Newest Set of Regulations Worldwide During September and October (2019)

Following the previous period, the US witnessed numerous changes regarding betting regulations in the growing number of states. While multiple territories opened their doors, a certain number is still skeptical about whether the activity should be greenlighted.

South America also underwent significant changes, with Google’s set of updates bringing significant alterations in Columbia. Integrated resorts in various parts of Asia constantly encounter difficulties. Stay tuned for the full retrospective.

Newest Regulations across the US

The Saracen Casino Annex launched its retail sports betting operations in Arkansas…

…with its partner IGT on 1 October 2019. The Annex is a temporary facility that started operating on 27 September 2019 offering 300 gaming machines and is scheduled to be superseded by the full Saracen Casino Resort by the end of 2020.

Rush Street Interactive and Draft Kings launched their online sportsbooks on 3 October 2019 in Indiana. The operators and their respective land-based partners, French Lick and Ameristar casinos, were the first to go live in the state.

The District of Columbia’s Office of Lottery and Gaming adopted final sports wagering regulations on August 30 to pave the way for the start of licensing, permitting the DC Lottery and technology provider Intralot /mobile-app-developer-files-a-lawsuit-washington-d-c-blocks-intralots-contract/ to offer sports betting online and in retail facilities.

DC’s contract with Intralot for lottery and sports betting was suspended…

…after a judge issued a temporary restraining order on it following a complaint that was not under the standard procurement laws. The Superior Court denied the request for an injunction to block the DC Lottery’s no-bid contract with the operator, meaning the Lottery could resume work towards launching the district’s mobile sports wagering platform.

Parx Casino launched its online sportsbook in New Jersey in partnership with GAN and Kambi. The Garden State is Parx Casino’s second-largest market after its home state of Pennsylvania.

As part of Illinois’ public consultation on legal sports betting that concluded at the end of September…

…industry stakeholders suggested policies such as a pre-registration process, a 270-day “grace period” to comply with regulations when the market goes live, licensing reciprocity between “major gaming jurisdictions,” allowing online sportsbooks to be co-branded with local casinos and racetracks and in-stadium registration.

of the public expressed concerns about the postponed launch of mobile betting. Operators will have to wait 18 months after retail wagering goes live before they can offer betting via mobile devices. Finally, Churchill Downs’ decision not to bid for a racino certificate at Arlington Park faced heavy criticism.

In partnership with DraftKings, Wild Rose Entertainment launched retail sportsbooks at its three (3) casino establishments in Iowa (Jefferson, Emmetsburg, and Clinton.

The Montana Lottery published proposed rules…

…for the operation of sports wagering in the state. Under the proposals c1,400 lottery vendors in the state would qualify to be able to apply for licenses to offer sports betting via self-service kiosks. The Lottery would operate mobile wagering via a sports wagering app that would offer self-limiting and self-exclusion functions. The rules were subject to a public consultation process and a public hearing scheduled for 28 October 2019.

Retrospective of Changes in Asia

Continuing the line of successful agreements in China, AGTech was awarded a contract to supply sports lottery terminals in the province of Hainan.

On 1 October 2019, Japan raised the rate of general consumption tax…

…from 8% to 10%. Whilst the tax is not imposed on pachinko directly it is expected to have a negative effect on player spending.

The government of the Land of the Rising Sun unveiled plans to formally establish a regulatory body to supervise the country’s land-based casino industry by January 2020. A five-person board to lead the Casino Management Committee should be appointed by 7 January 2020.

Following a review ordered by the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte…

…the Department of Justice recommended the revocation of the provisional integrated casino resort license granted to Landing International Development President.

PAGCOR canceled all certificates for venues located on the island of Boracay including the planned integrated casino resort being developed by Galaxy Entertainment and Leisure & Resorts World. Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force imposed the ban and the decision will be applied to all existing casinos and future proposals.

Updates from South America

The tax on gambling winnings in Argentina created in December 2018 to fund social welfare projects has been removed. The decision followed a resolution that stated the government would need to come up with a strategy that would provide a better methodology to calculate the tax amount.

Brazilian sports leaders recommended the government should establish a body…

…which would have the duty to oversee the integrity of sporting contests ahead of the launch of regulated sports wagering in the country.

Brazil’s national development bank confirmed the sale of state-owned instant win games operator Lotex to the Consórcio Estrela Instantânea. The said operator is a 50/50 t venture formed by IGT and Scientific Games Corporation (SGC), securing a 15-year concession. The operational start date was set in the middle of 2020.

Coljuegos amended regulations to permit betting on virtual events. Moreover, Colombia was included in a recent Google update as one of the Latin American countries where gambling-related ments would be allowed, as long as they are the operator’s advertising is approved by their national regulatory bodies.

Source:

“H2 Gambling Capital”, September/October 2019.