iGaming industry faces dual pressures of regulation and expansion, according to NyesteCasino.com report

The global iGaming industry is facing increasing regulatory scrutiny even as operators continue to pursue growth opportunities through product innovation and sports-driven marketing, according to a new industry overview released by NyesteCasino.com.

The report highlighted a week marked by regulatory developments across the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and South America, alongside efforts by gambling operators and suppliers to capitalize on heightened betting activity surrounding the FIFA World Cup.

According to NyesteCasino.com, compliance and regulatory adaptability are becoming increasingly important as authorities tighten oversight of prediction markets, sweepstakes casinos and gambling payment methods.

In the United States, debate over prediction markets intensified following a Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing titled "No Sure Bets."

During the session, American Gaming Association Chief Executive Bill Miller argued that sports event contracts function as betting products that bypass state licensing, taxation and integrity requirements. Former Congressman Patrick McHenry, speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Prediction Markets, defended the current regulatory framework overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The legal landscape also shifted after a Ninth Circuit panel rejected requests by Kalshi and Polymarket to halt state enforcement proceedings in Nevada and Washington. The decision added to an emerging split among federal appeals courts over the treatment of event-based contracts and could increase the likelihood of future review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Outside the United States, Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs requested a nationwide ban on Polymarket after classifying the platform as an online gambling site. 

The move followed trading activity linked to a market contract on whether President Prabowo Subianto would resign before the end of his term in 2029. According to the report, Polymarket is now inaccessible in more than 33 jurisdictions, including India, Brazil and Singapore.

At the state level, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed legislation banning sweepstakes casinos and dual-currency systems, making Tennessee the ninth U.S. state to enact such restrictions. A separate measure makes it a Class E felony for individuals to intentionally influence the outcome of events while holding prediction market contracts tied to those outcomes.

In Europe, policymakers continued discussions on a potential European Union-wide gambling levy. Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin indicated that the European Commission was evaluating the proposal alongside potential taxes on digital services and crypto assets as part of the bloc's next long-term budget framework.

Supporters estimate the measure could generate between €2 billion ($2.3 billion) and €4 billion ($4.6 billion) annually for education, youth and addiction prevention programs.

Meanwhile, regulators in Belgium and the Netherlands issued warnings to licensed operators ahead of the FIFA tournament, while France's gambling regulator flagged a more than 25% increase in operator marketing spending compared with a year earlier.

Brazil also moved to tighten oversight of betting payments, formalizing rules to prohibit Pix Crédito as a deposit method on regulated betting platforms.

"What this week makes clear is that the iGaming sector is entering a phase where regulatory IQ is as strategically important as product development," NyesteCasino.com's editorial team said.

"The prediction markets debate alone spans courtrooms, congressional hearings, and international bans, and it is far from resolved. Operators who can track and adapt to this multi-jurisdictional complexity while still executing on World Cup campaigns and localisation strategies will be best positioned for the second half of 2026," the team added.