Greece hires 40 more enforcement staff as Italy’s retail gambling reform stalls and Brazil’s betting ban triggers LatAm warnings

Three separate developments this week matter for anyone in high-risk payments: Greece is expanding its anti-illegal gambling team, Italy’s retail gambling sector is still waiting for clarity on concessions and tender rules, and Brazil’s Provisional Measure 1.394/2026 is drawing fire for abruptly banning fixed-odds betting and online casinos.

1. Greece is strengthening enforcement against illegal gambling with the Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP) recruiting 40 staff for an expanded Inspection and Enforcement division. The move follows anti-illegal gambling legislation introduced in June, aimed at a black market estimated at €1.8bn and €400m in lost annual revenue.
2. The Greek law comes with serious penalties: prison sentences of at least 10 years and fines up to €800,000 for aggravated offences. The EEEP will use enhanced investigative powers, overhauled regulations, and digital tools such as AI to identify criminal networks and combat social media promotion of illegal gambling. Complaints against 18 influencers are already under investigation.
3. The regulator is also reviewing player verification for premium customers to prevent migration to unlicensed operators. For PSPs and acquirers, that is the useful part: when a regulator starts talking about verification, it usually means the operational pressure is shifting from headline enforcement to account-level controls.
4. In Italy, industry groups are calling for immediate action after reform stalled for the retail gambling sector. Concessions covering betting, bingo, AWPs, and VLTs are set to expire on December 31, 2026, but a promised reform decree was shelved, leaving operators in uncertainty.
5. Associazione Gestori Scommesse Italia (AGSI) wants interim measures for land-based businesses and a consultation forum with the government to start drafting new tender requirements now. Retail gambling still generates roughly three-quarters of Italy’s €21bn-plus market, so the delay is not a side issue; it affects the part of the market that still carries most of the volume.
6. Brazil’s Provisional Measure 1.394/2026 has triggered warnings from industry figures and legal experts in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. Their concern is simple: banning fixed-odds betting and online casinos after recently authorising the activity can damage investor confidence and regulatory predictability across Latin America, while also strengthening illegal operators.

The pattern here is familiar. Where regulation tightens without a clean transition, volume does not disappear; it tends to move toward unlicensed channels, and the payment stack is usually where that shift becomes visible first.