News

Switzerland’s Federal Council has approved the creation of two new licensing regions.

Switzerland.- The Federal Council of Switzerland has approved the creation of two new casino licensing regions in the country. That will allow two new casino licences to be granted, adding to the existing 21 licensees. A tender process will begin next month, with the winning licensees to be announced in autumn.

Switzerland allows one casino licence for each licensing region. Currently there are 21 regions, but the Federal Gaming Board (ESBK) recommended the system be updated to add Lausanne and Winterthur as two new regions. The existing 21 casino licences will not be affected.

There are two types of casino licences in Switzerland – Class A and Class B licences. The new regions will get Class A licences, which have no stake limits and are issued to casinos expected to generate at least CHF30m in revenue each year. There are currently eight Class A licences.

Class B licences, of which there are currently 13, have a CHF25 (€24.44) stake limit for slot machines.

Switzerland’s land-based casino licensees are able to offer online casino gaming via partnerships with online operators.

Gespa, the body that regulates gaming in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland, has named Jean-Michel Cina as its new president.

He took over from Jean-François Roth on January 1 for a four-year term. He’s the body’s second president, with Roth having held the position since Gespa was founded as Comlot in 2006

Schleswig-Holstein will open applications for its four online table game licences on May 23.

Germany.- The state of Schleswig-Holstein has unveiled the details of the application process for its online table game licences. It will open the process on May 23, and operators will have until August 15 to submit an application for one of the state’s four online table game licences by email.

The application fee has been set at €2,500. As for the criteria to award the four 15-year licences, the state’s legislature said it would evaluate operators’ “reliability, expertise and ability” and consider the applications against the goals of Germany’s Fourth Interstate Treaty on Gambling.

Schleswig-Holstein is a unique case in Germany in that it’s the only state that already allowed online casino operations prior to the introduction of the new federal online gaming legislation. Before the launch of the new regulatory system, it had no limit on the number of licences it issued, and it taxed operators 20 per cent on GGR.

The new federal legislation, which came into force last July, introduced a national regulated market for igaming and sports betting, but allowed each state to decide between two models for the regulation of online table games.

States can choose between granting a monopoly on online table games, normally falling to the state lottery, or to issue the same number of licences as the number of land-based casinos in the state. Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s northernmost state, has opted for the latter. It has five land-based casinos and will therefore allow five online table game licences.

One of the five licences will go to state-run Spielbank Schleswig-Holstein, which leaves just four available for private operators to apply for. Christian Democratic Union parliamentary secretary Hans-Jörn Arp said these would be issued following “reputable and strict criteria”.

The tax rate established in the new state legislation will see online table game revenue of up to €300,000 a month taxed at 34 per cent. Revenue between €300,000 and €750,000 will be taxed at 39 per cent and revenue surpassing €750,000 at 44 per cent.

North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous of Germany’s 16 states, has also decided that it will grant five online table game licences. Thüringia is adopting the monopoly model.

Meanwhile, the executive of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt has launched the website for the country’s new federal regulator, Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL – The German Federal States’ Joint Gambling Authority). However, the new regulator has not yet approved any applications for online casino.

New countries on the EC list include Morocco, Myanmar, the Philippines and Senegal.

Belgium.- The European Commission has updated its list of high-risk countries whose citizens must subject to stricter checks by gambling operators. New additions on the list include Morocco, Myanmar, the Philippines and Senegal.

The executive branch of the European Union first published its list in 2016 under EU Directive 2015/849, Article 9 which has since been updated several times. It identifies high-risk countries that have deficiencies in their approaches to countering anti-money laundering and terrorism financing according to criteria defined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Gambling operators based in the European Union that offer services to countries on the list, or have customers from those counties, must carry out tighter checks. The new countries added to the list are Burkina Faso, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jordan, Malo, Morocco, Myanmar, the Philippines, Senegal and South Sudan.

Already on the list were Afghanistan, Barbados, Cambodia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, Jamaica, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

When adding countries to the list, the EC identifies their risk profile and level of threat and analyses the local legal framework and its application in eight areas. This includes the criminalisation of money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, customer due diligence requirements, record keeping and reporting of suspicious financial transactions. It also evaluates the procedures and sanctions imposed in the case of breaches.

In March, the FATF decided to keep Malta on its grey list of untrustworthy jurisdictions. However, it has suggested that the country is close to coming off the list.

It recognised that Malta had made significant reforms through its action plan after it was grey listed last year and had increased its use of the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (FIU) services to pursue money laundering and criminal tax cases.

