handful of local land-based operators
have obtained a betting licence (including
Fortuna, Milenium, STS, E-Toto and
Totolotek). Following the approval of
various amendments to the Gambling
Act in December 2016, online gaming
(including poker) is no longer prohibited
as of 1 April 2017, although the exclusive
rights to offer such products are reserved
to a state monopoly. Provisions that
provide for the establishment of a
blacklist of unlicensed operators and
ISP and payment blocking entered into
force on 1 July 2017.
PORTUGAL
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker,
casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Any EU/EEA
operator can apply to be granted a
licence for online gambling. Lottery
games and land-based fixed odds sports
betting remain reserved for a monopoly.
Status: A regulated market since
2015. While operators can now apply
for licences, their Portuguese revenue
streams will be subject to comparatively
high tax rates, particularly sports
betting, subject to an 8-16% tax on
turnover. In 2015, the RGA filed a state
aid case with the EC challenging the
Portuguese betting tax as breaking
EU trade rules. Delayed technical
standards were introduced in
December 2016, paving the way for
operators to certify their online systems
to obtain a licence. The regulator is
known to have granted seven licences.
ROMANIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Any operator from
an EU/EEA jurisdiction or the Swiss
Confederation can apply for a licence.
Lottery games remain reserved for
the monopoly.
Status: The Romanian government
passed legislation at the end of 2014
that allows entities within the EU to
apply for a licence, imposes a reform
on licence fees and eliminates many
56
iGB Affiliate Issue 64 AUG/SEP 2017
(but not all) of the tax burdens placed
on player revenues. The Gambling Law
(as amended) introduced a legal
framework for a fully regulated online
gambling market, and requires licences
to be held by online gambling operators,
as well as software providers, payment
processors, affiliates and testing labs.
After some delay, the secondary
legislation which fully implemented the
new licensing regime came into force on
26 February 2016. The National Office
for Gambling in Romania published
a blacklist of unlicensed gambling
operators in July 2015.
SLOVAKIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker,
casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are
operated by the monopoly save that land-
based sports betting operators can offer
services online due to a legal loophole.
Status: In November 2016, a bill
amending the existing gambling
legal framework was approved. The
amendments, which entered into force on
1 January 2017, include the introduction
of ISP and payment blocking of illegal
online gambling offerings in the Slovak
territory. Slovakia’s Financial Directorate
began to perform its supervisory function
over these blocking measures from 1 July
2017. Whether amendments will also
be made to introduce a formal licensing
system remains unclear.
SLOVENIA
Regulated Gambling Products: SSports
betting, horse race betting, poker,
casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Online gambling must be
operated by land-based casinos or lotteries
and, as a result, only the monopoly holds
online licences in Slovenia.
Status: The Finance Ministry notified
secondary regulations for the operation
of online gambling services to the
EC on 17 August 2016. The proposals
would remove the cap on the number of
licences and the requirement for a local
establishment, although sports betting
would remain as a monopoly.
SPAIN
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, casino,
poker, bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Private operators can
apply for licences for all gambling
products save for