STS and Totolotek).
Recently published amendments to
Poland’s Gambling Act remove the
requirement to incorporate a separate
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. The
Polish government will now consider
whether to make further changes to
the draft law, in light of comments
received from the Commission, or pass
it without amendment (risking further
infringement actions).
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, but changes imminent.
Status: Portugal’s online gambling
legislation was passed by Parliament in
late February and will come into force on
28 June 2015. While operators will have
the ability to apply for licences (that the
government hopes to start issuing by the
end of 2015) their Portuguese revenue
streams will be subject to comparatively
high tax rates, particularly sports betting,
the subject of a 8 - 16% tax on turnover.
There is no deadline for the licensing
window and no limit on the number of
licences that may be issued.
ROMANIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Mutual
horse racing, mutual sports betting and
lottery.
Operator Type: Regulation pending
Status: The Romanian government
passed legislation at the very end of
2014 that allows entities within the EU
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to apply for a licence, imposes a reform
on licence fees and eliminates many
(but not all) of the tax burdens placed
on player revenues. The law came into
force by way of an emergency ordinance
on 13 February, and has now been
passed by the Romanian Parliament
(on 6 May 2015) and signed off by
the Romanian President (on 28 May
2015). Secondary legislation, setting
out the details and requirements for
licensing, was notified to the European
Commission in April, and will be
subject to a three month standstill
period due to expire on 10 July 2015.
Once implemented, operators will be
able to apply for licences and continue
to trade during a transitional period,
currently expected to end 1 August.
The proposed amendment includes
a requirement for operators to pay
a retrospective tax of 20% of GGR
generated from Romanian players since
end of 2010, however confusion still
exists around the time period for which
the tax would be applied.
SLOVAKIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: All products are
operated by the monopoly save that landbased sports betting operators can offer
services online due to a legal loophole.
Status: No developments are anticipated
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: Private operators can
apply for licences for all gambling
products save for lottery.
Status: 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. In June 2015, 10
new online licences were awarded to new
operators, the first new licensees since
the market opened in 2012. In addition,
25 online slot permits were issued to
new and existing licensees, following the
approval of the regulation of slots and
betting exchanges.
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 for private operators.
Status: The Swedish government is
under pressure to update its iGaming
regulations. The commencement of
infringement proceedings by the EC
appeared to mobilise the Government
but recent statements have suggested
that updated regulation to permit private
operators to obtain a licence may not
emerge in the short-term.
An inquiry commissioned by the
government has recently proposed
amendments to the Lotteries Act which
would remove the differences between
the sanctions imposed on the advertising
from unlicensed foreign operators and
unlicensed domestic operators. The
Government recently confirmed it has
earmarked the funds required to conduct
an investigation into reforming the law
with a view to potentially opening the
market to private operators in due course.
No official timetable has been published.