EUROPEAN REGULATION
requirement that only holders of land-based licences
can offer online gambling). Regulatory reforms
appear to have stalled in the country.
Cyprus
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: OPAP has a monopoly over lottery
operations; sports betting licences are available to
private operators.
Status: Cyprus regulated online betting in July 2012,
although a licensing regime was not established until
2016. ISPs are obliged to implement blocking
measures to prohibit Cypriot residents from
accessing unlicensed gambling websites. A new
betting law came into force in March 2019 and
featured minor amends introduced to address EU
incompatibility concerns under the previous law
(such as the requirement to have a local branch in
order to obtain a sports betting licence).
Czech Republic
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: EU and EEA-based operators are
able to apply for licences.
Status: The new gambling regulatory regime entered
into force on 1 January 2017, allowing EU/EEA
companies to enter the market. ISP-blocking
measures are active in the jurisdiction. Tax rates are
reportedly set to increase to up to 30% of GGR for
certain online gambling activities from January 2020.
Denmark
Status: The Danish online gambling regime went
live on 1 January 2012. ISP-blocking measures are
active in the jurisdiction and the Danish Gaming
Authority has been granted an injunction to block
operators and suppliers that have been targeting
Danish customers without the requisite licence.
Plans to implement a new voluntary code of conduct
for advertising gambling are understood to have
been blocked by the Danish Competition Authority
over competition concerns. From 1 January 2020,
licensed operators will be required to ensure that
customers have set deposit limits before they are
allowed to gamble, although it is understood this
applies to the offer of online casino only.
Estonia
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for all gambling products
are available to private operators save for lotteries,
which are reserved for the monopoly operator.
Status: Operators seeking to accept business from
players in Estonia must be issued an activity licence
for the type of gambling they wish to offer, then an
operating permit to provide the services online. A
blacklist of operators is maintained and updated by
local authorities and ISP and payment blocking is in
force. Though some operators argue that the regime
is still not compatible with EU law, no notification
alleging incompatibility has been issued by the EC
since the requirement for licensees to locate main
servers in Estonia was removed.
Finland
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting,
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
fantasy sports, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Sports betting, poker and casino
licences are available to private operators. Lottery is
controlled by the state monopoly. Operator type: All gambling products are under the
exclusive control of monopoly provider Veikkaus Oy.
Status: Despite the existence of a national
monopoly, EC enforcement action was dropped
subsequent to various changes to Finnish laws.
MARKETPLACE 2020
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