Month: June 2021

Spillemyndigheden stated that is has received queries from citizens regarding the subscriptions after the citizens were contacted by sellers.

The sellers claimed to offer membership to a lottery subscription club, where a number of people buy tickets in several international lotteries and share the winnings.

In response, Spillemyndigheden has reminded citizens that it is illegal to sell or purchase lottery tickets anywhere in Denmark apart from Danske Lotteri Spil.

“The Gaming Authority points out that there is a monopoly on the sale of lotteries in Denmark, and that it is therefore not permitted for anyone other than Danske Lotteri Spil to sell lottery subscriptions,” declared Spillemyndigheden.

Earlier this month, Spillemyndigheden changed its regulation to allow IT equipment outside Denmark for online licence holders.

Last week, the regulator released its Gaming Market in Figures 2020 report, showing that channelisation in the jurisdiction reached a record high of 90% last year.

As the industry emerges from its toughest year to date, what is the current status of casinos across the UK and Europe, and what are they doing to drive a return to pre-pandemic levels of business?

Featuring contributors from two of the most significant casinos in Europe, we will be discussing the next move for the industry, from both a technology and innovation perspective. We will also investigate the role regulators and associations can play in securing the future of land-based casinos.

This webinar will look at:

• The state of the casino industry as the hospitality sector reopens following months of lockdown
• Player protection measures, including innovations and developments using technology
• The case for modernisation of the casino industry and what operators need from legislators to ensure a prosperous future (such as the opening up of cashless technology, etc.)

Speakers:

David Williams, Director of Public Affairs, Rank Group UK

Simon Thomas, Chief Executive, Hippodrome Casino

Moderator: Dan Waugh, Partner, Regulus Partners

See on-demand webinars here.

The project comes through a partnership between Entain and global media company Verizon Media and is the operator’s first-ever VR ‘sports club’ experience to be rolled out to customers.

The new product will be available on the Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset. Once available for distribution, players will be able to access different VR experiences which will be available across the company’s international brands.

“We continually offer our customers a wide range of innovative and exciting experiences, and VR is an exciting opportunity for us to innovate in new ways.” said Sandeep Tiku, chief operating officer of Entain.

The new features will include live streaming of football matches, multi-player games and music as the business said it is taking strides towards a fully immersive offering.

“We know consumers are looking for more multi-dimensional experiences, in which the ability to place a bet is only one of the ways they want to enjoy themselves. So we want to wow them and give them better experiences than they’ve ever had before – and at the same time also use our cutting edge to technology to keep our players safe,” Tiku added.

Entain saw a 13% decrease in revenue in Q1 of 2021 driven by retail closures. However, the business did see significant growth in its online revenue, jumping 47% in the sports betting division and 23% in online gaming.

Former MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren is among the investors, as well as Tom Wittman – former chief executive of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Lead investor Jump Capital, Impression Ventures, Hudson River Trading and Tower Research Ventures make up the rest of the group.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

In announcing the deal, however, Villa omitted mentioning in the announcement that the new partner is a betting operator. The club instead described OB Sports as “a leader in sports and entertainment and widely recognised as one of the most trustworthy and reliable platforms in Asia”.

Under the deal, the OB Sports logo will feature on the sleeve of Villa’s new kits for the 2021-22 season across all league and cup games.

The Asia-based online betting operator has succeeded another Asian gaming brand, LT, with the latter’s one-year deal having expired at the end of the 2020-21 campaign.

The club added: “OB Sports devotes its efforts to not only establish a secured platform for its users but also to provide a diversified high-quality interactive entertainment experience for football fans. OB has received fervent support from millions of users as well as trust and broad recognition from within the industry and is widely regarded as the leading force in Asia in the fields of sports and entertainment.”

A link to ‘find out more on OB’s website’ at the foot of Villa’s announcement opened up a page from a betting website that was still under construction, under a licence held by white label provider TGP Europe, which also provides the GB sites of a number of other Premier League sponsors.

This page said: “The OUBAO BET website is currently being built and will be live very soon. Once live our website will provide UK players with a brand new sportsbook and casino offering.”

