Worldwide Regulatory Updates from Gambling Industry- July 2020

Due to the lack of investor interest, the Queensland Government has abandoned plans to award a second license. Moreover, this institution has also ended negotiations with Star Entertainment Group over granting the operator a monopoly for casino gaming in this territory.

Though the month of July didn’t bring any major changes in Australia, the rest of the world has undergone numerous modifications. Once again, the US market was the most dynamic but Europe and the rest of the world didn’t fall behind.

Stay tuned to find out more!

Updates from the United States

In order to gain more time to collect the required 1 million signatures needed to qualify their ballot proposal to legalize sports betting, the Coalition to Authorize Regulated Sports Wagering, a body representing 25 Native American tribes in California has requested a 90-day extension to the previous deadline of 25 June 2020.

As stressed out…

…longer timeframe is needed as a result of the disruption caused by the state’s current lockdown- and the extension was granted, making the proposal ready for the 2022 referendum.

Georgia’s legislation to greenlight sports betting seems to be waiting for some better days, as it failed to get out of Committee before the end of the legislative session.

On the other hand…

…Governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker signed legislation to temporarily permit remote registration of sports wagering s during the ongoing circumstances. The Gaming Board awarded licenses to DraftKings and FanDuel.

Also, the Governor approved the development of a new resort casino in downtown Chicago. The casino’s revenue will be taxed on an incremental scale from 22.5% to 77.45% of a gross win for slots and 15% to 35% for table games.

Meanwhile in Louisiana…

…the Senate approved regulations to govern the operation of daily fantasy sports in the state, meaning the activity could start running in the state by September. The Governor also greenlighted legislation to grant the state’s riverboat and racetrack casinos an annual $5m tax exemption on promotional credits for the next five years.

The Gaming Control Board of Michigan began the licensing process for prospective online gaming and sports wagering operators. The Board announced it had expedited the regulatory timeline and, as a result, brought forward the earliest possible launch date of both products to mid-October.

The Nevada Gaming Commission has modified casino regulations to permit cashless wagering, in part due to concerns over the health risk of exchanging physical cash and casino chips.

As for Oklahoma…

… the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and Kialegee Tribal Town tribes agreed new compacts with State Governor Kevin Stitt to develop new casino facilities and offer Class III gaming and table games.

However, the compacts were immediately challenged by the Chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association who echoed previous statements that the Governor does not have the authority to sign agreements with the tribes. The state’s Supreme Court ruled those contracts were unconstitutional.

The House and Senate of Rhode Island approved legislation to allow remote registration of online sports betting s. The bill was sent to Governor Gina Raimondo for final approval.

In order to …

… Virginia’s sports betting licensing process, the state’s Lottery has signed an intergovernmental deal with Maryland’s Lottery and Gaming Control Agency (MLGCA). The MLGCA has developed an e-licensing system to allow casinos to submit applications for those licenses and enables agency staff to review the applications.

The Gaming Commission of Washington announced it was in discussions with four tribes regarding the renegotiation of their gaming compacts in order to allow them to operate retail and on-site mobile sports wagering.

Also, the West Virginia iGaming market went live on 15 July 2020 with the launch of the DraftKings online casino platform.

Updates from Europe

Online payment processors, including Visa and Mastercard, instructed their retail banking partners in to block all payments associated with unlicensed online casino gaming. Local media reported several German-facing online casino sites removed these payment options immediately following the announcement.

The industry body for telecommunications and media (DVTM)…

… introduced a cap on the total amount of advertising time online casinos licensed in Schleswig Holstein would be permitted to air each month, imposing a maximum of 17,000 minutes of televised advertising per month for its .

Moreover, the Berlin Senate istration for the Economy, Energy, and Operations implemented The Berliner Spielhallengesetz (Berlin Arcade Act) which sets new proximity and operation requirements for gaming machine arcades in the state.

The new law will result in the closure of 376 arcades and reduce the number of machines permitted in the remaining 120 facilities to eight whilst also restricting opening hours to 11 am to 3 am. All gaming arcades must reapply for a permit and those that are not granted permission will be required to close within six months.

The Gaming Authority of Norway…

… launched a consultation to gain opinions on proposals to consolidate the country’s gambling legislation into one consolidated bill. The new legislation aims to improve industry standards whilst maintaining the current monopolies of Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.

As for Ukraine, the final approval was given to permit land-based and interactive gambling in the country. The bill (2285-D) requires accompanying tax legislation to be ed as well as approval by President Volodymir Zelensky before it can into law.

The Government of the Netherlands…

…announced that the launch of the countries regulated interactive gambling market could be subject to a further delay of “a few months” due to the current situation.

In addition to this, online gaming will return to being prohibited until the Remote Gaming Act comes into force next year. Also, the Dutch gambling regulator (KSA) warned that age verification controls are not being properly enforced, with a new survey claiming that 10% of those aged 16-17 have gambled in the past year.

Asia and Africa

The Cambodian government has announced a round of crackdowns on illegal gambling sites, with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications reportedly attempting to block six online gambling websites and prosecute the operators.

Also, local media reported the Cambodian government gave initial approval to legislation to permit the development of integrated casino resorts in the country, with a gaming tax rate of 7% of GGR for mass-market players and 4% of GGR for VIPs.

As for India…

…the State Government of Karnataka gave its approval to proposals to allow the Bangalore Turf Club to offer interactive betting on horse races via a mobile app. Local media reported that, following the announcement, the Royal Western India Turf Club in Mumbai requested the Maharashtra State Government consider allowing it to also offer online betting.

Local news sources from Japan reported the Integrated Resort Basic Plan legislation had been delayed due to the ongoing circumstances. The bill was originally intended to be introduced by 26 July 2020 however, sources reported it would likely be delayed by one to three months.

Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs)…

… have been told by the government that they must pay all their taxes or leave the country. Furthermore, the Finance Secretary has warned that even those who leave will be required to pay whatever back taxes they owe.

The Government of Uzbekistan proposed the establishment of a single national lottery to replace the current system in which major banks have contracts with the state to operate separate lotteries. It was understood the government intended to allow the lottery to operate online and sought to have 60% of its proceeds directed to charitable causes.

Meanwhile in Kenya…

…President Uhuru Kenyatta signed legislation that removed the 20% turnover tax on sports betting and reverted the tax regime back to a 20% withholding tax on players’ winnings.

The Ministry of Finance stated it would propose the reintroduction of the 20% turnover tax on sports wagering in Parliament, stressing out that the decision to reintroduce the tax was the result of a number of consultations and aligned with the government’s commitment to reduce gambling-related harm.

Source:

“H2 Gambling Capital”, July 2020