Regulation round-up 22 April 2014
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (16 April to 22 April 2014)
Brazil to close online gambling loophole
New draft bill could see judges granted power to request domestic ISPs block access to gambling sites
Brazil is preparing to close a legal loophole which could see egaming operators prevented from accepting bets from Brazilian residents during this summer’s World Cup and beyond.
The recently submitted Internet Civil Landmark Bill of Law, dubbed locally as ‘The Internet Constitution’, would give Brazilian judges the power to issue an injunction on gaming sites deemed to be breaking the law.
“If this Bill of Law is approved, any public attorney may file for an injunction before a Brazilian court asking for the blocking of foreign gaming websites,” Luiz Felipe Maia, gaming lawyer at Brazilian legal firm Oliveira Ramos, Maia, said.
Any such injunction would mean domestic internet service providers would have to block access to the website. “In this case, these international operators would have to defend the legality of their activity,” Maia added.
Greek gaming law amended following EC meeting
The Greek government has amended its gaming law in an attempt to comply with European regulation, including the removal of references to a sports betting monopoly, following a visit from European commissioner for competition Juaquin Almunia.
The amendments, which were made through a draft bill submitted in the country’s Parliament and seen by eGaming Review, now include provisions specifically related to online gambling and the current framework of black and white lists of egaming operators.
The bill predominantly relates to regulation of financial institutions, however one amendment allows financial institutions based in the entire European Economic area to process transactions relating to online gambling, a move made to ensure the bill complies with EU law.
Swedish regulator aims to shoot down Unibet marathon deal
The Swedish Gambling Authority (Lotteriinspektionen) has attempted to pull the plug on Unibet’s sponsorship of the Stockholm Marathon claiming the deal may violate the Swedish Lottery Act.
Unibet was announced as a main sponsor of the event last week as part of a deal which included major branding opportunities for the gambling operator around the 26-mile course in the Swedish capital.
However, the regulator claimed that by exposing the brand, logo and domain name of a gambling company not licensed in the country, the Stockholm Marathon is in violation of section 38 of the Swedish Lottery Act and the organisers could face an injunction and fine.
Seven days in regulation:
Vera&John suspends Bitcoin payment facility
Vera&John has suspended its Bitcoin payment solution due to regulatory concerns following talks with Malta’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA).
The news comes just three months after the Malta-licensed operator claimed to be the first regulated online casino to accept bitcoins in January this year, with the operator converting Bitcoins to Euros before crediting customer accounts.
However recent concerns regarding the currency’s integrity resulted in discussions between the operator and the LGA, prompting Vera&John to temporarily suspend accepting Bitcoin payments.
Dutch gaming lawyer arrested in Sheriff Gaming case
A Dutch gaming lawyer working on behalf of the troubled Sheriff Gaming has been arrested in relation to allegations of fraud, forgery and money laundering brought against Sheriff’s parent company Bubble Group.
The 49-year-old, named as Annette M. in the Dutch press, was taken into custody last week and is accused of aiding and abetting criminal activity relating to fraudulent online casino sites.
The news follows months of speculation relating to Bubble Group and its CEO Stijn Flapper who was accused of money laundering and questioned by police in November last year.
Dutch lotteries seek parity on charitable donations
A trio of lotteries in the Netherlands has called on the government to introduce an industry-wide level of charitable donations to ensure a level playing field before the country opens its licensing framework for online gaming operators.
The Nationale Postcode Loterij, BankGiro Loterij and Vrienden Loterij have written to the Dutch State Secretary of Justice Fred Teeven requesting permission to reduce their contributions from 50% of revenue to 40%.
In addition, the operators asked that the Dutch State Lottery and De Lotto, which currently make charitable donations of just 16% and 18% respectively, be required to raise their contributions to 40%.