Off Rhodes
Accusations fly as ex-UK Gambling Commission CEO joins consultancy
Andrew Rhodes announces Hawkbridge role as critics point at revolving door.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board blocks Polymarket.
In +More: Colorado’s new sports-betting restrictions.
EGBA welcomes new European standards on markers of harm.
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New gig
You’ll take the high Rhodes: Critics have leapt on the news that ex-UK Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes is to join top figures from gambling sector legal outfit Harris Hagan in a new strategic advisory firm called Hawkbridge as principal consultant.
And I’ll take the low: James Noyes, an arch Commission critic and senior fellow at the Social Market Foundation, said on X “the revolving door carries on.”
“It stinks,” one senior industry consultant told C+M yesterday.
The names above the door: Rhodes joins Bahar Alaeddini, John Hagan and David Whyte from Harris Hagan, alongside Andy Bentley, previously with Genting, Merkur and Push Gaming, at the new firm.
Alaeddini told C+M that “robust safeguards were in place” in relation to Rhodes’ appointment, and “we will continue to follow due process to manage any potential conflicts of interest.”
Conflict avoidance: The Commission also defended the move, suggesting Rhodes had complied with his obligations under its employee code of conduct to “ensure that the risk of conflicts of interest has been considered at the earliest opportunity.”
“We are satisfied that appropriate mitigations are in place to manage and reduce the risk of any actual or perceived conflicts of interest,” the Commission spokesperson added.
Doors of perception: But Noyes was left unimpressed by Rhodes’ move into consultancy. “In Westminster, a revolving door continues to exist whereby regulators, legislators, businesses and journalists exchange jobs between each other in a self-enriching merry-go-round which has become accepted as normal.”
“Everyone knows it is happening yet few people speak out against it because, if they do, they risk being ostracised from the cosy little club and find that their job options suddenly become limited,” he added.
“And who would be brave enough to do that when they have mouths to feed? And so it goes on.”
Hubris? I hardly know her: In a press release announcing the news, Rhodes boasted that there has “rarely been a single source of regulatory, commercial and operational advice at such a senior and experienced level in the sector.”
Alaeddini said Hawkbridge would give the sector “sharp, pragmatic counsel on the questions that sit above legal advice and beyond commercial diligence.”
Check the guy’s track record: During Rhodes’ five years at the Commission, he played a part in the implementation of the Gambling Act Review.
More controversially, he also drove the introduction of the still-contested Gambling Survey of Great Britain.
Rhodes and the Commission came under fire for dismissing fears over the experimental nature of the dataset.
He was also in charge when the Commission buried a survey that contradicted some of its own claims with regard to affordability measures.
Hip priest: As one sector source summed up his time at the Commission, Rhodes “oversaw the destabilization of the licensed market, the mushrooming of the unlicensed market and under his watch the Commission funded anti-gambling lobbying.”
On social: Then there was this reaction on X. And this on LinkedIn. And Geoff Banks had this to say.
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Nevada blocks Polymarket
Seen your act in Vegas out of sight: A Carson City judge has granted the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s (NCGB’s) motion for a preliminary injunction blocking QCX LLC (doing business as Polymarket US) from operating in the state.
Judge Jason Woodbury’s ruling makes Polymarket the third prediction market operator Nevada has successfully restrained, after earlier court wins against Kalshi and Coinbase.
“We are very pleased with Judge Woodbury’s ruling and will continue to vigorously enforce Nevada law to safeguard gaming in our state,” said NCGB chair Mike Dreitzer.
Nevada regulators said sports event contracts, along with certain other event contracts, amount to wagering under state law and therefore cannot be offered without a state license.
A formal written order is to follow.
Legal experts told C+M they expect Polymarket to take the case to federal court, where it will likely end up before a Nevada chief judge who recently ruled against Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com.
We comin’ for you: The ruling extends a run Nevada began in March 2025 against unlicensed prediction markets offering contracts on sports, elections and entertainment outcomes.
The NCGB said all known unlicensed prediction markets operating in the state have now been restricted through court action.
