News

The legislature has approved a bipartisan deal to expand funding for the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

US.- Michigan’s legislators have reached a deal for the state’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget, which includes $7m in additional funding for the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). This deal now heads to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk to await signature. It’s expected to take effect on October 1.

According to the deal, the new funding will support a comprehensive responsible gaming messaging campaign, direct citizens to services available for problem gambling and extend outreach to community organisations. The budget should address capital concerns and ensure the MGCB can continue its current level of service to charities without any increase in licensing fees.

Additional funding has been approved for new positions and IT support/ infrastructure to assist with the increase in internet gaming activity, internet sports betting, and fantasy contests. The funding will increase network storage capacity and network speeds at MGCB casino offices to support operations, including the transfer of large regulatory files.

MGCB executive director Henry Williams, said: “I would like to thank Governor Whitmer and the legislature for their leadership and a budget deal that recognizes the crucial role the MGCB plays in ensuring fair and honest gaming in the State of Michigan.”

Williams added: “Our 2023 budget emphasizes investments to help strengthen our mission and integrity, support local charities, and educate Michigan citizens on ways to enjoy gaming responsibly.”

The Malta Gaming Authority has issued a licence to allow National Lottery PLC to take over the running of the country’s lottery.

Malta.- The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has issued a new ten-year licence for Malta’s National Lottery. The regulator granted the licence to IZI Group’s National Lottery PLC, which replaces Maltco Lotteries Limited as the operator of the lottery.

The new operator was granted exclusive rights after the government’s Privatisation Unit issued a Request for Proposals in July last year. A concession agreement was signed by the Ministry for the Economy, European Funds and Lands in March.

It’s the first time in 18 years that a fully Maltese-owned company has operated the lottery. It was the second attempt by IZI Group to win the licence after it participated in the last bid in 2012 but lost against Maltco Lotteries. Owned by Intralot, Associated Supplies Limited and The Players Group (24%), Maltco Lotteries has run the Malta National Lottery since its privatisation in 2003 but did not participate in the latest tender.

MGA chief executive Carl Brincat said: “The Authority is confident that the concessionaire shall dedicate all resources necessary to maintain the very highest level of operational and compliance standards, and as has already been made clear, will invest in taking care of its players and doing its utmost to avoid gaming-related harm.”

National Lottery PLC chief executive Johann Schembri said: “Today marks a new era for the National Lottery of Malta. The licence attained from the Malta Gaming Authority affirms the hard work that we have been undertaking and our commitment to deliver an innovative, forward-looking and above all, fair and transparent, national lottery service.”

Malta’s minister for the economy, European funds and lands Silvio Schembri said: “I’m sure that the new National Lottery licensee shall continue to enhance the popular National Lottery Games, such as the Lotto and Super 5, among others, as well as introduce other games which will further enrich the games portfolio.

“Together, we have ensured that National Lottery PLC will be committed to promoting, designing and putting into practice the principles of actively responsible gaming, while protecting the personal well-being of players. The national economic profit that translates from gambling should be given importance, but not at the expense of the player.”

Malta National Lottery rebranding
All existing lottery outlets displaying the Maltco brand are being rebranded as National Lottery while IZIBET will be the sports betting brand and product.

IZI Group chief commercial officer Franco De Gabriele said in May: “We are proud that after 18 years since the privatisation of the national lottery of Malta in 2004, the lottery will be operated for the first time by a wholly-owned Maltese company, whose mission is to provide the market with a service that is local, innovative and of the highest levels of quality.

“Our first decision was to re-establish ‘National Lottery’ as the corporate brand, restoring the name after a very long absence. This is the first step towards bringing back the national identity of this national concession, a service provided by the Maltese to the Maltese.”

National Lottery PLC has entered into deals with EveryMatrix and International Game Technology (IGT) for online games and technology.

Last month, the G7’s anti-money laundering (AML) watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed Malta from its “greylist” of untrustworthy jurisdictions. The decision was taken months after the FATF visited Malta to inspect reforms, including the country’s implementation of an AML action plan.

Meanwhile, the Malta Gaming Authority has banned former compliance officer Iosif Galea from acting as a director for any of the gaming businesses that it licences. He has been stripped of one current directorship.

