NORWAY

The Ministry for Culture and Church Affairs in Norway has imposed some of the world’s strictest rules on video gambling machines in a drive to reduce the number of compulsive gamblers.

Under the new regulations introduced last year, all gaming machines operated by Norsk Tipping AS, the Norwegian State-owned gaming company, are only accessible to pre-registered users via prepaid cards.

‘There will be limits on how much an individual can lose, they will be closed at night and there will be a cooling-off period after one hour of continuous play,’ said Trond Giske, Minister for Culture and Church Affairs.



The Government had grown increasingly concerned about the rising number of Norwegians reportedly addicted to gambling machines and banned all privately owned machines in July 2007 while it looked for ways of better regulating them.

Following the ban, the number of people telephoning a national gambling help line plunged from 2,276 in 2004 to 330 this year. The Government stated that the new terminals would be remote-controlled and strictly regulated to prevent people from developing a gambling problem. In addition, the machines will not take cash or credit cards and can only be used with a prepaid card sold by Norsk Tipping to registered players over the age of 18. 



The system will also limit the amount that can be bet per game to ten dollars and set a loss limit of $80 per day and $440 per month per player even if they have more than one card.

Source: IGaming Business and RGC-news

THE NETHERLANDS

The European Court of Justice delivered its rulings on two Dutch cases upholding the opinion of Advocate General Bot that a Member State can determine its gambling policy which includes the ability of the Member State to prohibit the operation of games of chance on the internet. In both rulings, which involved remote gaming operators Ladbrokes and Betfair, the court argued that restrictions on the freedom to provide services can be made if the objectives of the Member State are to protect consumers, prevent fraud and to preserve the public order. Additionally, the Court also expressed that having a licence to offer online or telephone gaming services in one Member State is not “sufficient assurance” that national consumers in another Member State will be protected. The ECJ findings mean that the Dutch national courts will likely deliver similar rulings on the cases. Source Euromat

ALDERNEY

While many European governments are introducing local licensing regimes for online gambling, the government of Alderney has been eager to transform its licensing framework to adapt to these changes. As such new regulations took effect on January 1, 2010. Source: GamblingCompliance.com

Everyone should be happy. Italy’s government is nearly 1bn Euro richer, its leading slot  operators have secured all the licences to operate the potentially lucrative video lottery terminals (VLTs) which the country is rather suddenly permitting for the first time, and the citizens of Europe’s biggest gaming market have yet another avenue to pursue their craze.

The Irish Government has finally decided to tackle its outmoded gaming laws and has published the findings of its casino committee. Ireland has one of the oldest remaining gaming acts, dating back to the 1950s and the committee’s Chairman Michael McGrath pointed out that life has changed considerably in that time.

CANADA

In a case that could have wider national implications, Canada’s Loto-Quebec has reached an out-of-court settlement worth millions of dollars with problem gamblers in the province, following a class action lawsuit filed against the provincial state lottery operator nine years ago.

Source: Gaming Intelligence

Last year, the Belgian government approved a new gaming law. The Belgian Council of Ministers approved the new bill in March with the aim of streamlining the machine licensing structure in the country, which in the previous law of 1999 gave authority for licences to various different agencies.

The Dutch government introduced a new law in 2008 that threatened to make life very difficult for those working in the gaming sector. Thanks to intensive lobbying from the gaming monopoly and issues with European law, the new gambling law has not yet been passed and looks set to be put on hold indefinitely.

BELGIUM

Emboldened by the recent ‘Bwin Liga’ decision at the European Court of Justice, Belgium has defied the European Commission by passing an online gambling law that restricts available licences to incumbent operators in the country’s land-based betting and gaming sectors.

Source: GamblingCompliance.com

The new UK Gambling Act 2005 came into force on 1 September 2007. The introduction of the Gambling Act 2005 has resulted in serious unintended economic and social consequences with the traditional business industry now in terminal decline with weekly increases in closures and redundancies.

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Lisbon Treaty has finally been ratified by the Czech Republic, which means the text is now expected to come into force on 1 December. President Vaclav Klaus added his signature just hours after the treaty was given the go ahead by the Czech Constitutional Court. The Swedish Presidency of the EU is now expected to announce an extraordinary summit for mid-November, in which it will be decided who will be the President of the European Council, and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, two new positions created by the treaty. Source: Euromat

Germany had a new law in 2006, which allowed greater freedom in the design of AWP machines but which banned fun games, which were previously popular in the country.

Coin-operated amusement machines comprise three different product groups in Germany:

• Amusement machines with prizes (AWPs), which are strictly regulated by the German Gaming Ordinance.
• A second group contains gaming machines without prizes, such as touch-screen machines, video games, pinball machines etc. Until the end of 2005, fun games were also part of this category. Since 1 January 2006 – when the new German Gaming Ordinance went into effect – these once widespread machines have been prohibited.
• A third group includes sport-game machines, such as billiards, darts, table soccer, air-hockey etc.

The spinning reels of a fruit machine create an image that can be found almost everywhere. You can often see them on game shows (usually with the old fashioned handle) or on TV news coverage, to illustrate some political point. Strangely, you often find the spinning wheels on video gaming machines – despite the fact that the video interface allows limitless options to convey the same message to the player.

