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The KSA has issued another two online gaming licences, taking the number of licensees in the Netherlands to 15.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) gradually continues to issue licences for the Netherlands’ newly regulated igaming market. The latest operators to gain Dutch online gaming licences are Betca BV and Novamedia.

The new licences takes the total number of licensees in the Dutch market to 15 and the number of licences to 17 after Zebetting gained a licence last month. JOI Gaming has three licences. Only ten licensees launched when the Dutch igaming market went live on October 2 last year.

They were bet365, Tombola, Play North, the land-based casino operator Holland Casino, state lottery Nederlandse Loterij’s Toto Online brand, Janshen Hahnraths Group with FPO Nederland, Italy’s Betent, Belgium’s Bingoal, NSUS Malta, which runs GGPoker.eu, and LiveScore Malta.

The KSA has said that it intends to issue more licences. A number of major players are expected to gain licences following the end of the Netherlands’ cooling off period for those that were previously active in the unregulated market.

Alabama’s legislative committee has approved two bills that would allow casino gaming, sports betting and the creation of a state lottery.

The two gambling bills introduced by Alabama state senator Greg Albritton have been approved by a senate committee and will now move forward for debate. Senate Bill 293, a constitutional amendment, and Senate Bill 294, which has details on the proposed law, would create an Alabama state lottery and allow other gaming options.

They would also establish a Alabama Education Lottery and a Gambling Commission to supervise and regulate a state lottery, as well as allow casino-style games, sports betting, bingo, and raffles to be conducted subject to licensure by the commission.

The number of licensed casinos would be limited to five locations across the state. Two satellite casinos would offer a limited number of electronic gaming machines. The bill puts forward a 20 per cent tax rate on the net gambling revenues for casinos and sports betting.

Sports betting operator licences would allow an operator to host “one or more individually branded, Internet sports betting platforms”. The licence fee for internet sports wagering operators would be $100,000.

Sports betting licensees would be able to partner with managed services providers as long as that provider is also licensed by the Commission. The managed services provider licence would also have a $100,000 fee.

Casino gaming licensees would be allowed to offer slot machines, video lottery terminals, pari-mutuel wagering games, horse races, card games, dice games, roulette and bingo, among other games.

The bill was assigned to the state Committee on Tourism, which reported favourably after proposing two amendments. It will now move back to the Senate floor, where Senators will consider the amendments before voting on the bill itself.

Senator Albritton wants to see the legislation on the Senate calendar soon and expects the bills to move quickly through the Alabama Senate.

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Some senators see the gambling bill as unlikely to be addressed in 2022.

Brazil.- Although Brazil’s Gambling Regulatory Framework has already been approved by the Deputies and has made it to the Senate for treatment, it won’t e a priority for the Upper House and may not be addressed in what is an election year in Brazil.

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco has said in a statement that the proposal will follow the normal procedures of the Chamber, but many parliamentarians say the project needs more discussion and will not make quick process in the Senate.

The project has been openly rejected by President Jair Bolsonaro but does not present a clear opposition vs. government scenario. Currently there is no consensus on the bill among Bolsonaro’s supporters, nor among critics of the current government.

The leader of the PSD in the Senate, Nelsinho Trad, stated: “The issue requires a broad and deep debate, and we will dedicate ourselves to studying the project within the PSD.”

Senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS), who opposes the Bolsonaro government, said that the PT has not yet deliberated on the matter. He said: “I think it is very difficult. And I think if we vote this year, everyone will lose. This topic deserves more discussion.”

Senator Esperidião Amin, whose party makes up Bolsonaro’s base in parliament, said that he “does not see sympathy” with the proposal. He said: “I do not consider making this project a priority. So I haven’t even paod attention to it.”

Senator Izalci Lucas stated: “This is not the time to approve a project with this content. It is time to fight the pandemic, and to discuss the elections.”

Those who do have a position radically against the project are the members of the evangelical caucus, who are preparing to battle in the Senate when it’s time to deal with the bill. “The evangelical caucus is united around this,” a religious deputy told Gazeta do Povo.

PowerData conducted a survey of 3,000 people to gain an overview of the opinion of Brazilians on the proposal to regulate casinos, bingo, animal games and online games. The results were even, with 48 per cent were against the bill and 43 per cent in favour.
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Players in Nile City Casino enjoyed the EGT General cabinets with complete with impressive visual capabilities and several features.

Since February the players in Nile City Casino located in the hotel Fairmont Nile City in the capital Cairo can enjoy the unique experience provided by the G50 J2 St. 

The Slant Top version of the single 50-inch J-curved display slot machine is a superb, tech-forward entertainment machine, complete with impressive visual capabilities, ergonomic design, intuitive controls and several features.

“This is the first-ever installation of our General cabinets in Cairo and we believe they will turn out to be an immediate success. The early results from the first couple of weeks show great interest from the players. The beautiful design and the impressive visual capabilities of G50 J2 St have certainly attracted the attention of the guests of the casino”, says Biserka Draganova, Sales Manager – The Balkans and Egypt.

