Regulation round-up 26 February 2013
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (20 February to 26 February 2013).
Sandoval rejects licence fee hike as NV bill passes
Nevada Governor fast-tracks AB114 legislation in light of New Jersey progress “ ‘bad actor’ clause retained.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has passed into law legislation which allows the Silver State to enact interstate egaming regulations without prerequisite federal progress.
Earlier iterations of the law had required a federal bill to pass before the Nevada interstate egaming market could open, however Sandoval moved to swiftly push through a new version ahead of a vote in New Jersey next week which could have seen the Garden State claim first-mover advantage.
The governor rejected proposals from Assembly Majority Leader William Horne to double the licence fee to US$1m, however a ‘bad actor’ clause was retained, blocking the immediate entry of certain operators that accepted US player funds after the passage of UIGEA in late 2006.
The bill had pledged to “[Prohibit] the issuance of a license to operate interactive gaming for a period of 10 years after the effective date of this bill for certain entities that, after December 31, 2006, operated interactive gaming involving patrons located in the United States,” however this exclusion period has been halved to five years.
Fahrenkopf: Federal bill could be introduced “this session”
Representative Joe Barton could re-introduce a federal online poker bill in the House this session, according to outgoing American Gaming Association CEO and president Frank Fahrenkopf.
Barton received 30 co-sponsors for his federal legislation last year, but his bill still failed to secure enough support to face a House or Senate vote. Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl’s draft federal online poker bill leaked last year also failed to gain sufficient Republican support to be officially introduced with many believing that the chances of any new federal bill being re-introduced to be dead.
Speaking at the iGaming North America Conference in Las Vegas yesterday, Fahrenkopf said “I wouldn’t be surprised if a new bill was introduced in this session” but following Kyl’s retirement, the AGA would have to find “a conservative Republican from a non-gaming state”.
Seven days in regulation:
MEPs press Commission for European egaming harmonisation
The committee responsible for responding to the European Commission’s Action Plan towards a “comprehensive European framework for online gambling” has heard that the only way to approach regulation is to “achieve a “certain level” of harmonisation across Member States.
The European Parliamentary Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) listened to comments by rapporteur and Conservative MEP Ashley Fox who suggested that the only way to approach regulation is to attempt to achieve a certain level of harmonisation throughout the EU, while still respecting the principle of subsidiarity, or de-centralised or local laws.
Fox’s draft report focused on the enforcement of EU law, the enhancement of administrative co-operation, for example through a common identification system and self-blocking mechanisms, consumer protection, responsible advertising and actions aimed at combating money laundering and ensuring the integrity of sports, a summary on the European Parliament website said.
Swedish egaming association calls for 10% tax rate
A 10% tax on gross gaming revenues (GGR) would allow the Swedish government to almost double taxable revenues in the market, a report published by PwC has claimed.
The report was commissioned by the newly-formed Branschforeningen for Onlinspel (BOS), an online association led by Swedish-listed operators Betsson and Unibet, and chaired by Betsson chief executive Magnus Silfverberg.
Online GGR in the Swedish market is estimated at around SEK4.9bn, but with around SEK2.4bn of this coming from unregulated operators and currently untaxed, meaning that the government could effectively double tax revenues from egaming.
Dutch regulator to address fraud-problem gambling concerns
The Dutch gaming authority has continued its commitment to the swift regulation of online gambling by arranging a series of presentions by leading operators later this month in order to address key concerns over fraud and problem gambling.
In an event taking place in The Hague on 27 February hosted by Netherlands Gaming Authority and board member Paul Tang, stakeholders in the regulation process, both for against, will hear presentations from Playtech, PokerStars, Betfair, Holland Casino and the ministry of security and justice.
Italy prepares for virtual sports rollout
The Italian customs and monopolies agency (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli) has announced the approval of measures concerning betting on virtual sports, opening a testing process for egaming companies looking to launch such an offering in the dot.it market.
Providers will be required to meet certain criteria and submit their proposed system to AAMS for testing before being given the green light to offer the product, with the country’s national tote ensuring that licensees’ RNGs and payouts are acceptable.