Regulation round-up 5 April 2016
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (30 March to 5 April 2016)
Russia online betting taxes to rise one hundred-fold
New licensing structure could pave the way for European operators to legally enter market
Russian online betting operators are set to face drastically higher taxes from the start of next year, as a new online licence could require them to pay between RUB2.5m and RUB3m (?30,000 to ?40,000) a month to operate in each of Russia’s 12 regions.
The new licensing fee structure, which has been passed by the country’s Ministry of Finance, according to local reports, is expected to take effect on 1 January 2017.
It means an online bookmaker wishing to operate in every Russian region could be paying more than ?5m a year – more than one hundred times higher than the existing fees for bookmakers.
The new taxes are part of an effort to license and regulate online betting, which Russian bookmakers started offering last year.
William Hill found to have breached advertising code
Two of William Hill’s promotions have been found to be in breach of the UK’s advertising code for misleading customers over the risk-free nature of the offers.
The promos, which were seen on 11 December and 25 December, offered slots customers depositing ?5 and ?10 or more respectively a risk-free spin if their initial gamble didn’t pay off.
A complaint from a customer said the first offer was misleading because when they played the game they were unable to obtain the ?5 refund without staking additional funds.
Seven days in regulation:
Malta regulator partners Microsoft for new CRM system
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has teamed-up with Microsoft to create a new customer relationship management (CRM) system aimed at automating and simplifying its licensing procedures.
The partnership with Microsoft Malta, which will see the launch of a dedicated web portal by the end of 2016, is also set to improve the transparency of its gaming and licensee management processes.
Meanwhile, the new CRM tool will enable prospective licensees to view the status of their application in real-time via a new dedicated dashboard.
NYX Gaming goes Dutch with state lottery deal
NYX Gaming Group has sealed a deal to supply online gaming content and player account management to the largest lottery operator in Netherlands.
The merger of de the Dutch State Lottery (Staatsloterij) and De Lotto was approved by competition regulators in the Netherlands and will create a ?1bn (?725m) lottery operator once complete.
The combined organisation will integrate NYX’s Open Platform System, featuring slots and scratch card titles from NYX’s wholly owned subsidiary NextGen Gaming launch across its sites.
Senet Group chief exec Finlay resigns
The Senet Group is on the hunt for a new chief executive following the resignation of the self-regulatory body’s CEO Ron Finlay, it was announced yesterday (Monday).
Finlay was a founding member of the London-based independent body and played an integral role in the creation of its responsible gambling initiatives, as well as the launch of the ‘When The Fun Stops Stop’ brand.
The Senet Group currently has six members following the addition of its first online-only operator Sky Betting & Gaming in February.
Poll results: Operators shouldn’t sweat on self-exclusion impact
UK-facing operators shouldn’t be too concerned about the potential impact self-exclusion and cool-off facilities could have on their business, the majority of respondents to last week’s eGaming Review poll have said.
Last month William Hill partly attributed a profit warning to a reduction in actives it said had been caused by an increased customer take-up of self-help tools, and estimated the full year cost to be as high as ?25m.
The firm said it had been losing on average 3,000 customers a week, an admission which resulted in a 13% drop-off in its share price, while the likes of Ladbrokes and Paddy Power Betfair also saw its stock impacted negatively.