As game mixes, the General cabinets in Nile City Casino will offer to the players the games from the well-known and proven game mixes – Fruit General, Gold Collection and Red General. The new G50 J2 St machines are also connected to the Premium Link server.

“Egypt is a relatively new market for Euro Games Technology and we are looking forward to extending our partnership with the operators here. We are very thankful to Nile City Casino for trusting in G50 J2 St. We believe that the cabinets will show enviable results and this deal would be just the beginning of a great business relationship between EGT and Nile City Casino”, added Biserka Draganova

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Sweden is looking to introduce mandatory gambling software licences while raising renewal fees for operators to cover regulatory costs.

Sweden.- The Swedish government has provided more details of its plans to overhaul its gaming licensing regime. The government intends to introduce mandatory gaming software licences for companies that supply gambling operators in Sweden and to raise licence renewal fees for operators.

According to the Social Security Ministry, the proposal to introduce B2B supplier licences is intended as a measure to control unlicensed gambling in the country. It has suggested that the licence fee would be SEK120,000 (€11,170) and that around 70 software licences would be issued initially.

The government has launched a consultation on how the system would work, with the regime expected to come into effect on March 1 next year. It said it expected the licence procedure and fees to have no more than a “marginal effect” on competition.

“The proposals are not considered to have any other effects of significance for the licence or licensee’s working conditions, competitiveness or conditions in general,” the government said.

Gaming licence renewal fee to double
Meanwhile, the government plans to double gaming operator licence renewal fees from SEK300,000 to SEK600,000 (€55,000) in order to fund the national gambling regulator Spelinspektionen. According to the regulator’s annual report published last week, Spelinspektionen received SEK7.3m in application fees in 2021, but the cost of processing the applications was SEK21.5m.

The government stressed that the proposed fee is still “relatively low” for the size of Sweden’s online gaming market and would not seriously affect operators. It said that all licence fees would only reach 0.03 per cent of total turnover.

The government said: “The current fee for renewing a licence for both commercial online gaming and betting does not take into account the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate’s actual costs. In principle, the same processing measures need to be taken in the case of a renewal of a licence as in the case of a new application.

“Among other things, all checks must be carried out again in the event of a licence renewal. In addition, the gaming companies’ organisation and staff are seldom the same as on the previous application, which means that Spelinspektionen must test whether the new people and organisation meet requirements.

“With this background, Spelinspektionen’s costs for processing an application for renewal of a licence are judged to be only marginally lower than its costs for processing a new application.”

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court has agreed to hear an appeal on a sanction imposed on an online gambling operator by Spelinspektionen. The regulator appealed to the court after lower courts reduced the size of a fine it issued against Genesis Global in 2019 for self-exclusion violations.
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The Canadian Gaming Association has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Betting Integrity Association.

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA). The goal of the MoU is to provide a framework for cooperation and coordination on betting and related integrity issues and to protect the Ontario and wider Canadian market from corruption.

The two trade associations have agreed to explore and establish cooperative projects and partnership working in areas of mutual interest. The CGA and IBIA will be equal partners in those projects, which may involve a wide range of activities, including promoting the commercial and related integrity interests of the associations’ members, and establishing a viable regulated betting market with high channeling rates and integrity protection measures. Many existing IBIA operators are also members of the CGA.

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Protecting the integrity of the betting market in Ontario, and indeed the wider Canadian market, is very important to IBIA and its members. We will be seeking to engage with a wide range of key stakeholders on betting and integrity related issues and see the CGA as a pivotal partner in the achievement of that goal. 

“The CGA has been a driving force behind the evolution of regulated betting in Canada and IBIA views it as a valued and critical partner in the continued development of the sector and in placing sporting and betting integrity at the forefront of that.”

Paul Burns, president and CEO of the CGA, commented: “IBIA will be one of only a handful of sports integrity monitors recognised by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for licensed operators, and we believe there is great value in deepening our relationship with the organisation. 

“As the CGA looks ahead to the opening of Ontario’s iGaming market and the expansion of sports betting products and services across Canada in 2022, the protection of athletes and integrity of sports betting is a key priority.”

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has launched its integrity monitoring services in the United States and Canada. The integrity body has already obtained licences in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Wyoming, and more are pending. The launch is supported by major operators FanDuel and DraftKings.

Currently IBIA’s integrity system monitors 60 per cent of the US online betting market. The system can detect and report suspicious betting transactions and behaviors through customer data analysis.

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Revenue rose to SEK26bn despite Sweden’s online casino deposit limit.

Sweden.- Gaming revenue in Sweden rose 5 per cent to SEK26bn (€2.41bn) in 2021. According to the annual report from the gaming regulator Spelinspektionen, online gambling revenue rose by 6 per cent. That’s despite a SEK5,000 monthly deposit limit being in force until November.

State lottery and slot machine sales from Svenska Spel also climbed by 6 per cent. No details were provided for land-based casino revenue, be it Svenska Spel’s Casino Cosmopol brand or restaurant casinos. Both were impacted heavily by the Covid-19 pandemic with venues closed for most of the year.

