Regulation round-up 12 April 2016
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (6 April to 12 April 2016)
Poland ready to embrace foreign operators
Country likely to adopt Danish-style regulatory model to attract Europe’s heavy hitters
Poland finally appears ready to open up its online gambling market with the country’s government understood to be close to adopting a new regulatory framework based on the Danish model.
Last week Poland’s minister of finance Pawe?? Sza??amacha said a new Gambling Act was under development and could even be published before the end of this month.
And according to sources in Poland, the new Act would likely bear a strong resemblance to the framework adopted by Denmark, with all verticals regulated and taxed in the region of 20% GGR.
A switch to a Danish-style licensing system would be a stark improvement on the current Polish model, which only permits online sports betting at a restrictive turnover-based tax of 12%, although this is lower for horseracing.
Sportsbet CEO defends bookies in match-fixing row
Accusations that online bookies are to blame for corruption in professional sports are “incorrect and misleading”, according to SportsBet CEO Cormac Barry whose opinion piece in Melbourne’s The Age newspaper says betting firms must be part of the solution to match-fixing.
Responding to recent comments made by former Victorian Labour gaming minister Tony Robinson about bookmakers’ role in the rise of corruption in sport, Barry argued licensed online bookmakers were in fact the last line of defence in protecting its integrity.
“Robinson would lead you to believe that licensed Australian bookmakers are the cause of corruption, but the opposite is true,” Barry wrote.
Seven days in regulation:
BetStars obtains ABP status
Amaya’s online sportsbook brand BetStars has struck a deal with British Racing to become the latest online-only operator to obtain Authorised Betting Partner (ABP) status.
The deal, announced in time for the Grand National, will see BetStars make a voluntary contribution to the British horseracing industry in exchange for a number of promotional benefits and commercial arrangements with British racecourses.
“The birth of betting in the UK was driven by horseracing and it’s important that it is given the opportunity to grow and flourish,” Ian Marmion, BetStars trading director, said.
Poll results: Russia remains a risk option for operators
Operators should avoid the temptation of investing heavily in the vast Russian market due to its unpredictability, EGR readers have said.
Some two-third of respondents would err on the side of caution when thinking about entering the country, perhaps in light of last week’s news that online betting taxes are to drastically rise next year.
The move by Russia’s Ministry of Finance to increase licence fees could see digital operators paying more than ?5m a year – more than one hundred times higher than the existing fees for bookmakers.
DFS illegal in Alabama and Tennessee, say Attorney Generals
Alabama and Tennessee have become the latest states to rule the offer of daily fantasy sports (DFS) is illegal under their respective gambling laws.
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange served FanDuel and DraftKings with cease and desist letters on Tuesday, giving both operators until May 1 to exit the state.
In a statement, Strange said that DFS operators claim they operate legally under state law, however paid DFS contests “are in fact illegal gambling.”