Industry News - November 2007

Skill Games Under Danish Consumer Law Scrutiny

29/11/2007: Skill games, including poker and multiplayer role-playing games such as Second Life, are being examined by the Danish authorities due to a range of consumer protection issues including advertising and sales taxes. But it is a broader review of Denmark’s gaming laws that holds the potential to clarify the fast growing area of concern.

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Relocation, Relocation – Remote Gambling And Tax In The Post-White List Era

29/11/2007: Following the publication of the UK’s “white list” in the summer, many remote gambling operators have been considering moving their businesses to Malta, Gibraltar, Alderney or the Isle of Man in order to be able to advertise their services in the UK. Whilst all four are generally considered low tax jurisdictions, their tax regimes differ considerably. Gamblingcompliance.com assesses and compares the regimes as they apply to remote gambling companies in search of a new jurisdictional home.

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France’s Lottery Finances Raise Concern

22/11/2007: While France’s horse racing monopoly, the PMU, has been judged to have gained in stature throughout the recent discussions on the liberalisation of the French betting market, the state–owned monopoly operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has fared less well. Thanks to a new book highlighting its financial workings, and the announcement of new online competition from one of France’s leading casinos, FDJ is under mounting pressure.

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Mandelson Deals Blow To EU Compensation Hopes

21/11/2007: EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said yesterday the United States should not compensate Europe financially for the restrictions that exclude European online gambling companies from the US. Instead, he called for changes in its laws to open the markets.

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Germany Moves To Prohibit Tennis Betting

21/11/2007: The governing body overseeing tennis in Germany has quadrupled fines for betting on the sport by players and their entourages. Following debate at its annual congress over the weekend the German Tennis Federation (DTB) announced yesterday that it would step up measures to curb betting on the sport.

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ECJ Spotlight Turns To Germany

19/11/2007: Two recent referrals from the Administrative Court of Gießen mean that seven German sports betting cases have now been sent to the European Court of Justice in little over a year. According to one expert, the ECJ will most likely combine the individual cases, as it did in Placanica, and opt to preside over all of them simultaneously in what could be hugely significant ruling.

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Norwegian Government Shows Its Hand On Payments Ban

19/11/2007: By formally submitting a proposal for public comment, the Norwegian government last week confirmed its intention to force banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions to block transactions to and from gambling websites.

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Poland Awaits Online Gambling Regulation

12/11/2007: The Polish Government appears to have made very little progress with plans announced in 2006 to introduce regulations for Internet gambling. Despite the legal uncertainty, however, many of Europe’s leading operators continue to actively target the Polish market.

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Sports Bodies Commission Betting Corruption Study

09/11/2007: UK professional sports bodies have commissioned the University of Salford to study the risk of corruption attached to various types of sports bets. The results could be used to back up proposals calling for certain bets to be outlawed and for information sharing agreements between bookmakers and sports associations.

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Government Applies Brakes To Svenska Spel Expansion

09/11/2007: Following news of rising levels of gambling addiction amongst Swedish online poker players, Svenska Spel’s expansion plans for their own internet poker product have been rebuffed by the Swedish government.

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