Regulation round-up 11 July 2017
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days ( 5 July to 11 July 2017)
Gambling Commission to put “customers first” with new enforcement strategy
Great Britain’s Gambling Commission last week pledged to put “customers first” after unveiling a new enforcement strategy designed to tackle operators in breach of gambling regulations.
The enforcement strategy includes introducing higher penalties for breaches, particularly for operators the regulator deems to have shown systemic and repeated failings.
Other changes include putting all regulatory tools, including licence review, on an equal footing by removing the “bias in favour of settlement”, as well as using time-limited discounts to create incentives for early settlement.
Sarah Harrison, chief executive at the regulator, said: “We will use the full range of enforcement powers to ensure operators put customers first and raise standards.
‘Don’t let regulators get away with illegal frameworks’, says Betsson CEO
Betsson CEO Ulrik Bengtsson has called for more operators to stand up for themselves when faced with “illegal” gaming regulations.
Speaking to EGR Intel, Bengtsson said the recent changes to the Dutch gaming landscape were symptomatic of the increasingly complex regulatory environments being forced on operators.
“It’s not only the legal landscape but also the actual behaviour of the national states that are changing quite a lot so it’s important to not let the states get away with it,” he said.
Bengtsson said it was key for operators and regulators to have good dialogue and work together to understand each other’s views.
The implications of the CJEU’s ruling on Hungary’s licensing laws
The European Court of Justice’s (CJEU) judgment in the Unibet vs Hungary case may well have a huge impact on the currently closed Hungarian online gambling market. The National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary – which was in charge of the supervision of gambling activity in Hungary – had temporarily closed off access to Unibet’s websites.
The Court’s standpoint was clear: the current legislation (as of June 2014) was against Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as it introduced a system of concessions and licences for the organisation of online games of chance, which contained discriminatory rules against foreign operators.
It also laid down non-discriminatory rules either applied in a non-transparent manner, or implemented in such a way as to prevent or hinder an application from certain tenderers established in other member states.
Poll results: US sports betting a big opportunity for European firms
The US Supreme Court’s recent decision to hear a case on the legalisation of sports betting could open up some major opportunities for European firms, according to a majority of voters on last week’s poll.
More than 58% of respondents said there were benefits to be reaped, with the case expected to be decided by the middle of next year and New Jersey Senator Ray Lesniak predicting he would be able to bet in the state by next autumn.
The state’s chances of winning look strong, with the Supreme Court overturning 83% (45/54) of the cases it heard last year in favour of the party that appealed.
And the opportunity for sports betting is likely to quickly spread beyond New Jersey, with 10 states in total having introduced some form of sports betting legislation this year.