Month: June 2021

The licence will put CampoBet and YoyoCasino in contact with operators licensed in Malta, after both brands were launched in Sweden last year.

CampoBet will offer its casino and sports betting products, and YoYoCasino will supply their range of casino games to several new territories.

Soft2Bet CEO Boris Chaikin said: “We are delighted that YoyoCasino and Campobet have been launched under the MGA licence. This allows us to operate in a number of new markets, which is a huge milestone for us as a company and will take us to the next level as we rapidly grow our regulated footprint.

“Our portfolio of cutting-edge casino and sportsbook brands appeals to an impressive range of audiences, and this will help us to further extend its reach across the globe.”

CampoBet and YoYoCasino are the latest Soft2Bet brands to receive MGA licences, after the Frumzi casino brand received the same treatment earlier this year.

The Dutch Government has announced a series of changes to levies and fees ahead of the launch of the online market from 1 October, with the figures to last for the next 10 years.

The gambling levy for all providers of games of chance will be increased due to an uptick in the costs incurred by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) gaming authority, related to regulating the new online market.

Online gambling operators will see the percentage of gross gaming revenue paid rise from 1.75% to 1.95% – an 11.4% rise. Some 0.25% of the charge will still be directed towards an addiction prevention fund.

Lotteries, slots and land-based casinos will also see slight rises in their levy contributions.

“Since its introduction on 1 April 2012, the gambling levy has not been indexed for price inflation and wage cost developments,” the Dutch Government said in a statement. “This has the consequence that the levy amounts and levy percentages are no longer sufficient to cover the costs of the KSA in the context of supervision and enforcement.

“The Gambling Act stipulates that the KSA is financed by the sector. This, in addition to supervision and enforcement, also applies to the development and implementation costs of the KSA in connection with the entry into force of the KOA (Remote Gambling) Act. These costs are higher than was foreseen when that law had yet to be passed.”

Meanwhile, licence fees will also be changed, with a reduction with immediate effect in most cases. Lotto and casino operators will see their processing fees drop from €48,000 to €28,000. Online gambling operators will see their fees remain the same at €48,000.

The Dutch Remote Gambling Act finally came into effect on 1 April with the market to launch on 1 October. KSA recently said it expects to grant 35 licences for online gambling ahead of October.

SI Sportsbook is set to debut in Colorado in the second half of 2021 following an agreement between 888 and Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the brand development, marketing and entertainment company which acquired the Sports Illustrated brand for $110m in 2019.

Under the commercial agreement, ABG will grant to 888 an exclusive license for the use of the Sports Illustrated brand and trademarks for online sports betting and igaming, and some exclusive advertising and editorial integration rights on select Sports Illustrated branded digital assets.

For the full article visit iGB North America.

The betting supplier said that “if all its assumptions materialise”, Kambi estimates achieving such a figure in an addressable market it believes could be worth €63bn in five years time.

It said that if so, its revenue could fall between €400m and €600m.

In its latest financial results, Kambi recorded a 55% Q1 revenue increase to €43.2m owed to the continued growth of the US market and a more congested sporting calendar.

Kambi co-founder and CEO Kristian Nylén said:  “Kambi has demonstrated strong growth consistently over a long period of time, yet we are only at the start of our exciting journey, with many fantastic opportunities awaiting us.

“Having established ourselves as the global industry’s trusted sports betting partner, we more than anyone know what it takes to capitalise on the rapidly increasing total addressable market.”

The potential growth comes despite DraftKings, Kambi’s largest client, currently working on its migration away from the Sweden-based supplier’s technology and onto the platform of SBTech, which it acquired last year. The migration is set to be completed in the next quarter.

In addition, Kambi’s recent share buyback scheme was approved during the company’s extraordinary general meeting.

Engine previously designed and developed the UK Gambling Commission’s self-exclusion scheme, Gamstop, which launched in 2018.

The new platform being built on behalf of the ACMA will allow people to self-exclude from all licensed interactive wagering service providers. The length of self-exclusion will start at three months and extend to a permanent opt-out from accessing such gambling services.

Providers will also be prohibited from directly advertising and promoting to any self-excluded person.

“The register will make a difference for people who want help changing their gambling habits and will complement existing consumer protection measures,” ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

“If you choose to self-exclude, this register will ensure your account is closed, your money returned, and no further advertising or promotion activity will be directed your way.

“Engine is well-placed to deliver this protection having designed and developed Gamstop, the United Kingdom’s self-exclusion register.”

