Regulation round-up 24 November 2015

The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (18 November to 24 November 2015)

Brazil gambling regulation back on the agenda

New bill in Congress could see online regulation become a reality just three months on from presidential veto

The National Congress of Brazil is working on a new bill for the regulation of online gambling in the country, with a vote expected by the end of the year.

The draft bill includes an amendment which would give the country’s federal government the power to regulate gambling and include an online component for the first time.

eGaming Review understands a special commission, chaired by Chamber of Deputies members Elmar Nascimento and Guilherme Mussi, has already met a number of times to discuss the issue, with a public hearing expected in the near future.

And according to Luiz Felipe Maia, partner at law firm Oliveira Ramos, Maia e Advogados Associados in SÃ£o Paulo, President Dilma Rousseff has spoken to other senior politicians and is open to regulating the market.

Dutch regulator hands out record fine

The Dutch gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has imposed its highest ever fine on an unlicensed operator for targeting players in the Netherlands.

The total fine of 480,000 (£337,000) on two companies behind the website redslots.com was handed down because the online casino was marketed on a number of Dutch language websites and also offered players based in the Netherlands a free welcome bonus.

The two companies, Redcorp SA and Bluemay Enterprises NV, were established in CuraÃ§ao and will each be fined 240,000 although they do have the opportunity to appeal against the fine.

Seven days in regulation:

Pennsylvania egaming regulation makes fresh progress

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have taken an historic step towards a regulated egaming industry after voting unanimously in favour of a bill seeking to legalise online poker and casino.

HB 649, introduced by Rep. John Payne back in February, passed through the House Gaming Oversight Committee last week with a majority 18-8 vote.

The bill still faces several hurdles before being passed into law, but this is the first time Pennsylvania politicians have voted online gaming legislation out of Committee and onto the House floor.

Greek re-regulation may not include online casino

Greece could re-tender its online licences as early as Q1 2016 but online casino may be omitted from the new regulation.

The Greek regulator has already said that creating a new regulatory framework is a top priority, and that the re-tendering process could see new limitations on RNG games introduced.

Last week Greek authorities announced a new tax charge on former state monopoly OPAP’s popular land-based keno game, in the hopes of raising around 300-400m extra a year.

Betfair obtains first New Jersey exchange licence

Betfair looks set to become the first operator to launch an exchange betting product in the US after the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) issued the operator with its first exchange services licence.

At an executive session meeting on Wednesday (18 November), the NJRC approved an application from the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority (NJSEA) for Betfair US to obtain an exchange services agent licence.

Once final approval has been obtained, Betfair will become the first operator to offer exchange betting in the state via a deal with Monmouth Park after the racecourse’s operator Darby Development also received an exchange management licence.

Danish regulation changes to move forward next month

A series of amendments to Denmark’s online gambling legislation, including new licence fees, are set to go before parliament next month.

The changes include differentiated annual and application fees depending on the vertical and revenues of the operator, as well as proposals to change the frequency of tax reports from a weekly to a monthly basis.

Operators will also no longer be required to publicly publish their key performance figures and can instead report numbers to the Danish Gaming Authority (Spillemyndigheden) directly.

Paddy Power immigrant ad “inappropriate”, says ASAI

Paddy Power has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) for an “inappropriate” ad it ran at the start of Europe’s immigrant crisis.

The ad was distributed via social media and included pictures of sports stars Andy Murray, Raheem Sterling, Mo Farah, Manu Tualigi and Eoin Morgan printed on the side of a truck.

Text accompanying the image stated: “Immigrants jump back in! (But only if you are good at sport) Paddy Power”.

New York AG attempts to block DFS duo

New York Attorney General (AG) Eric Schneiderman has hit back at FanDuel and DraftKings by filing preliminary injunctions seeking to block both firms from operating in the state.

The AG filed the injunctions with the New York Supreme Court last week, and said the lawsuits “detail alleged violations of law” by both operators.

Schneiderman says DFS “fits squarely” into the definition of gambling under state law. “DFS is nothing more than a rebranding of sports betting. It is plainly illegal,” the memo added.

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Regulation round-up 24 November 2015

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