Skype (noc.netshop).

The Gambling Commission has announced on the 10th of May the the appointment of David Pemberton as Chief Operating Office (COO). A role with tasks for regulator’s corporate services such as HR, finance, IT, planning and risk. He will join the Commission at the end of June. Sarah Harrison, the Chief Executive of GC welcomed […]

The Gambling Commission has announced on the 10th of May the the appointment of David Pemberton as Chief Operating Office (COO).

A role with tasks for regulator’s corporate services such as HR, finance, IT, planning and risk. He will join the Commission at the end of June.

Sarah Harrison, the Chief Executive of GC welcomed David with these words: “I’m delighted to welcome David to the Commission’s executive team. He brings a wealth of expertise in leading change and developing corporate functions that are high performing and that deliver value for money.
“This work is key to ensuring we have an organisation that is both effective and efficient as we deliver on our objectives to keep gambling fair, safe and free from crime.”

David Pemberton said: “I’m very pleased to be joining the Gambling Commission. I am looking forward to contributing my experience to help shape the organisation’s skills, capabilities, structure and ways of working.
“This is an exciting time to join the Commission as it increasingly focuses on putting the consumer at the heart of its work and I welcome the opportunity to play my part in that important work.’’

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) announced the issuance of a new offshore gaming licence for sports betting on regulated wagering events. The new sports betting class is for any offshore gaming operator “that accepts and/or facilitates wagers on regulated gaming events, such as but not limited to, horse or dog races, and provides to […]

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) announced the issuance of a new offshore gaming licence for sports betting on regulated wagering events.

The new sports betting class is for any offshore gaming operator “that accepts and/or facilitates wagers on regulated gaming events, such as but not limited to, horse or dog races, and provides to its customers, live event audio and/or visual feeds of such regulated gaming events, and such events are regulated by a foreign governing body.”

This particular licence is limited to offshore gaming operators who pay taxes or who will pay a percentage of their income.
Also, there are some criteria to be permitted by the Applicant which can be found in the Announcement.

All licensees must pay the 1.5% of their income to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) on monthly basis.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Taiwan has announced on Friday 5th, that an illegal online sports betting operation has been busted. CIB said that they raid four locations in Taichung and 33 suspects have been arrested while seizing computers, cell phones, China UnionPay cards and more than NT$500K in cash. According to the Bureau, […]

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Taiwan has announced on Friday 5th, that an illegal online sports betting operation has been busted.

CIB said that they raid four locations in Taichung and 33 suspects have been arrested while seizing computers, cell phones, China UnionPay cards and more than NT$500K in cash.

According to the Bureau, the leader of the operation, identified as Tseng (surname) , launched the site last December and the illegal operations was more relevant to European football matches. It is been reported that Tseng had more than 12 people as employees working in three shifts per day.

As per the police, they were providing bank accounts in China or through Alipay to users. If Chinese users won a bet the transfers were made through Bank or Alipay.

Since December, gamblers had placed bets totaling around NT$340 million to date, which means an an average of NT$2.25m per day.

The UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Hudson, found that the Fixed-odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has breached parliamentary standards. The FOBT report has been published in January, where four breaches have been highlighted by Hudson and prooved that the breaches were “all at the less serious end of […]

The UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Hudson, found that the Fixed-odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has breached parliamentary standards.

The FOBT report has been published in January, where four breaches have been highlighted by Hudson and prooved that the breaches were “all at the less serious end of the spectrum”. According to the report, the maximum stake to the FOBTs should be reduced from 100 to 2 GBP per spin.

The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) praised Hudson’s decision and Malcolm George, ABB chief executive, said:
“We are delighted the Standards Commissioner recognised four clear breaches of the rules and upheld our complaint.”
“This small and unrepresentative group of anti-FOBT MPs failed to make it clear they were funded by vested interests, including commercial rivals of high-street bookmakers.”
“The MPs’ report has been exposed as a shambolic, shoddy and one-sided piece of work that has broken a long list of parliamentary rules.”

A review by the government will take place this month. Stay up to date with our Blog for this article’s updates.

The first financial penalty has been issued on Tuesday, by the UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission) to BGO for advertising failings on its website. The UKGC issued the £300K fine to the online gambling operator for “misleading advertisements” for 9 adverts on its own website and 14 more ads on its affiliates’ websites. As per […]

The first financial penalty has been issued on Tuesday, by the UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission) to BGO for advertising failings on its website.

The UKGC issued the £300K fine to the online gambling operator for “misleading advertisements” for 9 adverts on its own website and 14 more ads on its affiliates’ websites.

