Gaming News all over the world 27.12.2009

27.12.2009, Norwegian Interactive Gambling Laws Defined / German Study Reveals Little Change in Online Gambling Habits / U.K.Government Proposes 'Secondary Licensing' for Online Gambling

Norwegian Interactive Gambling Laws Defined
Regulation of online gambling in Norway has been the subject of debate for a long time in that country and currently all forms of interactive gaming via the internet are prohibited. According to Rolf-Francis Sims, who is the Legal Adviser, to the Ministry Culture & Church Affairs, in Norway, the state controlled monopolies Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto may allow for players to participate in their land based gaming activities via the internet. In December 2008 the Norwegian Parliament enacted the bill proposal from the Norwegian Government regarding a prohibition on processing of payments from Norway to non-licensed remote gambling sites. The activity encompassed by the bill is the processing of payments to remote gambling sites without a Norwegian license, classified as an unlawful accessory involvement in the holding and mediation of non- licensed gaming. The prohibition is anchored in Gaming Law and not Financial Law. Entities comprised by the bill are Norwegian credit card companies, financial institutions and other mediums assisting the transfer of payments for remote gambling for gamblers in Norway. This is similar to the process by which the USA has kept the public from legally gambling online. The legislative aims are to create an obstacle for remote gambling from Norway, strengthen national supervision of the domestic gaming market, limit evasion of Norwegian gaming law as interactive gaming, casinos and poker are prohibited in Norway.

The bill is reasonable it is suggested because Norway is an attractive market for the remote gaming industry because a high number of Norwegians have access to the internet, and there is a significant increase in remote gambling from Norway. There are also indications of growing social problems and concerns that remote gambling represents a serious risk to the public health. The proposal contained detailed regulations regarding the prohibition and was sent for public consultation and notification in April of 2009. It is expected that both the bill and the regulations will come into force sometime next year.

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German Study Reveals Little Change in Online Gambling Habits
The Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media in Germany commissioned a study to see how online gambling is progressing in that country. The survey results revealed that attempts to ban online gambling in order to protect state monopolies have not significantly curtailed demand from German Internet players. A study of the activity last year showed that 2.2 million Germans used the net to place wagers. The latest report revealed that only 2 million people were using the internet to punt on sports, play poker, or buy lottery tickets. The study noted that by gender, a little more than 1.7 million German males, and only 300,000 females, gambled online during the represented year. Women favoured lotteries, with lady gamblers making up 64 percent of the gamblers in this sector, compared with 57 percent of the men who gambled on the lotteries. Lottery gaming was the most popular, played by 59 percent of all web gamblers with poker second at 22 percent and sports betting third at 18 percent. The figures are relatively unchanged from last year, when 700,000 played the lotteries, 430,000 Germans played online poker and other casino games, and 500,000 put their money into sporting events, with 96 percent of those betting on Bundesliga matches and other major soccer events.

Achim Berg the executive spokesperson for Bitkom, said the report is an indication of the popularity of online gambling in Germany, and called upon the lawmakers of Germany to modernise the country's gambling laws when they meet again next March 2010. Berg commented that, "The current betting scandal in football has clearly demonstrated that the German ban only paves the way for a thriving black market," adding, "We must ensure that the same high standards apply for both public and private providers," as he requested a state licensing regime. A recent market study of the German gambling market predicts that it will grow from the current 2.2 billion euros a year to approximately 5 billion euros by 2010.

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U.K.Government Proposes 'Secondary Licensing' for Online Gambling
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the United Kingdom is expected to unveil a new proposal to upgrade the existing regulations regarding offshore online gambling operations. A review commissioned to look into how overseas operators might be more accountable to the U.K.'s regulatory system with items such as "securing fair contributions from overseas licensed operators towards the cost of regulation" on the agenda. Increased concerns about the extent of match-fixing in various sports prompted the report which is expected to help ensure more information is provided by offshore operators about suspicious betting patterns. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Gambling Commission in the U.K. produced to report together in expectations of getting a "secondary licensing", regime established. It is not expected to use it to force overseas operators to pay the statutory horse racing levy. Sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe assured horse racing operators that this will not stop debate over the future of the tax on online gambling operators and when the review was commissioned he said, "getting a fairer deal for U.K. operators" was one of his "top priorities". Displeasure was noted from the government of the U.K. when William Hill and Ladbrokes moved operations offshore after concessions were granted to the industry. The move cost the horse racing industry an estimated £4.2m, and the overall take from the tax on bookmakers' gross profits was £93m in 2008-09, down 20% on the previous year. With a new system, offshore bookmakers would also have to be licensed in the U.K. If companies do not comply they would be banned from advertising in Britain.

Clive Hawkswood, CEO of The Remote Gambling Association, which represents major online gambling operators, said, although operators would be willing to listen to the proposal, "The reason our companies are offshore is not because of the Gambling Commission, but because of tax. If they want to go for this dual licensing approach, we'd have to sit down and work through the details. But none of that is undo-able."

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