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LICENSE FEES TO RISE IN ROMANIA
The Romanian government is seeking to fill its coffers with online gaming taxes, but first it’s changing fees for land-based Romania - Legislation
Romania is planning to legalise online gambling as to looks to reduce its public deficit. However, the existing land-based industry is bracing itself for a huge increase in licensing fees.
UKRAINE – NEW LAW UNDER CONSIDERATION According to meetings held at the ICE show in London with representatives of the Ukrainian gaming industry, the coun- try’s government is considering the opening of the gaming market in Ukraine with the creation of a new Gaming Act. The new law is said to be in its embryonic stages at present with no details as yet formalised, but discussions are taking place and it appears that there is political will to demolish the country’s five-years old gambling ban, which was imposed in May 2009. One aspect that has been repeatedly mentioned and is sure to form a major component of the new law will be the regulation of the online gaming sector in Ukraine. While there are undoubtedly major issues for the Ukraine govern- ment to be dealing with at present, one of the major influ- ences in the reinstatement of gambling in Ukraine is the need to refill the state coffers.
ITALY – ABIATTI APPOINTS DAVID HEAP AS ADVISOR It was announced by Giorgio Abbiati the CEO of Abbiati Casino Equipment, just days prior to the ICE show in London, that following extensive discussions the Italian manufacturer and distributor has retained the services of David Heap as non-executive Special Strategic Advisor and Consultant to the Company.
Mr. Heap was the former Group Chief Executive of TCSJohnHuxley for 16 years until his retirement in 2012.
AUSTRIA – GREENTUBE LAUNCHES STAKELOGIC Greentube, a leading developer and provider of cutting edge iGaming entertainment solutions and its parent company Novomatic today announced the establishment of Stakelogic– a company specialising in the development and (sub) licensing of the newest, outstanding and high-end 3D HTML5 casino games for the iGaming market. Stakelogic has been set up under the auspices of Greentube Internet Entertainment Solutions GmbH, the interactive unit of the highly respected Novomatic Group.
"With a team of stand-out slot design visionaries, Stakelogic is set to bring a whole new dimension of interactive gaming entertainment to global iGaming operators. This new approach to game design is set to be a game changer for both players and operators." said Thomas Graf, CEO of Greentube.
"Through the establishment of Stakelogic, Greentube will conquer the world of online gaming even further by providing the market with expectation surpassing games covering the coolest designs, the most advanced themes and incredibly creative and innovative game features online: features that players have not seen before.” said Marco Tramontina, Project Manager at Stakelogic. “Stakelogic is all about inno- vation and revolutionising the online gaming industry, thus making a perfect match with Greentube.”
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Romania’s gambling market generates around €800m a year. It brought in €150m in tax last year. The number of casinos in Romania has dropped from 22 six years ago to just five. Average visita- tion has dropped from 400 to 50. There are more slot machines now than in 2009 though with that figure increasing from 60,000 to 72,000.
Classed as one of the poorest of the 28 EU mem- ber states, Romania’s government is hopeful that opening up the online gambling sector will boost tax revenues by over 60 per cent.
Cristinela Nistor, Head of ONJN, Romania’s gam- bling regulator, said: “We estimate that online gaming will bring in 100 million euros in direct taxes in 2015. The new law aims to increase public revenue and stimulate the market, and at the
same time harmonise Romanian legislation with European norms.”
The industry though claims that the cost of oper- ating is too high. Land-based licenses will demand an annual fee of up to €180,000. Slot operators will see a huge increase in licensing from €5,700 to €20,000 each year. A ‘sin tax’ will also be imposed adding an additional €1,000 to €5,000 depending on revenues to fund a new problem gambling foundation.
Alexandru Debrezeni, Director of the Romanian Bookmakers association, said: “Since the crisis the appetite of Romanians for gambling has dropped sharply. These measures will lead to a contraction in the market and won’t bring in any extra rev- enue.”
Georgia The Georgian Gaming Congress has taken in Tbilisi, a bright professional event of recent years in the regional gaming industry. On February 20, 2015, the leaders of the largest casinos in Georgia, CIS and European regions, hotel and tourism companies, equipment manufacturers, bookmakers, online operators, junket operators, foreign investors and officials came together to discuss the current situation and future development of the regional gaming business. The event included an exhibition area of local and international equipment and technology suppliers, a conference and a business-tour to the largest casinos in Tbilisi. Shangri La Tbilisi casino, a business unit of Storm International, is an official sponsor of the Congress, and also hosted the closing dinner, which took place at the casino’s restaurant right after the business-tour.
GameAccount Network reveal 135bn virtual credits played
UK GameAccount Network, the leading developer and supplier of enterprise-level B2B gaming software and online gaming con- tent, has given some context to the popularity of its Simulated Gaming product with news that 135 billion virtual credits were wagered in December. The announcement comes in the week prior to GameAccount's appearance at ICE (stand N2-310) where it is anticipating signifi- cant interest in the social gaming product which allows players to purchase virtual credits enabling them to play their favourite slot and table games on a website which may be connected to a land-based casino.
Commenting on the level of
with all of the associated benefits of increase patron-visitation on- property and the generation of meaningful levels of new income from an online channel.
“It's perfect for land-based casi- nos that want to offer a form of online gaming in an environment prior to real money gaming legis- lation being in place."
interest Commercial Director Daniel Lindsay (pictured above) said: "I have gone on the record as saying that Simulated Gaming has the potential to be the online phenomenon of 2015 and the interest we are receiving from land-based casino operators ahead of ICE is substantial. It (Simulated Gaming) allows oper- ators to effectively lift their casi- no floor and represent it online,
He added: "What's important for a casino licence holder is that they do nothing to jeopardise their licence, so we work with the operators and regulators to ensure that Simulated Gaming is fully understood as a proposition and also comply with any harm minimisation measures which need to be included in the offer- ing. What's critical to remember with Simulated Gaming is that it is 'Gaming,' not 'Gambling' and there's a fundamental difference there."
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