Italian Serie A club Juventus another club to have a sponsorship deal in place with OB Sports.

Villa’s chief commercial officer, Nicola Ibbetson, said: “This partnership will help to bring the Aston Villa brand closer to our international fans and we look forward to a season of exciting plans together.”

Kai Webb, president for the international business of OB Sports, added: “This will be one of the most exciting cross-industry cooperations in sports from the 2021-22 season, and will build on our existing high profile sponsorship portfolio to provide the fans and users with the best sports and entertainment experience by a close cooperation between the two well-known brands.”

Image: Row17 (CC 2.0)

The sanctions are related to the company’s “RappiPolla Mundial” game, which the regulator deemed to be operated illegally.

The regulator noted the game was promotional in nature and did not require entrants to pay a fee in order to have a chance at winning a prize, but that these types of games still require authorisation from the regulator.

Coljuegos said there are currently seven investigations underway which are similar to that against Rappi, examining companies and people who have not gained the regulator’s authorisation to offer gaming in the jurisdiction.

It made a request to other companies to ensure that they seek authorisation before running promotional gambling games.

Coljuegos then pointed out that the funds recovered from Rappi would be used for Colombia’s healthcare system, benefitting the country’s most vulnerable populations, and that companies such as these should seek the correct permissions before offering gambling products.

The regulator said between 2020 and the first half of 2021, it has granted permission for around 300 promotional gambling games, a list of which can be found on its website.

It said it was only investigating those promotional games which were aimed at the whole country, and that any promotions which are aimed only at one city or region may be authorised by the relevant local authority.

In addition to the documentation required to receive permission to run a promotional prize draw or gambling product, 14% of the value of all prizes must also be paid to the regulator.

Results published by Coljuegos last year showed that Colombia’s government had collected over COP2.8tn in gaming taxes since 2015.

Since regulating online gambling in 2017, Coljuegos has seent he number of regulated games grow from just 35 to over 1,400.

Bill C-218, known as the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, was approved by a vote of 57-20 on Tuesday.

Reintroduced to parliament in November 2020, the bill aimed to repeal paragraph 207(4)(b) of Canada’s Criminal Code, which states that sports betting is legal only if bettors place wagers on three or more sports games simultaneously.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Last week, Clarion Gaming announced a new collaboration with esports data company Abios, which will see the Stockholm-based provider sponsor the esports sections on iGaming Business and ICE365.com. Abios founder and chief executive Oskar Fröberg tells ICE365 about what the deal means for most parties, and discusses the continued growth of esports and esports betting.

What does the recently announced relationship with ICE365.com mean to the company and what do you hope to achieve?

We are naturally very excited about the partnership and to contribute to the new ICE365 platform. Abios aims to provide content and detailed insights for the industry to take part of through the platform, while presenting our team with a great communication platform to address important topics and potential issues. Among these are very important but often overlooked topics such as match integrity and regulatory compliance. Building the right foundation for esports is paramount for its continued growth.

Having been active in the industry for eight and a half years, we believe ourselves to have profound insights into what is important and want to bring them to light. Our intention is ultimately to protect the future of esports. Our team also seeks to provide value for the iGaming-community through timely esports content.

The partnership has a clear focus on education – do you think there’s a knowledge gap as far as esports and the broader igaming community is concerned and how do you hope to address it?

The igaming community is well-aware of esports, as many have already identified the market as one of the most promising sectors for future growth. Most sportsbooks have also started experimenting by at least offering a couple of markets or tournaments in esports.

Esports can however be demanding to navigate since it is both dynamic and fast-moving, with changes introduced on a regular basis and new game titles still trying to establish themselves as part of the core offering. In addition to our data and odds products, we do our best to offer in-depth content around various esports-related topics to help the igaming community identify opportunities within the sector and make educated decisions.

While there may sometimes be a slight gap in knowledge, it is more often the case that traditional companies lack properly customised tools to monetise esports. Alongside our data business, we are currently investing heavily in enabling sportsbooks to build completely custom and new experiences using our odds product.

