Monthly Recap of Gambling Regulations Around the Globe [December 2019]

December 26, 2019 Aleksandra Zolotic

As the year is slowly coming to its end, the month of December brought a multitude of changes in the rapidly growing iGaming industry. As usual, the global leader is the USA, with the number of states opening their doors towards various forms of gambling is expanding month by month.

The Government of British Columbia introduced plans to replace the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch with a new regulator who will have greater powers to monitor the industry. The Independent Gambling Control Office (IGCO) will be established as part of the government’s modernization of the Gaming Control Act.

Meanwhile, the sports betting tax rate in Brazil will remain at 3% of turnover. Despite the hoped-for 1%, the tax level did not change because Congress didn’t give its approval for alteration of the headline rate.

Stay tuned to find out more about all the regulatory innovations in the UK, the US, Europe, and Asia.

Updates from the US States

The California Gaming Association, the trade body representing card rooms in the state, said new rules set out by the state’s Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC) concerning card dealers could “kill the card room industry” in California.

In the majority of cases, a card room employee acts as the dealer…

…and a representative from a licensed third-party business takes on the role of banker, collecting from the losers and paying the winners. The card rooms generate revenue by collecting a fee from each player during each hand.

The Office of Lottery and Gaming in the District of Columbia commenced its sports wagering licensing process…

…with a fast track procedure for those already approved in several states. The list includes Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia and British Columbia in Canada.

The Gaming Board of Illinois went public with the first phase of its sports betting licensing process and began accepting applications for master sports betting certificates as well as approvals for all service providers. The process was launched under a set of emergency rules which allow the Board to issue temporary operating permits.

Gaming Innovation Group launched Hard Rock Casino’s online and mobile betting offering in Iowa. The new product will the existing retail solution already on offer at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City.

Representative Adam Koenig pre-filed legislation…

…to okay sports betting, interactive poker, and daily fantasy sports in Kentucky. The bill, BR 364, is largely retail and online sports betting at proposed tax rates of 10.25% and 14.25% respectively and require bettors to their ’s in-person at the track. Online poker would be offered via contracts between operators and the Kentucky Lottery Corporation.

A package of bills that included sports betting and online gambling regulation was heard by Michigan’s Senate Regulatory Reform Committee, with sponsors hoping they could before the end of the year.

The House and Senate approved legislation to authorize and regulate online gaming as well as retail and online sports betting. Both bills were sent to the governor to be signed into law imminently. Michigan followed in the footsteps of Illinois and Tennessee by requiring betting operators to use official league data for the in-play bets.

Montana opened the bidding process for companies interested in providing their services to offer the state lottery’s new sports betting product, Sports Bet Montana. Players will be able to place bets at certified Sports Bet Montana locations only. Mobile wagering will be allowed, but only on those premises.

Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort in Akwesasne became the third venue…

…to launch IGT’s PlaySports technology in the state. The deal was agreed through The Stars Group’s market access agreement with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, which runs the facility.

The Seneca Tribal Nation established a new retail sportsbook at its Buffalo Creek Casino resort and the Seneca Allegany Sports Lounge at the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino. The tribe’s Niagara Resort and Casino are expected to open a sports betting lounge and bar soon.

The Latest Set of Modifications in Europe

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) Supervisory Board announced plans to ban the collection of live scoring data for minor events offering prize money up to US$15K. The move followed recommendations suggested by an independent report in December 2018, which already led to 3,500 fewer matches being made available to betting markets in 2019 compared with the previous year.

The French Senate ed a budget bill for 2020…

…that included the amendment to switch gambling taxation system from turnover to gross gaming revenue (GGR). The proposal will now head to the National Assembly for ratification before it is ed into law. When all the taxes are combined, this means that operators will have to pay 37.7% for horse racing, 40.8% for online poker, 55.2% for online sports betting and 44.5% of GGR for retail sports betting.

Even though Spain considers classifying gambling as a mental disorder, Madrid’s government said it would open 22 new betting venues before 2020. In November the authorities temporarily suspended the award of new gambling certificates in the Community of Madrid, but the measure did not affect applications that had already been processed.