Engine will now begin extensive consultations with stakeholders as part of the platform’s initial design and development process. The service is expected to be trialled later this year, with an anticipated launch before the middle of 2022.

The ACMA reiterated that people can still contact individual operators to self-exclude from their services or register with other existing programmes during the development of the new platform. Other programmes that currently provide such support include one offered by the Northern Territory Racing Commission, which covers many of Australia’s larger bookmakers.

The bill – drawn up by the Federal Council (Bundesrat) – was approved for a floor vote by the Finance Committee earlier this week. 

It sets out tax rates for online casino games, which are set to become fully legal across Germany from July 1, under the country’s new State Treaty on Gambling, the Glücksspielneuregulierungstaatsvetrag (GlüNeuRStv).

The proposal would set taxes for online slots and online poker at 5.3% of turnover. The Finance Committee also noted that the tax is intended to apply to unlicensed gambling, as well as licensed offerings.

As expected, the bill was passed in the floor vote thanks to the governing coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian equivalent the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), as well as the Green Party.

The bill was opposed by Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

Die Linke abstained from voting.

However, despite being passed by the Bundestag, the proposal may still face a legal hurdle before it can be implemented.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) and Der Deutsche Sportwettenverband (DVSW) both filed a complaint with the EU in May, arguing the tax is illegal state aid as it favours the land-based industry over online.

The EGBA noted that while taxes vary between states, the difference in tax bills between the land-based and online sectors in Bavaria would come to €293.9m, with slot halls seeing the largest advantage at €178.1m.

The choice to implement a turnover tax at this level has also led to concerns about channelisation in the market. One study – conducted by Goldmedia consulting and research group on behalf of Entain, Flutter Entertainment and Novomatic subsidiary Greentube – claimed that the tax could lead 49% of players to gamble with unlicensed operators.

The state treaty (GlüNeuRStv), meanwhile, was first approved by lawmakers in March 2020. It is set to take force at the start of July after it was approved by all 16 federal states.

It will legalise online casino games in Germany for the first time, but impose certain restrictions, such as a €1 per spin stake limit for online slots.

Currently, operators may offer online casino games under a transition period, provided they keep to the rules of the new treaty. However, operators such as LeoVegas have said that this has had a major impact on revenue.

Under the agreement, EEG will serve as the Rangers’ official esports tournament provider from the start of July.

EEG will operate three Rangers-themed esports tournaments via its Esports Gaming League brand and platform. The two parties will also work together to create video content that will promote the tournaments across the Rangers’ digital platforms.

Read the full article on iGB North America.

Senate Bill 247, sponsored by Senate President Patrick Page Cortez, and SB142, from Senator Rick Ward III, were signed off after being passed on the final day of the state’s legislative session earlier this month. Both bills passed after going to a conference committee, when the upper chamber rejected amendments put forward in the House of Representatives.

The Governor’s approval has paved the way for as many as 41 sportsbooks to launch in the state, with multiple reports suggesting several will target the start of the new NFL season in September.

Read the full article on iGB North America.

The venues were described as bars and restaurants, which are connected together with what the authorities called an “almost perfect advance warning system”.

This, Austria’s Ministry of Finance said, was the reason given for carrying out the raids simultaneously, in order to prevent one venue from warning others.

Most of the venues are located in covert locations such as closed alleyways, with personal access control, according to the Ministry.

Access to the venues was granted voluntarily to police, meaning they were not required to force entry.

Officers found as many as 17 gaming machines in each of the venues, five of which had the devices screwed to the floors, which therefore needed to be removed with the fire brigade’s assistance.

The Ministry of Finance said that the operation was preceded by intensive preliminary investigations and evaluations, and that those responsible for the venues behind the scenes are currently being sought with a full investigation underway.

“The record of the night of action is impressive,” said finance minister Gernot Blümel.

“A total of 91 devices were confiscated and transported away by the financial police. I congratulate my colleagues in the financial police on this blow against the gambling mafia and on their professional work.”

Two other illegal gambling venues were shut down by the financial police in February, in the Vienna districts of Donaustadt and Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus.

In January, the Ministry of Finance had reported an increased number of illegal gaming devices seized by police in 2020, despite law enforcement’s day-to-day operations being disrupted by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Sauer previously served as vice-president of corporate development, having moved up from the position of senior director of corporate development in 2019. He joined CDI in 2014.

CDI said that Sauer would work with senior management to develop and execute the company’s growth initiatives and would report directly to chief executive Bill Carstanjen.

Read the full article on iGB North America.