Prediction market operators continue to argue that federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight allows them to operate nationwide, but Nevada has had success pressing its cases in state court rather than federal court.
Nevada has also stressed that gaming “must be licensed, controlled, and assisted to protect the public health, safety, morals, good order and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state.”
Regulators have previously said prediction markets could operate in Nevada if licensed as gambling operators, though that process typically takes at least a year.
+More predictions
Illinois has become the first US state to impose a dedicated tax on sports event contracts offered by prediction market operators. Under budget bill SB 3019, a 1.75% tax will apply to each sports event contract trade, rising to 3.5% once a platform exceeds 5 million annual trades. The legislation also establishes a regulatory framework for daily fantasy sports, including tiered licensing fees based on operator size and a 15% tax on adjusted gross fantasy contest receipts.
Polymarket has begun blocking some VPN users and tightening identity verification requirements, as the prediction market platform faces increasing regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. According to reports, the company is restricting access from VPN-linked IP addresses, monitoring suspicious accounts and requiring some traders to complete KYC checks.
Disgrace: Former US Congressman George Santos is reportedly under investigation by the DoJ and the CFTC over alleged insider trading and market manipulation on prediction market platform Kalshi. The exchange is said to have flagged suspicious trades linked to Santos betting he would not attend the State of the Union address in February while publicly indicating he would be present. Kalshi froze Santos’ account and referred the matter to regulators.
+More
Colorado: Gov. Jared Polis has signed SB 131 into law, introducing a series of new restrictions on sports-betting operators ahead of an August 12 implementation date. The legislation bans push-notification betting promotions and prohibits marketing terms such as “bonus bet” and “no sweat.” Operators and affiliates are also barred from advertising on platforms where most users are under 21. Additional measures include a six-deposit limit within 24 hours, a ban on credit-card funding and protections for successful bettors.
New York: Assembly bill A10329, which would require sportsbooks to send customers monthly activity statements covering deposits, winnings, losses, and the number and value of wagers, is headed to Gov. Kathy Hochul after a unanimous Senate passage. If signed, New York would become the first state to mandate electronic monthly sports-betting statements.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has introduced mandatory deposit limits for online gaming customers under 25 as part of efforts to strengthen responsible gambling protections. Affected players must set a daily, weekly or monthly deposit cap before wagering. The measure forms part of Ontario’s broader strategy to reduce gambling-related harm among younger adults.
Former Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier has asked a federal court to ease the terms of his pretrial release, after prosecutors last week added two further charges in the Brooklyn sports corruption case. His lawyer, Jim Trusty, filed a memo seeking changes to a government-imposed “no-contact list” that currently bars Rozier from contacting current or former Hornets employees.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is rolling out a centralized gambling monitoring platform to tighten oversight of the sector, improve revenue tracking, boost tax collection and combat illegal gambling, as scrutiny over anti-money laundering compliance grows.
Australia: The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) is monitoring social media influencers who promote gambling and is considering regulatory or legal action where content may breach the state’s advertising rules. VGCCC chief executive Suzy Neilan said promotions involving poker machines are of particular concern, noting that pokie advertising is prohibited in Victoria under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003.
Ainsworth is facing scrutiny from the Forest County Potawatomi Gaming Commission, which has requested information on the company’s structure, links to majority shareholder Novomatic and its suitability to retain a tribal vendor license. The review centers on allegations that former executives, including ex-CEO Harald Neumann, exercised control over the US business while facing bribery-related charges in Austria. Ainsworth must respond by July 2.
France: Pascal Chevremont has been nominated to become the next president of gambling regulator l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux, succeeding Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin when her six-year term concludes. Chevremont currently serves as senior economic and financial controller at France’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.
New hire: The Betting & Gaming Council has appointed Daniel Lindsay as its new director of strategic delivery. Lindsay joins from Metropolitan Gaming, where he served as MD of interactive, and previously held senior roles at gaming suppliers and technology companies including Aristocrat, GAN and TCSJohnHuxley.
