Regulation round-up 27 October 2015
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (21 October to 27 October 2015)
Bookies told they must pay up to maintain racing deals
Racing groups say they will bar operators from sponsoring races and events unless they pay a levy that reflects their digital businesses
UK-facing bookmakers including William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral have been told they must stump-up millions of pounds in additional levy payments if they want to continue marketing their brands through commercial horseracing deals.
The warning comes from Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR) and Arena Racing Company (ARC), which operate half of the racecourses in Britain and believe operators should contribute more cash to reflect horseracing profits generated by their digital businesses.
In conjunction with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the two racing groups have established a new funding agreement which will require bookmakers to make additional levy payments and become authorised betting partners.
And as part of the agreement the JCR and ARC said they would not enter into any new commercial deals with bookmakers which had not paid or agreed to pay an extra levy contribution by 1 January 2016.
Black Friday prosecutor turns attention to DFS
The New York federal prosecutor who shut down PokerStars and Full Tilt in the US is thought to be investigating whether daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators FanDuel and DraftKings are violating federal law.
According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, US attorney Preet Bharara’s office in the Southern District of New York is in the early stages of a probe into the two DFS giants.
Bharara was the driving force behind ‘Black Friday’ which saw the federal government shut down PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker for continuing to operate in the US after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act came into force in 2006.
Seven days in regulation:
German framework breaches EU law, says advocate general
The European Court of Justice’s advocate general has published a devastating opinion on Germany’s licensing framework which legal experts believe should bring an end to the troubled regime.
In his opinion, the advocate general said that the defendant, Ms Ince, should not be prosecuted for operating in Germany under an Austrian licence, and that the freedom to provide services had been infringed.
The advocate general also stated that where a monopoly on sports betting is contrary to EU law, criminal prosecution of those operators licensed in other member states should be precluded on the grounds that there were no practical terms to obtain a licence.
South Australia mulls regulatory overhaul
South Australia’s Independent Gambling Authority (IGA) is proposing a ban on offering unsolicited credit for gambling as part of a wider crackdown on sports betting operators.
The state’s gambling regulator last week announced plans to overhaul South Australia’s Gambling Codes of Practice after a recent report criticised operators for allegedly offering unsuitable customers tens of thousands in credit.
The new rules could come into force as early as 1 January 2016 and would see operators which violate the code faced with penalties of up to $100,000 (£47,000).
DJI Holdings seeks secondary NASDAQ listing
DJI Holdings will seek a secondary listing on the NASDAQ exchange as Beijing relaxes the rules on provincial operators for the first time since February’s suspension of online lottery products.
The Chinese lottery operator is already listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market, but believes that a presence in New York would enable it to attract the stronger base of institutional shareholders enjoyed by rivals in the sector.
The firm began exploring such a listing at the end of last year, but Beijing’s temporary suspension of online lottery products across China has slowed the process.