Regulation round-up 21 January 2014
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (15 January to 21 January 2014)
Spanish regulator mulls tax reduction
DGOJ deputy general says operators are suffering due to country’s high tax demands
Spain’s remote tax regime could be set for review with a senior member of the country’s regulatory body telling eGaming Review he was “concerned” by the effects it was having on the market.
Juan Espinosa, deputy director general for gambling regulation at La Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), said many operators were struggling to cope with the demands of a 25% gross gaming levy.
Many observers list the rate of tax to be one of the main reasons behind the recent decline in the Spanish market while the regulator admits there are “certain scale requirements” for operators to succeed.
“We do see the point and this is something we are looking at and analysing in order to consider proposing a revision,” Espinosa said.
Regulators no closer to liquidity solution after Rome meeting
Representatives of six European national gambling regulators met in Rome last week to discuss a range of matters affecting the online gambling industry with delegates still hopeful of finding a liquidity pooling solution.
Members from the regulatory bodies of France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the UK were invited to a meeting in Rome hosted by Italian regulator AAMS designed to improve information sharing and other good practices.
The meetings took place on 16 and 17 January and were the fourth informal gathering between the collection of regulatory bodies. A fifth meeting to be held in Germany has been scheduled for this autumn.
According to a joint-statement released by the regulators, topics on the agenda included the fight against unlicensed gambling, regulatory evolution of domestic markets, control systems, the role of game suppliers, technical standards, skill games and the legal issues linked to the exchange of personal data.
Seven days in regulation:
Sweden infringement case faces delay
Infringement proceedings launched against Sweden by the European Commission face fresh delays after a meeting between officials from both parties was cancelled last week.
Discussions between the two sides over the issue are ongoing, however a meeting between European commissioner for internal markets and services Michel Barnier and Sweden’s minister of finance markets Peter Norman, due to take place on Monday, was cancelled at late notice.
Barnier is currently in the running to replace Jose Manuel Barroso as European Commission president, with elections to take place in May this year.
PMU.fr set to separate horseracing liquidity
Former French monopoly Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) could be required to separate the liquidity of its horserace betting business between physical outlets and online as early as next month, eGaming Review understands.
French rival Betclic Everest Group lodged a complaint against PMU with Autorité de la concurrence, the French Competition Authority, after it argued its competitor held an unfair advantage through its monopoly of the retail horseracing market, which it uses to pool bets with those made online.
Betclic claimed that by combining retail bets with those struck online, PMU.fr has been able to significantly increase the winnings pot for each bet and offer additional bets and more stable odds.
California online poker bills set to die
The two California online poker bills SB51 and SB678 are set to die later this month, with new legislation expected to be submitted in February with the backing of the state’s tribal leaders.
The California legislature has reached the end of its current two-year session meaning any bills that have not reached the committee, such as SB51 and SB678, are scrapped and re-introduced.
SB51 has been sponsored by Senator Rod Wright, while SB678 has been sponsored by Senator Lou Correa.
Macedonia to set up online gambling monopoly
The Macedonian government has announced it is setting up a state-owned online gaming monopoly in order to stem the flow of money being staked at soon-to-be banned foreign-owned sites.
State Video Lottery (SVL) will be 51% government-owned while Austrian gambling company Austria Casino has been selected to manage the operation and will hold the remaining 49%.
The private company will invest 6m to establish SVL ahead of its expected launch later this year, at which point the government will begin to block access to all international gambling sites.