Regulation round-up 12 December 2017
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (05 December to 12 December 2017)
Italy could delay joining European poker liquidity pool until Q2 2018
Italy is set to delay its involvement in the online poker liquidity sharing pool it agreed to form along with France, Spain and Portugal back in July, EGR understands.
The shared pool was originally set to soft launch in December, but EGR understands Italy will not meet the deadline for technical implementation, with the country’s gaming regulator AAMS choosing to postpone its participation as a result of growing political opposition to pooled poker.
The French regulator Arjel is still pushing for the compact to go live as soon as possible, but Italian news outlet Agipronews has reported that Italy will not join the pact until the country’s 2018 general election is over in April.
“After a preliminary green light, it seems that AAMS is slowing down,” Christian Tirabassi, gaming consultant at Ficom Leisure, told EGR.
Sarah Harrison makes surprise Gambling Commission exit
Gambling Commission CEO Sarah Harrison is to leave for a new senior government role after just over two years as head of the UK regulator, it was announced last week.
Harrison, who joined the Gambling Commission on 1 October 2015, is to step down from her role at the end of February 2018 and will take up a new position with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The UK’s gambling regulator said its search for a successor was already underway, while the Commission’s chief counsel and executive director, Neil McArther, will be acting chief executive from 28 February 2018.
RGA slams “failing” Portuguese online gambling framework
The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has slammed Portugal’s “failing” online gambling framework, following a new report showing a channelisation rate of just 38%.
The report, commissioned by the RGA and carried out by Eurogroup Consulting, found that 68% of Portuguese players gambling online were using operators not licensed in the country, while only 39% of turnover was being bet with regulated operators.
Respondents said the primary reason for this was the better odds offered by offshore operators.
UK Gambling Commission hits bingo firm with £100,000 penalty for misleading ads
The UK Gambling Commission has charged Broadway Gaming £100,000 for running “significantly misleading” advertising.
Broadway, which runs several bingo sites, was initially found to be in breach of advertising standards back in June 2016, when the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint about an advert that appeared on Broadway Gaming’s Butlers Bingo website.
The ASA ruled that the advert – which said “Deposit £10. Play £35” – was misleading as it did not communicate significant conditions associated with the promotion.