iGB Affiliate 71 Oct/Nov | Page 81

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