Regulation round-up 2 April 2013
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (27 March to 2 April 2013).
Boyd CEO: New Jersey “much larger opportunity” than Nevada
Casino group likely to prioritise entry into New Jersey despite being among first licensed in Nevada.
Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith has told eGaming Review North America the operator sees New Jersey as a “much larger opportunity” than Nevada for online gambling, despite receiving its Nevada licence more than six months ago.
In an exclusive interview, Smith (pictured) echoed the views of software partner bwin.party, whose CEO Norbert Teufelberger said earlier this month that it was “not pushing [for a Nevada licence] very hard“ and instead saw New Jersey as “the first significant opportunity” in the US.
“Clearly given the population in New Jersey, it’s a much larger state and therefore much larger opportunity. I’m sure bwin.party is focused on New Jersey because that is where the greatest opportunity is,” Smith said.
“I think we’re both evaluating the opportunities, and the size of them, here in Nevada, and trying to assess where the greatest one is to launch a business and be profitable.
“We’re assessing what makes sense to do and how it makes sense to roll out, so we don’t have as clear a direction in Nevada today, because of the different opportunities and the fact that they are smaller given the population of the state. We all have limited resources and we have to allocate them to the proper places,” he added.
Seven days in regulation
Report: More than one third of Norwegian gamblers used unlicensed sites in 2012
More than one third of Norwegian gamblers used offshore egaming sites in 2012, according to a new report from the country’s gaming board.
The report, published last month, found that 62% visited monopoly operators Norsk Tipping and Norsk Risktoto, while the remainder either play only on offshore sites (18%) or a combination of offshore and monopoly operators (19%).
The Lotteritilsynet (Norwegian Gaming Board) admitted there could be a lag due to the measurements being conducted continuously over the course of the year, meaning there is a chance of even more than 38% using offshore sites in practice.
Lottery commissioners appointed to UK Gambling Commission
Mary Chapman and Robert Foster, commissioners with the UK’s National Lottery Commission, have been appointed to the country’s Gambling Commission by Government Minister for Sport and Tourism Hugh Robertson.
The move is seen as a precursor for the merger of the Lottery Commission’s functions with those of the Gambling Commission, and the pair will continue to devote three days a month to their lottery responsibilities until such a merger is formally completed.
A consultation over this proposed merger was opened last July before being brought to a close in October, and was part of a wider government strategy of “increasing the accountability and reducing the number and cost of public bodies”.