However, the body said that an on-site review would be needed to ensure the AML measures were being implemented before Malta could be removed from the grey list.

Meanwhile, several jurisdictions have warned operators to step up checks in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both the Malta Gaming Authority and Britain’s Gambling Commission warned operators to ensure they apply checks to comply with sanctions against Russia following its invasion of its neighbour.

EGBA creates cyber security expert group
Last month, the European Gaming and Betting Association created a new expert group on cyber security to facilitate information sharing on cyber threats and attacks among its members and to promote cooperation to track and resolve incidents and identify and solve security vulnerabilities.

The group will comprise cyber security experts from EGBA member operators, with a Memorandum of Understanding to allow for data sharing between the different operators. Participation will be open to all members. The group will also seek to research and implement best practices on cyber security.

The association argues that the obligation would be a “serious threat to consumer protection”.

Belgium.- The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) has criticised government plans to force Belgian players to register for separate online betting and casino accounts. It claims the move could harm safer gambling initiatives.

The Belgian government is considering the requirement to separate betting from online casino in an amendment to a 2019 bill introduced in the Chamber of Representatives. The original bill only banned operators from offering betting and casino gaming on the same website.

The Belgian Gambling Commission (BGC) issues separate licences for casino games and sports betting, and court rulings in Belgium have determined that in order to ensure equal terms with land-based gaming, operators cannot offer the two verticals on the same website.

The original 2019 bill established that operators must split gaming and betting across different URLs but would allow players to use a single account across each operator’s different sites. However, the new amendment would prohibit that, forcing players to register separately for each vertical.

The amendment states: “It is not permitted to use the same player account for participation in games of chance operated on the basis of different licenses. It is also prohibited to transact between different player accounts.”

BAGO warned that the rule could cause players to lose control of their spending because they would have more accounts to keep tabs on. That added friction could cause some players to turn to the black market, it said.

It also believes the move would make it harder for operators to monitor player behaviour and share consolidated data with the BGC.

It said the amendment posed a “serious threat to consumer protection” and that it “advocates maintaining the single player accounts per operator to offer more, better and substantiated player protection.”

Belgium limits newsagents’ betting hours, stakes and advertising
In March, the BGC announced the implementation of a new Royal Decree on gambling, which imposes restrictions on betting stakes, times and advertising at newsagents in the country. The legislation was approved in February following advice from the BGC.

While the original degree brought in regulation allowing newsagents to take retail bets, the new rules place more restrictions on how they can do that, including major restrictions on how much of their income can come from betting.

Betfan has reported sales of €77m and a profit of €760,000 for 2021.

Poland.- The bookmaker Betfan has reported its results for 2021, with sales of €77m and a profit of €760,000.

It’s the first year the company has turned a profit since its launch in April 2019. Sales were up 90 per cent year-on-year, with its customer base growing 85 per cent after its entry into new markets.

Betfan co-owner and chairman Łukasz Łazarewicz said: “When we started our business three years ago, we had very ambitious plans and we have been consistently pursuing our objectives ever since.

“We benefit from the fact that the betting market grew by around 50 per cent last year and this year it is expected to grow by between 15 per cent and 20 per cent.

“However, Betfan has been growing much faster than the industry itself and we will aim to maintain this trend in the coming years as well. At the same time, we have a strong advantage in terms of business efficiency and cost effectiveness.”

Łazarewicz added that Betfan had been careful to watch its costs, something that helped it turn a profit in record time for a Polish betting operation.

He said: “It is not that difficult to pour huge amounts of money into marketing and sponsoring to boost sales while still losing on the deal. And this is exactly what happens on the Polish market. We have a completely different strategy – we plan expenditures very carefully and we only use measurable marketing tools with an adequate rate of return. We also place great emphasis on technological development.

“Our strategy has always been focused on the mobile segment, which is becoming increasingly important and is driving the majority of our sales. This approach currently places us among the main players on the bookmaking market, even though we are competing with many brands that have a longer track record and much more capital than we do.”

Betfan expects to see double-digit revenue growth again this year following the launch of its new mobile app and new self-service betting terminals. Profit is also expected to increase on the results of investments in the retail sector made last year.

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has reported that Maryland’s casinos had their fourth-best month on record in March.

