EUROPEAN REGULATION
subsequent to various changes to Finnish laws.
Active enforcement measures are in place (restrictive
marketing for offshore operators and ISP blocking).
FRANCE
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can obtain online
licences for sports betting, horse race betting and
poker. The monopoly has exclusive rights to bingo
and lottery.
Status: A regulated market since the introduction of
a licensing regime in 2010, following which the EC
withdrew its infringement proceedings. Parliament has
given its formal approval to plans to privatise the state-
owned operator of France’s national lottery games,
Française des Jeux (FDJ), with broader regulatory
changes to the online sector expected to follow.
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 permit only
sports betting and horse race betting.
Operator type: Private operators can no longer
obtain licences in Schleswig-Holstein 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 main legal framework for gambling
regulation in Germany has been the subject of
much debate and has been heavily criticised by
the European Commission and interested parties/
states within Germany for a number of years. Its
legal standing is highly questionable, particularly in
light of a decision of the CJEU (in Sebat Ince, 2016),
which found the sports betting tender process to be
incompatible with EU law and called into question
the restrictive remote gambling regime in general.
The decision led to calls for comprehensive legal
14
MARKETPLACE 2019
Sponsored by
reform of Germany’s gambling legislation. In March
2017 all 16 German states signed amendments to the
country’s gambling law; however, on 22 September,
2017, Schleswig-Holstein’s state parliament voted
against ratifying these, with North-Rhine Westphalia
and Hesse since announcing their intention to
follow suit. Without full state support, the intended
changes did not take effect, further delaying
reform. A Federal Administrative Court ruling on
26 October, 2017 upheld the ban on online casinos
and poker. The ruling, which is now the subject of
a constitutional complaint, appears to have led to
action by local regulators seeking to enforce the
prohibition of online casinos by issuing interdiction
letters to operators. Payment-blocking initiatives are
also being pursued.
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. Licensed
operators are required to source gambling software
from commission-licensed businesses. The UK
government has announced its intention to increase
Remote Gaming Duty at the next budget to cover
a shortfall in lost tax revenue resulting from a
reduction in maximum stakes on fi xed odds betting
terminals from £100 to £2.
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.