European Regulation
In conjunction with Chris Elliott and Beth French of Wiggin LLP, iGB provides
a regulatory snapshot of igaming across the EU. Belgium, Denmark,
Germany and Norway are among those updated for this edition
Austria
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
advertising, entered into effect on 1 June 2019. A
draft law to introduce an advertising and
sponsorship ban has been submitted to parliament.
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 poker, casino,
bingo and lottery are controlled by the monopoly,
Casinos Austria, which has rights until 2027.
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.
Belgium
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All products available to private
operators except for lotteries, which are reserved for
the monopoly provider. Online operators need to
partner with a land-based licence holder in order to
satisfy a local establishment requirement;
alternatively, they can 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. Active enforcement measures
against operators and players are in place. On 1
January 2019, a royal decree on the operation of
games of chance partially entered into force,
introducing restrictions on increases to stake limits.
The rest of the provisions, which restrict gambling
12
MARKETPLACE 2020
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. The government has
proposed amendments to the country’s gambling
legislation, which, among other things, would
introduce stringent restrictions on gambling
advertising. Active ISP blocking is in place.
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 land-based 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