ARGENTINA

A municipal judge in Buenos Aires has ordered the 888.com website to be made inaccessible to city residents on the grounds that the web offering violates local gambling laws. The ruling follows similar moves against both Bwin's and Victor Chandler's Argentine-facing sites last year. Source: Gambling Compliance

AUSTRALIA

New South Wales Treasurer Eric Roozendaal has announced that following a detailed strategic review of the NSW Lotteries business, the state government is to offer a long term exclusive licence for the distribution of NSW Lottery products. Source: Gaming Intelligence

AUSTRIA

The European Commission has brought infringement investigations against Austria to an end, stating that the proposed reforms of the Austrian 1989 Gaming Act (of which it received notification in August 2008) dealt sufficiently with the accusations of discrimination against players from outside the country. Casino operators will now apply the same rules of player protection to all EU citizens.

Source: Euromat

BELGIUM

Ahead of the vote on the "Integrity of Online Gambling" report in the European Parliament plenary, two events were hosted by MEPs last month. MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mario Mauro (EPP-ED, Italy), held a seminar on "The future of gambling in Europe", bringing together MEPs, legal gaming and industry experts, including Marco Di Benedetto from the EUROMAT Secretariat. Then, MEP Malcolm Harbour (EPP-ED, UK) chaired a debate entitled "Fair Play for Gambling", calling upon the European Commission and European Court of Justice to reinvigorate their actions against national gambling monopolies.

ource: Euromat

BELGIUM

The Belgian Gaming Act of 1999 is likely to undergo major amendments this year given that both the Senate and the House of Representatives are examining new draft gaming bills, the latest of which surfaced in late March 2009. The draft bill recently introduced by Secretary of State for Fraud Enforcement Carl Devlies would impose a duty on Belgian internet service providers to block access by their customers to online gaming sites which are not authorised under a new licensing regime. 

Source: Gambling Compliance

BULGARIA

According to the governor of the Bulgarian central bank, Ivan Iskrov, Bulgaria's inflation rate will fall from 7.8% in 2008 to 2.5% by the end of 2009, the final Maastricht criterion for joining the Eurozone. The country will then be able to enter the Exchange Rate Mechanism. Iskrov said that "The adoption of the euro is not a privilege but an obligation the country has taken". Source: Euromat

DENMARK

An official committee has proposed that the Danish government draw up legislation to allow for land-based poker tournaments to be held legally outside of regulated casinos. Source: Gambling Compliance

FINLAND

Finland's state monopoly casino operator has technology in place to launch an internet poker room and is likely to do so before the end of this year, according to local newspaper reports. Source: Gambling Compliance

FRANCE

The French government has chosen to keep the full text of its draft online gambling law clear of public scrutiny as it awaits EU and parliamentary backing for the ambitious legislative project.

Source: Gambling Compliance

GERMANY

The European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry TRIS database has been notified of the Draft Casino Act (Spielbankgesetz) for the Land Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, focusing on internet-related services and gambling machines. An implementation law for the State Treaty on Gambling in Germany, the stated main aim of the Act is to prevent and combat gambling addiction and to protect consumers from criminal exploitation. Source: Euromat

IRELAND

The Irish Bookmakers Association, Ireland's independent bookmaker lobbying group, is proposing a licensing scheme for gaming in the Republic which it claims will secure 2,000 jobs in the retail betting industry and raise significant additional revenue for the exchequer.

Source: Gambling Compliance

ITALY

The European Commission has sent an official request (as a "Reasoned Opinion") to Italy, requiring it to comply with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgement on horse-racing licenses. By postponing the deadline for the implementation of new improved laws, the Italian government is risking major sanctions from the EC.

Source: Euromat

ITALY

Over the past nine years, margin levels on sports betting have shown small declines in Italy, but with a favourable tax environment delivering net margins at close to 18 percent, they still remain extremely healthy compared to those earned in other markets.

Source: Gambling Compliance

THE NETHERLANDS

According to a letter from the European Commission, the Dutch state monopoly on sports betting is illegal and infringes upon EU law. This letter has been kept from the public for over a year, due to attempts by the government to maintain the monopoly in order to combat problem gambling and criminal activities.

Source: Euromat

NORWAY

New legislation requiring payment providers to block payments to online gaming operators will reinforce the state monopoly over gambling in Norway. The state's restrictive licensing regime has been the subject of numerous EFTA court challenges as EU-based gaming operators contend it contravenes Norway's obligation under the EEA Agreement.

Source: Gambling Compliance

PORTUGAL

The European Commission said this week that it will refer Portugal to the European Court of Justice over the country's discriminatory rules that provide for the taxation of the vast majority of foreign lottery winnings, despite winnings from national lotteries or lotteries that are part of the European Euromillions network being exempt from income tax. Source: Gaming Intelligence

SLOVENIA

The Slovenian Ministry of Finance has submitted a notification to the European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry on changes and amendments to the Rules on technical requirements for gambling devices and the conformity assessment procedure. The stated grounds for these changes are for the protection of consumers.

Source: Euromat

SPAIN

The European Commission's TRIS database received notifications from Spain regarding the update and regulation of the terms of reference and technical conditions for gaming machines. In particular, the Community of Madrid sent a notification of a draft order adopting the regulation of recreational and gaming equipment. Local gaming operators and regulators hope that the new rules will come into place soon after the end of the European Commission's standstill period (until 8 June 2009).

Source: Euromat

TURKEY

The future of Lottomatica's joint venture bid to run the Turkish lottery has been thrown into doubt after its partner firm in the country saw its assets frozen late last month by the tax authorities. Source: Gambling Compliance

UNITED KINGDOM

A consultation process conducted by the UK Gambling Commission has found there is not yet sufficient evidence to justify regulatory restrictions to limit ‘live' or ‘in-running' betting opportunities offered by UK-based bookmakers.

Source: Gaming Intelligence

UNITED STATES

EU Trade Commissioner, Catherine Ashton, announced that the EU investigations into US laws banning online gambling found that the laws violated World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. The laws were shown to discriminate against EU online gaming operators. However, Commissioner Ashton hopes that cooperation with the new US administration will avoid the need for legal action before the WTO.

Source: Euromat

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