Regulation round-up 22 May 2012
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (16 May to 22 May 2012).
bwin.party prepares Spanish back-tax payment
Operator remains committed to securing a licence when the market opens and intends to pay 33m following a self-assessment despite co-CEO’s claims that tax bill was “unfounded.”
Bwin.party has announced its intention to pay up to 33m in back-taxes in order to facilitate its entry into the Spanish market, the operator has confirmed in a statement this morning.
The figure, which was arrived at following the completion of a self-assessment in line with requirements issued by the Spanish Tax Authority, includes surcharges and interest of 8m on top of a payment of 25.6m for the two-year period between 2009 and 2011.
Bwin.party is one of a number of operators expected to be hit with a tax bill ahead of the issuing of licences in Spain on 1 June, and it has acknowledged that the sum is required “Under two historic laws that previously were not applied to offshore online gaming.”
However it explains: “Having taken these steps, we believe we have now fulfilled all requirements and look forward to receiving our licence and entering the Spanish market.”
Seven days in launches and sign-ups
DGA publishes first interim market figures
The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) has published interim market figures, the first official numbers released for the market, which opened on 1 January.
Gross gaming revenues from sports betting reached 285m (£30.6m) Danish Kroner (DKK) for the quarter, while online casino drew in DKK185m, for a total online GGR of DKK470m for the first three months of the market opening. This is expected to grow to DKK1.87bn for the full year, broken down into DKK1.135bn for sports and DKK735m for casino.
The DGA has only released numbers for gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first three months of 2012, and admit that the numbers are likely to be revised over the course of the year as better communication between the regulator and operators in the market is established, along with the development of a central reporting network to monitor gaming machines.
White House responds to online poker petition
Regulation of online gambling in the US is being “examined” at a federal level but should be left to individual states to determine, the White House has stated in a response to a player petition.
Almost 10,000 people signed a petition by the Poker Players Alliance when it was submitted in September last year as part of the White House’s ‘We The People’ promotion.
Author of the four-paragraph response, Brian Deese, deputy director of the National Economic Council and a special assistant to President Barack Obama on economic policy, acknowledged that online poker is played in America despite it violating federal law.
Sportech secures Alderney licence
Power 50 operator Sportech has been awarded an Alderney egaming licence for its Vernons and Littlewoods brands.
The company’s chairman Roger Withers had revealed at last week’s annual general meeting that first-quarter egaming revenues had risen 30% year-on-year following the migration of the Littlewoods brand to Playtech’s platform.
Poker and casino offerings under the Vernons brand also contributed to the increase, while the company’s bingo offering is the next to be migrated over, with the integration of all non-sportsbook products to Playtech to be completed by the end of the year.
Betco obtains LGA injunction
GTECH-backed consortium Betco Holdings has obtained a court order to temporarily shut down negotiations between Maltco and the Maltese Lotteries and Gaming Authority over a contract give Maltco exclusive rights to operate the island’s national lottery games.
Betco have obtained the injunction after Maltco, the preferred bidder, was attempting to gain exclusivity across a greater variety of products, aside from the national lottery, Super Five and lotto operations. The other products were not named in the statement, but are thought to include sports betting and football pools according to the Times of Malta newspaper.
While admitting that the initial tender for a lottery software provider clearly highlighted the exclusivity rights, Betco claim that the fact that Maltco are looking to gain rights to a wider range of products before having been awarded the contract suggested that the tender was being handled unfairly, describing the move as going “beyond the clarifications made by the same Privatisation Unit over the concession.”