Worldwide Regulations for Gambling Industry- September 2020

Following the trends of previous months, burgeoning markets of the United States and Europe were the most dynamic ones. New measures were implemented in various corners of the world to enhance overall player protection and contribute to creating a safer environment.

As for the Asian market, Japan still has its ups and downs with Integrated Resorts, while China welcomed new operators in its lottery sector. Meanwhile, The National Gambling Board of South Africa stressed out that online casino gaming was expressly prohibited under the country’s current gambling regulations.

If you are curious to find out more about worldwide regulations for the gambling industry for September 2020, this is the place for you, so keep reading!

Recapitulation of Updates from the United States

As a part of its continuous efforts to protect players, the American Gaming Association (AGA) implemented the Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering. Ensuring operators won’t promote excessive participation in gambling, the new code for advertising and marketing is enhanced with a wide range of measures, with a particular focus on the protection of minors and at-risk populations.

Let’s start with Arkansas, where Southland Casino Racing introduced its retail sportsbook in partnership with Betly on 09 September 2020.

Following the legal dispute going back almost a decade…

… the California Supreme Court gave the final approval to a planned off-reservation tribal casino in Madera County. As far as planned, the new facility should include 2,000 slot machines and 40 table games.

William Hill launched its online sports wagering platform in Colorado on 10 September 2020. in partnership with the Hawthorne Race Course, PointsBet rolled out its retail and online sportsbooks in Illinois on 12 September 2020.

As for Louisiana…

… representative John Stefanski has suggested that the launch of DFS in the state will take longer than expected due to delays in the process from the Gaming Control Board.

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Committee conditionally approved sports betting license applications submitted by DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM, while Penn National launched its Barstool Sportsbooks online betting platform in Pennsylvania on 18 September 2020.

In addition to this…

…the Virginia Lottery Board approved operational regulations for the state’s sports betting market. The Board is expected to begin the licensing process in October and has targeted January 2021 as a potential launch date.

Which Changes Took Place in South and North America?

The City of Buenos Aires Government announced plans to permit the Casino de Puerto Madero to offer online sports wagering under the new regulations proposed in February. To date, six other operators had submitted proposals to offer the same services.

As for Chile…

… Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) has postponed the process for granting and renewing casino licenses by 90 days, with the new technical and economic conditions not to be released until 19 April 2021.

The delay comes as a result of a dispute with operators who claim that implementing a renewal process for existing gambling licenses violates the law and is not compliant with the regulatory framework in force.

The Government of Colombia…

… approved legislation to allow land-based gambling operators to offer online bingo games. This decision aims to assist in the economic recovery from the closure of facilities due to the current crisis. As per the required measures, operators should return at least 58% of turnover as prizes and 12% of turnover as tax.

Moreover, Coljuegos finalized regulations to govern the operation of online bingo games, and they are expected to be permitted until the end of 2021. The regulations will allow operators to sell physical bingo tickets through land-based retail outlets and broadcast the draws online.

President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that no new casino approvals would be granted under his government. On top of that, he also ordered an investigation into the licenses awarded under the previous istration to determine whether they were lawfully given.

Regulatory Modifications from Europe

President of Albania, Edi Rama, signed legislation to permit the development and operation of casinos in the country’s capital, Tirana. As far as stated, establishments will only be allowed in a designated area of the city center.

Legislators in Prague approved new measures…

…to prohibit the operation of gaming machines in the city from 2024. Provided that the decree is ed by the City Council, operators will be required to cease operating any gaming machines at the end of the current licensing period in 2024. At the moment, there are approximately 4,000 gaming devices in operation.

Moreover, the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic launched a pilot scheme for a new national gambling self-exclusion . The will allow citizens to exclude themselves from all land-based and interactive gambling services licensed in the country.

Veikkaus, the Finnish government-owned betting agency, announced it would bring forward the adoption of the mandatory identification controls on gaming machines to complete the integration of the system across all its gaming locations by 01 June 2021.

As for …

… the governments of the country’s 16 landers approved regulations to introduce a transitional period to allow online gambling operators to continue targeting the market before the enactment of the new Interstate Treaty.

The transitional regime will take effect on 15 October 2020 and run until the scheduled implementation date of the new regulations on 01 July 2021. To operate during this period, venues must ensure that they comply with the regulations set out in the new Interstate Treaty.

In Italy, the Customs and Monopolies Agency enacted the necessary legislation to impose the additional 0.5% tax on land-based and online sports betting turnover. The tax will be levied on all operator’s turnover generated from 20 May 2020 to 31 December 2021.

Meanwhile in Romania…

… the National Lottery announced it would launch an online sales platform. The site would initially offer sales of Lotto 6/49 and LUCK games before expanding to more games in later stages.

Spelinspektionen added further restrictions to anti-match fixing regulations introduced in January. The new measures, scheduled to take effect from 01 January 2021, would prohibit betting on rule violations as well as the individual actions of players under 18 years of age.

Also, the Government of the Netherlands confirmed it would delay the enforcement date of the Remote Gambling Act by two months to 01 March 2021. This means the launch date for the country’s regulated online market was rescheduled for 01 September 2021.

What about Asia and Its Gambling Scene?

Following competitive procurement processes, the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Guizhou, Hubei, Jilin, and Shanxi awarded sports lottery terminal contracts to AGTech.

As for India…

…the Andhra Pradesh Government amended legislation to specifically prohibit all forms of online gambling with specific reference to card games like poker and rummy.

Also, the Madras High Court advised the state government of Tamil Nadu to enforce strict regulations, including ISP blocking, on online gambling operators targeting its citizens.

The Maharashtra Government was reportedly considering the regulation of interactive gambling as part of its economic recovery plan. Moreover, the Goan Government permitted the riverboat casinos operating on the Mandovi river to remain in place until 31 March 2020.

Although the prefectural government stated that preparation work for an IR scheme would still go on, Nagasaki’s RFP process for hosting an Integrated Resort has been postponed indefinitely.

Source:

“H2 Gambling Capital”, September, 2020.