are due to take effect on 1 August 2017.
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 enabling regulations that implement a Greek online gambling licensing regime are yet to be implemented. In 2012, a“ transition period” commenced whereby the Greek government granted 24 transitional licences to operators, enabling them to keep transacting with Greek residents. Greece’ s government has since announced its intention to issue licences for online gambling to end the ongoing transition position. The fate of the 24 licences is still unclear, although a continued delay to the implementation of the legislation has led to the EC sending a letter of enquiry to the Greek authorities at the beginning of 2017 to question the lack of development in the remote gambling sector. A tax increase has been established on gross gaming revenues, increasing the rate from 30 % to 35 % as of May 2016.
HUNGARY
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. Operator Type: Only the state monopolies( Szerencsejáték Zrt. and Magyar Lóversenyfogadást-SzervezőKft) and local concession companies can apply for a licence. Status: Amendments to Hungarian gambling law came into force on 1 October 2015 which allow only two land-based casinos to hold remote casino concessions. The regulator has since issued fines against unlicensed operators who continue to target the market. ISP blocking of unlicensed sites has occurred since June 2014. The potential for EC infringement proceedings remains.
IRELAND
Regulated Gambling Products: Online gaming is not specifically accounted for in
Ireland’ s outdated legislation and as such is currently unregulated. Online betting has been regulated since August 2015. Status: Updating its legislation, which will create a comprehensive igaming regime and payment restrictions. More substantive developments are expected in 2017. The Betting( Amendment) Act 2015 now requires remote bookmakers to hold a licence, and pay a 1 % turnover-based 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 recently passed Stability Law introduces various measures affecting the remote gambling industry, including tax changes and plans for tighter advertising rules. The law will provide for the award of 120 new online gaming licences( lasting for six years). The tender process for the award of the licences has been delayed, but it was recently announced that these would be issued in Q1 of 2017.
LUXEMBOURG
Regulated Gambling Products: Lottery Operator Type: Monopoly. Status: The general prohibition on gambling appears sufficiently wide to cover all forms of online gambling.
MALTA
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. Operator Type: Private operators can apply for a local licence( save for lottery products). Status: On 3 June 2014, Maltese regulator the Malta Gaming Authority introduced a number of policy changes. These included changes regarding hosting servers abroad, audit requirements and the cloud environment. Malta recently introduced the Skill Games Regulations 2016, which established a regulatory framework for skill games for prizes. The new legislation forms part of Malta’ s plans to modernise online gambling rules, with further amendments to Malta’ s gambling laws expected throughout the course of 2017.
NETHERLANDS
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. Operator Type: After two years of parliamentary debate, the Dutch Lower House approved the Online Gambling Bill, which will introduce an online gambling licensing regime in the Netherlands. The legislation will impose a 29 % GGR tax on both online and landbased operators. The Bill still requires approval from the Senate and licensing is not expected to commence until at least 2019. In the interim, the regulator continues to implement enforcement measures against those operators targeting Dutch players. In May 2016, a Dutch court upheld fines issued by the regulator in the first such case to go to trial.
NORWAY
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery. Operator Type: Online gambling is reserved for its two monopoly providers: Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Status: The monopoly has extended its offering to include live betting, online bingo and casino games in an attempt to redirect traffic from unlicensed sites. The government published a long-awaited white paper on how best to regulate the gambling sector in March 2017. The new government was understood to be considering a limited licensing regime for foreign operators; however, the white paper instead proposes that the gambling monopoly remain in place and no licensing system be introduced.
POLAND
Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting and horse race betting. Casino and poker to be regulated from 1 April 2017. Operator Type: Betting licences are available for companies with a representative in Poland. Casino
62 iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR / MAY 2017