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Schleswig-Holstein’s legislature (Landtag) has passed a law confirming it will issue five online table game licences, and set a tax rate of up to 44% of gross gaming revenue.

The Landtag approved a law to implement the Fourth State Treaty on Gambling, which allowed for online casino games to be offered across Germany – rather than only in Schleswig-Holstein – for the first time when it came into force in July 2021.

Within the Treaty, state governments were given a choice in how they wished to regulate online casino table games. They may either create a monopoly or issue as many licences as the state has land-based casinos. In Schleswig-Holstein, there are five land-based casinos.

With the new law, Schleswig-Holstein will opt for the latter approach, allowing for five online table game operators.

Hans-Jörn Arp, Parliamentary Secretary of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), confirmed that one of these licences would go to state-run Spielbank Schleswig-Holstein, leaving four other licences available.

He added that these licences would be issued “according to reputable and strict criteria”.

“It was important to us to prevent the creation of a new Las Vegas and instead to control exactly who is playing what and how the data and money flows,” he said.

The new laws also set out taxes for online table games. Revenue up to €300,000 per month will be taxed at 34%, revenue between €300,000 and €750,000 will be taxed at 39%  and higher revenue will be taxed at 44%.

Under the state treaty, a new federal authority to regulate gambling has been established in Sachsen-Anhalt. Arp added that it was necessary for all federal states to throw their support behind this body “before providers move abroad and our channeling plan would be jeopardised”.

Currently, the new regulatory body has not approved any online gaming licensees.

Igamingbusiness.com

Five different bills that would see a casino, a lottery and sports wagering implemented in Hawaii have passed their first readings in the state House.

Each bill has been referred, or re-referred, to four committees- Economic Development, Customer Protection and Commerce, Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs and Finance.

The first bill to be introduced was House Bill 1820 on 24 January, which would grant a 10-year licence for one members-only casino on the island of Waikiki.

It outlines the admission of a $20-per-day pass to guests who register to stay a minimum of one day and one night at the hotel, and establishes the creation of the state gaming fund and compulsive gambler program.

House Bill 1973 would regulate sports wagering in the state, giving the responsibility to the department of business, economic development and tourism.

It also outlines licencing requirements for sports wagering operators and suppliers, and states that sports wagering would not be classified as a game of chance. It was introduced on January 26 along with the remaining three bills.

Licencees would be subject to a tax of 10% of their adjusted gross sports wagering receipts.

House Bill 2040 aims to establish the Hawaiian Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which would conduct and regulate wagering and gaming. It would also authorize the Lottery and Gaming Special Fund, which would allocate funds for community  purposes.

Similarly, House Bill 2485 would establish a state lottery commission. The commission would ensure that excess lottery funds are used to address issues caused by invasive species.

Lastly House Bill 1962 would require the department of Hawaiian home lands to conduct a report on the potential revenue from casino gaming in the state. The report would be due in 2023.

Currently, Hawaii and Utah are the two states where all forms of gambling are illegal.

The bills come one year after legislators in the state’s House of Representatives and Senate introduced six bills that would allow gambling in Hawaii. All of the bills eventually died in committee.

Igamingbusiness.com

The Canadian province of Ontario will open its legal igaming market on April 4, iGaming Ontario (iGO) the subsidiary of Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) that will oversee the market has announced.

This will conclude a process that dates back to April 2019, when the province’s government announced plans to end Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s monopoly on igaming, opening up the market to private operators. It then moved forward with these plans in November 2020, with legislation introduced and passed in 2021.

AGCO released its final igaming sports and event betting regulatory standards in September of last year, including changes to advertising standards and integrity rules. 

Single-event sports betting officially launched in Canada on August 27, but is currently only offered by provincial lotteries.

The rules were integrated into AGCO’s existing Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, which was published on July 14 last year, and will now come into effect on April 4.

From this date, private gaming operators registered with the AGCO and have in place an operating agreement with iGO can begin offering their games to players in Ontario.

“Consumers can be assured that companies who successfully enter the new Ontario market will have met rigorous standards of game and operator integrity, fairness, player protections and social responsibility, allowing all players to play with confidence,” IGO executive director Martha Otton said.

