GREECE
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator Type: All products are
exclusively reserved for the monopoly
providers although 24 transitional licences
for private operators remain active, with all
products permitted.
Status: The licensing regime in Greece
(like Germany) is also in a state of
flux. The Greek government granted
24 transitional licences to operators
in December 2012 enabling them to
keep transacting with Greek residents.
However, in March 2013, the government
notified draft legislation to the EC which
effectively rescinds the licences; a position
criticised by the EC. Greece’s new
government recently announced plans to
more tightly regulate online gambling and
introduce a new international licensing
tender, to end the on-going transition
position, although it is unclear when
this will be introduced. But following
the monopoly’s recent victories in the
land-based environment, the fate of the 24
licences is still unclear.
HUNGARY
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: Only the state monopoly,
Szerencsejáték Zrt. and local concession
companies can apply for a licence.
Status: A proposed amendment to the
Gambling Act submitted to Parliament
on 16 June would allow only two landbased casinos to hold remote casino
concessions. If adopted, they would
also be permitted to offer remote sports
betting. It is unclear if and/or when draft
law will be adopted. ISP blocking of
unlicensed sites since June 2014.
IRELAND
Regulated Gambling Products: Online
gaming is not specifically accounted for in
Ireland’s outdated legislation and as such
is currently unregulated. Since 1 August,
Online betting is a regulated activity.
Status: Ireland is in the process of
76
iGB Affiliate Issue 52 AUG/SEP 2015
updating its legislation which will create
a comprehensive online gambling regime
and payment restrictions. The Betting
(Amendment) Act 2015 now requires
remote bookmakers to hold a licence, and
pay a 1% turnover-based betting duty.
ITALY
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator Type: All products available to
private operators save for lottery which
is reserved for the monopoly provider.
However, it is currently not possible to
obtain a licence in Italy.
Status: Fully regulated market. A planned
move from a turnover-based tax to
GGR-based was recently dropped from
legislation days before it was due to be
passed by the Italian cabinet. Previous
restrictions on the type of events/markets
on which bookmakers can offer odds is
possibly to be abolished.
LUXEMBOURG
Regulated Gambling Products: Lottery
Operator Type: Monopoly.
Status: The general prohibition on
gambling in Luxembourg appears
sufficiently wide to cover all forms of
online gambling.
MALTA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: Private operators can
apply for a local licence but not in relation
to lottery products.
Status: On 3 June, Maltese regulator the
Malta Gaming Authority introduced
a number of policy changes. These
include changes regarding hosting servers
abroad, audit requirements and the cloud
environment. It is anticipated that Malta
will update its gambling legislation in the
near future.
NETHERLANDS
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo, lottery.
Operator Type: Monopoly for all
products.
Status: The Remote Gambling Act was
published in May 2013, which 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. Due to political issues,
licences are now unlikely to be awarded
till 2016 or possibly 2017.
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 July 2015, the
regulator issued fines against an operator
and supplier, as well as their directors, for
targeting Dutch players.
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