Regulation round-up 21 November 2017
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (14 November to 21 November 2017)
Lottoland downplays impact of Aus lotteries ban
Operator to be banned from taking bets on domestic Australian draws
Lottoland has downplayed the impact of new rules in its licensing state, Northern Territory (NT), which will see the operator banned from taking bets on all Australian lotteries.
The restrictions were announced on Wednesday by NT Attorney-General Natasha Fyles, who said the move was a response to Lottoland’s “synthetic business practice” which “undercut” local businesses and newsagents.
Fyles said affected firms would be given a “short, reasonable period” to make the required changes to their businesses before the directive was formally enacted.
However Lottoland Australia downplayed the impact on its business, and said it would make the necessary changes.
Gambling Commission pledges “tougher sanctions” with new strategy
The Gambling Commission has launched a new three-year strategy designed to deliver “fairer and safer gambling”.
The regulator announced the strategy at the Citizens Advice annual conference in Manchester, saying it would focus on five priority areas over the next three years.
Top of the list of priorities was protecting the interests of consumers, with the Commission warning: “There will be tougher and broader sanctions on operators (including lotteries) who fail to treat customers fairly and make gambling safe.”
The Commission has already handed out multi-million pound fines to Ladbrokes Coral and 888 for social responsibility failings this year.
Sweden’s unregulated revenues up 11%
Sweden’s unregulated market grew by 11% year-on-year to SEK 4.5bn (£405m) in the first three quarters of the year.
Figures released by the Swedish gambling authority (Lotteriinspektionen) showed unregulated operators held a market share of 53% during the nine-month period.
Regulated revenues stood at SEK 3.6bn (£324m), with online revenues accounting for 46% of the entire Swedish market.
Within the regulated segment, monopoly operator Svenska Spel saw online revenues up 15% to SEK 1.6bn (£144m) year-on-year.