Regulation round-up 16 September 2014
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (10 September to 16 September 2014)
PoC legal challenge to be heard this month
New GB licensing regime set for judicial review after regulator is unsuccessful in attempts to have the case thrown out
Great Britain’s plans to implement a Point of Consumption regulatory regime will be contested in the courts later this month after the UK government and Gambling Commission were unsuccessful in their attempts to have the case thrown out.
The case, which will see the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) pitted against the government and regulator, is due to start on Tuesday 23 September at the UK High Court of Justice – ahead of the new regime’s prospective 1 October go-live date.
eGaming Review previously reported that the government and regulator had sought to have the case thrown out, arguing that EU law shouldn’t apply to goods and services provided by Gibraltar due to its as a non-EU member state.
The GBGA last month lodged an application for a judicial review into the planned introduction of the PoC regime in the Britain, stating the Act would constitute a breach of EU law.
Sports betting affiliates asked to withdraw in-app betting
Sports betting affiliates have been asked to withdraw in-app betting functions from their iOS apps after a change in policy from technology firm Apple.
The change in policy comes after many affiliates have integrated wallet functions in recent months in order to allow customers to place bets without having to leave the app.
But eGR understands Apple has said any app offering betting services should belong to a company holding an official gambling licence, and any workarounds will be blocked at submission stage.
Seven days in regulation:
Bookmaking giants form self-regulatory advertising body
Four of the UK’s largest bookmakers have united to form a self-regulatory body which promises to clamp down on irresponsible advertising and “name and shame” offending bookmakers.
William Hill, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Gala Coral announced the formation of the Senet Group by taking out one-page advertisements in UK national newspapers and set out a list of initiatives all parties agreed to undertake in order to improve gambling’s public image.
From 1 October all four operators will adhere to a pre-watershed advertising ban on sign-up offers involving the offer of free money or bets while a new responsible gambling advertising campaign will start next year.
Sportsbook duo investigated by Dutch regulator
The Netherlands’ gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has launched investigations into two online sportsbooks after the pair were alleged to have ignored previous warnings and illegally targeted the Dutch market.
Although the KSA did not name the two operators, it did say if found guilty the pair could face a 780,000 fine and be ruled out of the running for a Dutch operating licence when the market opens up as expected in 2015.
“They run the risk of further enforcement and additionally, for those who do not comply with the rules, [it] may affect authorisation if the Dutch market [opens],” The KSA said in a statement.
Landmark Danish taxation ruling set for this month
Danish authorities are set to learn whether it can continue to tax online and land-based operators at different rates as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) prepares to deliver a judgment which could have wider implications for the European gambling industry.
Denmark’s Royal Scandinavian Casino filed a complaint to the ECJ in December 2011 in which it challenged the European Commission’s decision to back a lower rate of taxation for online operators.
The country’s online gambling market opened in January 2012 amid arguments led by the land-based sector that the differing tax rate on GGR of 20% for online and up to as much as 75% for land-based operators constituted illegal state aid.
German Inter State Treaty “completely botched”
A leading German politician has called for the country’s Inter State Treaty on gambling to be scrapped following what he described as a “completely botched” procedure.
Speaking to German media, Wolfgang Greilich, domestic policy spokesman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), said the decision to limit the number of licences to 20 was “arbitrary” and the only conclusion to take from the process was that it “must be changed”.
He also questioned how state lottery operator Oddset would push for an early award of a full licence in order to launch as early as possible with legal challenges from unsuccessful applicants expected.
Brazilian gambling Bill to make slow progress
Caution has been expressed over the potential for a regulated online gambling market in Brazil despite Senator Nogueira’s draft Bill passing through to the country’s senate for discussion last week.
The Bill has now progressed to the Senate’s Commission for Regional Development and Tourism for review, marking its first major progress since being introduced by Senator Ciro Nogueira in July this year.
The Bill will then be picked over by Brazil’s Commission for Science, Technology, Innovation, Communication and IT; the Commission for Economic Affairs and the Commission for the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship, during which amendments and additions can be made to its wording.
Coral to block underage Twitter followers
Bookmaker Coral is introducing an age-verification system for its Twitter account to block underage users from viewing its content.
Users of the social platform will be prompted to enter their date of birth if they attempt to follow the operator with Twitter extending a tool, which had previously only been available to alcohol brands, to gambling operators.
The age checks will be implemented on both desktop and Android and iOS devices and mirror the operator’s Facebook pages which have used age-gating since their inception. Other Gala Coral-related Twitter accounts are expected to follow suit shortly.
Dutch regulator eases fears over egaming delay
The Dutch gaming regulator dismissed fears over a potential delay to its egaming regulation after politicians put back the deadline for written discussions until the end of October.
It had been expected that the country’s parliament would discuss the new gambling Bill in September following its passing by the Council of Ministers in February, however this has now been rescheduled.
Speaking to eGR, chairman of the Dutch regulator Kansspeautoriteit, played down fears of a delay and insisted it was “completely usual” for parliament to take a month or two to put together its first reaction to the draft Bill.
New Jersey opens the door to sports betting
New Jersey appears to have opened the door to sports betting operators after Governor Chris Christie yesterday said the state’s racetracks and casinos could offer sports betting without fear of prosecution.
The directive, issued by acting attorney general John Hoffman, comes just weeks after Christie vetoed a bill “ SB 2250 “ which sought to legalise sports betting in the state, and is expected to be challenged in the courts by numerous sports leagues.
According to the directive, the state’s racetracks and casinos can offer wagers on sporting events, so long as they are not on a college sport or athletic events that takes place in New Jersey, or in which any New Jersey college team participates, regardless of where the event takes place.
RGA dismisses Portuguese monopoly’s liberalisation fears
Remote Gambling Association CEO Clive Hawkswood has dismissed Portuguese monopoly Santa Casa da Misericodia de Lisboa’s fears over the planned liberalision of Portugal’s online gambling market but called on the country to rethink its “punitive” tax plans.
Portugal’s Council of Ministers submitted new legislation to the European Commission last week, seeking approval on plans to liberalise its online gambling market including a two-tiered tax rate for online gaming and sports betting.
Plans originally approved by the country’s parliament in July included a tax rate of 15% of gross gaming revenue for games of chance and mutual horse racing betting and a rate of 8% on total sports betting revenue, a taxation regime which the RGA criticised earlier this year.