This will see measures to prevent underage gambling, ensure compliance with all applicable laws, and responsible gambling safeguards introduced from April 4.

“Today, most internet gaming by Ontarians takes place on websites not conducted and managed by the province,” Otton added. “Our new internet gaming market will give consumers enhanced entertainment choice, support the growth of a new, legal market and generate revenue that can help fund programs and services that benefit all of us.”

Penn National Gaming president and chief executive Jay Snowden, together with John Levy, chief executive of its subsidiary theScore, welcomed the news.

Last week, Penn National Gaming and theScore Bet venture became the first prospective private market operator in Ontario to secure the Responsible Gambling Check iGaming Accreditation from the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) ahead of the market opening.

“Launching theScore Bet in Ontario will mark an exciting expansion of our online gaming business into a major new market where we already have an established mobile sports media product in theScore app and a wide base of loyal users,” Snowden said.

“Today’s news is very exciting, and I would like to recognize and congratulate the government of Ontario and the AGCO and iGaming Ontario for their dedication to creating a modern open and regulated sports betting and igaming market.”

Levy added: “The AGCO and iGaming Ontario have been thoughtful and collaborative in their approach to creating and managing this new industry, and the result is a soon-to-be-launched framework that will bring widespread benefits to Ontarians and establish Ontario as one of the biggest and most important regulated gaming markets in North America.”

He said theScore Bet “could not be more excited” to bring its sports betting and igaming offering to customers in its home province.

In December, affiliate Bonusfinder said the Canadian province of Ontario could become the most attractive online gambling market in all of North America when it launches. It cited factors such as the size of the population – which will be the second largest market on the continent after New York – the number of brands competing, and the potential size of bonuses on offer to consumers.

Igamingbusiness.com

The regulator has clarified its role after an increase in the number of enquiries from the public.

UK.- Britain’s Gambling Commission has clarified its position regarding the regulatory oversight of so-called free draws and prize competitions as the result of an increase in the number of enquiries from the public.

The regulator clarified that such competitions are not regulated under Britain’s 2005 Gambling Act, and as such it does not provide oversight.

The Gambling Commission warned the public that companies behind such draws and competitions “may not be subject to the same oversight as regulated providers of gambling products and may not offer the same level of consumer protection against gambling-related harm”.

It also warned that there may be no independent oversight to vouch for claims that proceeds go to any good causes.

However, the regulator noted that the legislation does provide a distinction about how free draws and prize competitions must be structured to avoid classification as a lottery service. It warned that organisers who do not meet the requirements could be operating an illegal lottery, in which case it would intervene and take action.

The regulator said it had noted an increase in the number of enquiries it received about “win a house” or “win a cash prize” competitions.

Current legislation allows free draws to be organised for commercial and private gain as long as organisers provide clear rules about how to enter for free entry and disclose any requirements needed to compete for prizes.

The UK government, which is currently reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act, has been urged to regulate prize draws in the same way as gambling. Australian lottery firm Jumbo Interactive joined calls for regulation after research showed that £117m worth of entries were paid for on credit cards in the last year.

Using credit cards to gamble was banned in April 2020, but a loophole in regulation means there are no restrictions on commercial prize draw or prize competition companies.

The government has dropped plans to reimpose a temporary online casino deposit limit at a lower level than before.

Sweden.- The Swedish government has dropped plans to reimpose a temporary deposit limit for online casino gaming.

Sweden introduced a SEK5,000 (€470) deposit limit in July 2020 due to fears the Covid-19 lockdown could cause a surge in problem gambling.

The limit finally expired in November last year, but with Covid-19 cases on the rise, the government had proposed introducing a new temporary limit at SEK4,000, less than before.

Industry groups and operators were highly critical of the proposal. The national gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, which had criticised the original deposit limit in 2020 said it would not oppose the proposal but noted that it had yet to be proved whether the previous limit was effective.

The restriction also includes a SEK100 limit on sign-up bonuses, which are the only bonuses operators may use in Sweden.

However, the government has finally decided not to implement a new limit, which would have applied from February 7. Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of industry association BOS, welcomed the decision.

