WEBMASTER WORLD
Status: The enabling regulations that
implement a Greek online gambling
licensing regime are yet to be implemented.
In 2012, a ‘transition period’ commenced,
whereby the Greek government granted
24 transitional licences to operators,
enabling them to keep transacting with
Greek residents. In September 2018, the
government published draft amendments
to the country’s Gambling Law which
if implemented as proposed, introduce
an open licensing regime with unlimited
licences, prohibit RNG-based games and
maintain the current 35% GGR tax.
HUNGARY
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Only the state monopolies
(Szerencsejáték Zrt. and Magyar
Lóversenyfogadást-Szervezo Kft) and
local concession companies can apply
for a licence.
Status: Amendments to Hungarian
gambling law came into force on 1 October
2015 and allow only two land-based
casinos to hold remote casino concessions.
The regulator has since issued fines, a
number of which have been challenged,
against unlicensed operators that continue
to target the market. In June 2017, the ECJ
determined Hungary’s gambling regime to
be incompatible with Article 56 TFEU. A
subsequent ECJ decision in February 2018
ruled against the Hungarian requirement
that online gambling operators must
have a land-based licence to offer online
gambling services to Hungarian citizens,
further strengthening arguments that the
current regime is incompatible with EU
law. The Hungarian Ministry of Justice
has stated its intention to continue to seek
to enforce the existing regime despite the
most recent ruling. A draft bill that would
introduce payment-blocking measures was
notified to the EC on 15 December 2017,
although the bill does not yet appear to
have been adopted.
IRELAND
Regulated gambling products: Online
gaming is not specifically accounted for in
Ireland’s outdated legislation and as such is
currently unregulated.
Operator type: Online betting regulated
since August 2015.
Status: Ireland is currently updating
its legislation, which will create a
comprehensive igaming regime. In January
2018, the Irish Cabinet gave the go-ahead
to draft a new version of a bill that was
first proposed in 2013. This has now been
subsumed into the Gambling Control Bill
2018, which was introduced by Ireland’s
opposition party in February 2018 as a
private member’s bill. Amendments to the
Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 have also
been proposed. Legislative progress is not
expected until late 2018 at the earliest. The
Irish government has announced its 2019
budget, doubling the betting duty from
1% to 2% tax on turnover with effect from
1 January 2019.
ITALY
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Fully regulated market.
Status: The Stability Law 2016, passed
in December 2015, introduces various
measures affecting the remote gambling
industry, including tax changes and a
tender process for the award of 120 new
online gaming licences. The tender process
for applications closed on 19 March 2018.
On 7 August 2018, the Italian parliament
approved a decree which prohibits
gambling advertising and sponsorship. The
ban took effect on 14 July 2018, although
ongoing advertising contracts remain valid
until the earlier of their expiration date or
14 July 2019. The sponsorship ban will
apply from 1 January 2019.
LUXEMBOURG
Regulated gambling products: Lottery.
Operator type: Monopoly.
Status: The general prohibition on
gambling appears sufficiently wide to cover
all forms of online gambling.
MALTA
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can
apply for a local licence (except for
lottery products).
Status: Malta has approved a new Gaming
Act that replaces all existing gaming
legislation with a single piece of legislation,
supplemented by secondary legislation.
The Gaming Act, with directives and
regulations, is effective 1 August 2018.
NETHERLANDS
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Monopoly for all products.
Status: The Dutch parliament’s lower
house approved the Remote Gambling
Bill in 2016, which will introduce an
online gambling licensing regime. In
September 2018, the Government opened
a public consultation on the implementing
regulations of the Remote Gambling Bill,
which will be followed by debate and
a vote in the Senate, expected in early
2019. It is understood that operators that
have previously been fined by the Dutch
regulator will not be eligible for a licence.
In the interim, the regulator continues to
implement enforcement measures against
operators targeting Dutch players, having
imposed recent sanctions against at least
five operators.
NORWAY
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: Online gambling is reserved
for the two monopoly providers, Norsk
Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.
Status: The monopoly has extended its
offering to include live betting, online
bingo and casino games in an attempt
to redirect traffic from unlicensed sites.
The Norwegian regulator continues
to step up enforcement efforts against
unregulated operators, local banks and
payment service providers. On 4 June 2018,
the Ministry of Culture notified a draft
regulation to the European Commission
that would establish payment-blocking
measures. The standstill period ended on
5 September 2018. The European Gaming
and Betting Association is understood
to have filed a legal challenge against the
proposed measures.
iGB Affiliate Issue 72 DEC 2018 / JAN 2019
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