Euromat News Bulletin

MEMBER STATE NEWS

01/06/12 – In Spain, the new online gaming regulatory regime has officially entered into force. As part of the requirements set for the granting of licences, the Spanish government is now seeking to collect unpaid taxes from online gambling operators for their previous activities in the country. The agreement to pay back the outstanding taxes, which cover operators’ activities from January 2009 to May 2011, is in response to a recent opinion from the Spanish tax authority that any online operator that has ever accepted customers from Spain has an obligation to pay taxes under two laws, one dating from 1966 and the other from 1977. These laws previously applied to offline gaming operators in the country and are now for the first time being applied also to offshore online operators.

29/05/12 – Belgium’s Council of Ministers has approved a draft royal decree allowing the national lottery to compete with private operators in the sports betting market. The draft grants the “Loterie Nationale” the possibility to obtain an F1 licence and offer sports betting to costumers. Following the approval by the Council of Ministers, the draft decree has now been forwarded to the Council of State.

25/05/12 – The Austrian betting firm Bwin and the Belgian state have met in the Court of First Instance in Brussels following a claim from Bwin due to its inclusion in the blacklist of unlicensed gambling operators created by the Belgian Gaming Commission. As part of a counter-claim, the Belgian state has requested a penalty of 300.000 Euros per day to Bwin, which would also be forced to stop all online activities aimed at Belgian inhabitants, reimburse Belgian player funds and publish the court decision on its Belgium-facing websites. The Court is expected to deliver a judgment, on both Bwin’s claim and the counter-claim from Belgium, by 25 June 2012.

24/05/12 – French online gambling regulator ARJEL has granted additional powers to its President in an effort to make the supervision of licensees more efficient and speed up action against unlicensed operators. The President of ARJEL, Jean-François Vilotte, will now be able to take certain actions without first having to consult with the College. ARJEL has also announced new additions to the range of sports bets that can be offered to French players, now including also basketball, football and Formula 1 motor racing.

23/05/12 – The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has established a new Gaming Advisory Council consisting of representatives from the scientific and research communities, consumer protection associations, gaming and sport sectors, as well as addiction experts. The tasks of the new body include giving advice and making recommendations to the authorities on technical and legal issues in the field of gambling, as well as providing support for the prevention of gambling addiction, crime and underage gambling.