Operator Type: Monopoly for all products.
Status: The Remote Gambling Act was
published in May 2013. It stipulates the
conditions which operators will be able to
offer online gambling in the Netherlands.
The Remote Gambling Act has now
received approval from the Council of
Ministers and the Secretary of State,
paving the way for its implementation.
The Netherlands Gaming Authority has
invited gambling operators to express
their interest in obtaining a licence to
offer online gambling in the Netherlands.
In the interim, the regulator has started
to implement enforcement measures,
and signed cooperation agreements in
October 2014 with Dutch banks and
payment processors over blocking illegal
gambling websites. In December 2014,
the Dutch regulator imposed a 200,000
fine on an online gambling operator
for offering online gambling websites
targeting the Netherlands.
NORWAY
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery
Operator Type: Online gambling in Norway
is reserved for its two monopoly providers:
Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.
Status: The monopoly has extended its
offering to include live betting, e-bingo
and casino games in an attempt to redirect
traffic from unlicensed sites. However,
the new government is understood to be
considering a limited licensing regime
for foreign operators, with any proposals
likely to be announced in the 2015 budget.
POLAND
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting and horse race betting.
Operator Type: Licences are only
available for companies with a local
establishment.
Status: New legislation enacted on 1
January 2012 only permits betting and
only four licences have been granted to
local companies (Fortuna, Milenium,
STS and Totolotek).
Recently published amendments
to Poland’s Gambling Act remove the
requirement to incorporate a separate
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Polish limited liability or joint stock
company, making it easier for offshore
operators to obtain betting licences.
Further, the draft amendments also permit
the organisation of numeric games online
(only relevant for Totalizator Sportowy
which has the monopoly) and online poker.
In November, in an increased effort
to narrow the grey market, the Polish
government initiated more than 1,100
criminal investigations against players
using unlicensed gambling sites, who
face up to three years’ imprisonment.
PORTUGAL
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: Monopoly for all products.
Status: Portugal’s online gambling
legislation received final approval from
its President in early September, which
now means that the Member State has
180 days in which to implement the law.
There are still a number of concerns
however, particularly in relation to the tax
rate which is between 15 - 30% of profits
for online casino and pool betting and 8 16% of turnover for sports betting.
The government aims to issue online
gambling licences in the first half of 2015.
ROMANIA
Regulated Gambling Products:
Mutual horse racing, mutual sports
betting and lottery.
Operator Type: Monopoly
Status: On 16 October the Romanian
government notified a draft bill to the
EC which provides for a local licensing
regime, which could be implemented as
early as this year. The draft law allows
entities within the EU to apply for a licence,
it imposes a reform on licence fees and
eliminates the tax on player revenues. We
understand the legislation is in the process
of going through Parliament.
SLOVAKIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: All products are operated
by the monopoly save that land-based
sports betting operators can offer services
online due to a legal loophole.
Status: No developments are anti cipated
in the short term.
SLOVENIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: Online gambling must be
operated by land-based casinos or lotteries
and, as a result, only the monopoly holds
online licences in Slovenia.
Status: Slovenia has published a
new draft gambling law but it seeks
to reserve its restrictive position on
gambling. The law has not yet been
voted on in parliament and a timeline
for implementation is unclear.
SPAIN
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, casino, poker,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: The first online licences
were issued on 1 June 2012. Under the
law, online gambling operators must hold
a general licence and a specific licence for
each gambling activity from the National
Gambling Commission. Spain opened the
licensing window for new applicants to
enter the market. Following the approval
of the regulation of slots and betting
exchanges a number of new entrants are
expected in the Spanish market.
SWEDEN
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, bingo
and lottery.
Operator Type: Only public benefit
organisations, the horseracing industry
and the state lottery may obtain a
licence. No local licences are available
for private operators.
Status: The Swedish government
intends to update its online gambling
regulations in the short term. Both
a change in government and the
commencement of infringement
proceedings by the EC is thought to
help prompt more liberal regulations.