EUROPEAN REGULATION
In conjunction with Christopher Elliott of DLA Piper London, iGB Affiliate provides a regulatory snapshot of
iGaming markets across the European Union.
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,
Austria Lotteries.
Status: A recent appeal challenging
Austrian tax legislation is seen as a test
case by other offshore operators targeting
Austrian business. The Member State
has proposed changes to its regulations
(notably a ban on in-play betting) to help
curb match fixing, measures which the
Austrian Bookmakers Association has
agreed to implement.
The Austrian government recently put
forward a proposal to block unlicensed
offshore operators targeting the country,
although next steps are unclear.
BELGIUM
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are
available to private operators save for
lotteries, which are reserved exclusively
for the monopoly provider. However,
online operators need to partner up
with local casinos in order to satisfy the
land-based establishment requirement;
or alternatively, apply for one of the 34
retail licences (F1 licences) which can be
extended to cover online (F1+ licence).
Status: The new Belgian government has
published a coalition agreement which
proposes to increase the number of landbased casinos from 9 to 11. Accordingly,
this will allow online operators to team
up with the new casinos to offer casino
products online.
Further restrictions and a tightening of
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the legal framework is also proposed, with
three decrees having been notified to the
EC (relating to the type of games that can
be offered and limitations on such games
as well as the monitoring and control of
online games). The regulator recently
introduced rules to prevent live casino
products being offered to players unless
the dealers are physically in Belgium. It is
uncertain if the proposed changes will be
implemented this year. The potential for
EC infringement proceedings remains.
BULGARIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery (excluding raffles and
instant lottery games)
Operator Type: All products are
available to private operators save for
lotteries, which are reserved exclusively
for the monopoly provider.
Status: Bulgaria’s Gambling Act became
law on 1 July 2012 but licences were
not available until mid-2013 as further
implementing legislation needed to be in
force. Any operator from an EU/EEA
jurisdiction or the Swiss Confederation
can apply for a licence. The Bulgarian
regulator has now issued 12 licences,
including to international operators.
The change from a turnover to a GGR
tax-based system has prompted a number
of operators to apply for a local licence.
CROATIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are
available to private operators save for
lotteries, which are reserved exclusively
for the monopoly provider.
Status: Following Croatia’s accession to
the EU in July 2013, it was understood
it would submit new legislation which
was compatible with European law.
However, on 5 March 2014 the Croatian
government notified a draft bill which
seeks to embolden the position of the
monopoly and local operators. Only
land-based casinos and betting operators
can apply for a licence pursuant to the
draft bill. ISP blocking is also proposed.
CYPRUS
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting and lottery.
Operator Type: OPAP have a monopoly
over lottery operations and only sports
betting licences are available to private
operators.
Status: Cyprus regulated online betting
in July 2012. The government published
a blacklist and warned local ISP
providers that they would face fines for
failures to block sites offering unlicensed
gambling products. Moves in late 2013 to
update the laws further have not resulted
in any substantial changes.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse racing betting and lottery.
Operator Type: Online gaming is not
expressly regulated but a limited number
of local licences are available for Czech
companies with Czech share ownership.
Lottery is reserved for the monopoly.
Status: A draft bill has been published
which creates a local licensing regime
for all gambling activities together with
stringent enforcement measures for any
unlicensed operators. New gambling
legislation is expected to be submitted to
the Czech Parliament imminently, but the
government now believes the long-awaited
reform could be delayed until 2017.
DENMARK
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,