Regulation round-up 22 August 2017
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (15 August to 22 August 2017)
Esports Pools secures “world first” skins betting licence
Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission rejigs licensing approach to enable skins betting and crypto transactions
ESports fantasy league site esportsPools has secured the “world’s first” licence to allow gambling with virtual goods on its ESP.bet real-money gambling site.
Issued by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC), the licence enable ESP to offer skins betting, which is currently illegal under all other European licences.
Skins are in-game items like weapons or outfits, and Eilers and Narus estimate that $5bn in skins were used to bet on esports in 2016.
The GSC’s new licensing regime will also allow the operator to process digital currency transactions, such as bitcoin.
Partypoker joins Australia exodus
Partypoker has joined the growing number of poker operators leaving Australia ahead of the country’s forthcoming gambling regulatory changes.
The GVC-owned brand told customers it will cease operations on 31 August ahead of the changes, which are due to come into force on 11 September.
“We regret that this day has come as Australia is a strong poker market,” said partypoker managing director Tom Waters.
“We will continue to work with the Australian player alliance to lobby the government to provide a safe regulated environment for residents to play online poker in the future.”
Titanbet hit with horseracing ad ban
Titanbet has been censured by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) for failing to remove a horseracing offer from its website on the day of the Grand National.
The ‘Faller Insurance’ ad offered punters a free bet of up to £25 if their horse fell during any UK jumps race on 6 and 7 April, but the firm left the promotion up on 8 April during the Grand National.
A complaint was made that the ‘Bet Now’ link still appeared after the free bet offer had ended so the ad misleadingly suggested that the promotion applied to the Grand National.
Titanbet said the terms and conditions clearly stated that the promotion was only intended to apply on 6 and 7 April.
Catena Media forced to withdraw from Dutch market
Catena Media has withdrawn its services from the Dutch market in the face of strict compliance standards regarding the affiliate’s operators.
The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) forced out the firm after it failed to comply with strict regulations banning foreign sites from marketing to local players in Dutch.
Catena CEO Robert Andersson fears the move could cause monthly revenue losses of up to €150,000.
“Longer term it puts us in a favourable position, if and when the Dutch market re-regulates as the Upper House of Parliament is currently considering the Remote Gaming bill which aims to regulate online gambling,” he added.