The war in Iran has raised alarms about the role of betting platforms in relation to the United States administration and the circle of President Donald Trump. According to various North American media outlets, anonymous accounts created shortly before the military interventions in Iran and Venezuela have fueled suspicions of possible insider trading –or even classified information– by government members or Trump's allies and family members.

Sports betting, cards, and roulette are the most common forms of gambling among young Catalans, especially boys. In fact, it is increasingly common for secondary school students, that is, teenagers between 14 and 18 years old, to gamble. Last year, for example, 17% of students participated in in-person gambling, although the percentage among boys rises to 24.5% due to the marked gender gap observed in this practice. This is one of the key findings of the latest survey on drug use in secondary education (ESTUDES), conducted by the Catalan Health Department to understand the consumption habits and addictive behaviors of young Catalans.

The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 has fined 32 gambling operators over €33 million, including very serious penalties for six foreign companies operating without a license in Spain, whose websites have been blocked. In total, these six unlicensed operators have received very serious fines exceeding €30 million. Furthermore, the ministry has imposed another 26 serious penalties totaling €3 million for various violations of gambling regulations, as reported by the ministry itself in a statement on Tuesday. This latter group includes companies such as Betfair, 888 Online, and Codere. For example, 888 Online will have to pay a €250,000 fine for failing to meet the technical requirements for its software and communication systems and for using non-approved technical systems. Beatya Online has been fined €300,000 for a similar situation, and Betfair will have to pay €100,000 for a penalty related to non-compliance with player protection and responsible gambling regulations. Electraworks Ceuta has been fined €512,000 for allowing access to gambling for prohibited individuals, using unauthorized or unapproved technical systems, and for non-compliance with software technical requirements. This last reason also affects Codere, which has received a penalty of €17,500. €30 million among six companies

The operators whose websites have been shut down for operating without a license are XYZ Entertainment, Moonrail Limited, EOD Code SRL, Samaki, Lone Rock Holdings, and Novaforge. Each will have to pay €5 million (€30 million in total).

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The Argentine justice system has found an ingenious solution to prevent celebrities and influencers promote unauthorized online gambling. After investigating 110 celebrities in the country to use their images in advertisements for this type of online gambling, has reached a legal settlement with 27 of them. To reverse the bad publicity they had generated, some of them had to record a video with the opposite message warning of the dangers of illegal gambling and post it on their social media to avoid a potential conviction for having previously advertised.

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Badalona's new bingo - the sixth recreational hall in the city - will have within a 400-metre radius four educational centers, two mental health services and, right opposite, a soup kitchen. The business will be located between the neighbourhoods of Llefià and Sant Roc, one of the points with the highest poverty rate in the area around Barcelona. "We have many social problems and also security and anti-social behaviour issues. Putting it [the bingo] here is a time bomb. It will bring more misery to many families and more difficulties in an area hit hard by the crisis," says Ignacio Segura, of the platform Stop Cases de Apuestas a Llefià, which brings together entities and communities against the establishment.

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