You appear to have a strong commitment to protecting the integrity of esports – how important is this and is match-fixing a very real threat?

Match-fixing is a prevalent threat to esports, as it is to any traditional sport. Nobody wants to watch or place a bet on a match with suspicious or unfair behaviour. It removes the fun from the competition and gambles (no pun intended) with the entire legitimacy of esports. If esports is perceived as an environment with lots of suspicious activity, its public perception and viewership will be adversely affected. This is not only a challenge for Abios but for the industry as a whole.

Today, game publishers are increasingly improving safeguards to deal with cheating, making it more and more difficult to cheat. Tournament organisers work closer with data partners and sportsbooks to identify suspicious betting behaviour. Generally, large tournaments are very safe, game

publishers and tournament organisers alike take these issues very seriously. It’s important to continuously raise awareness of these subjects.

Does the involvement of big blue chip sponsors the final symbolic confirmation that esports is here to stay?

While some blue-chip sponsors such as Coca-Cola have been in the industry for years, the real shift is seen when non-endemic luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci join the mix, designing skins for games as well as clothing lines with teams. These companies are incredibly quality and brand conscious. Seeing them engage in esports provides further legitimacy for the industry. We’ve come a long way from esports being perceived as a pastime for young boys sitting in their parents’ basements, but there is still a long way to go until esports has reached its full potential.

How important is it that regulators understand the nuances of esports?

We generally do not comment on the work of regulatory bodies in esports, as we respect the immense complexities of the subject. We do however feel that it is important for regulators to understand esports and its intricacies instead of simply copying the regulations of regular sports and pasting them for esports.

A great example of a relatively new regulation is that of player ages. Several countries have put regulations in place against offering matches where the players are minors. This is both to protect the players and to combat match-fixing, which is noble. However, it simultaneously imposes complications for sportsbooks looking to keep their markets open while staying compliant in different regions simultaneously.

Abios has always put a lot of emphasis on regulatory compliance, which encompasses the need for downstream partners, such as sportsbooks, to comply with these regulations without any friction. We therefore make regulatory compliance tools an integral and automatic part of our products.

During the pandemic has esports managed to fill a void while the traditional big sports such as football weren’t able to function properly?

When practically all traditional sports were delayed, postponed or outright cancelled more than a year ago, we experienced a strong influx in interest for esports. The esports betting market has proven to be very pandemic-resilient. The best part is that esports seems to remain popular, even as traditional sports have come back.

The interest is definitely there among punters and the audience is huge. However, we still believe that there is a long way to go with building the best possible products for esports. We are conducting extensive research to find the most engaging markets and fast integration processes for our odds feed and will bring new and unique possibilities for customer differentiation given the data rich nature of esports.

Has the pandemic created a new esports audience and demographic?

With more people staying at home, more people have picked up on esports tournaments. However, the pandemic has also increased the pace of change in the esports industry. New games have grown in popularity, especially sports games which from a competitive esports perspective were very small two years ago. These games have helped bridge the gap to esports for regular sports fans and punters. The sports games have also proven to work tremendously well as filler products for when there are no matches in traditional sports.

Is this the most exciting time to be involved with the esports phenomenon and what does it mean to you personally and to Abios as a company?

With the risk of sounding clichéd, it has always been an exciting time to be involved within esports. The industry is fast-growing and nowhere near its peak.

While our odds product is currently on par with other products on the market, we have so much more in the pipeline. We have built a strong foundation with over eight years of esports data management and base our in house modelling on this unique dataset and platform. This allows us to drive down bet delays and increase uptime through automation while creating completely unique and engaging bet offers.

Clarion’s head of Esports, William Harding, described Abios as being ‘the perfect partner’ – would you concur?

We want to add value to Clarion Gaming’s high-quality content by bringing our expertise and leveraging our eight-plus-year history in esports to provide the igaming audience with further insights. Given the past years growth in the esports igaming-sector, this partnership is certainly a perfect fit.

