Need to know, 11 September: Faking the law
The ECJ verdict was a crucial battle in Bwin's war to overturn Portugal's state monopoly, but Bwin isn't the only egaming opearator losing sleep over spurious legislation, as this week made clear...
BRITONS HAVE long been sceptical of the EU, so this week offered a refreshing chance for them to hear some continental Europeans sharing their frustration.
Chief among them was Austria’s Bwin, which reacted in measured tones to the decision of the EU’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, that Portugal’s laws to protect state monopoly La Santa Casa de Misericordia are OK despite EU rules enforcing free trade. The reason? That a state monopoly prevents fraud. Apparently.
Bwin’s response to this landmark in EU protectionism was that online bookmakers are better able to prevent fraud than land-based ones; and that EU law hasn’t kept up with the progression of online businesses such as your good selves.
The European Gaming and Betting Association, meanwhile, just went straight for the jugular, EGBA pointing out that monopolies don’t prevent fraud.
The ECJ’s news was badly timed for US casino giant Harrah’s, which signed a B2B deal with 888 as the next stage of its push on the European market. Looking cheerily back across the Atlantic instead, Gig Levy described the deal as ‘hugely positive’ for 888’s chances of ever being accepted in any legalised US market.
Like the EU, however, America is no stranger to protectionism, and Levy’s optimism is in contrast to his past prediction that any post-UIGEA American market would be closed to non-US operators. Perhaps he has come round to former Poker Voters of America head Jim Tabilio’s view that the opportunities America presents for non-US operators are in B2B.
Understandably given this week’s events, the shape of legislation on both sides of the Atlantic remains the key concern of operators including Betfair, Betsson, Bet365, Bwin and Unibet, as research for this year’s Power 50 ranking of the industry’s top 50 operators confirmed.
Adding to their gloominess, no doubt, was the news that the US state that has made the most progress toward legalised egaming, California, has delayed discussion of any online poker bill until after Christmas after a fight between the tribes; while in Kentucky, governor Steven Beshear is prepared to go 12 rounds against iMEGA in the state supreme court to protect Kentucky’s right to seize 141 egaming domains.
In other news this week, Betfair signed football sponsorship deals with both Primera Liga team FC Barcelona and Britain’s TalkSport radio; Boss Media told its affiliates to go fishing and dedicated egaming bank IvoBank shut down.
See you at EIG.