EUROPEAN REGULATION
European Regulation
In conjunction with Chris Elliott and Beth French of Wiggin LLP,
iGaming Business provides a regulatory snapshot of igaming across
the EU. Belgium, Ireland and Portugal are among those updated for
this issue
AUSTRIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for sports betting and horse
race betting are available for private operators on a
regional basis within Austria, whereas poker, casino,
bingo and lottery are controlled by the monopoly,
Casinos Austria, which has exclusive rights until
2027.
Status: In 2016, national courts reached confl icting
decisions on the compatibility of Austria’s current
gambling legislative framework with EU law, which
remains unclear. The draft amendments to the
Gambling Act, which would introduce ISP-blocking
measures and an express provision rendering
gambling contracts contrary to the Gambling Act
void, has been temporarily withdrawn. It is unclear if
the initial draft will be republished.
BELGIUM
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All products are available to private
operators except for lotteries, which are reserved
exclusively for the monopoly provider. However,
online operators need to partner with local casinos
in order to satisfy the land-based establishment
requirement; alternatively, apply for one of the 34
retail licences (F1 licences) that can be extended to
cover online (F1+ licence).
Status: There remain valid arguments that the
existing regime is incompatible with Belgium’s EU
Treaty obligations. On 22 March, 2018, Belgium’s
Constitutional Court ruled in favour of an
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exemption from VAT obligations for online gambling
transactions. Active enforcement measures against
operators and players are in place. The Belgian
government recently approved a royal decree
restricting advertising for online gambling, which is
expected to enter into force in summer 2019.
BULGARIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery
(excluding raffl es and instant lottery games).
Operator type: All products are available to private
operators except for lotteries, which are reserved
exclusively for the monopoly.
Status: Any operator from an EU/EEA jurisdiction
or the Swiss Confederation can apply for a licence.
The Bulgarian regulator has awarded approximately
20 licences to date, including to a number of
international operators. The government has notifi ed
the European Commission of draft amendments
to the country’s gambling legislation which, among
other things, would introduce stringent restrictions
on how gambling products can be advertised. The
standstill period ended on 15 October, 2018.
CROATIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All products are available to
private operators except for lotteries, which are
reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider.
Private operators can only be licensed to offer
igaming if they obtain a land-based casino or
betting licence.