SWEDEN

The Council Working Party on gambling and betting held its second meeting last week under the guidance of the Swedish Presidency. Representatives of the 27 Member States debated how they deal with gambling problems in their jurisdictions. The focus was on what kind of penalties were applied by Member States authorities on illegal/unauthorised gambling and betting providers and on the regulation of advertising of such unauthorised services. Working Party members were asked for their opinion on whether they believed it best to block unauthorised websites and/or block bank transactions. Source: Euromat

There has not been much legislative movement in Italy over the past 12 months, although a draft version of the regulations that will govern VLTs in Italy has now been published, giving details of the location and pricing of the new machines, and the timing of their introduction into the market.

In addition there are concerns over the Unified State Tax/Prelievo Erariale Unico (PREU) tax (the unique tax collection imposed on slot machines) modified by the 194/08 Decree.

What makes the perfect video AWP? While many factors influence the popularity of a game, the graphics remain an important consideration in influencing player immersion, while also determining the game's overall design and functionality.

The AWP industry, particularly in the UK, has been somewhat slow in its uptake of graphics-led video AWP technology. There has been an attitude of "if it ain't broke - don't fix it" about the enduring appeal of reel-based games. However, with the new stakes and prizes has come an opportunity to do more with game design and as a result video is becoming more prevalent.

SPAIN

The Spanish region of Valencia has informed the European Commission of its draft amendments to Decree 115/2006 on the rules for gaming machines. The new rules would adapt existing regulations to recently-modified gaming machines, in a response to constantly changing economic, social and technological innovations. The standstill period will last until 19 October 2009. Source: Euromat

In Austria there is a state monopoly for Casinos and Lotteries. Only two private companies are privileged to hold respective monopoly concessions and operate aprx. 1800 machines without limits on stake and wins. An exemption of the Federal Gambling Law Monopoly allows private operators to operate gambling machines, if the maximum stake is € 0.50 and the maximum win does not  exceed € 20.- . There are no further requirements or details like game definitions, technical  or time limits, etc.

IRELAND

Draft legislation promulgated last week will subject Ireland's private members' clubs to formal anti-money laundering requirements for the first time, while full-scale ‘casinos' are also included under the bill in anticipation of future gaming reform in the Republic. Source: GamblingCompliance.com

If there is one sector of the coin-op industry that has enjoyed a revival in recent years - it is the jukebox. Digital technology has given jukeboxes a new lease of life. Now, the way music is stored, paid for and delivered has changed beyond all recognition, not only within the industry itself but in the world at large.

The new UK Gambling Act 2005 came into force on 1 September 2007. The introduction of the Gambling Act 2005 has resulted in serious unintended economic and social consequences with the traditional business industry now in terminal decline with weekly increases in closures and redundancies.

UNITED STATES

The European Commission has published the outcome of its investigation into US laws on remote gambling and their impact on EU suppliers. The report found that the US measures are inconsistent with WTO rules, and it urged the US administration to address the situation and end its "violation of global trade rules". Source: Euromat

Holding a tournament is a bit like throwing a huge party - to ensure its success, one has to make sure several elements are in place. Firstly, you have to ensure that the guests know they are invited. Secondly, you have to make it worth their while to turn up. And thirdly, you need to make sure that you have the controls in place in case the whole thing gets out of hand.

Tournaments on video games have their own set of challenges. Sega Amusements Europe has run a couple of very successful tournaments on two video games; namely World Club Championship Football (WCCF) and Dinosaur King , the children's card collecting game.

UNITED KINGDOM

The proportion of UK adults participating in remote forms of gambling has risen to its highest level in four years according to the latest survey data published by the UK Gambling Commission. Driven by the National Lottery, remote gambling participation was found to have increased to 9.9% for the year to March 2009, compared to 9.7% in 2008, 8.8% in 2007 and 7.2% in 2006. Source: Gaming Intelligence

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport has submitted two notifications to the European Commission's TRIS database: the first proposes to change the definition of category C and D gaming machines in order to allow the increase in stake and prize levels and therefore improve the financial situation for gaming operators. The second notification makes changes to the technical standards of category C machines, so that they are clearly distinct from category B machines.

Source: Euromat

The world appears to have gone poker crazy. The appetite for the classic card game has increased hugely in recent years, partly due to the popularity of the game Texas Hold'Em. Poker has the endorsement of some of the most glamorous celebrities, and has built up a devoted following on specialist TV channels.

While we are used to thinking of poker as a game played in casinos and gambling dens, we are now starting to see it as an amusement or skill game in bars and other locations where no prize is on offer.

What is the situation about gambling business legislature in Armenia?

The gambling business in Armenia is regulated by the Law "On games with money prize and gambling establishments". According to the law all the casinos and slot halls should be located at the distance not less than 50 km from Yerevan city administrative border and 10 km from the borders of regional centres.

IRELAND

Ireland's private members club operators have expressed "cautious optimism" at the news that the justice minister is going to register and regulate them as he seeks to placate international financial watchdogs and bring the Republic into line with regard to international anti-money laundering practices. Source: gamblingcompliance.com

Machine operators used to be likened to "furniture removers" - particularly in the UK - where cabinets were traditionally moved from prime sites after a few weeks of use, waterfalling down into secondary and tertiary sites as time went on.