It said it had notified Galea of the cancellation of any approvals for him to act as director for Maltese gaming licensees. He only held one such position at the time.

The Seimas has approved amendments to Lithuania’s gambling legislation.

Lithuania.- The Lithuanian legislature, the Seimas has approved new amendments to the country’s gambling and lottery and gaming tax legislation. The changes will allow the national regulator, the Gambling Supervisory Authority, to offer a specific licence for remote gambling.

The move will allow the government to split the requirements for remote gambling and land-based gambling, which are currently tied. Online gambling operators currently need municipal consent to tie in with a land-based gaming operator.

The new remote gaming licences will remove the need for online gambling operators to have a domiciled presence in Lithuania.

The amendment states that “The organisation of remote gambling, unlike land-based gambling, is not related to its execution in a specific territory (municipality). Remote gambling is carried out online throughout the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. Thus, it is not appropriate to require a municipality’s consent when issuing a permit for remote gambling.”

The changes mean that existing online gambling operators will need to transfer to specific remote licences. They will have two years to do so. The one-off fee for the new licences will be €500,000, as established in new amendments to the Lotteries and Tax Act. Operators that run both land-based and online gambling will pay €1m.

Lithuanian regulator closes proceeds loophole
The Gambling Supervisory Authority has taken steps to close a loophole in Lithuania’s Code of Administrative Offences (ANK) that prevented it from confiscating the proceeds of illegal acts or the tools used to commit them.

The regulator had realised that while article 34, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the code allow tools used in an administrative offence and the proceeds of said offence to be confiscated, the measure applied only to individuals not to companies. It said that as a result, the regulator would not have been able to confiscate any proceeds of illegal gambling from companies – only from individuals.

It submitted an amendment to article 134 in 2021 in a bid to close the loophole and its proposal has now been approved and has entered into law.

Meanwhile, the regulator has been very active in enforcement action against operators for breaches of Lithuania’s ban on promoting gambling. It has issued several €25,000 fines to operators in recent months.

The Communications Authority has ordered mobile operators to stop issuing services to operators who have nor renewed their licences.

Kenya. The Communications Authority of Kenya has ordered mobile network operators to stop issuing ICT platforms and services, including USSDs, shortcodes, and paybill numbers to betting, gaming and lottery operators who have not renewed their Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) licences.

General Ezra Chiloba, director of the authority said the directive was in line with licence conditions on the provision of the licensed services. Gaming firms require their licences to be renewed by the BCLB, but it is requiring a list of other approvals that most operators do not currently meet.

Chiloba said: “To ensure that these communications services are used within the remits of regulatory framework, the authority directs operators that the use of licensed ICT platforms and services for provision of betting and gambling services shall only be by firms duly licensed by BCLB.

“Mobile operators are required to provide returns to the BCLB and the Authority detailing numbering resources allocated to licensed betting and gambling service providers on a monthly basis.

“Additionally, the MNOs shall be required to provide returns to the BCLB and the Authority detailing numbering resources (PayBill and USSDs), allocated to licensed betting and gambling services providers on a monthly basis.

Chiloba urged operators direct any consultations with the BCLB chairperson, Cyrus Maina. The BCLB is currently in the process of renewing gaming licences but is reportedly only allowing renewals for firms meeting the requirements set by the interior cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i.

Those criteria include clearance by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Financial Reporting Centre, CA and the Interagency security team as well as the Communications Authority. The majority of the betting, gaming and lottery firms have reportedly not met that list of criteria.

The BCLB conducted a report on compliance status and concluded: “The report reveals that the majority of these firms have not complied with the stated requirements,” it said. “Consequently, their applications were not successful.”

The BCLB says it has told operators that applications may be reconsidered if they are resubmitted after of the requirements have all been met.

May has ordered a crackdown on unlicensed gambling, asking the BCLB to create a list of unlicensed sites that the Communications Authority will then be instructed to block.

In May, the BCLB began an investigation into money gaming operators invest in the sponsorship of sports clubs and community projects amid rumours that betting companies were channeling funds to political parties rather than CSR activities. Chief executive Peter Mbugi ordered all gaming operators to disclose the activities, amounts, and beneficiaries of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending.