ICE365.com launches 28 June

AUSTRIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for sports betting and horse race betting are available for private operators on a regional basis within Austria, whereas poker, casino, bingo and lottery are controlled by the monopoly, Casinos Austria, which has exclusive rights until 2027.
Status: The CJEU has held that the Austrian casino monopoly is incompatible with EU law in a number of cases, although national courts continue to reach conflicting decisions on the compatibility of Austria’s current gambling legislative framework with EU law and the position remains unclear. In February 2021, the Finance Minister of Austria announced a wide-ranging set of proposals to reform gambling in Austria. Proposals include the establishment of a new independent regulator and the introduction of both website blocking and greater player protection measures. A draft law formally setting out the proposed reforms is expected to be published during 2021.

BELGIUM
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider. However, online operators need to partner with a land-based licence holder in order to satisfy a local establishment requirement; alternatively, apply for one of the retail licences that can be extended to cover online.
Status: There remain valid arguments that the existing regime is incompatible with Belgium’s EU Treaty obligations. Active enforcement measures against operators and players are in place. A mandatory, weekly deposit limit of €500 for all customers of licensed operators is in effect. A draft law to introduce an advertising and sponsorship ban has been submitted to parliament.

BULGARIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery (excluding raffles and instant lottery games).
Operator type: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are to be reserved exclusively for the monopoly.
Status: Any operator from an EU/EEA jurisdiction or the Swiss Confederation can apply for a licence. The Bulgarian regulator has awarded approximately 30 licences to date, including to a number of international operators. The government has adopted amendments to the country’s gambling legislation to establish a monopoly on lotteries in Bulgaria, with any existing lottery licences to be revoked with immediate effect following the amendment’s entry into force.

CROATIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider. Private operators can only be licensed to offer online gambling if they obtain a land-based casino or betting licence.
Status: Attempts by the Ministry to update its gambling legislation have been subject to criticism in respect of EU incompatibility issues (including the requirement that only holders of land-based licences can offer online gambling). Regulatory reforms appear to have stalled in the country.

CYPRUS
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: OPAP has a monopoly over lottery operations; betting licences are available to private operators.
Status: Cyprus regulated online betting in July 2012, although a licensing regime was not established until 2016. ISPs are obliged to implement blocking measures to prohibit Cypriot residents from accessing unlicensed gambling websites. A betting law, which entered into force in March 2019, replaced the 2012 Betting Law. The provisions of the 2019 law are substantially the same, with minor amends introduced to address EU incompatibility concerns under the previous law (such as the requirement to have a local branch in order to obtain a betting licence). An overhaul to player protection measures has been proposed by the betting regulator.

CZECH REPUBLIC
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: EU and EEA-based operators are able to apply for licences.
Status: The gambling regulatory regime, which entered into force in the Czech Republic on 1 January 2017, allows EU/EEA companies to enter the market. ISP-blocking measures are active in the jurisdiction. Tax rates reportedly increased to up to 30% of GGR for certain online gambling activities from January 2020.

DENMARK
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, fantasy sports, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for all gambling products are available to private operators save for lotteries, which are controlled by the state monopoly.
Status: The Danish online gambling regime went live on 1 January 2012. ISP-blocking measures are active in the jurisdiction and the Danish Gaming Authority (DGA) has been granted an injunction to block operators and suppliers that have been targeting Danish customers without the requisite licence. As of 1 January 2020, licensed operators are required to ensure that customers have set deposit limits before they are allowed to gamble, although it is understood this applies to online casino only. The DGA introduced new marketing regulations, effective from 1 April 2020. On 1 January 2021, the rate of tax increased from 20% to 28% of GGR for online gambling activities.

ESTONIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for all gambling products are available to private operators save for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly operator.
Status: Operators seeking to accept business from players in Estonia must be issued an activity licence for the type of gambling they wish to offer, then an operating permit to provide the services online. A blacklist of operators is maintained and updated by local authorities and ISP and payment blocking is in force. Though some operators argue that the regime is still not compatible with EU law, no notification alleging incompatibility has been issued by the EC since the requirement for licensees to maintain servers in Estonia was removed.

