WEBMASTER WORLD
Operator type: Betting licences
are available for companies with a
representative in Poland. Casino and poker
are reserved for a state monopoly.
Status: Legislation enacted 1 January, 2012,
permits betting. Following the approval of
various amendments to the Gambling Act,
online gaming (including poker) is no longer
prohibited as of 1 April, 2017, although the
exclusive rights to offer such products are
reserved for a state monopoly. Provisions
that provide for the establishment of a
blacklist of unlicensed operators and ISP
and payment blocking came into force on 1
July, 2017. The blacklist contains more than
1,000 domain names.
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.
Although operators can now apply for
licences, their Portuguese revenue streams
will be subject to comparatively high tax
rates, particularly in sports betting, which
is 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. On 30 January,
2018, the Portuguese gambling regulator
published a call for contributions on the
review of the current regulatory framework
for online gambling.
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 in 2014 that allows entities within
the EU to apply for a licence, imposes a
reform on licence fees and eliminates many
(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 that 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: Monopoly, save that land-
based sports-betting operators can offer
services online owing 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, included 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. New draft legislation has been
notified to the EC with a view to liberalising
the market in 2019. The proposed
legislation, if passed, will allow private
EU/EEA operators to apply for online
gambling licences.
SLOVENIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports
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: Draft amendments to the Gaming
Act were published in 2015, which aim
to remove the current local establishment
requirement. The proposal is yet to be
submitted to the Slovenian parliament,
although it is expected to be adopted in
2018. Whether any amendments will
introduce a formal licensing
system remains unclear.
SPAIN
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can apply
for licences for all gambling products save
for lottery.
Status: First online licences were issued on
1 June, 2012. Operators must hold a general
licence and a specific licence, both issued
by the National Gambling Commission,
for each activity. In June 2015, 10 new
licences were awarded, the first since 2012.
In addition, 25 online slot permits were
issued to new and existing operators. This
followed the approval of the regulation of
slots and betting exchanges. The Spanish
regulatory body DGOJ has formally opened
its third call for tender, with applications for
online licences accepted from operators for
a period of one year, until 18 December,
2018. On 16 January, 2018, online poker
liquidity sharing between Spain and France
came into effect. The 2018 parliamentary
budget was passed into law in June 2018,
resulting in a reduction to gambling tax
effective as of 1 July, 2018.
SWEDEN
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, bingo and
lottery.
Operator type: Only public-benefit
organisations, the horse racing industry
and the state lottery may obtain a licence.
No licences are available for private
operators, although this will change with the
introduction of the new legal framework.
Status: The Swedish parliament adopted a
bill that will introduce an online-gambling
licensing regime. The law is expected to
enter into force on 1 January, 2019, with the
licence application process open as of
1 August, 2018.
Wiggin is a law firm dedicated to supporting the media,
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betting and gaming group provides specialist legal
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We advise many of the world’s leading gambling
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iGB Affiliate Issue 71 OCT/NOV 2018
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