The Danish gambling regulator has found that the casino breached Denmark’s Money Laundering Act.

Denmark.- Spillemyndigheden, Denmark’s gambling regulator, has issued a series of reprimands against Casino Copenhagen in the country’s capital. It found the casino had committed several breaches of the Danish Money Laundering Act by failing to compile risk assessments, among other issues.

The first rebuke concerns risk assessments, which are a requirement under section 7, subsection 1 of the Money Laundering Act. The regulator said Casino Copenhagen had not adequately assessed customer types and payment methods.

Two more reprimands relate to the absence of written procedures on how business-related tasks should be executed. Its procedures on politically exposed persons and customer due diligence were incomplete and there was insufficient material to be able to check that adequate policies existed.

A further criticism was that to educate employees Casino Copenhagen used material that was too general and didn’t give enough information on anti-money laundering. Finally, it was found to have breached section 35 of the Money Laundering Act by failing to offer anonymity in its whistleblower scheme, something that could cause employees to avoid making reports.

The casino does not have the obligation to act on the majority of the reprimands since it’s already updated its risk assessment, procedures, teaching material and whistleblower scheme. It must, however, submit an updated risk assessment considering the assessment of confirmation of winnings. The regulator also warned over the seriousness of the offences.

Spillemyndigheden said: “The rules on risk assessment, business procedures, policies, teaching materials and whistleblower scheme are very basic in the Money Laundering Act, and violation of the rules is the clear starting point for an injunction or reprimand or, in serious or repeated cases, to police reporting.”

Earlier in the month, the regulator reported Tipwin to the police for breaches of Denmark’s money laundering rules. It says the German operator breached the Money Laundering Act by failing to prepare a risk assessment and to have written policies for retail betting.

Spillemyndigheden said Tipwin only prepared a risk assessment of retail betting sales from May 16 of this year and had no written AML procedures or controls for retail betting until May 25. The regulator also issued an injunction for breaches of rules on procedures for online casino and betting.

Last month, Spillemyndigheden warned bet365 for failing to complete due diligence checks on a young customer who deposited around DKK190,000 (€25,537) in their account over a year. The regulator said bet365 had insufficient knowledge of the player’s source of funds to be able to rule out criminal activity.

Saxony-Anhalt has approved online slot and poker licences for nine operators, taking the total to 12.

Germany.- Saxony-Anhalt-Anhalt’s State Administration Office has announced the approval of nine online slot and poker licences. It hasn’t named the operators that have been approved, but the new round of approvals will take the total number of licensees to 12.

Germany’s new gambling legislation came into force exactly a year ago, on July 1, 2021. Since then 71 applications for online slots and poker licences have been submitted, but only three licences had been granted to date, with Tipwin and Mybet joining Mernov last week as the only operators licensed.

With the process taking so long, some eight applications have actually been withdrawn – including that of from Kindred’s Unibet, which has turned its back on Germany for now due to the slow licensing progress and the tight restrictions in the regulated market.

Only one application has actually been rejected by Sachsen-Anhalt’s State Administration Office, which remains the regulator responsible for online slots and poker licences until the new regulator Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL – The German Federal States’ Joint Gambling Authority) is up and running.

Reports against unlicensed operators
Meanwhile, the State Administration Office said it had referred 25 online gaming operators to the public prosecutor’s office for offering gaming without a licence in the last year. It said it had checked 871 websites and investigated 148 cases of illegal gambling and 90 cases of illegal gambling advertising.

President of the Sachsen-Anhalt State Administration Office Thomas Pleye said: “Every new task presents everyone involved with larger and smaller challenges – especially when it comes to two different authorities that start at the same time with different requirements and tasks, but the same goal.”

“We can be very satisfied with the results so far and are now handing over both partial tasks and personnel and thus the symbolic baton to the GGL. I wish everyone involved continued success.”

Earlier this week, the GGL announced that it will begin to block IP addresses and payments to unlicensed operators as its enforcement policy.