Spelinspektionen received SEK53.1m from control, supervision and gambling levies, up 0.8 per cent year-on-year. However, its costs rocketed by 39.1 per cent to SEK43.4m.

It reported that it handled 622 licence applications in 2021, up from 518 in 2020. It accepted 287 and rejected eight (many decisions carried over into this year). That took the total number of live licences to 2,252.

Spelinspektionen received SEK7.3m in application fees, but the cost of processing the applications was SEK21.5m. However, the regulator also received SEK13.7m in penalty fees, up 25.7 per cent. That took total revenue to SEK74.2m, up 0.9 per cent.

The regulator said it issued eight injunctions against unlicensed operators that were targeting Swedish players. Seven previous injunctions were revoked after operators ceased targeting the country. That left 24 in place at year end.

The Swedish government has dropped plans to reimpose an online casino deposit limit.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court has agreed to hear an appeal on a sanction imposed on an online gambling operator by Spelinspektionen. The regulator appealed to the court after lower courts reduced the size of a fine it issued against Genesis Global in 2019 for self-exclusion violations.

“Once the COVID-19 situation stabilises and outlook on contagion begins to improve, we expect a solid recovery in Macau,” – Ben Lee, iGamiX

Macau.- Analyst have said that gaming revenues will likely recover from the Coronavirus outbreak in the third and fourth quarters of the year once travel restrictions have been lifted.

“Assuming the epidemic peaks in the next two months, we might see a recovery in Q3/4. The underlying manufacturing sector in Guangdong province is fragile and will need to recover before we can start to see the players returning to play over more,” Ben Lee from IGamiX Management & Consulting, told the Macau News Agency.

“Once the COVID-19 situation stabilises and outlook on contagion begins to improve, we expect a solid recovery in Macau,” he added.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) revealed a dramatic plunge in gross gaming revenue in February with figures down 87% year on year.

Total revenue was just MOP3.1 billion (€350 million) for the month, but the figures come as no surprise after the government took the decision to close all 41 of the city’s casino for 15 days as part of efforts to halt the Coronavirus outbreak.

This represents the lowest monthly results recorded in Macau since 2005.

Travel restrictions, including visa bands and flight cancellations, led to a visitor numbers dropping to record lows during February.

According to Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, occupancy rates at local hotels fell to 11.8 per cent with average daily room rates as low as MOP690 (around €77).

The AIBC Akon Investor’s Breakfast will take place on the 22nd of March during the Dubai expo.

Press release.- AIBC Dubai has announced that it will hold a breakfast event for investors during the upcoming March summit. The AIBC breakfast will offer 10 start-up companies a unique opportunity to pitch their projects to an elite team of investors.

The private breakfast will take place on the second day of the AIBC Dubai summit from 9.30 am to 11.30 am. Companies looking for investors will receive a valuable 10-15 min slot to pitch their products to the room.

The line-up also includes philanthropist-entrepreneur and entertainer Akon. This will be the second AIBC Investors event for the singer, who is in Dubai for the AIBC conference, where he will take part. Following his participation in the 2019 event, it was announced that he planned to invest in 3 of the pitches.

Tickets are priced at $500 and are valid for up to 3 attendees per company. Space is limited, so visit our website to secure your spot.

AIBC Dubai

AIBC Dubai will host its first event for 2022, a 3-day summit taking place in Dubai from the 20th to 23rd of March at the Festival Arena by InterContinental Hotel Dubai Festival City.

Ahead of its time, Dubai’s economic vision has pushed the emirate to the forefront of the global business world. With a business-friendly approach – especially when it comes to regulation schemes, government support and attractive taxation benefits.

When it comes to the frontier industries, AIBC is leading the innovation pack with an event that offers unparalleled opportunities for entrepreneurs to network and share great ideas with like-minded delegates as East meets West.

Start-ups will also find plenty of opportunities to meet investors and VCs during the AIBC Pitch competition and on the expo floor where 100 start-ups will be given booths as part of the Start-up Village initiative.

The Dutch gaming regulator KSA has reminded operators that the Netherlands’ cooling-off period for operators that were active in the country before regulation has just one month left to run.

The Netherlands.- The gambling regulator De Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has reminded gaming operators that the Netherlands’ cooling-off period imposed ahead of the launch of regulated online gambling will come to an end on April 1.

Under the Netherlands’ remote gambling legislation, the cooling off period required operators who were active in the Netherlands before the regulation of online gambling to wait two years and nine months to demonstrate they weren’t offering gambling without a licence.

That meant that only operators that did not accept Dutch customers in the two years before the market launched could apply for licences.

Regulated online gambling went live in the Netherlands on October 2 with 10 licensees. Since then another five online gambling licences have been granted by the KSA.

Several major gaming operators that did not initially apply for Dutch gambling licences, including Betsson, Entain, Kindred, 888 and LeoVegas, blocked Dutch players when the regulated market went live as they prepared to submit licence applications following the cooling-off period.

From April 1, KSA will review new applications to ensure the applicant has not offered unlicensed gambling during the cooling off period. The cooling-off period will no longer be in effect but KSA has said it will take account of unlicensed activity from up to eight years previous.