The Tax, Finance and Customs Committee in Ukraine made amendments to each of the eight (8) gambling expansion proposals that had been submitted to Parliament. The modifications mean that the bills will now be required to be re-submitted before further consideration.

The KSA introduced new age verification regulations…

…that require operators to visibly the age of customers via “objective means of proof” before allowing them to gamble. The new strategy is expected to take effect from 1 January 2020.

The House of Representatives received proposals to introduce new controls on gambling advertising, most notably a ban on advertising on TV before 9 PM. Currently, no gambling ads can be shown between 6 AM and 7 PM. However, measures were suggested to bring gambling ments into line with alcohol, which is subject to a broadcast ad ban from 6 AM to 9 PM. Local media said that the proposals to ban gambling adverts on TV before 9 PM were rejected by the legislature.

Highlights from Scandinavia

Norway’s Gaming Authority said new measures coming into effect in January would require to block online gambling transactions by rejecting transactions based on company names, rather than on numbers, as is the case currently. The Gaming Authority will have powers to request information from financial groups related to potential illegal online gambling payments.

The Swedish Gaming Authority (Spelinspektionen)…

…published details of its strategy to prevent unlicensed suppliers from taking bets from Swedish players. Spelinspektionen said it had developed a system for assessing potential violations such as whether sites were offering deposits, withdrawals, and winnings in Swedish Kronor, and if their website, , and conditions were in Swedish and tailored to players in that country. It will also see if information or client service numbers have a Swedish country code and if the brand or its s market directly to Swedish consumers.

New Regulations from Asia

AGTech secured two new contracts to provide sports lottery terminals in Chinese provinces Zhejiang and Henan. The operator will supply the terminals to the sports lottery istration centers in both provinces.

The Japanese government postponed a withholding tax on the casino winnings…

…of non-resident foreign gamblers following objections from ruling party politicians. Local media reported that that the tax proposal would not be included in tax reform packages for the 2020 financial year.

Naomichi Suzuki, Mayor of Hokkaido, said the town would not pursue its bid for an integrated resort (IR). The statement saw rival municipalities of Osaka and Nagasaki reaffirm their commitment to develop and be host cities for Japan’s first IRs.

However, Osaka’s Mayor Ichiro Matsui said he had given up on his longstanding goal…

…of opening the Yumeshima integrated resort in time for the 2025 World Expo. Instead, the bidders would only be asked to commit to an opening date in 2026. His decision on whether or not to go forward with an integrated resort bid will be communicated by the end of March 2020 at the latest.

India’s Supreme Court determined that fantasy sports were games of skill similar to rummy and blocked attempts by activists, central and state government officials to have it labelled as an illegal gambling product in the country.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the government would continue cracking down on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and their providers for non-payment of corporate taxes. Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte issued a three-day ultimatum to the businesses that still had not paid, saying POGOs were “no ordered to with BIR and get a tag number”.

The city of Makati, where many Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators’ (POGOs) have their offices…

…declared an indefinite moratorium on the issuance of new business approvals and permits to service providers of POGOs. Mayor Abby Binay said the city would cease to issue Letters of No Objection (LONO) and stop accepting new applications for business permits with immediate effect. As she pointed out, Makati had seen rising rates of criminality and prostitution targeting POGO employees. The mayor added that businesses that were in accordance with laws and regulations, namely the payment of taxes, would still be welcome.

The UK Gambling Scene

The UK Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) launched a new consultation over proposals to modify current rules to allow younger population to play a greater role in certain lottery adverts. Currently, advertising rules limit how often minors can appear in lottery adverts and the good causes they , but CAP and BCAP said these could prevent some lotteries from featuring the beneficiaries of lottery funds to a point where it may be too strict.

Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities (DfC)…

…pointed out it was launching a public consultation to look into its gambling regulations and explore the “effectiveness of the current legislation.” It said it was “seeking to identify changes which should be included in any new gambling legislation.” The consultation period will run until February 21, 2020.

Following Boris Johnson’s election victory, the Government announced it would conduct a complete review of the Gambling Act which specifically focuses on interactive gambling regulations including the treatment of video game “loot boxes” and gambling on credit.

Source:

“H2 Gambling Capital”, November/December 2019.