FINLAND
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All gambling products are under the exclusive control of monopoly provider Veikkaus Oy.
Status: Despite the existence of a national monopoly, EC enforcement action was dropped subsequent to various changes to Finnish laws. Active enforcement measures are in place (restrictive marketing for offshore operators in particular) and the government is exploring measures to further restrict the offshore supply of gambling services. In January 2021, the government opened a consultation on a number of proposals to reform Finland’s gambling legislation. It is expected that the finalised proposals will be debated in parliament in summer 2021.

FRANCE
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can obtain online licences for sports betting, horse race betting and poker. The monopoly has exclusive rights to bingo and lottery.
Status: A regulated market since the introduction of a licensing regime in 2010, following which the EC withdrew its infringement proceedings. A new regulatory authority, L’autorité Nationale des Jeux, took over from ARJEL in June 2020. Responsible gambling advice has been issued to operators and players during the Covid-19 crisis, with a warning against using bonuses to attract new players to poker.

GERMANY
Regulated gambling products: Schleswig-Holstein, a small northern-German state, regulates sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino and bingo. The other 15 states of Germany currently permit only sports betting and horse race betting, though online poker and virtual slots are currently ‘tolerated’ pending the implementation of a new regulatory regime.
Operator type: Private operators can no longer obtain casino licences in Schleswig-Holstein under the existing regime, although S-H has approved legislation to reinstate existing licences until 2021 (with operations allowed to continue in the interim). S-H has also introduced a quasi-licensing regime for sports betting (intended to be of a transitional nature). In the other 15 states, horse race betting licences are available at a regional level. Sports betting licences can be applied for by private operators as of 1 January 2020. Operators that comply with the requirements of the toleration regime in place pending the introduction of legislation in 2021 may offer online poker and virtual slots until that time.
Status: The main legal framework for gambling regulation in Germany has been the subject of much debate and has been heavily criticised by the EC and interested parties/states within Germany for a number of years. Discussions to reform the existing legislation resulted in the approval of the 3rd Amendment Treaty which entered into force on 1 January 2020. The 3rd Amendment Treaty removes the limit on the number of sports betting licences and re-introduces a sports betting licensing process. The ban on online casino remains in place, although there is an exception to the prohibition for S-H. In March 2020, the German prime ministers approved the new Interstate Treaty on Gambling which brings new licensing options for private operators for online poker and virtual slots (although stringent restrictions, such as stake limits, shall apply). The Treaty is scheduled to enter into force from 1 July 2021. In October 2020 a toleration regime was introduced which permits operators to offer online poker and slots provided they comply with the toleration regime’s requirements and certain restrictions (such as stake limits) pending the entry into force of the Treaty.

GREAT BRITAIN
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All licences are available to private operators save for lottery, which is reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider, Camelot.
Status: Any operator that transacts with, or advertises to, British residents requires a licence from the Gambling Commission (GC). Licensed operators are required to source gambling software from GC-licensed businesses. In December 2020, the government launched a “major and wide-ranging” review into the current gambling legislation in Great Britain. It is anticipated that any proposals for reform will be published in a white paper during 2021.

GREECE
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: All products are exclusively reserved for the monopoly providers pending the implementation of an open licensing regime, although certain private operators are permitted to operate on a transitional basis.
Status: In 2012, a ‘transition period’ commenced, whereby the Greek government granted 24 transitional licences to operators, enabling them to provide services to Greek residents. Legislation, which introduced an open licensing regime for online betting and “other online games”, including casino and poker, entered into force on 30 October 2019. However, the regulations implementing the new legal regime were not published until August 2020. Operators holding a transitional licence may continue to offer services until a decision is made to grant a permanent licence. In May 2021 the regulator started to issue licences under the permanent licensing regime. The new online market is currently expected to launch in August 2021.

