Breaking news

National Betting Authority Mobilizes Covert Agents To Bolster Compliance And Safeguard Integrity

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

January 21, 2026

Covert Enforcement Measures In Betting Agencies

The National Betting Authority (ΕΑΣ) has deployed a team of 150 undercover agents who pose as customers to rigorously assess compliance at betting agencies. By engaging private sector services, the ΕΑΣ ensures that agency owners and employees strictly adhere to legal requirements, including the prevention of illegal betting and the exclusion of underage individuals from premises.

Comprehensive Inspections And Regulatory Oversight

During their visits, these agents meticulously observe employee actions and verify that all operations comply with established law. In tandem with these undercover checks, ΕΑΣ officials conduct immediate on-site inspections while also monitoring online gaming platforms that attract hundreds of bettors. Additionally, inspections are extended to betting companies to detect any indications of money laundering.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Financial Penalties And Regulatory Impact

Recent disclosures to the parliamentary Economic Committee outlined that last year, fines totaling €46,000 were imposed on several betting agents for non-compliance with licensing and adherence regulations. Approximately €26,000 of these fines targeted violations related to licensing provisions while additional revenue was generated from infractions such as permitting underage patronage.

Record-Breaking Betting Volumes And Revenue Growth

Data presented before parliament indicate that last year saw bets amounting to approximately €1.3 billion, with winnings totaling €1.17 billion. Furthermore, due to an increase in betting taxes, the state’s collections surged to €6 million from €3.2 million the previous year.

Legislative Proposals And Future Revenue Projections

Discussions with the Ministry of Finance have been underway for over a year, focusing on a legislative draft that aims to introduce new products, enhance safe gaming practices, and bolster the protection of minors. The ministry has explicitly stated that there are no plans to offer online casino gaming. Meanwhile, the ΕΑΣ is forecast to generate revenues of approximately €71.85 million this year—a 28.03% increase over 2025 figures—with further growth projected in the coming years.

Breakdown Of Revenue Streams

Revenue streams include €53 million from betting activity taxes, €8.2 million from licensing fees, and an additional €10 million from betting activity contributions. For licensed operators in both Class A (land-based) and Class B (online) betting, a tax of 10% is applied to net earnings. Moreover, measures linked to the new contract with OPAP Cyprus ensure that the state will collect €32 million from betting taxes based on gross earnings, as well as supplementary fees from licensing and supervisory contributions.

This rigorous oversight and systematic enforcement reflect the commitment of the National Betting Authority to uphold legal standards and secure the integrity of both physical and online betting operations.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.