US.- Maryland’s six casinos generated $170.6m in gaming revenue in March, which is the fourth-best single-month figure on record. Revenue was up $966,000 from March 2021, when a 50 per cent Covid capacity restriction was still in place at the state’s six casinos (the restriction was lifted for four casinos on March 12, 2021).

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission reported that the state’s casinos generated over $52.3m for Maryland’s Education Trust Fund (ETF), which is $700,000 more than the ETF contributions in the same period last year.

British chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined plans to encourage crypto companies to invest and expand in the UK.

UK.- The British Treasury has outlined plans to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and make the UK a hub for digital payments. The government plans to regulate stablecoins to build confidence in cryptocurrencies and digital transactions.

The Royal Mail will mint NFTs and the government will aim to improve the competitiveness of the tax system to encourage crypto companies to invest in the UK. It will open a consultation on the possibility of extending its Investment Manager Exemption to cover cryptoassets.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoassets technology, and the measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country.

“We want to see the businesses of tomorrow – and the jobs they create – here in the UK, and by regulating effectively we can give them the confidence they need to think and invest long-term.

“This is part of our plan to ensure the UK financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation.”

Last week, British MPs held an almost two-hour debate in the House of Commons ahead of the delayed publication of the government’s gambling white paper. Anti-gambling campaigner and Labour MP Carolyn Harris led the debate commenting on the big response to government’s consultation on gambling legislation.

Harris, who chair’s the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling-Related Harm, accused gambling operators of seeking to avoid an evidence-led debate on reforms and of failing to offer viable alternatives to fix a “broken” system.

Gambling ads will no longer be allowed to feature sports people or celebrities who are well-known among minors.

UK.- The UK’s Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) has announced the introduction of tough new rules for gambling ads that it says aim to safeguard young people and vulnerable audiences.

The rules will significantly impact gambling advertisers looking to promote their brands using prominent sports people and celebrities or social media influencers who appeal to under-18s.

The new rules state that gambling and lottery ads must not “be likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture”.

This is a step-change from the existing rules that gambling ads must not be of “particular appeal” to children – that is, that they must not appeal to children more than adults. The new “strong” appeal test prohibits content (imagery, themes and characters) that has a strong level of appeal to under-18s regardless of how it is viewed by adults.

In practice, this will significantly restrict the imagery and references that gambling ads will be allowed to use. CAP said this should decrease the potential for gambling ads to attract the attention of under-18s. Gambling ads will not be able to use:

Topflight footballers and footballers with a considerable following among under-18 on social media.
All sportspeople well-known to under-18s, including sportspeople with a considerable volume of under-18 followers on social media.
References to video game content and gameplay popular with under-18s.
Stars from reality shows popular with under-18s, such as Love Island.
The rules will come into effect on October 1.

CAP director Shahriar Coupal said: “The days of gambling ads featuring sports stars, video game imagery and other content of strong appeal to under-18s are numbered. By ending these practices, our new rules invite a new era for gambling ads, more particular to the adult audience they can target and more befitting of the age-restricted product they’re promoting.”

CAP added: “In October 2020, CAP launched a consultation to respond to GambleAware’s Final Synthesis Report: The impact of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable adults. The findings of this report indicated that regulatory changes would help continue to protect under-18s from gambling-related advertising harms.

“Our gambling advertising rules have always placed a particular emphasis on protecting young and vulnerable people and we will continue to review our rules, policies and guidelines to make sure that they are effective.”

Betting and Gaming Council welcomes new ad rules
The Betting and Gaming Council, the gambling industry lobby group, has welcomed the changes and again stressed the commitment of licensed operators to responsible gambling.

CEO Michael Dugher said: “The BGC supports these changes not least because they build on a whole range of measures we have led in recent times to drive up standards and ensure further protections in advertising.

“In 2019, BGC members introduced the whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting commercials during live sport before the 9pm watershed, which led to the number of such ads being seen by young people at that time falling by 97 per cent. Our members also introduced new age gating rules on advertising on social platforms, restricting the ads to those aged 25 and over for most sites.

“It is worth remembering that according to the Gambling Commission, the proportion of young people who gambled in a previous seven day period fell from 23 per cent in 2011 to 11 per cent in 2019. The most popular forms of betting by young people are playing cards, scratchcards, bets between friends and fruit machines – not with BGC members. The BGC take a zero tolerance approach to gambling by those under the age of 18 and we enforce the toughest possible action.

“The regulated betting and gaming industry is determined to promote safer gambling and greater customer protection – unlike the unsafe and growing online black market, which has none of the safeguards that apply and will apply to BGC members.”

