Malaysia’s latest illegal betting crackdown shows how major sporting events continue to create immediate opportunities for unlicensed gambling networks. Police announced that 331 people had been arrested in a nationwide operation linked to World Cup betting, with local reporting putting the value of uncovered illegal transactions at approximately RM2.63 million. The operation, known as Ops Soga XI, was launched in anticipation of a surge in football-related betting activity a

Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay a $7.5 million civil penalty after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission found that the broker-dealer failed to file numerous Suspicious Activity Reports over a period of more than four years. The case adds another enforcement action to the growing list of regulatory interventions focused not only on whether financial institutions have AML systems in place, but whether those systems are calibrated, tested and escalated properly when they

Austria is moving closer to one of the most important online gambling reforms in Europe, but the transition may be just as important as the final framework. Industry reporting in late June said the country’s online market is expected to open in 2027, with a planned cooling-off period before new licences become available. That structure could create a temporary gap in which existing operators are forced out before the regulated market is ready to absorb players. The reform is

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, as part of a wider action targeting Iranian crypto infrastructure accused of supporting terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and regime-linked financial activity. The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Nobitex on 2 June 2026, along with three other Iranian digital asset exchanges: Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex. OFAC also sanctioned several individuals connected to Nobitex, inc