Regulation round-up 18 October 2016
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (12 October to 18 October 2016)
Gambling Commission steps up scrutiny on “bamboozling” terms and conditions
Chief exec Sarah Harrison says she is working with the CMA to see whether operator Ts&Cs should be simplified
Great Britain’s Gambling Commission is clamping down on “bamboozling” terms and conditions around bonusing and bet placement, as it seeks to boost transparency in the industry.
Appearing on Radio 5 live last week, Commission chief executive Sarah Harrison confirmed the regulator was working with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to examine how consumers were affected by “long and complex” stipulations.
“In some senses, my concern is that the pendulum has swung too far in favour of the operator,” said Harrison.
“For us the real issue is the underlying terms and conditions that operators are using. There’s no right to bet in Britain but there is a requirement that gambling should be conducted in a fair way.”
Apple pulls dozens of gambling apps from Dutch market
Apple has removed dozens of real-money gambling apps from its Netherlands-facing App Store following a request from the Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) earlier this year.
The gambling regulator last week announced the technology giant had pulled a total of 55 apps from the App Store after the KSA had in May requested 49 apps be deleted.
However, EGR also understands a number of the apps were removed by the operators themselves, as opposed to being struck off by Apple.
Seven days in regulation:
Operators face 10% online racing levy contribution
Operators taking bets on British horseracing may have to pay a 10% levy on profits, with news of the rate coming just days ahead of a planned meeting between government and representatives from the racing and betting industries.
The Racing Post on Sunday reported that sports minister Tracey Crouch had informed both betting and racing of the intended rate, which would be applied to both retail and online bets and replace the current retail-only Horserace Betting Levy.
At present, land-based bookies contribute 10.75% of profits to horseracing, however, racing has long argued that the boom in online betting had seen those contributions reduce significantly over the last decade.
Australian operators boosted by greyhound racing ban reversal
Operators have welcomed the news that New South Wales has reversed a ban on greyhound racing in the state.
The ban was due to be imposed after a report found evidence of animal cruelty in the sport, but a major backlash from the industry itself and media personalities saw State Premier Mike Baird offer the sport “one last chance”.
“We got it wrong – I got it wrong, cabinet got it wrong, the government got it wrong,” Baird said.
Ladbrokes CEO Dean Shannon welcomed the U-turn, commenting: “Sensible heads prevailed.”
SNAI hails “new hope” for Italian horseracing betting
Italian bookmakers and industry experts have welcomed a parliamentary decree that could help modernise horseracing betting in the country.
The decree empowers the Italian government to implement several changes to the industry in the next 12 months, including a tax on GGR rather than turnover and a minimum payout from tote betting of 74% up from 70%.
A liberalisation on the amount and types of races operators can takes bets on also forms part of the proposals.