Regulation Round-up 11 December 2012
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (5 December to 11 December 2012).
EC issues damning Schleswig State Treaty return opinion
Lobby group EGBA says Schleswig-Holstein’s return to State Treaty would represent “A significant step backwards”.
The European Commission has issued a detailed opinion against the decision from the German Land of Schleswig-Holstein to abolish its own breakaway egaming legislation in favour of a return to the country’s controversial State Treaty.
Focusing on concerns surrounding the new regime’s lack of transparency, the questions asked about Schleswig-Holstein’s activities are expected to raise questions about the overall compliance of the State Treaty with EU law.
The opinion has been supported by Malta and the United Kingdom, the former issuing a detailed opinion of its own.
Lobby group the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) also announced its support for the move, with secretary general Sigrid Ligné suggesting: “Schleswig-Holstein’s proposed move from a sustainable and EU compliant licensing system to an inconsistent and unjustifiably restrictive regime would be a significant step backwards, one that – as confirmed today – the European Commission cannot approve.
Schleswig-Holstein approves three more sports betting licences
The Ministry of the Interior of Schleswig Holstein has awarded three new sports betting licences and revealed that 23 other companies are under consideration for a licence despite its new government pledging to return to the country’s Federal State Treaty.
Victor Chandler International Ltd, Interwetten and the Malta-licensed bet90 are the the latest operators to be approved to offer online sports betting bringng the total to 15 companies licensed by the Land. These include bet365, Ladbrokes and bwin.party, with Betfair, Die Nordwestlotto Schleswig-Holstein and mybet (formerly JAXX SE) the first to be licensed.
Betfair, however has since announced that it has withdrawn form the German market citing “unviable” conditions following the country’s introduction of a controversial State Treaty that would impose a 5% turnover tax and limit the number of products to just 20 sports betting licences.
Danish casino numbers slide in third quarter
An 8.5% fall in gross gaming revenue in dot.dk poker and casino saw the Danish egaming market experience a minor quarter-on-quarter decline in the three months ended 30 September.
A slight uptick from online sports betting, which saw GGR grow 1.9% quarter-on-quarter to DKK270m (£29.4m), meant overall market GGR of DKK485m bisected the totals for the first and second quarters.
Regulatory authority SKAT suggests games such as poker, where duty is paid on commission, contribute approximately 25% of online casino GGR.
Seven days in regulation:
Hills confirms Greek exit details
William Hill has confirmed that it is to withdraw from the Greek egaming market, which it considers “inconsistent with European law” and “economically unattractive” in its current guise.
Citing legal advice, the operator has announced the withdrawal to the market following an earlier notice to players on its Greek-language website, reported by eGaming Review this morning, and explains: “The associated fiscal conditions attached to [Greek egaming] licences – which may include payment of retrospective taxes on past revenues – makes the market economically unattractive.”
The operator had anticipated generating approximately £4-5m of operating profit per annum from Greek residents, until the country’s gaming commission issued a notice last month requiring unlicensed operators to pull out of the market by 5 December.
Italy slots market begins to take shape
A number of operators have gone live with the first dot.it slots after Italian regulator AAMS “ now merged with the country’s Customs Authority “issued the first authorisations for the product.
Microgaming-powered Prima Networks has been among the more active software providers, bringing online slots to 32Red, Betway andNeomobile. 32Red had only last month gone live with casino table games after receiving a dot.it licence earlier in the year, with CEO Ed Ware saying at the time: “We believe the market there provides a great opportunity for us to establish a new and regulated income stream for 32Red, especially with the imminent introduction of slots.”
Betway CEO Richard Akitt said: “The granting by AAMS for slots means that Betway is in a strong position to maximise potential from this market growth. Betway.it is one of a relatively small number of operators to be licensed to provide a full range of online gaming products in Italy.”
Playtech has gone live with more than 30 slots in the dot.it market, as well as introducing what it claims is the first progressive games network in the country. Among the games to be released are localised versions of the software provider’s Marvel series of branded slots, as well as Monty Python’s Spamalot, King Kong and The Pink Panther.
Head of casino Amir Askarov said the company was looking to introduce mobile slots early in the new year, and explained: “We are thrilled to welcome Italy to our leading content portfolio. Our top selling slots and a huge jackpot network is certain to bring the market tremendous success.”
Caesars receives GCB recommendation
Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) has become the latest online poker operator to receive a recommendation for licensure from the Nevada State Gaming Control Board (GCB).
The online arm of Las Vegas casino group Caesars Entertainment now requires approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC), and according to Vegas Inc this could potentially arrive before the end of 2012.
CIE’s agreement with 888’s B2B arm Dragonfish to offer online gambling in the UK under the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand was given the blessing of the NGC last year, making it the first partnership between a Nevada land-based licensee and a European egaming operator to achieve the milestone.
Zynga files Nevada suitability application
Zynga has filed an application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the company has announced.
In a statement released this morning, chief revenue officer Barry Cottle explained that the filing was part of the company’s strategy of pursuing real-money gambling (RMG) opportunities, and expected the process to take between 12 and 18 months to complete.
“As we’ve said previously, the broader U.S. market is an opportunity that’s further out on the horizon based on legislative developments, but we are preparing for a regulated market,” Cottle explained. “We’ve also recently partnered with bwin.party to bring the highest quality real money gaming experiences to our UK players in the first half of 2013.”
Locus Gaming awarded Isle of Man licence
A new mobile casino start-up formed by two former Ladbrokes directors has received a licence from the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission in preparation for the launch of its first game in 2013.
Locus Gaming, created by Ladbrokes’ former managing director Ed Andrewes and IT director Mick d’Ancona, will launch a casino game product for mobile and tablet devices in January, with final testing set to finish on 18 December.