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Swedish MEP, Christofer Fjellner, is championing the call for harmonised EU-wide legislation for online gambling EU Commission - Legislation
Damien McCoy of Ardee Leisure and Franz Plasser of APEX.
IRELAND – NEW APEX GAMES FOR IRISH MARKET APEX gaming is a firm favourite for Irish players and opera- tors alike and together with local partner Ardee Leisure intro- duced brand new games to the local market at the Irish Gaming Show in March. The Multi Magic 6 games include: Jupiter Thunder, APEX Wizard, Four Towers, Viking and Secret of the Gold Mark, showing the strength in depth of APEX’s games. Each are now available alongside the two most popular and well-known gaming selections from APEX, Multi Magic Classic and Hot Magic Fruits XXL.
Franz Plasser of APEX gaming and Damien McCoy of Ardee Leisure spent two days at the Irish Gaming Show. Mr. Plasser commented regarding the event: “The response to our Multi Magic 6 games was extremely positive and gives operators yet another reason to choose APEX gaming.”
Damien McCoy, added” “With new regulations on the hori- zon, the APEX Player Station will make great waves. This electronic multi-player is perfect for the Irish market.”
CROATIA – INTRALOT EXTENDS CROATIAN CONTRACT INTRALOT has extended its agreement with Hrvatska Lutrija d.o.o, the Croatian State Lottery, for the supply and mainte- nance of an extensive portfolio of interactive instant and scratch games, following a public procurement procedure. The extension contract will have a duration of one year and may be re-extended for consecutive one-year periods. According to this new agreement INTRALOT, through its sub- sidiary INTRALOT Interactive and its gaming associate NeoGames, will provide the Croatian Lottery with additional games, on top of the wide pallet of 50 e-instant and e- scratch games currently made available by the lottery. These new games will be also integrated into the Croatian Lottery’s existing multichannel gaming platform, based on INTRALOT’s B-On technology.
UK – GALA BINGO TO BE PART OF BATH CASINO Bath’s first casino is a step nearer reality following recom- mendations for approval from planners for the £14m casino hotel project in the historical spa town. Its development though will require alteration work at an existing Gala Bingo Club, a significant part of which has been earmarked for demolition, with the elements forming part of the new casino. The casino, which will operate as one of the new style ‘small’ licences, will be run by Groupe Partouche SA in partnership with Global Gaming Ventures. The casino would be housed over three floors including bars, dining and private func- tion/meeting rooms with a 900 capacity. The 148-bedroom hotel will be run by Z Hotels.
In a report to be scrutinised by councillors, planners claim the development would bring ‘activity and vibrancy into an important and historic site.’
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Christofer Fjellner is one of the most prominent MEPs on the issue of online gambling. In a recent interview he explained how online gambling laws are enforced across the EU and expresses his posi- tion regarding the fragmented legislation on cross- border online gambling services: “The Commission has chosen to launch infringement procedures, but court rulings cannot solve money laundering and consumer protection problems,“ argues MEP Fjellner, stating that European citizens would get better protection if ‘harmonised EU leg- islation on the online gambling comes into force.’
“The challenge is that legislation in Europe is so fragmented,” continues Mr. Fjellner. “Each mem- ber state runs their own gambling regime through either a monopoly or some kind of licensing sys- tem, but that is out-dated due to the fact that peo- ple are playing online and are choosing to play with operators from other countries. The big chal- lenge for the EU Commission is to try to convince member states that we better protect citizens if we have a joint EU harmonised system, but the appetite for that from the member states seems to be very small. It’s all about the money, but, sooner or later we have to come to terms with the fact that we can’t have 28 different regimes each with different licensing systems, but rather we should have one European licensing system. Sooner or later we won’t be able to sort these things with court rulings. We have to take political responsi-
Swedish MEP Christofer Fjellner bility with legal proposals from the Commission.
“We need some basic European standards that all member states, no matter if they are operating monopolies or licensing, have to adopt. The fact that EU members are blocking a European state- wide player exclusion system shows that they care less about the problem gamblers and more about subsidiarity and revenues. I think that’s pretty outrageous. I think that companies offering their services from outside the EU should comply with European standards when they’re dealing with European citizens, but the problem is that there are no European standards and we don’t have a unified position.
“We have the backing of the industry, but the chal- lenge is the member states, but unfortunately also a lot of MEPs, because it is controversial to be involved in gambling policy and saying that you want to have European solutions. You are chal- lenging big revenues and you are also challenging some of the subsidiarity that member states want to protect. But I believe that we have to take responsibility, no matter where you are from in Europe, for the problem gamblers and call for real legislation in this area.”
GTECH selected as OPAP online sports betting provider in Greece
GREECE GTECH has been selected by OPAP, one of Europe’s largest listed betting companies, as its strategic partner for OPAP’s operations in online betting in Greece.
GTECH’s proposal to OPAP, awarded as part of a tender proce- dure, includes the provision of GTECH’s Sports Betting and GTECH Player Account Management system.
“GTECH is delighted to be awarded the opportunity to provide OPAP with our fully integrated Sports Betting gaming solution. This deci- sion is a validation of the success- ful ongoing performance and cross-channel capabilities of GTECH’s online portfolio, which we are providing to World Lottery Association customers, including the Ontario Lottery and Gaming
Corporation, Norsk Tipping in Norway, and Veikkaus in Finland,” said Walter Bugno, CEO, GTECH International.
“This solution will ensure that OPAP has the flexibility and tech- nological innovation it needs to provide its players with a conven- ient, easy-to-use Web- and mobile-based program, enabling live betting.
“This will fulfill OPAP’s online betting strategy by reliably driving program growth as technology and player preferences evolve. In addi- tion, the open architecture of the GTECH Player Account Management system will enable OPAP to implement its preferred strategy for a single view of the player through the creation of a single player account across mul- tiple games and gaming channels.”
UK Grosvenor casino said it is ‘likely’ to bid for the opportunity to develop a ‘large’ casino licence in Southampton, where it will join Aspers in the race for the licence. Grosvenor became the UK’s biggest casino operator in terms of numbers of casinos when it bought casinos from rival Gala to take its total number of operations up to 55. It stated: “We see this as a good opportunity and are likely to be making a bid.” The competition for the casino will begin on April 1 with Aspers already confirming that it wants to redevelop the Royal Pier to the tune of £450m. The first stage of the competition will see operators submit bids with the council deciding which applicants meet their criteria for a second round in the autumn.
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