He said: “The government has made a wise and well-balanced decision, partly based on the general development of the pandemic; partly, and above all, because precisely these restrictions would not achieve their purpose of protecting public health.

“We are in favour of strong regulation of the gaming market, and a prerequisite for this is that the intention with various reforms can also be expected to have the intended effect. That was not the case with Covid restrictions, and it is therefore welcome that they be withdrawn.”

Earlier this week, Sweden’s government backed minister of social securities Ardalan Shekarabi’s proposal for new safer gambling and consumer protection measures, including new limits on advertising and measures against unlicensed operators.

Under the proposals, there will be mandatory licensing of third-party games and software providers that service Swedish licensed operators and online casino games will be moderated, with the riskiest being subject to enhanced measures to protect young and vulnerable audiences.

A record month for online casino helped Italian online GGR hit the highest total since May 2021 in December, but revenue was down year-on-year.

Total GGR hit €312.0m, up from €304.2m in November. However, this total was 13.0% down from December 2020, when revenue rocketed to €359m, a total that has still not been bested.

Online casino was the main driver of the month-over-month growth, with revenue up to €165.5m, the highest monthly total of the year. No single operator dominated the online casino market, but Playtech-owned Snai took the largest share at 9.1%, ahead of soon-to-be-acquired Sisal at 8.5%. In third place was long-time market leader Pokerstars with an 8.2% share, while Lottomatica held a 7.5% market share.

Sports betting declined from November and year-on-year, to €204.8m, with both online and retail betting revenue down from the previous month. Online revenue came to €125.1m, while the retail total was €79.7m. Goldbet moved into first place in combined betting revenue, bringing in 15.4% of total GGR and 23.0% of the retail market.

That combined figure narrowly edged out second-placed Snai’s 15.1%, while Sisal followed with 13.6%. Online-only brands struggled, with Bet365’s online market share dropping to just 6.7%.

Elsewhere, both tournament and cash poker revenue hit their highest levels since April 2021, with Pokerstars continuing its dominance of the vertical, while bingo recorded its highest total since May.

For 2021 as a whole, igaming revenue hit €3.46bn, up 46.1% from 2020. Casino and slot revenue was €1.77bn and sports betting revenue €1.44bn. Poker tournament revenue was €106.0m, while revenue from cash poker came to €71.2m. Bingo brought in €66.6m.

Igamingbusiness.com

Norway’s Ministry of Culture and Gender Equality has told Lottstift to create a compensation scheme for cultural organisations impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Norway.- The Norwegian gambling regulator Lottstift has been instructed by the government’s Ministry of Culture and Gender Equality, Kulturdepartementet, to create a compensation scheme for organisations in the cultural sector that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marianne Skjeldestad Hove, the ministry’s director of voluntary support, said Norwegian Lotteries would fund the scheme under the Foundation Authority, which supervises the statutes of state-owned enterprises for the public good.

The scheme will provide compensation to cultural organisers and subcontractors that were forced to cancel events between November 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022 as a result of Covid-19 countermeasures.

Skjeldestad Hove said: “The regulations are being worked on by the Ministry of Culture. Our goal is to help the cultural actors as soon as possible.

“We are in the process of preparing what we can before the regulations are ready, and we will have a lot of pressure to prepare for applications as soon as the regulations are in place. It is important for us to help cultural actors as quickly as possible.”

Last September, Norway sent its plans for the DNS-blocking of gambling sites targeting the Norwegian market to the European Commission (EC) for approval. The plans propose an amendment to be included in Norway’s new Gambling Act, which unified previously separate legislation.

Norway continues to enforce a dual monopoly on its licensed gambling market, run by the state-controlled Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto, and has promised tougher action on offshore operators.

Last week, Åsne Havnelid resigned as chief executive of the Norwegian gaming monopoly Norsk Tipping after six years. She will remain in the role until a successor is named.

The Ontario Government is planning to lift Covid restrictions on January 31.

Canada.- The Ontario government has announced its plans to lift Covid-19 restrictions. Casinos will be permitted to reopen at 50 per cent capacity on January 31 while sports venues can raise their capacity to 50 per cent from February 21. The government aims to remove all capacity limits by March 14.