Based in Saxony-Anhalt, the GGL was created under the federal treaty on gambling, which established a federal regulated online gambling market from last July. The regulator also plans to devise an early detection system for gambling harm and to create a centralised complaints and whistleblowing system that the public will be able to use to report gambling “irregularities”, advertising violations and suspicions of illegal gambling.

Bundestag representative Anne Poggemann overseeing the creation of the regulator. Ronald Benter and Benjamin Schwanke will lead the regulator as joint chief executives.

The GGL website launched in February and the regulator has said it will have 110 staff when fully formed. Until January 1, the executive of Hesse serve as the temporary body for German sports betting licences while Saxony-Anhalt is responsible for online casino and poker licences.

Table cames are subject to different regulations and are licensed by each individual state, with states allowed to maintain a monopoly or offer licences equal to the number of land-based casinos in its territory.

Romania’s Association of Remote Gambling Organisers, AOJND, says the levy would cause players to move to unlicensed operators.

Romania.- The online gaming industry association Asociatia Organizatorilor de Jocuri de Noroc la Distanta (AOJND) has heavily criticised proposals to impose a 40 per cent tax on gambling withdrawals in Romania. It warns that the move would lead players to use unlicensed operators.

The AOJND said the move would be likely to reduce Romania’s 90 per cent channelisation rate to the regulated market. It also noted that a migration of players to unlicensed sites could actually harm rather than boost government revenue.

It warns that online gambling operators could end up paying up to 50 per cent less in tax due to an overall reduction in business. It also noted that the majority of withdrawals were for small amounts.

AOJND president Odeta Nestor said: “Before adopting such a fiscal measure, a number of factors must be taken into account. Firstly, online gambling is primarily entertainment, not a source of revenue for players.

He added: “Basically, we are mostly talking about cases in which the player does not pursue the win at any cost but the pleasure of competing. In this way, online gambling is a source of reducing daily stress.

“I have often emphasised that Romania is a success story in terms of gambling legislation. But this situation depends on the ability of the authorities to maintain an attractive legislative and fiscal framework.”

Nestor called on the government to carry out industry-wide consultations to gain knowledge from the gaming sector itself before making any legislative changes, emphasising that the AOJND was willing to offer its expertise.

In March, Romania’s National Gambling Office ONJN blocked another 26 unlicensed gambling sites. The Romanian regulator has been regularly updating its list of blocked sites since it began in 2015 ahead of the introduction of regulated igaming.

The latest list of blocking orders featured Sloty.com and a1xSlot.

The debate will take place amid the launch of a new book containing interviews with figures involved in the push for gaming legislation.

Brazil.- The Chamber of Deputies Tourism Commission has announced that tomorrow (Wednesday June 29), it will hold an open debate on the legalisation of gambling. The debate was requested by deputy Newton Cardoso (MDB-MG) to mark the launch of a new book.

Brazil’s proposed gaming legislation, Bill 442/91, has been approved by the chamber at the end of February and is pending consideration by the Federal Senate. That may not happen until next year.

Cardoso said: “The debate on the subject is timely and of national interest, since the legalization of games of chance is shown as a promising path for the recovery of the economy, above all, generating jobs and foreign currency for the country.”

Luiz Carlos Prestes, one of the main advocates of gambling legalisation in Brazil, is publishing the title, “Brazil, Você Tá Duro Porque Quer”. The book brings together a collection of interviews that he conducted in 2021 with various personalities linked to the gaming sector in the country.

“The book has 31 interviews with politicians, businessmen, lawyers and artists about gambling as a recreational activity and business capable of generating hundreds of thousands of formal jobs and billions of reais in taxes,” Cardoso explained.

According to what was communicated, participants in the debate will include Leônidas Oliveira, Minas Gerais secretary of state for culture and tourism, the author Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho and the lawyer Luiz Felipe Maia.

Highlights of the Gambling Regulatory Framework
Brazil’s proposed gambling legislation would allow permanent or temporary licenses for the exploitation of games of chance, including bingo halls, casinos, animal games and resorts with integrated casinos, as well as tourist operations.

If the project is approved as it is, each state will be able to have one casino, with the exception of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas and Pará, which may have two, and São Paulo, with three, due to their sizes.