HUNGARY
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Only the state monopolies (Szerencsejáték Zrt. and Magyar Lóversenyfogadást-Szervezo Kft) and local concession companies can apply for a licence.
Status: Amendments to Hungarian gambling law came into force on 1 October 2015 and allow only two land-based casinos to hold remote casino concessions. The regulator has since issued fines, a number of which have been challenged, against unlicensed operators that continue to target the market. In June 2017, the ECJ determined Hungary’s gambling regime to be incompatible with Article 56 TFEU. A subsequent ECJ decision in February 2018 ruled against the Hungarian requirement that online gambling operators must have a land-based licence to offer online gambling services to Hungarian citizens, further strengthening arguments that the current regime is incompatible with EU law.

IRELAND
Regulated gambling products: Online betting regulated since August 2015. Online gaming is not specifically accounted for in Ireland’s outdated legislation and as such is currently unregulated.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for a betting licence.
Status: Ireland has contemplated updating its legislation, which will create a comprehensive igaming regime, for some time. The Gambling Control Bill – the legislation which promises to specifically regulate online gambling – has been subject to continued delay and legislative progress is not expected in the short- to medium-term. Interim reform measures intended to modernise the regulation of gambling in Ireland entered into effect on 1 December 2020.  In February 2021 draft legislation was published (by an opposition party) which, if passed, would restrict most forms of gambling advertising. According to the Department of Justice’s ‘Justice Plan 2021’, it is expected that in Q3 2021 a General Scheme of legislation to reform the licensing regime for gambling will be published.

ITALY
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Fully regulated market, although lotteries are the subject of a state monopoly.
Status: Remote gambling licences are granted within specific application windows. The last tender process for applications closed on 19 March 2018. AGCOM, the Italian communications regulator, has issued sanctions against operators and media companies for violation of the gambling advertising ban (introduced in 2018). Measures to combat unlicensed gambling, including payment blocking measures, entered into effect in October 2019. A tax, which amounts to 0.5% on turnover, was introduced in 2020 on all bets on sporting events (including virtual sports) and is expected to remain in place until 31 December 2021. It is understood that Italian authorities are currently preparing a draft law on a 2023 licensing tender process that will reduce the number of available online licences to 40.

LUXEMBOURG
Regulated gambling products: Lottery.
Operator type: Monopoly.
Status: The general prohibition on gambling appears sufficiently wide to cover all forms of online gambling.

MALTA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for a local licence (except for lottery products).
Status: In 2018, Malta approved a new Gaming Act that replaced all existing gaming legislation with a single piece of legislation, supplemented by secondary legislation. The Gaming Act, with directives and regulations, became effective on 1 August 2018.

NETHERLANDS
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Monopoly for all products.
Status: The Remote Gambling Act, which introduced a new licensing regime, entered into force on 1 April 2021. Operators may now submit applications for a licence under the new regime. However, operators that have previously directly ‘targeted’ the Dutch market will face a 33-month cooling-off period before being eligible for a licence. While applications have been accepted since April 2021, the market under the new regime is not anticipated to go live until 1 October 2021. In the interim, the regulator is expected to continue to implement enforcement measures against operators targeting Dutch players.

NORWAY
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: Online gambling is reserved for the two monopoly providers, Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.
Status: The monopoly has extended its offering to include live betting, online bingo and casino games in an attempt to redirect traffic from unlicensed sites. The Norwegian regulator continues to step up enforcement efforts against unregulated operators, local banks and payment service providers. The government has passed amendments to try and stem the flow of gambling supply from offshore, including enhanced enforcement powers to prevent gambling advertising from abroad. Expanded payment blocking provisions entered into effect on 1 January 2020. Draft legislation consolidating Norway’s various gambling laws and further strengthening the regulator’s powers to address unlicensed gambling and the advertisement of the same was submitted to Norwegian parliament for debate and approval in June 2021.

POLAND
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, casino and poker.
Operator type: Betting licences are available for companies with a representative in Poland. Casino and poker are reserved for a state monopoly.
Status: Legislation enacted on 1 January 2012 permits betting. Online gaming (including poker) is no longer prohibited as of 1 April 2017, although the exclusive rights to offer such products are reserved for a state monopoly. Provisions that provide for the establishment of a blacklist of unlicensed operators and ISP and payment blocking came into force on 1 July 2017 and in February 2021 amendments to such provisions were the subject of parliamentary debate. The blacklist contains more than 1,000 domain names. 

