BELGIUM

Legal gaming experts have warned that the draft legislation notified to the European Commission by Belgium last week may be in violation of EU laws. The proposed amendments to the 1999 Gaming Act would legalise online gambling in Belgium, but authorised online licences would only be issued to operators already practicing in Belgium. The standstill period for the European Commission to consider the law lasts until 29 June 2009. Source: Euromat

BELGIUM

Belgium is to require all new gaming machines destined for bars and restaurants to be fitted with mandatory player identification technology from January 2010. Source: Gambling Compliance

CZECH REPUBLIC

Czech Republic-based betting group Fortuna has taken the company off the market after the prospective bidders failed to reach a price that would have been agreeable to Fortuna's private equity owners. Source: Gambling Compliance

FRANCE

French budget minister Eric Woerth has confirmed that payments and IP blocking measures will accompany the anticipated opening of France's online gambling market next year, and has reiterated that presently unregulated operators will remain prohibited from advertising their services until new laws take formal effect. Source: Gambling Compliance

FRANCE

Following on from the launch of its unique 3D online casino offering earlier this year, French luxury hotel and casino operator, the Barrière Group, has announced the launch of an instant play flash version of LeCroupier casino. Source: Gaming Intelligence

IRELAND

A suspension of the already announced increase in betting duty in Ireland is to be used as a bargaining chip by the Irish government as it attempts to persuade Irish-owned online and telephone operators to relocate their operations onshore.

Source: Gambling Compliance

ITALY

Italy's ongoing row over unlicensed betting points has escalated, with the government regulator disconnecting a number of operators, including UK- owned Betshop, from the government's SOGEI reporting network, leaving them unable to take bets.

Source: Gambling Compliance

ITALY

April numbers for gaming turnover in Italy once again emphasised a story of continuing growth in the sector, prompting the head of the AAMS regulatory authority to debut new measures aimed at revitalising the failing horseracing betting market.

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

The European Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) have received notification of draft legislation from the Norwegian government (drawn up by Norway's ministries of trade and cultural affairs), which would issue a payments ban on transactions to and from unlicensed gambling websites. The standstill period for these notifications, during which a public consultation will take place, lasts until 6 July 2009. Source: Euromat

PORTUGAL

The European Commission has decided to refer its infringement investigations into the Portuguese lottery tax regime to the European Court of Justice. Reforms passed by the Portuguese government in December 2008 were not considered sufficient to end investigations, as they only extended the tax-free status of lottery winnings to lotteries in some EU Member States (rather than all those under the EC Treaty and the EEA agreement), thus benefiting the state gambling monopoly. Source: Euromat

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

Ladbrokes will press on with the opening of new Sportium betting outlets in the Madrid region, but the company admitted that it might have been "naive" in its original estimates of how long it would take for other Spanish regions to move towards the regulation of retail betting. Source: Gambling Compliance

SPAIN

William Hill has announced its ‘gradual withdrawal' from Spain's nascent sports betting market as local operators Codere and Cirsa report dwindling revenues from their Spanish machine gaming businesses on the back of the country's severe economic downturn. Source: Gambling Compliance

SWEDEN

Online gaming operator Unibet plc has wasted no time in capitalising on a Swedish court ruling last month which found

Texas Hold'em poker tournaments to be predominantly a game of skill, and as such, not illegal under the country's restrictive gaming laws. Source: Gaming Intelligence

SWEDEN

Despite the recent trend of the Constitutional Court finding in favour of state monopolies, both the Swedish government and the European Commission have launched separate inquiries to determine whether Sweden is compliant with EC competition law. As a result, the Swedish government is now considering reforms including more stringent advertising restrictions and ISP and payment blocking measures. Source: Gambling Compliance

UKRAINE

Last month Reuters reported that Ukraine's parliament voted in favor of banning casinos and gaming parlours after a fire in a gaming hall killed nine people. "The tragedy in Dnipropetrovsk shows we can no longer put off a decision on the problem of the gaming business," Natalya Korolevska, a senior deputy, was quoted by Reuters as saying. However, the Financial Times reports that Viktor Yushchenko, the country's president, could possibly veto the drafted law before it is published. Source: Gaming Industry Media

UNITED KINGDOM

The first test of the new regulations in the UK regarding the dual licensing of premises for both adult gaming centres (AGCs) and betting shops has seen an application for the conversion of two properties by Star Amusements in Essex rejected. Source Gambling Compliance

UNITED KINGDOM

As the company enters a new phase in its strategy, moving beyond stabilisation to a period of profitability, the Rank Group announced late Monday that Simon Wykes, Managing Director of Mecca Bingo, has left the company. Source Gaming Intelligence

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK's National Lottery Commission has commissioned leading research organisation Ipsos MORI to carry out a major study into underage play of the National Lottery, and provide a broader context of overall gambling within the 12 to 15 year-old age group. This latest study will provide a comparison to the previous prevalence study published in 2006. Source: Gaming Intelligence

UNITED STATES

Illinois senators voted Wednesday in favour of a US$29 billion public works program to repair the state's crumbling infrastructure through revenues generated from higher taxes on alcohol and luxury goods, legalised video gambling and the introduction of online gaming via the state lottery. Source: Gaming Intelligence

UNITED STATES

MEP Erika Mann (PSE, Germany) contributed a letter to the European Voice newspaper, calling upon the Obama administration to take proper action on resolving the discriminatory actions against EU-based online gambling operators. She reminded readers that Obama "came to office stating that enforcement of trade laws to ensure trade is free and fair was a top priority. This is a change to prove that, and to restore credibility to the world's trading system". Source: Euromat

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