The project would also allow river casinos, with one per river with an extension between 1,500km and 2,500km; two on a river between 2,500km and 3,500km and three, maximum, when the river extends for more than 3,500km. The maximum would be 10. Such vessels would not be allowed to anchor in the same place for more than 30 consecutive days.

The British regulator is doing away with its use of dedicated account managers.

UK.- The British Gambling Commission has announced changes in its licensing processes, doing away with the current dedicated account manager model. The changes mean that operators will no longer have specific individual contact when they apply for a licence.

The licensing department will be divided into four sub-groups, each responsible for different types of work. The regulator said it was making the changes to its working practices in order to make the best use of its resources. It said it hoped the changes will allow it to process applications more quickly. It also hopes to be able to resolve queries more efficiently and effectively.

New Gambling Commission licensing groups
The four new licensing sub-groups will each be responsible for different areas of work. The groups are as follows:

The Operating Licence New Group – responsible for processing applications for new operator licences;
The Change of Corporate Control Group – responsible for processing applications relating to changes of ownership and control for existing operators;
The Operating Licence Vary Group – responsible for processing applications relating to changes to existing operator licences, and
The Personal Licence group – responsible for processing all applications relating to personal licences.
The way in which applications themselves should be submitted to the regulator has not changed. Where an online service exists, applications must be made online. For applications where an online service does not exist, these must be made by email. Applications can no longer be submitted by post.

Once an application has been allocated to a caseworker, operators will receive their contact details and an estimated timescale for determination. The caseworker will advise the operator if the timescale changes.

The overhaul of the way licences are processed comes as the Gambling Commission continues to await the result of the British government’s review of gambling legislation. The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport continues to insist that its gambling white paper will be published “soon”. The review has lasted more than 18 months.

The government was widely expected to propose maximum stake limits for online casino gaming, a ban on gambling sponsorship in sports and a mandatory levy on gambling operators. However, it has been reported that those two later proposals have been dropped. Other changes expected include a requirement for operators to share data to a single customer view and new measures on affordability.

Meanwhile, the Gambling Commission has published guidance on its new consumer protection requirements due to come into force on September 12. The guidance aims to ensure that online gaming operators are clear on what they need to do to meet the new requirements, which were announced in April.

Operators will now have to bring in automated processes to record indicators of gambling harm and will need to be able to provide evidence of their evaluations and customer interactions to the regulator as part of routine casework. They must prevent marketing to at-risk players and must “take action in a timely manner”, elevating interactions and engaging with customers

A working group will inspect bookmakers’ contracts as part of its review of advertising standards.

France.- The French gambling regulator l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) has announced that a new working group will inspect betting operators’ media contracts as part of its review of advertising standards.

The “working group of experts” will inspect bookmakers’ planned marketing campaigns with the aim of preventing excessive advertising and protecting minors and vulnerable audiences. It will also provide best practice guidelines for operators and media owners.

The move forms part of the ANJ’s focus on advertising after it warned operators about an “oversaturation” of marketing during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championships. Operators were instructed to submit six-month reports detailing their planned marketing campaigns for ANJ approval.

The working group now has the task of supervising media partnerships and sponsorship contracts ahead of several major events like FIFA 2022 World Cup, the RFU Rugby World Cup, which will be held in France next year, and then the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

ANJ said: “The main objective of the working group is to put in place clear rules for partnership and sponsorship contracts with gambling operators before the start of the FIFA World Cup in November.”

The ANJ has said that it “must see a vast improvement in advertising during World Cup 2022”, suggesting that the results could influence the stance it takes on advertising in the future.

ANJ approves Winamax marketing strategy
Meanwhile, the ANJ has approved Winamax’s marketing strategy for 2022 after having rejected the gambling operator’s previous applications. Winamax first submitted its strategy in January, and then again in March, on which occasion, the ANJ asked it to withdraw the application due to an ad that showed gambling improving life for a man and his mother. It was the only operator to have a campaign rejected.

The ANJ said the campaign showed irresponsible gambling behaviour. Winamax submitted a new strategy in April, dropping the original “Tout pour la Daronne”(“everything for mum”) slogan. It has also reduced its budget for the ad.