PORTUGAL
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Any EU/EEA operator can apply to be granted a licence for online gambling. Lottery games and land-based fixed-odds sports betting remain reserved for a monopoly.
Status: A regulated market since 2015. Although operators can apply for licences, their Portuguese revenue streams are subject to comparatively high tax rates, particularly in sports betting. Portugal’s 2020 Budget will implement changes to the current taxation rates applicable to selected gambling products offered online. 

ROMANIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Any operator from an EU/EEA jurisdiction or the Swiss Confederation can apply for a licence. Lottery games remain reserved for the monopoly.
Status: The Gambling Law (as amended) introduced a legal framework for a fully regulated online gambling market and requires licences to be held by online gambling operators, as well as software providers, payment processors, affiliates and testing labs. The secondary legislation that fully implemented the current licensing regime came into force on 26 February 2016. The gambling regulator actively polices the regime and notifies ISPs to block blacklisted websites. A legislative proposal to further amend the Gambling Law was submitted to the Romanian Senate in September 2020.

SLOVAKIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for licences for online casino and for sports betting licences. Lottery and bingo remain reserved for the monopoly provider.
Status: The Gambling Law came into force on 1 March 2019. The Gambling Law allows private operators outside of Slovakia to apply for licences for sports betting and casino, although sports betting licences did not take effect until 1 July 2020.

SLOVENIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Online gambling must be operated by land-based casinos or lotteries and, as a result, only the monopoly holds online licences in Slovenia.
Status: The requirement that only land-based Slovenian operators are eligible for licences is considered by certain industry stakeholders to be incompatible with EU law. Draft amendments to the Gaming Act were published in 2015, which aimed to remove the current local establishment requirement. However, the proposal does not appear to have been submitted to parliament to date. Whether any proposed amendments will ultimately introduce an open licensing system remains unclear.

SPAIN
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for licences for all gambling products save for lottery.
Status: Operators must hold a general licence and a specific licence, both issued by the National Gambling Commission, for each activity. Remote gambling licences are granted within specific application windows. The last tender process for applications closed on 18 December 2018. In November 2020, Spain introduced significant restrictions on gambling advertising, sports sponsorship and welcome bonuses. 

SWEDEN
Regulated gambling products: Betting (including sports, horse race, pool, exchanges), casino, poker, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences are available for private operators.
Status: As of 1 January 2019, Sweden is a fully regulated market. All gambling operators that wish to offer their services to Swedish residents will be required to obtain a licence in order to validly do so (either a ‘betting’ licence or a ‘commercial online games’ licence, depending on the product(s) being offered). Active enforcement measures are in place. Temporary regulations, which were introduced on 2 July 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis, restrict, among other things, deposit and loss limits (applicable to casino only) and total login time. The measures were initially due to be lifted by the end of 2020 and then  by the end of June 2021; however, they will remain in place until at least 14 November 2021. In January 2021, the Swedish government opened a consultation on certain proposals, such as the prohibition of gambling advertising between 6am to 9pm and the introduction of a B2B licensing regime. In June 2021 the Swedish government also opened a further consultation on proposals to subject gambling advertising to similar requirements that are in place with respect to the advertising of alcohol.  

Wiggin is a law firm dedicated to supporting the media, entertainment and gaming sectors. Its market-leading betting and gaming group provides specialist legal services to an array of gambling industry stakeholders. We advise many of the world’s leading gambling operators and suppliers and also enjoy helping entrepreneurial, interactive start-up businesses. If you’d like to hear more, contact us at gambling@wiggin.co.uk.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

Referred to as the Fixed Odds Wagering Act, the legislation will allow customers to place fixed-odds horse racing bets through official licence holders approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, rather than only pari-mutuel bets.

The bill was first passed by the Assembly last month, with 74 votes in favour, none against and one abstention. It then when to the Senate, where it was amended before being passed by a 40-0 margin.

Read the full story on iGB North America.