MLRO & AML Manager – Malta
Corporate Legal Counsel – Limassol
Commercial Legal Counsel – Limassol
UKGC’s lottery win
Shell out: Richard Desmond’s company Northern & Shell has been ordered to pay punitive costs after losing a two-year legal fight with the Gambling Commission over the National Lottery, with the total bill expected to exceed £40m.
Mrs Justice Joanna Smith awarded indemnity costs against the company and its subsidiary, the New Lottery Company, and directed that 75% be paid immediately.
The dispute concerned the award of the fourth national lottery license, described in court as the most financially significant procurement in UK history, worth around £70bn over a decade.
Desmond’s company had brought a two-pronged challenge seeking roughly £1.3bn in damages.
It contested both the Commission’s scoring of its bid as a “fail” and the lawfulness of later modifications to the license contract.
Fight of fancy: Last month the judge rejected those arguments, finding that the Commission had correctly disqualified the bid for failing more than half of 23 mandatory requirements.
She noted an enormous gap of over 30 points between the company’s aggregate score and that of the winning bidder, Allwyn Entertainment.
The judge went on to describe it as fanciful to suppose Desmond’s company could have prevailed against Allwyn, called the world leader in running lotteries.
Indemnity costs are typically awarded where a losing party is judged to have acted unreasonably; the judge’s written reasons are expected within weeks.
The Commission’s own costs were about £22m, and Desmond’s company must also cover Allwyn’s bill and its own lawyers.
The Commission welcomed the ruling, saying it would lessen the litigation’s impact on good causes.
Fresh off the back of our U.S. focused webinar “Beyond the Month Webinar 2026: The Future of Player Protection in the US: Trends, Innovations, and Challenges”, the Mindway AI team will be attending some key upcoming North American events.
International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) International Gaming Summit, Florida, June 2-4
SBC Summit Americas, Florida, June 9-11
We look forward to connecting with industry leaders at these events. Drop us a message to arrange a meeting contact@mindway.ai
Markers of harm
Step change: The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has welcomed the publication of a new European standard aimed at helping operators identify and respond to potentially harmful gambling behavior.
The trade body described the new standards as a significant step forward for player protection across the region.
This is the EN: Published at the end of May by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), the new standard, EN 18144, establishes a voluntary framework for identifying behavioral indicators associated with gambling-related harm.
EGBA members have committed to aligning their responsible gambling and player protection systems with the standard across their European operations.
The framework identifies nine core behavioral markers that operators can use to detect risky gambling activity before it escalates.
These include changes in betting frequency and stake levels, increased speed of play, patterns relating to deposits and failed deposit attempts, cancelled withdrawals, contacts with customer support, extended gambling sessions, use of multiple products, sustained net losses, and changes to responsible gambling tools such as deposit limits or self-exclusion settings.
First of its kind: According to the EGBA, many of its members are already applying the majority of these indicators through sophisticated risk-monitoring systems. Operators increasingly use risk-scoring models that continuously assess customer behavior and flag emerging signs of harm, enabling earlier interventions where necessary.
The standard is the first of its kind developed specifically for the gambling sector and follows several years of collaboration between operators, regulators, academics and harm-prevention experts.
The EGBA originally proposed the initiative to CEN in 2022 and actively participated in the drafting process.
The standard received overwhelming support from national standardization bodies during a vote held in October 2025.
EGBA secretary general Maarten Haijer said widespread adoption of the standard would lead to earlier identification of risky play and stronger consumer protections.
“When widely adopted, this voluntary standard will lead to earlier identification of risky play and, ultimately, better protection for players,” he added.
While voluntary, the standard is designed to complement existing national regulations and provide a common baseline for responsible gambling practices across Europe.
Calendar
Jun 4: Gaming in Holland, Amsterdam
Jun 10-11: Player Protection Symposium, Fort Lauderdale
Jul 22-24: NCPG Annual Conference, Nashville
Nov 10: Gaming in Germany, Berlin
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