As per the UKGC, the promotions were deemed to have breached social responsibility codes. It’s been since 2015, when the UKGC began probing BGO’s marketing about the misleading advertisements but the gambling operator did not take a “timely and effective action” as per the regulator.

UKGC program director Paul Hope said: “We have made it clear to the industry that misleading advertising is a serious issue; we have powers to tackle it, including the power to impose financial penalties such as this.
“We want operators to take note that the issues identified in the decision notice are likely to form the basis for future compliance assessments and could lead to enforcement action.”

UKGC Decision notice for BGO Entertainment Limited > Click here to download/view the corresponding announcement in PDF format.

Cyprus is now waiting for the authorisation process to be completed. Once it’s done, the construction of the casino that will be operated by a Melco-Hard Rock consortium will start. Cyprus Mail reported, that the news of the evaluation process being finalised, were announced by Tourism Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis during the opening of the 20th […]

Cyprus is now waiting for the authorisation process to be completed. Once it’s done, the construction of the casino that will be operated by a Melco-Hard Rock consortium will start.

Cyprus Mail reported, that the news of the evaluation process being finalised, were announced by Tourism Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis during the opening of the 20th travel and tourism exhibition Taxidi 2017. According to him, Cyprus is trying to boost the tourism industry and the government is seeking to accommodate the whole system to be ready for an increased number of tourists.

“Our ultimate goal, through well thought out and coordinated actions, is to enhance the quality and diversify our tourism product. To this end, we continue to enrich our experience, for example by promoting investments in major projects such as golf courses, marinas and the integrated casino resort,” Lakkotrypis said.

The whole casino process started last year. Now the country is at the final stage of having its first casino resort. Melco-Hard Rock consortium won the licence last November after competing with Cambodia’s NagaCorp, and Philippine operator Bloomberry Resorts in the licensing process.

Once the contracts are signed by the consortium, the National Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission will be allowed to issue the operating licences. The licence will allow Melco-Hard Rock to exclusively operate the resort for 15 years before the possibility of another casino resort being allowed. Melco-Hard Rock will be able to operate a gambling facility for 30 years.

It is reported that the consortium will be investing circa €500 million in its Cyprus casino project. The company is expected to open small venues later on this year while the resort is being constructed.

Russia has requested VPN (virtual private networks) services to stop providing access to blocked domains. Russia’s telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor has urged VPN services to ensure stricter conditions of access to international websites, including online gaming platforms. Such move can only mean further limitation on iGaming industry development. Following a nationwide plan to fight against gaming […]

Russia has requested VPN (virtual private networks) services to stop providing access to blocked domains. Russia’s telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor has urged VPN services to ensure stricter conditions of access to international websites, including online gaming platforms. Such move can only mean further limitation on iGaming industry development.

Following a nationwide plan to fight against gaming industry, the Government of Russia created a blacklist of online operators. Further moves included set plans to block online payment services. All of these steps were introduced as the way to fight against illegal casino operations through internet offerings.

Even though VPN services are not illegal in Russia yet, it is expected that in the near future they will be completely banned. Online companies are worried that by government’s involvement in these internet sectors will result in disrupted free access to websites in general. Further, the new legislations are being prepared in order to expand the power of Roskomnadzor. And that would most likely jeopardise the operations of technology and communication companies.

The new financial penalties are being introduced for search engines that fail to filter blacklisted domains from search results. The fines reach up to RUB 700k (US $12,500) per incident. However, a representative of Yandex search engine referred to this proposal as being “superfluous“. He said that, even if a search query returns a blacklisted domain, the user’s internet service provider is supposed to be preventing access to such sites.

Nordic countries have become attractive to international gambling companies. Finland, in particular, is said to be one of the biggest and most thriving European gambling markets. However, unlike many other jurisdictions in Europe, this country chooses to keep its monopoly regulatory system. It is also unlikely that this scenario will change in the near future. […]

Nordic countries have become attractive to international gambling companies. Finland, in particular, is said to be one of the biggest and most thriving European gambling markets. However, unlike many other jurisdictions in Europe, this country chooses to keep its monopoly regulatory system. It is also unlikely that this scenario will change in the near future.

Finnish media outlet Yle recently funded a report compiled by a market research company Taloustutkimus. It showed that almost 70% of people in Finland want the government to keep its monopoly on gambling. Yle reports that that group of people comprised mainly of older population of Finland. Younger people, on the other hand, were more open to accept a new licensing system that would allow international gambling companies to operate in a regulated environment.

Up until recently, gambling activities in the country were managed by three state-run organisations: Veikkaus Oy (betting and lottery), Fintoto Oy (pari-mutuel betting) and RAY (casino offering). Earlier this year, all these three were merged into one state-run monopoly called Veikkaus.

