BELGIUM

The Belgian industry is hoping that the new Belgian government, which has been in place since the end of March, will resuscitate the project of the gaming law, which was modified on 7 May, 1999. This law was already approved by the previous government but it was forgotten about due to the elections, which took place in June 2007.

This law promotes the advantages of consistency in the sector, which is currently ruled by different and disparate authorities. The aim of the law is above all to introduce a certificate of reliablity/trustworthiness for the online gaming site operators. Because of the incredible popularity of the game of poker in Belgium and - as a consequence - increasing attention in the press on  the subject of gambling addiction, a modification of law is more important than ever.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Last year the Ministry of Finance prepared new gaming legislation which was strongly rejected by both operators and local authorities so the law has not been even submitted to the Parliament. The Ministry of Finance decided to write the new law from scratch. They replaced the director of the Gaming Board at the Ministry of Finance and then selected Ernst & Young to manage a public discussion about the objectives of the new law. Ernst & Young should report to the Ministry of Finance by the end of August.

DENMARK

In Denmark, the gambling monopoly Danske Spil is facing a challenge from TV2. The state owned broadcaster is using a loophole in the gambling law to offer games of skill, such as backgammon, with the possibility for players to win money. The authorities say that since games of chance are defined by whether payoffs are "primarily determined by chance," the offer by TV2 is not covered by the law. Source Euromat

FRANCE

Further to an initiative of the French Presidency, gambling policy was added to the agenda of the Council's Working Party on Establishments and Services, whose first meeting on the issue took place on Wednesday 16 July 2008. Additionally, last week the French Presidency submitted a questionnaire on gambling policy (mainly related to online gambling) to representatives of all 27 Member States and will be collecting responses in September 2007. The French Presidency will then analyse responses and publish a Presidency Progress report by the end of 2008. Source: Euromat

GERMANY

In Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled against the smoking ban as the ban violates in the most states the German basic law. Especially the smoking ban for small, one-room pubs in Berlin and the state of Baden Wuertemberg was considered unconstitutional. The current ban still applies but new regulation has to be found by the states until 2009.

GREECE

The European Court of Justice in Case C-65/05 of 26 October 2006 ruled that the Greek laws which ban the installation and operation of all gaming machines violate a number of Internal Market principles.

In response, the Greek government has come up with a draft amendment to its law, but the industry believes that - if anything - the new law is even worse than the old one. For full report see page 46

HUNGARY

A new licence has to be requested annually for every gaming machine in Hungary. In 2007, there were 30,485 machines, which implies a slight decrease of 0.6 per cent, compared to 2007. The industry has been in continuous decline - there was a 2.7 per cent drop in activity in 2006. There was no significant new legislation in 2007, the law was changed only slightly. Although it has been mentioned for several years that the Gaming Act of 1991 should be revised, no action has been taken to our knowledge at this time.

IRELAND

Irish Minister For Justice, Equality & Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, TD, has published the Report of the Casino Committee - Regulating Gaming In Ireland

This report makes some 32 recommendations that have significant public policy implications regarding the future architecture of many aspects of gaming and betting in Ireland.  For full report see page 44

LATVIA

In Latvia, the Health Ministry will introduce a total smoking ban to come into force on 01 April 2010. The ban shall include public transport and taxis as well as all indoor public catering places. Outdoor cafes have to create designated areas for smokers. The ban explicitly includes casinos and gambling halls, where smoking will only be permitted in separate rooms or areas, designated for smoking. Source Euromat

NETHERLANDS

The threat of a change in the taxation system is still present. The Dutch government wants to replace the VAT system with a gambling tax, which would mean a triple tax burden for the gaming and amusement sector. VAN-Speelautomaten (the Dutch trade body) is still fighting against this measure, which is expected to come into force on 1 July 2008. The Senate adopted a motion in which the government was asked to provide information about the economic (shock) effects of the tax measure, before the measure comes into force.

SLOVAKIA

Last year, each adult Slovak spent an average of almost Sk12,000 on lotteries, gambling, and similar activities. This is an annual increase of about Sk2,000.

Out of every Sk100, gamblers got back Sk74, with wins totalling nearly Sk40 billion. This means that people gambled away over Sk13.9 billion, the Finance Ministry data shows.

SPAIN

The Spanish National Lottery has capitalised on the rapidly increasing popularity of online gaming in Spain with the recent launch of loteriasyapuestas.es, a site offering online lottery and sports betting games. Source Gaming Intelligence Group

In Spain, Karin Klein, Regulatory Affairs Director for Bwin, introduced at the recent Gaming Executive Summit in Madrid a new tax regulatory proposal for Spain. This new regulation system builds on the European Union's present tax system for games of chance by using a firm's gross income as an aggregate tax base along with associating the incomes of firms from member states to those obtained in Spain. With this Spain could collect $1.03 billion each year from online gaming.

Source: Euromat

UNITED KINGDOM

In the UK, after the Minister of Sports Gerry Sutcliff asked the UK Gambling Commission to prioritise research in the risk posed by high stakes gaming machines (B2, FOBTs, B3, B3A), the Commission presented now its plan to assess the impact of those gaming machines on problem gambling. It was confirmed that the Commission actions will include the establishment of a panel of international problem gambling experts and the re-examination of existing data. According the Gambling Commission, this research would need the help of the industry to collect data directly obtained from gamblers in real environments. It is envisaged to report on possible short-term initiatives by June 2009. Source: Euromat

UNITED STATES

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab requested an postponement of the meeting with European Union officials. The meeting was scheduled to take place this month in Washington DC. The EU requested this meeting after a formal questionnaire was met with denial by Ms Schwab. In her answer, Schwab denied the allegations of discriminatory enforcement and stated that the questions were based on wrong assumptions and that charges against European gambling companies were not brought on the basis of nationality. Until now neither a justification nor a new date have been given by Ms Schwab. Source: Euromat

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