Regulation round-up 3 March 2015
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (25 February to 3 March 2015)
Italy cuts red tape in boost for sportsbook
Regulator’s palinsesto ufficiale to be discontinued as liberalisation of online framework continues in regulated Italian market
Italy’s regulator looks set to allow sportsbook operators to compete more easily with the black market by bringing an end the official schedule of sports bets and allow operators to manage their own markets and bet settlement.
The official schedule – or palinsesto ufficiale – contains regulator AAMS’ authorized list of sports betting markets which are set-up, monitored and settled by the regulator for Italy-facing operators.
However, according to a current proposal, this process is likely to be discontinued and the responsibility handed to the operators themselves.
The move will be welcomed by sportsbooks as the official list only contains roughly 10% of betting opportunities found in the dot.com environment and had been considered to be one of the major reasons behind Italy’s stubborn black market.
Portugal approves online gaming regulation
Portugal’s government last week approved new online gaming regulations which will enable foreign operators to enter the regulated market for the first time.
The new framework, which opens up current monopoly Santa Casa de la Misericordia to outside competition, will become law once confirmed by the signature of President of Portugal AnÃbal António Cavaco Silva.
Despite industry pressure, the country’s tax regime will remain as previously set out with gaming to be levied at 15%-30% of revenues while sports betting will be taxed at between 8% and 16%.
Seven days in regulation:
MGA plans regulatory framework “overhaul”
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) plans to “overhaul” its regulatory framework this year including the development of a raft of new consumer protection measures.
The regulator recently created a new in-house data research department to aid the move towards a more consumer-focused environment with the offer of live-chat services and email support for players using Malta-licensed websites.
“Malta is closely analysing the effectiveness of the gaming regulatory regime, and is using the experience it has gathered over the past decade to raise the standard and reflect better Malta’s position within the gaming industry,” Michele Magro, MGA legal officer, told eGaming Review.
German government asked to block Deutsche Telekom sportsbook
Germany’s federal government has been asked to block Deutsche Telekom’s plan to launch a sportsbook by an association of German state-owned lottery operators who called the plans “absurd”.
In a statement, Deutsche Lotto and Totoblock (DLTB) managing directors Michael Burkert and Peter Jacoby said the telecommunications giant’s planned move showed a lack of respect for German law accused the company of playing a “trick with Germany’s regulations”.
Former state-owned Deutsche Telekom previously announced it had acquired a 64% stake in Austrian operator Deustche Sportwetten (DSW) and planned to launch a Germany-facing brand called tipp3 using the DSW’s Austrian licence as early as next month.
Operators to face ad restrictions in Spain
Online gaming operators in Spain could face tougher advertising restrictions after lawmakers in the country filed a cross-party motion outlining a raft of advertising constraints including restrictions on sports sponsorship deals.
The Spanish Senate has put pressure on the government to impose a host of egaming advertising restrictions with the aim of improving responsible gambling measures and protecting minors.
Gambling advertising in the country is currently self-regulated with the motion coming as the government prepares to introduce a regulatory code on responsible advertising and online gambling later this year.
Dutch firms join forces in responsible gaming push
Incumbent gambling firms in the Netherlands have joined forces to create a new responsible gambling standard which operators entering into the soon-to-be regulated market are likely to be forced to meet.
In a similar move to the UK’s Senet Group, all local licensees will add the ‘Play consciously’ slogan to all customer communications and marketing.
The Netherlands Gaming Platform (NKP), the industry body that represents operators of games of chance and oversees the advertising code, said the move was designed to make customers more aware of the potential risks involved in playing their products.
RGA slams Montenegro’s “damaging” tax regime
The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has criticised Montenegro’s “excessive” gambling taxation regime and called on the government to switch from a tax levied on consumer stakes to one based on gross profits.
The industry trade association hit out at Montenegro’s level of taxation at a recent RGA conference in the country, claiming the high levels and method of taxation would vastly increase the size of the black market which it estimates to be more than 50%.
Montenegro’s current regime, which levies on consumers’ stakes at 15%, has led to a petition calling for tax changes, signed by more than 20,000 people, being presented to parliament.
Casino Classic advert “misleading”, says ASA
Apollo Entertainment subsidiary Casino Classic has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a “misleading” email promotion it ran for its online casino site casinoclassic.co.uk.
The email offered players £500 “totally free” and stated “whatever you win in your first 60 minutes is yours to keep! No risk and no tricks” with a link to terms and conditions displayed in small print.
One complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because the T&Cs failed to state that players were required to make a deposit in order to receive any winnings from the offer and meet certain staking requirements before being allowed to withdraw.
Poll: California poker legislation unlikely in 2015
The long-running battle over online poker regulation in California is unlikely to be settled this year, according to the majority of respondents to last week’s eGaming Review poll.
More than three-quarters of readers (77%) said current stakeholder in-fighting relating to the detail of any regulatory framework would drag on and thus dash any hopes of progress in 2015.
This comes despite the fact that last week two of the state’s most powerful politicians, Senator Isadore Hall and Assemblyman Adam Gray, submitted two identical bills to the Senate and Assembly as they seek to legalise the activity.