Regulation round-up 15 May 2012
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (09 May to 15 May 2012).
Back-tax dispute could see operators shun Spain
Spanish tax ministry looking to tax operators on pre-regulation operations “ gambling authority has no control over case.
Reports from Spain suggest that major egaming operators “ who draw around 80% of the market’s internet gaming revenues “ could cancel plans to enter the country’s egaming market if a move to have them pay back tax on pre-regulation operations is upheld by the country’s tax fraud office.
The Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias reports that despite general director of the Spanish General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) Enrique Alejo announcing licences will be awarded by 1 June “ ahead of the revised 30 June deadline “ earlier this week, unresolved court cases against a number of international operators over operations before regulation was introduced could see these companies hit with large back-tax bills.
While the exact figures each company is to be charged is yet to be determined, PokerStars are rumoured to face costs of around 200m and bwin.party 60m. It is at this moment unclear how much Sportingbet’s Spanish-facing brand Miapuesta, which was the subject of a legal challenge from Codere, is expected to pay, while Bet365 is also understood to be under investigation. In total the operators involved are thought to draw around 80% of egaming revenues generated from the market.
Bwin.party refused to comment on the matter when contacted by eGaming Review.
Spanish market to open on 1 June, regulator confirms
The Spanish General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) has confirmed it will meet its revised deadline for the opening of the country’s online gambling market and award licences to successful operators on 1 June “ four weeks ahead of the proposed date.
The original date for the opening of the market had been set for 30 December last year, however this was before the newly-elected El Partido Popular government introduced a last-minute amendment which saw the deadline extended to 30 June with more than 300 applications submitted from 62 operators.
The resignation of deputy general director of the DGOJ Juan Carlos Alfonso Rubio in March this year was expected to delay the opening of the market even further, with lawyer Cristina Romero de Alba of Loyra Abogados telling eGaming Review that the 30 June deadline was unlikely to be met due to a 15-day notice period for operators to prepare their systems to go live.
Major operators added to Belgian blacklist
Several Power 50 operators, including Betfair, William Hill and bwin.party brand bwin have been added to the Belgian blacklist for unlicensed sites.
Others included in the Belgian Gaming Commission’s (BGC) May update include the dot.com offerings of Betsson, 188Bet, and Betclic Everest brands BetClic, Expekt and bet-at-home.
Peter Naessens (pictured), head of the regulatory unit at the commission, told eGaming Review that reasons for adding operators to the list include the continued acceptance of Belgian players from unlicensed dot.com sites, attracting minors or vulnerable players, or connections with organised crime. He was unable to go into detail about which of these criteria had been fulfilled by the 30 sites which have been blacklisted since the process began in February.
Seven days in regulation:
CDU loss opens door for Schleswig-Holstein challenge
The future of regulated online gambling in Germany has been thrown into fresh doubt after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) lost a crucial state election in Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday.
Just days after the region’s first three egaming licences allowing operators to legally offer sports betting to German customers were handed to JAXX (myBet), Betfair and local lottery Die NordwestLotto Schleswig-Holstein, the CDU’s worst showing for 50 years could open the door for an opposition coalition to seek to challenge and overturn the state’s EU-backed state gambling act.
In a weekend of anti austerity election results in France and Greece, despite Merkel’s CDU scoring 31% of the vote the Free Democrats, the government’s coalition partners, slumped to a lowly 8% share with the opposition SPD finishing on around 30% but immediately stating it would look to join forces with the Greens in order to gain overall state control. The libertarian Pirate Party polled 8% and entered the state legislature for the first time.
Sports rebound offsets French poker decline
French-licensed operators have seen an increase in gross gaming revenues from sports betting, regulator ARJEL has revealed in its market analysis for the three months ended 31 March.
However, despite a 26% increase in tournament entries, poker revenues dropped 3% compared to the corresponding period in 2011, with much of the decline coming from the 18-24 age demographic.
Entry fees for tournament poker rose from 292m to 367m for the three-month period, but this was offset by cash game amounts wagered falling 5% from 2bn to 1.7bn. Average monthly deposits for poker were relatively stable, coming in at 73 compared to 74 in Q1 2011.