Regulators Plan First Illegal Gambling Awareness Week
The International Association of Gaming Regulators announced on 26 October that it will run its first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week from 9 to 13 November 2026. The campaign asks players one thing: check whether a site is licensed where you are playing before you bet.
Quick Take
- The IAGR calls it the first internationally coordinated effort to raise consumer awareness of the risks of unlicensed online gambling. It runs 9–13 November.
- A free lookup tool, CheckBeforeYouPlay.org, launches on 9 November. Players enter a site’s address and see whether it is authorised in the jurisdictions of participating regulators.
- The risks named are unpaid winnings, limited dispute options, misuse of personal and financial data, missing responsible gambling protections and funding of criminal activity.
- The reports do not say how many regulators or which countries take part, so the tool’s coverage is the thing to check on launch day.
What the IAGR Announced
The announcement came at the IAGR’s annual conference in Lima, Peru, on 26 October (G3 Newswire; CDC Gaming Reports). The week runs from 9 to 13 November. IAGR members get campaign materials from 6 November: 30-second and 15-second videos, social media content, a draft press release and talking points, first in English and Spanish. Members can add their own branding, post daily during the week and arrange local media coverage. Consumer protection bodies and responsible gambling organisations are also encouraged to join.
The creative work was done by R&R Partners, and the licence lookup was built by Sharp Vision, a regulatory technology company based in Paris (CDC Gaming Reports; iGamingToday).
The Licence Check Tool
CheckBeforeYouPlay.org is free and goes live on 9 November. A player enters a site’s web address and the tool shows whether the operator is authorised in the jurisdictions of the participating regulators (iGamingToday). The central message is to check, before opening an account or depositing, whether a site is licensed in the place where you are playing.
What the reports leave open: none of the three names the participating regulators or gives a member count, and none gives figures on how much unlicensed gambling exists. One report also uses a slightly different name for the week. We use the name given by G3 Newswire and CDC Gaming Reports, “Illegal Gambling Awareness Week”.
What It Means for Players
The advice itself is not new, and you can already do it by hand: find the regulator’s own register and look the operator up. Our guide on how to check a casino licence walks through it, and the casino licence lookup lists where the main registers are. The new tool is meant to make the first step quicker.
📌 In our view: a lookup tool only knows the regulators that take part. If a site does not show up, that is not proof that it is illegal, and a result is no substitute for reading the licence terms in the regulator’s register. We will look at the tool after it launches on 9 November and say what it covers.
Cocktailspins Weekly Brief
One email a week: the regulation changes, market news and events that matter for crypto gambling. Verified, no spam.
18+ only. Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy policy.FAQ
What is Illegal Gambling Awareness Week?
It is the first internationally coordinated awareness campaign by the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) on the risks of unlicensed online gambling. It runs 9–13 November 2026.
When does CheckBeforeYouPlay.org launch?
On 9 November 2026. It is a free tool by Sharp Vision that shows whether a site is authorised in the jurisdictions of participating regulators.
Which regulators take part?
The reports we checked do not list them. Participation is open to IAGR members, and consumer protection and responsible gambling bodies are encouraged to join.
Does a site missing from the tool mean it is illegal?
Not necessarily. The tool covers participating jurisdictions only, so check the regulator’s own register as well.
Sources
↗ G3 Newswire — IAGR announces first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week ↗ CDC Gaming Reports — IAGR announces Illegal Gambling Awareness Week ↗ iGamingToday — IAGR launches global campaign18+ only. Gambling laws differ by country and change quickly — check the rules where you live. If gambling stops being fun, BeGambleAware and GamCare offer free, confidential support.