Regulation round-up 30 September 2014
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (24 September to 30 September 2014)
PoC regime delayed until November
UK government says it will postpone Point of Consumption licensing regime until 1 November to give Judge time to come to decision
Great Britain’s Point of Consumption licensing regime has been postponed by one month after the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) said it wanted to afford the Judge enough time to deliver a judgment on last week’s judicial review.
The start of the new framework, which requires operators and suppliers to obtain a licence from the Gambling Commission if transacting with British-based customers, is now due to commence on 1 November as long as the regime is given the go-ahead by the courts.
The news follows a two-day court case which saw the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association challenge the government’s and regulator’s attempts to introduce a licensing regime it deems to be both “unlawful” and “disproportionate”.
Following the hearing, Lord Justice Green said he would be unable to deliver a final judgment ahead of the original 1 October go-live date prompting the GBGA to unsuccessfully request a delay to the enforcement of the regime.
Bet365 relocates global operational hub to Gibraltar
Bet365 confirmed yesterday it is relocating its international remote gambling operations, including its sportsbook team, to Gibraltar as part of a significant corporate restructuring at the Stoke-based firm.
According to the firm, the reorganisation came following a review of its corporate structure with Gibraltar now acting as its new licensing hub.
Bet365’s Stoke-on-Trent offices will continue to house around 2,000 staff, including the Group’s board with both Denise and John Coates remaining in the UK.
Seven days in regulation:
Ladbrokes withdraws from Canadian market
Ladbrokes has confirmed it will withdraw from Canada’s online market next week following a review of its international operations.
Speaking to eGaming Review a spokesperson for the operator said it “continually reviewed markets based on legal advice” and that it maintained a “focus on Australia, Spain and Belgium for the future”.
Ladbrokes emailed Canada-based customers last week to inform them they would not be able to place bets or deposit funds from 1 October and would be given a further month in which to withdraw balances.
EU rules in favour of differentiated Danish tax rate
The General Court of the European Union has delivered a landmark judgment which ruled Denmark could continue to set a differential tax regime for online and land-based operators.
The decision follows two cases brought to the Court by the Dansk Automat Brancheforening and the Royal Scandinavian Casino à rhus in 2011 which argued that online operators paying a lower tax rate violated EU State aid rules.
The country’s online gambling market, which opened in January 2012, taxes online operators at a GGR rate of 20% while land-based operators can be taxed by as much as 75%.
German licensing law under fresh scrutiny
Germany’s sports betting licensing procedure has come under fresh scrutiny after questions from an ongoing district court case in the country were referred to the European Court of Justice (CJEU).
The Sebat Ince case, lodged with the Sonthofen district court, questioned the interpretation of Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which states a requirement for transparency and equality in EU law as well as a prohibition of preferential treatment.
The court has sought to clarify whether Article 56 precludes penalising sports betting firms for accepting bets in the country considering that several disputes have been raised with the licensing procedure.
Sports betting drives 7% rise in Spanish GGR
The regulated Spanish online gambling market increased 6.7% year-on-year during Q2 after a double-digit rise in sports betting revenues more than offset a disappointing poker performance.
According to figures released by the regulator Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego, total gross gaming revenues (GGR) for the three months ended 30 June increased to 59.2m, up from 55.5m recorded in Q2 2013.
Total GGR fell 13% sequentially from 68.1m in Q1 to 59.2m in Q2.
GB regulator re-opens transitional licensing window
Great Britain’s Gambling Commission is preparing to re-open its transitional licensing window as a result of the one month delay to its new regulatory framework announced last week.
Operators will now be given until 23 October to submit their application for a transitional licence, one week ahead of the regime’s revised start date of 1 November.
The licensing window previously closed on 16 September with the Commission having received 161 applications “ more than it had originally expected.
Svenska Spel criticised following advertising review
Swedish monopoly Svenska Spel has been criticised after a review of its advertising conducted by Sweden’s gambling board found it violated new advertising restrictions in the country.
Lotteriinspektionen reviewed the operator’s marketing efforts between July and November last year following the introduction of new advertising guidelines implemented by the country’s government.
The study found that of 121 examples of marketing, 72 were considered “a clear violation of the terms stated” and a further 21 were on the verge of breaking the new terms.
Bookmakers unite to form German Sports Betting Association
Sports betting operators with a vested interest in the German market have united to form a new body to lobby for “more stable” regulation in the country.
Local operators such as mybet and Admiral Sportwetten have been joined by international firms Ladbrokes and Betfair to form the German Sports Betting Association (DSWV), which will be led by former mybet chief executive Matthias Dahms.
Tipico, StanleyBet and bet365 have also joined the association despite being overlooked for a sports betting licence by the Hessian Ministry of the Interior earlier this month, with the trio said to be among those mounting legal challenges to the licensing procedure.
ARJEL aims to streamline relicensing process
French regulator l’Autorité de regulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL) is preparing to streamline its relicensing procedures next year to make the process less burdensome for the first wave of operators whose licences are due to expire next summer.
ARJEL has drafted amendments to documents previously submitted to operators earlier this year which contained specifications all licensed operators would be subjected to in the renewal application in 2015.
However, should the amendments be approved by the College, ARJEL will simplify the application process as well as significantly reduce the amount of paperwork by limiting the information required to the period between ARJEL’s last annual audit to the present.