DATA + TRACKING
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 online poker, casino, bingo and lottery are controlled by the( de facto) monopoly, the Austrian Lottery Corporation, which has exclusive rights until 2027.( Casinos Austria holds each of the 12 land-based casino licences in Austria.) STATUS: The CJEU has held that the Austrian casino monopoly is incompatible with EU law in a number of cases, although national courts continue to reach conflicting decisions on the compatibility of Austria’ s current gambling legislative framework with EU law and the position remains unclear. In June 2021, the Austrian Supreme Court held in favour of a player who brought a claim against an operator licensed elsewhere in the EU for a refund of losses on the basis that their contract with the operator was invalid.
BELGIUM
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider. However, online operators need to partner with a land-based licence holder in order to satisfy a local establishment requirement; alternatively, apply for one of the retail licences that can be extended to cover online. STATUS: There remain valid arguments that the existing regime is incompatible with Belgium’ s EU Treaty obligations.
European regulation
In conjunction with Wiggin LLP’ s Chris Elliott and Rawa Kaftan, iGB Affiliate provides a regulatory snapshot of iGaming across Europe. Croatia, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden are among those countries updated for this edition
Active enforcement measures against operators and players are in place. A mandatory, weekly deposit limit of € 200 for all customers of licensed operators is in effect. On 1 July 2023, a Royal Decree introduced wide-ranging restrictions on the advertising of gambling in Belgium. On 1 September 2024, amendments to Belgium’ s gambling legislation took effect which, among other things, increased the minimum gambling age of 21 applicable to all forms of gambling.
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 except for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly. STATUS: Any operator from an EU / EEA jurisdiction or the Swiss Confederation can apply for a licence. The Bulgarian regulator has awarded approximately
30 licences to date, including to a number of international operators. On 14 May 2024, amendments to Bulgaria’ s gambling legislation took effect, which heavily restricts gambling advertising and introduced provisions aimed at tackling the black market, such as payment and ISP blocking measures.
CROATIA
REGULATED GAMBLING PRODUCTS: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery. OPERATOR TYPE: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider. Private operators can only be licensed to offer online gambling if they obtain a landbased casino or betting licence. STATUS: Attempts by the Ministry to update its gambling legislation have been subject to criticism in respect of EU incompatibility issues( including the requirement that only holders of land-based licences can offer online
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