Back in the early 2010s, the European Commission requested Finland to implement some changes in order to comply with the EU law. At that time the country decided to make changes in the monopoly system rather than removing it at all. Such decision was approved by EU officials as it did not violate the European trade agreement.

According to Yle, Finns wager over €10 billion yearly on different gambling products, both online and in land casinos. Further, H2 Gambling Capital provided a chart which showed that Finnish players spent an estimated total of $2.2 billion in the industry in 2016. Based on these numbers, Finns were ranked as the most active gamblers. Finnish players are mostly attracted to online gambling and gaming machines.

Latin America has been drawing attention as a region where gambling may be an undoubtedly profitable industry. There are more and more discussions about how to adopt gambling friendly regulations and open the market to operators and developers from around the world. Brazil is emerging as a country where legislators seem to have recognised the […]

Latin America has been drawing attention as a region where gambling may be an undoubtedly profitable industry. There are more and more discussions about how to adopt gambling friendly regulations and open the market to operators and developers from around the world.

Brazil is emerging as a country where legislators seem to have recognised the importance and usefulness of a regulated gambling environment. Currently, gambling in Brazil is not considered to be legal. However, for almost a quarter of a century now lawmakers in the country have been trying to legalise some forms of gambling. Further, they are working on establishing gambling law and regulatory framework so the ban would be eliminated entirely.

Both chambers of Brazil’s bicameral legislative association (the National Congress) have been discussing legislative proposals that would help legalise various forms of gambling, such as sports betting and online betting within the borders of the country.

Brazil has been described as the “sleeping giant” because of its high potential of becoming one of the biggest regulated markets in the world. However, despite of gambling being illegal, the country is already big on it. According to Brazilian Legal Gaming Institute reports, gambling generates almost R$20 billion every year.

If all the chambers of the National Congress in Brazil pass the PLS 186/2014, the bill will create the regulatory framework for the operation, taxation, and regulation of gambling in Brazil. Further, such framework would also enable responsible bodies to combat corruption and money laundering.

If the proposed bill is passed, Brazil could become the biggest regulated gambling field in the world.

Russian Duma received recommendations from country’s legislative committee to approve measures targeted to disrupt payment processing with unauthorised online gambling sites. A few months ago Russia proposed a legislation which set out regulations requiring banks and payment processors to block transactions between punters in the country and international operators. Now the State Duma Committee on […]

Russian Duma received recommendations from country’s legislative committee to approve measures targeted to disrupt payment processing with unauthorised online gambling sites.

A few months ago Russia proposed a legislation which set out regulations requiring banks and payment processors to block transactions between punters in the country and international operators. Now the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes recommended the approval of the draft federal law 108659-7.

Such steps are part of country‘s ongoing effort to stop the collaboration between Russian punters and internationally licensed online gambling sites. Internet service providers that fail to block gambling sites flagged by local authorities face high fines.

According to the new draft law, all the payment processors and any other financial agents who disregard the ban on unauthorised financial transfers will be included in the blacklist and will face consequences accordingly.

Online bookmakers licensed in the country are required to process all their payments through centralised hubs called TSUPIS.

The government of Ukraine announced its intentions to introduce legalised gambling industry, boost the local economy and start earning from revenue by next year. The Ministry officials sent a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to detail the new plan. Ukraine is trying to assure IMF that the country is worthy to receive a […]

The government of Ukraine announced its intentions to introduce legalised gambling industry, boost the local economy and start earning from revenue by next year.

The Ministry officials sent a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to detail the new plan. Ukraine is trying to assure IMF that the country is worthy to receive a financial assistance worth $17.5 billion, needed to reform the economy.

Ukraine has already received $1 billion last week, but following a review on the condition of the country’s economy, the IMF warned that it “must break the legacy of weak governance and stop-and-go reforms” in order to generate sustainable growth.

All gambling and betting serviced were prohibited in Ukraine in 2009. Back in 2015 Ukraine tried to authorise gambling in the country. A draft legislation was introduced which proposed opening the market to land-based casinos, sports betting and online gaming. However, legalisation of such activities is yet to take place.

It is estimated that legalised gambling market, the ability to tax gambling activities could bring to Ukraine an additional $1.5 billion per year. It is still not clear what kind of gambling forms Ukraine plans to legalise by next year.

In the meantime, transformation of Ukraine’s annexed Crimea peninsular into a ‘gambling zone’ for Russia is moving forward.

The new zone, according to Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov, is designed to avoid international economic sanctions imposed on Russia after it seized control of the territory.

“There are certain arrangements that will make it possible [for investors] to bypass the sanctions,” Aksyonov commented. “I will keep quiet about such secrets for now; nobody will agree to invest in this project if there were doubts this plan might not work.”