/ THE BRIEFING / NEWS
NETHERLANDS
FRUSTRATED OPERATORS
CONSIDER DANISH FUTURE
Danske Spil’s dominance of the
regulated online gambling
market in Denmark could lead
to foreign operators pulling out
of the country due to its lack of
profitability.
The former Danish monopoly
currently has an estimated 60%
of the market and a source at a
major rival said the cost burden
of competing fiercely for such
a small market share could
soon prove too high for some
businesses.
“Companies like ours are
competing for only about 10%
of the market, so we have to
ask whether it is worth doing
all the investment and costs
of compliance needed,” he
said. “I would not be surprised
if operators surrender their
licences in Denmark like many
did in France and Spain,” he
added.
DENMARK
POLAND
POLISH TAX RATE WILL
KEEP OPERATORS OUT
UK
Operators have responded
I TA LY
RATIONAL GROUP
TARGETS ITALIAN ONLINE
CASINO MARKET
PokerStars owner Rational
Group is preparing to launch
its Full Tilt online casino in
Italy for the first time as it
continues to extend the brand
across regulated Europe.
It is understood that
Rational has applied to the
W W W. E G R M A G A Z I N E . C O M
Italian regulator for the
necessary permit and, if
successful, will launch the
casino via the fulltilt.it domain,
which is currently a holding
page for the site.
However, when asked
to comment on the licence
application, a spokesperson
for Rational remained tightlipped on the prospect of
entering the Italian market.
EUROPE
UPDATE
N
E
W
S
EGAMING UPDATES BY COUNTRY
negatively to the Polish
government’s plans to attract
more foreign egaming firms to
apply for licences claiming the
proposed changes do not go
far enough with the tax rate still
too high.
Poland revealed it was
planning to open its doors
to foreign-based firms by
removing the requirement that
remote operators must first
establish a company within its
borders in June.
A number of operators
said that while the regulatory
reduction is welcome, it is the
country’s uncompetitive tax
framework which proves to
be the biggest deterrent for
operators.
Depending on the type of
bet, the tax rate varies between
2.5% and 12% of revenues.
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