WEBMASTER WORLD
DENMARK
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, fantasy sports, horse race betting,
poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Sports betting, poker and
casino licences are available to private
operators. Lottery is controlled by the
state monopoly.
Status: The Danish online gambling regime
went live on 1 January, 2012. ISP-blocking
measures are active in the jurisdiction and
the Danish Gaming Authority has been
granted an injunction to block operators
and suppliers that have been targeting
Danish customers without the requisite
licence. Danish political parties have
reached an agreement to introduce limits
on bonuses. The Ministry of Taxation is
understood to be aiming for a 1 January,
2019, implementation, although the exact
proposed changes are currently unknown.
ESTONIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for all gambling
products are available to private operators
save for lotteries, which are reserved
exclusively for the monopoly operator.
Status: Operators seeking to accept business
from players in Estonia must be issued an
activity licence for the type of gambling they
wish to offer, then an operating permit to
provide the services remotely. A blacklist
of about 1,100 operators is maintained and
updated by local authorities and ISP and
payment blocking is in force. Though some
operators argue that the regime is still not
compatible with EU law, there has been no
open challenge by the EC to date.
FINLAND
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All gambling products
are under the exclusive control of
the three monopoly providers, Raha-
automaattiyhdistys (RAY), Fintoto Oy and
Veikkaus Oy. The monopolies merged into
one state entity on 1 January, 2017.
Status: An ECJ ruling confirmed that
Finland’s three monopoly providers are
legally permitted, which was subsequently
written into law. In November 2013, the EC
also withdrew infringement proceedings.
Active enforcement measures are in place
(restrictive marketing for offshore operators
and ISP blocking).
FRANCE
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, bingo
and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can obtain
online licences for sports betting, horse
race betting and poker. The monopoly has
exclusive rights to bingo and lottery.
Status: A regulated market since the
introduction of a licensing regime in
2010, following which the EC withdrew
its infringement proceedings. Parliament
announced a full review of French gambling
legislation in 2016, although little progress
has been made to date except for changes
to allow for international poker liquidity
and provisions relating to the organisation
of esports tournaments. The state-owned
operator of France’s national lottery games,
Française des Jeux (FDJ), is set to be
privatised, with broader regulatory changes
to the online sector expected to follow.
GERMANY
Regulated gambling products: Schleswig-
Holstein, a small northern-German state,
regulates sports betting, horse race betting,
poker, casino and bingo. The other 15 states
of Germany currently permit only sports
betting and horse r