GambleAware, the industry-supported responsible gambling charity, also welcomed the changes. Its research contributed to the decision to introduce the new measures.

Chief executive Zoe Osmond said: “We are pleased to see this proactive measure to protect under-18s from exposure to gambling adverts. We are also delighted that GambleAware’s research led to these steps being taken. Our research, published in 2020, showed that 94 per cent of 11-17-year-olds in Great Britain had been exposed to gambling adverts in the last month, seeing six adverts on average.

“Nearly two thirds of this group had seen gambling adverts on social media, while nearly half had seen sports teams, games or events sponsored by a gambling operator.”

Meanwhile in France, the ANJ has called on operators to do more to reduce the intensity of advertising, and in the Netherlands, the government is looking at introducing controls to limit advertising due to a spike in ads after the launch of regulated online gambling.

The undersecretary for sports Valentina Vezzali wants a permanent extension of the temporary turnover tax introduced in 2020.

Italy.- Back in 2020, Italy introduced a temporary 0.5 per cent tax on sports betting turnover designed to help boost the recovery of the country’s sports in the wake of Covid-19. Now undersecretary for sports Valentina Vezzali wants to bring in a permanent 1 per cent tax on revenue.

She’s gained the ear of Italy’s fiscal ministries and secured a meeting to examine her proposal with representatives from Italy’s treasury, the Customs and Monopolies Agency, ADM, which regulates gambling, the ministries of Economic Development, Labour Policy, Finance Commission, and the Income Revenue Office.

Italian media reports that there will be another meeting in two weeks’ time, with the ministries to present individual proposals on the tax. It’s reported that a 1 per cent tax on betting revenue would give the treasury an additional €160m in betting duties on top of the €500m it collects through fixed duties of 18 per cent for retail and 22 per cent for online.

The temporary 0.5 per cent betting levy approved for 18 months back in 2020 in Italy’s Covid-19 Revival Decree raised €90m.

The latest figures show annual sports betting, virtual games and horseracing betting turnover of €16bn in Italy. The industry claims that the proposed tax would mean a 10 to 20 per cent drop in revenue, which would cause licensed bookmakers to offer less favourable prices, pushing more players to the black market.

Plans revealed for overhaul of Italian gambling market
In February, the Ministry of Economy and Finance drafted a preliminary reorganisation plan to revamp market safeguards in Italy’s betting market. It came as operators continued to wait for a definitive answer from the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) on licence expirations.

The ministry proposes three key objectives: “minimising problem gambling, terminating black market activities and optimising tax incomes from licensed businesses”.

The plan mentions reducing stake and win limits, but does not go into detail on the amounts or what verticals they would apply to. It also wants to impose a central player registry with which all problem-gambling self-exclusion schemes and licensed operators must integrate

The bill has been approved by the Minnesota House Tax Committee.

US.- The Minnesota House Tax Committee has voted 13-5 to advance a sports betting bill that would legalise online and retail sports betting at tribal casinos. HF 778 had already been approved by the House Judiciary, Finance and Civil Law Committee and the Commerce, Finance and Public Policy and State Government Finance Committees. It now heads to the Ways and Means Committee.

If the bill introduced by Rep. Zack Stephenson passes through that fifth committee, it can be discussed on the House floor. If it’s passed by the house, the State Senate will also then need to approve an identical form of the bill. Finally, Governor Tim Walz would also have to sign off.

If approved, the bill would allow in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and create up to two 20-year master online sports betting licences to organisations comprising two or more Minnesota Indian Tribes. The bill sets the minimum age for participation at 21.

The initiative proposes a 10 per cent tax rate for mobile bets made off tribal land. Stephenson and state representative Pat Garofalo have estimated tax revenue at $20m. Of the revenues collected by the state, 40 per cent would go toward addressing problem gambling, 40 per cent to youth sports with an emphasis on areas with high juvenile crime, and 20 per cent to regulatory efforts and ensuring athletic integrity.

Stephenson estimates that about $2bn is wagered illegally in the state each year, and he believes a regulated market would be better for residents.

Andy Platto, the executive director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association has reiterated tribes’ support for Stephenson’s bill. However, Sam Krueger, executive director of the Electronic Gaming Group, opposes the amount of influence the tribes have on the bill and Rep. Peggy Scott has expressed concerns that the bill does not list the extent of criminal and civil penalties for tribes or individuals who break sports betting regulations.