Regulation round-up 26 November 2013
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (20 November to 26 November 2013)
Lesniak introduces “foreign gambling” bill in NJ
New Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak is to take on Gibraltar and IoM with bill to enable NJ operators to target markets outside of the US
Senator Raymond Lesniak has introduced a bill to allow New Jersey-licensed operators to offer their online platforms to players in countries outside of the US, as part of plans to turn New Jersey into the “mecca for egaming”.
If passed into law the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement would be responsible for issuing operators with a Restricted Foreign Internet Wagering (RFIW) permit.
“Just as egaming operators are applying licences to offer internet gaming in New Jersey, they could apply for an international licence to offer gambling outside the United States,” said Lesniak.
The Senator believes the bill will have a relatively easy passage into law as it will dramatically increase New Jersey’s player pool, as well as bolstering tax revenues for the state.
EU states quizzed over gambling services restrictions
The European Commission (EC) has launched infringement proceedings against a number of EU Member States regarding their gambling laws and possible breaches of internal market rules.
The EC has sent two reasoned opinions to Sweden, the second and final stage in a pre-litigation procedure which could see the country brought before the European Court of Justice for restricting the supply of gambling services.
The opinions outline the Commission’s position on the infringement with Sweden, which operates a gambling monopoly under state operator Svenska Spel, given a two-month window in which to reply.
Sweden becomes the fourth nation to receive a reasoned opinion, along with Hungary, the Netherlands and Greece.
Seven days in regulation:
German sports betting licences “less valuable by the day”
Further delays to the German sports betting licensing process are said to be significantly impacting on the inherent value of the German sports betting market.
Last week the Hessian Interior Ministry notified all 41 applicants that they had all failed to meet the minimum requirements to obtain one of the 20 available licences and were asked to resubmit their applications.
The licensing procedure will now run into 2014, despite earlier assurances that sports betting operators would begin to learn their fate as early as August.
Patrick Schwarzbart, a gaming lawyer at DLA Piper, said that the continued delays are making licences “less valuable by the day”.
PoC amendments rejected at committee stage
Members of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill committee rejected a series of amendments tabled by the opposition including a measure for ISP blocking.
Labour’s shadow sports minister Clive Efford put forward a total of 16 amendments to the controversial Bill, including clauses to allow for ISP blocking and to oblige spread betting firms to comply with licence condition 15.1 in relation to the reporting of suspicious betting activity.
However, all the proposed clauses failed to satisfy the committee, and its members, which included sports minister Helen Grant, voted against each individual amendment.
888 VIP ads banned after Rational complaint
Gibraltar-licensed 888 has been forced to remove a number of banners from its casino website after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled they contained “misleading” statements.
Following a complaint from Rational Entertainment Enterprises, owners of PokerStars and Full Tilt, three separate ads on 888casino.com, which promoted the operator’s VIP scheme, were investigated by the ASA.
Rational challenged whether the claims “best VIP program around”, “best VIP promotions anywhere” and “best benefits, bonuses, promotions and exclusive event offers anywhere online” were misleading or could be substantiated.
Caesars receives New Jersey licence
Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) has been given the green light to operate its online platform in New Jersey, after receiving approval from the state’s Casino Control Commission.
Almost immediately after the decision was made, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement also issued Caesars with an interactive gambling permit, allowing Caesars to launch its online platforms as part of a five-day trial.
“We appreciate the licensing today by the Casino Control Commission and are excited to launch CaesarsCasino.com, HarrahsCasino.com, and WSOP.com to those inside New Jersey’s borders today,” said Seth Palansky, a spokesman for CIE.
Police raid Bodog’s Philippines’ offices
Philippine police raided the local offices of Bodog’s Asia operation in the city of Makati last week, according to reports emanating from the country.
The Manila Times reports that members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the National Capital Region broke into the Bodog offices on the 22nd floor of the Enterprise Tower as part of an investigation into claims it was being used as a base to take illegal bets from international clients.
Police are said to have seized programs hard-wired in the hard-drives of computers identified as being utilized in illegal gambling operations, along with laptops, smartphones and boxes of printed documents.