WEBMASTER WORLD
DENMARK
FINLAND
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Sports betting, poker and
casino licences are available to private
operators. Bingo, lottery and horse race
betting (fixed odds only) is controlled by
the state monopoly.
Status: The Danish online gambling
regime went live on 1 January 2012.
ISP blocking measures are active
in the jurisdiction and the Danish
Gaming Authority has been granted
an injunction in order to block
operators and suppliers that have been
targeting Danish customers without
the requisite licence. More stringent
payment protection measures were
also introduced on 1 September 2014.
Proposed amendments to online
gambling legislation (which included
proposals for a specific licence for
fantasy sports) were delayed by the
early call of a general election held on
18 June
The ECJ ruled in September that
taxing online casinos less than land-based
casinos did not amount to state aid.
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All gambling products
are under the exclusive control of
the three monopoly providers, Rahaautomaatiyhdistys (“RAY”), Fintoto Oy
and Veikkaus Oy.
Status: ECJ ruling confirmed that
Finland’s three monopoly providers are
legally permitted which has subsequently
been written into law. In November
2013, the EC also withdrew infringement
proceedings.
Active enforcement measures are in
place (restrictive marketing for offshore
operators and ISP blocking).
ESTONIA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Licences for all gambling
products are available for private operators
save that the monopoly has exclusive
rights to lottery.
Status: Only 18 operators are currently
licensed in the jurisdiction, 10 of
which relate to online gambling. A
“blacklist” of around 1,100 operators
is constantly maintained and updated
by local authorities and ISP blocking is
in force. It is understood the Estonian
government is intending to require
players to set weekly or monthly limits
before gambling online, a development
which could occur this year. A new law
which introduces new player protection
measures and relaxes certain online
sports betting advertising restrictions
came into force in June 2015.
FRANCE
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker
and lottery.
Operator Type: Private operators can
obtain online licences for sports betting,
horse race betting and poker. The
monopoly has exclusive rights to lottery.
Status: France is a regulated market that
has been sanctioned by the EC.
On 13 February 2014, French Members
of Parliament introduced a bill which
amends several provisions of the French
Consumer Code. The amendments
expand the definition of prohibited games
of chance to capture games that are, even
in part, based on chance.
ARJEL, the French gambling regulator,
is currently carrying out a review of
the country’s online gambling regime,
expected to conclude next year.
GERMANY
Regulated Gambling Products:
Schleswig-Holstein, a small Northern
German state, regulates sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino and
bingo. The other 15 states of Germany
currently only permit sports betting and
horse race betting.
Operator Type: Private operators can
no longer obtain licences in SchleswigHolstein, and those in existence will expire
on 30 June 2019. In the other 15 states,
horse race betting licences are available
at a regional level but the position
surrounding the 20 available sports betting
licences is still uncertain.
Status: The licensing regime in Germany
is in a state of flux. The 20 Federal
sports betting licensees were named on 2
September 2014, but following numerous
appeals from operators not granted one,
the Administrative Court of Wiesbaden
in April 2015 deemed the tender process
unfair, and ordered a rejected bookmaker’s
licence application to be re-considered.
The 20 licences remain suspended and the
legal and regulatory position uncertain.
The German court of Sonthofen
has referred questions to the CJEU
regarding, among other things, whether
the licensing procedure and current state
of gambling regulation is compliant
with EU law. The Advocate General
is set to deliver his opinion on 17
September 2015.
Recent reports noted that a number of
operators supplying into Germany have
received letters from the German tax
authorities questioning whether they owe
sports-betting tax.
GREAT BRITAIN
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All licences are available
to private operators save for lottery, which
is reserved exclusively for the monopoly
provider, Camelot.
Status: Any operator that transacts
with, or advertises to, British residents
requires a licence from the Gambling
Commission. From 31 March 2015,
licensed operators are required to source
gambling software from Commission
licensed businesses.
A corresponding tax rate of 15%
of gross profits was introduced on 1
December 2014. This is subject to an ongoing judicial review by a Gibraltar trade
association. The Treasury is confident
that it can defend its position.
Significant changes to social
responsibility requirements have been
introduced, phased in over six months.
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