Regulation round-up 10 May 2016
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (5 May to 10 May 2016)
Industry in a panic over reality check compliance
Slew of companies forced to ask GB Gambling Commission for extension after missed 30 April deadline
Online casino operators and providers are struggling to comply with the latest player protection requirements installed by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission, EGR has learned.
As of 30 April, operators are required to give customers the chance to set a ‘reality check’ – a warning which pops up at certain intervals throughout their game session. Likewise, providers are required to comply with new auto play rules which gives customers the chance to set loss limits before starting an autoplay session.
However, several industry insiders have told EGR the technical side of compliance has proved a lot more complex than expected with a host of games still not compliant.
One major UK operator told EGR its games only just managed to meet the deadline and was aware of major issues around the industry. “Vendors struggled to hit the timeframe and it was an 11th hour situation,” the operator said.
French Senate approves online poker liquidity sharing
The French online gambling market has received a major boost after the Senate approved international poker liquidity sharing in an amendment to the country’s new digital bill.
The amendment to the Law for a Digital Republic bill was passed unanimously by the Upper House of the French Parliament and allows the country’s gambling regulator to enter into poker liquidity agreements with other EU countries.
According to Article 41 of the bill, the amendment will allow French online poker operators with a verified account at a licensed operator to play with players registered with licensed operators in another EU state.
Gambling Commission brings in new rules to tackle money laundering
Great Britain’s Gambling Commission is introducing new requirements for operators this autumn in a bid to tackle money laundering within the industry.
As part of the new changes, operators now must conduct an assessment of the risks of money laundering in their business, and show that they have effective policies, procedures and measures to mitigate any threat.
Operators must also report any criminal investigations involving them or their premises where it appears their measures to keep crime out of gambling have failed, and should impose terms and conditions to prevent employees from taking advantage of suspicious or irregular betting patterns.
The new rules follow a Commission consultation that took place at the end of 2015 and high profile anti-money laundering (AML) failures within the industry.
NYX stake forces Hills to withdraw from Canadian provinces
William Hill is to withdraw from Canada’s British Columbia and Manitoba provinces due to licensing conditions resulting from the operator’s recently acquired stake in NYX Gaming, eGaming Review has learned.
The operator has ceased new registrations and informed customers to withdraw funds, and in the coming days will use IP blocking to prevent customers located in the two provinces from accessing the website.
William Hill’s withdrawal from the provinces comes after the operator recently made an ?80m investment in NYX Gaming as part of the Canadian supplier’s ?270m acquisition of OpenBet.
Fortuna profits hit by new tax headwinds
Higher betting tax rates and the removal of online handling fees saw Fortuna post a 37% decrease in EBITDA for the first quarter of 2016, despite seeing a double-digit rise in its online gross win.
The firm’s online sports betting gross win increased by 19.7% to ?23.8m (18.8m) during the three-month period, while total turnover, which includes its retail division, rose to ?251.7m (?198.6m) in Q1, an increase of 26% compared to the same period last year.
The operator said underlying growth had been driven by online betting and mobile, however, EBITDA totalled ?4.6m (?3.6m) for the period, with the 37% drop largely attributed to the introduction of a higher betting tax rate in the Czech Republic in January and the abolishment of the online handling fee in Slovakia at the end of February 2015.