DATA CENTRE
Without full state support, the intended changes
will not take effect, further delaying reform.
A Federal Administrative Court ruling on
26 October upheld the ban on online casinos
and poker. The ruling may encourage state
regulators to take enforcement measures,
although this remains to be seen pending
the publication of the full judgment.
GREAT BRITAIN
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All licences are available to
private operators save for lottery, which is reserved
exclusively for the monopoly provider, Camelot.
Status: Any operator that transacts with, or
advertises to, British residents requires a licence
from the Gambling Commission. Licensed operators
are required to source gambling software from
Commission-licensed businesses. Since 1 August,
2017, the fi rst use of free plays for remote gaming
will be taxed and winnings will be brought into
the duty calculation at the end of the rewagering
process. The Horserace Betting Levy Regulations
2017 became effective on 25 April, 2017, requiring
all gambling operators (including companies
based overseas) which offer bets to UK-based
bettors on horse racing in Great Britain to pay
a 10% levy on the profi t on those bets where
that profi t exceeds £500,000 a year.
GREECE
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting,
horse race betting and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are exclusively
reserved for the monopoly providers although
24 transitional licences for private operators
remain active, with all products permitted.
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. The fate of the 24 licences is still
unclear, although it is understood that the
Hellenic Gambling Commission has recently
launched a consultation on the reform of the
country’s online gambling regulation.
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-
Szervez Kft) and local concession companies
can apply for a licence.
Status: Amendments to Hungarian gambling
law came into force on 1 October, 2015 which
allow only two land-based casinos to hold
remote casino concessions. The regulator
has since issued fi nes, a number of which
have been challenged, against unlicensed
operators that continue to target the market.
In June 2017, the ECJ delivered its ruling in
such a case, which concerned two ISP blocking
orders against one operator’s websites.
The ruling determined Hungary’s gambling
regime to be incompatible with Article 56 TFEU,
and that Hungarian authorities cannot impose
sanctions on operators where the national gambling
law infringes EU law. Hungarian authorities
continue to seek to enforce the existing regime
despite the ruling and, on 15 December, 2017,
notifi ed the EC of draft amendments to introduce
payment blocking measures.
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