Duncan Hannay, president and CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), said: “OLG is happy the Province’s popular gaming facilities will once again reopen to provide world-class entertainment, dining options and other amenities to adult Ontarians in a safe and secure environment.

“In partnership with our service providers, OLG is proud to contribute to the re-opening of the economy with health and safety as a top priority.”

Proof of Covid vaccination and masks will be mandatory when entering casinos and sports venues in the province. No end date has been announced for these measures.

The Rideau Carleton Casino announced on its website that its slot games will be available 24/7, starting at 9am on January 31 as part of its first round of a phased reopening, which will also include Mr Lucky restaurant, which will open 8am to 2am.

Vaccinations must be completed 14 days prior to the date of entry, the casino added, and a QR code must be presented.

Casinos in Ontario closed on January 5 due to the rise in cases of Covid-19

New yorkers wagered more than $600m during the first nine days of regulated mobile sports. Revenue surpassed $48m.

US.- The New York State Gaming Commission has released its first batch of weekly financial figures for mobile sports betting. Together Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel and Rush Street Interactive took $603.1m in wagers from the start of sports betting on January 8 until Sunday January 16. BetMGM launched January 17.

BallyBET, PointsBet, Resorts World Bet, and Wynn Interactive are still awaiting approval from the Gaming Commission to launch.

Figures released by the state commission show that gross gaming revenue for the period reached $48.1m. New York generated $24.6m in tax (the Empire State is taxed at 51 per cent).

Among mobile operators in New York, Caesars took the most bets at $257.6m ($22.7m in revenue), followed by Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel at $200.3m ($14.1m in revenue); DraftKings at $134.7m ($10.9m in revenue) and BetRivers, operated by Rush Street Interactive, at $10.6m ($446,696 in revenue).

As reported by Focus Gaming News last week, in the first week after New York launched sports betting, 1.2m accounts were created across the five sportsbooks in the state, with 878,000 unique players.

GeoComply revealed that only 9.3 per cent of New York players placed bets previously in New Jersey, with 87.8 per cent of players being brand new to regulated online sports betting. Some 17.9m geolocation transactions were registered last weekend, surpassing transactions during the launch weekend

he European Parliament has approved a negotiating position on the Digital Services Act.

Switzerland.- European Lotteries (EL) has welcomed the European Parliament’s adoption of a negotiating position on the Digital Services Act (DSA).

MEPs approved the act’s provisions by 530 votes to 78, with 80 abstentions. The legislation now progresses to negotiation with the European Commission and Council of Europe at the so-called ‘trilogues’ stage.

EL, which provided input on the legislation, says the act would strengthen consumer protection measures as well as measures against illegal online gambling.

The DSA was first proposed by the European Commission in December 2020. It aims to protect digital rights and tackle illegal content, products, services, including illegal online gambling, to increase the transparency of algorithms and to manage content moderation.

New provisions introduced by the European Parliament include measures that aim to create greater transparency and informed choice plus the prohibition of targeting or amplification techniques involving the data of minors and other special categories for displaying advertising.

EL Secretary General Arjan van ‘t Veer said: “EL Members strongly believe in a high level of consumer protection and are fully committed to the fight against illegal online gambling.

“The DSA foresees a number of new provisions that could be beneficial to this end. EL hopes that these will be at the disposal of its Members, most notably an improved notice-and-action mechanism, the concept of trusted flaggers and enhanced consumer protection and know-your-business-customer requirements.”

DSA input from European Lotteries
In October, EL requested the European Parliament eliminate explicit mentions of online betting services, saying that references in the context of freedom of establishment were inaccurate, implying that “national regulations on illegal content in the gambling sector are often not in compliance with EU law”.

Van ‘t Veer said: “EL welcomes the support by MEPs, in particular by Rapporteur Christel Schaldemose to improve the European Commission’s proposal to create a safer digital space for everyone. This marks a milestone update in the regulation of the internet in the EU.”

The European Gaming and Betting Association has also been involved in the debate on the legislation, stressing the importance of consistency with the EU’s existing legal framework for online business laws on data, consumer protections and platform laws.