Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are
exclusively reserved for the monopoly
providers although 24 transitional
licences for private operators remain
active, with all products permitted.
Status: The licensing regime in
Greece (like Germany) is also in a
state of flux. The Greek government
granted 24 transitional licences to
operators in December 2012 enabling
them to keep transacting with Greek
residents. However, in March 2013, the
government notified draft legislation to
the EC which effectively rescinds the
licences; a position criticised by the EC.
Greece’s new government is currently
considering plans to more tightly regulate
online gambling, to end the on-going
transition position. The fate of the 24
l icences is still unclear.
HUNGARY
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Only the state monopoly,
Szerencsejáték Zrt. and local concession
companies can apply for a licence.
Status: Amendments to Hungarian
gambling law came into force on 1
October 2015 which allow only two
land-based casinos to hold remote casino
concessions. State monopoly operator
Szerencsejáték Zrt alone may offer sports
betting and only the state monopoly
provider Magyar LóversenyfogadástSzervezőKft can offer online horse race
betting under the new law. The regulator
has since issued fines against unlicensed
operators who continue to target the
market. ISP blocking of unlicensed sites
has occurred since June 2014.
IRELAND
Regulated Gambling Products: Online
gaming is not specifically accounted for
in Ireland’s outdated legislation and as
such is currently unregulated. Online
betting regulated since August 2015.
Status: Ireland is in the process of
updating its legislation which will create
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iGB Affiliate Issue 55 FEB/MAR 2016
a comprehensive online gambling regime
and payment restrictions. The Betting
(Amendment) Act 2015 now requires
remote bookmakers to hold a licence, and
pay a 1% turnover-based betting duty.
NETHERLANDS
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products available to
private operators save for lottery which
is reserved for the monopoly provider.
However, it is currently not possible to
obtain a licence in Italy.
Status: Fully regulated market. Previous
restrictions on the type of events/
markets on which bookmakers can
offer odds is possibly to be abolished. A
recently passed Stability Law introduces
various measures affecting the remote
gambling industry, including tax changes
and plans for tighter advertising rules.
The law will provide for the award of 120
new online gaming licences (lasting for
6 years), the tender for which will begin
on 31 July 2016. The government also
moved to a GGR-based tax for online
betting operators (22%), with effect from
1 January.
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: Monopoly for all
products.
Status: The Remote Gambling Act was
published in May 2013, which stipulates
the conditions which operators will
be able to offer online gambling in the
Netherlands. The Remote Gambling
Act has now received approval from
the Council of Ministers and the
Secretary of State, paving the way for its
implementation. Due to political issues,
licences are now unlikely to be awarded
until 2017. The government’s recent
announcement to set online gambling
duty at 29% (in line with the offline tax
rate) has faced industry criticism.
In the interim, the regulator has started
to implement enforcement measures,
and signed cooperation agreements in
October 2014 with Dutch banks and
payment processors over blocking illegal
gambling websites. In November 2015,
the regulator levied its highest ever fine on
two gambling operators for continuing to
target Dutch players.
LUXEMBOURG
NORWAY
Regulated Gambling Products: Lottery
Operator Type: Monopoly.
Status: The general prohibition on
gambling appears sufficiently wide to
cover all forms of online gambling.
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery
Operator Type: Online gambling is
reserved for its two monopoly providers:
Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.
Status: The monopoly has extended its
offering to include live betting, e-bingo
and casino games in an attempt to
redirect traffic from unlicensed sites.
However, the new government is
understood to be considering a limited
licensing regime for foreign operators.
ITALY
MALTA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: Private operators can
apply for a local licence but not in
relation to lottery products.
Status: On 3 June, Maltese regulator
the Malta Gaming Authority introduced
a number of policy changes. These
include changes regarding hosting servers
abroad, audit requirements and the cloud
environment. Malta plans to introduce
gambling legislation during 2016 to
modernise online gambling rules.
POLAND
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting and horse race betting.
Operator Type: From 3 September,
licences are now available for companies
with a representative in Poland as
opposed to a local establishment.
Status: Legislation enacted 1 January