Austria’s Radical Gambling Reforms
Politically motivated changes to the Austrian gaming landscape will greatly impact all sectors and anoint a new independent body to control gambling.
Struggling to manage the country’s pandemic response, Austrian politicians seeks to impose their authority on the country’s gambling sector.
AUSTRIA LEGISLATION
On February 24, the Austrian government announced its intentions to conduct a root and branch review of the gambling industry in the country, specifically focusing upon severing the connection between the Ministry of Finance and direct control of the gaming sector.
Te government has also signalled that the reforms will introduce advertising restrictions on the gaming industry, impose DNS and IP blocking of websites, increase taxation upon all sectors of the industry and proposed the end of Video Lottery gaming in Austria, once the current licence expires in 2027. Increased police powers to close premises will form part of the new measures, alongside the introduction of single bet limits and maximum loss per hour for the protection of players.
Control of the gambling industry in Austria will pass to a new independent body, similar in remit and authority to the UK’s Gambling Commission. A draft of the new gambling reform act is expected in April, with the government fast-tracking the legislation for
Entain extends deal with Scientific Games’ OpenGaming platform
UK
Scientific Games has secured a new three-year contract extension with Entain to continue powering the sports betting and gaming group with its OpenGaming ecosystem.
Entain’s brands, including Ladbrokes, Coral, bwin, PartyCasino and Gala, will utilise the SG’s content aggregation platform through to 2024, retaining access to a library of over 3,000 titles.
Scientific Games was a key partner in helping the group’s brands relaunch into Germany in accordance with the toleration regime and in preparation for the new regulations due later this year. Te company will also continue to support Entain’s push within regulated markets including Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the UK.
adoption by the end of the year. Te final change, but potentially also one of the most disruptive, is the appointment of Austria’s National Audit Office to investigate companies in the sector in which the Austrian State has a major shareholding. Such an investigation would most certainly target Casino Austria, with the expectation that the outcome of the public audit would result in the reduction of the State’s holding in the company.
Te Austrian Association for Betting and Gambling (OVWG) criticised the lack of transparency and information from politicians as they look to modernise the legal situation in Austria and asked for an open dialogue to be established with the industry. Te association has demanded open discourse on gambling reform for the industry, but welcomes the discussions initiated in the Council of Minister on a gaming reform as a long overdue step to modernise the legal situation in Austria, but said the focus must be on a modern licensing system and not on sanctioning mechanisms such as the planned DNS blocking.
Valery Gelfman, CPO at Entain, said: “Over a number of years, OpenGaming has been a key component of our online gaming offer, helping to establish it as the world’s biggest and best casino portfolio. Extending our partnership with Scientific Games will enable us to continue to build our marketshare in regulated markets in Europe and beyond. We’re committed to OpenGaming and look forward to delivering even more exciting content.”
Dylan Slaney, SVP Gaming, Digital at Scientific Games, said: “We’re delighted the group has entrusted OpenGaming for a further three years. We have an extensive roadmap of new titles that Entain brands will receive over the coming months through our content aggregation platform. With the robust regulatory tools embedded in OpenGaming, we’re in the perfect position to provide support for Entain it grows in regulated markets.”
UK
EveryMatrix has extended its casino content development and distribution in the UK through its subsidiary Spearhead Studios. Following the company’s request, the UK Gambling Commission amended EveryMatrix’s licence to include Casino Host activities. Te new amendment allows EveryMatrix to cater game content to online casinos operating in the United Kingdom. Spearhead Studios, the gaming development company within the group, is set to make available its portfolio of titles to operators and plans to add new titles designed with the UK market in mind.
Mathias Larsson, Managing Director at Spearhead Studios, says: “Te team here at Spearhead is dedicated to making the studios’ games widely available in Europe and beyond. We’re excited to get into the UK market and I’m looking forward to making new business connections with operators looking to source exciting titles for their players.”
NETHERLANDS – During last year’s Covid period Signs4U invested in expanding its offices and completely renewed the production area with the latest technologies. A new high-speed milling machine was installed and the overall production area got a complete update to be ready for the future. The roof was covered with solar panels to produce green power for the facility. As a result, Signs4U is now completely carbon neutral.
SPAIN – R. Franco Digital, R. Franco Group’s digital division, has reached a long-term agreement to supply its games to Sisal Group, enhancing the product offering available to its customers in Spain. The deal gives Sisal Group’s Spanish customers access to R. Franco’s catalogue of popular titles including Time Lab, Fortune Jungle and Book of Fruits, with further titles from the existing portfolio and that are currently in development set to be added in the coming months.
Cecilio Santiago, General Manager Sisal Spain, commented on the agreement with R. Franco: "We are delighted with this agreement, which will enrich Sisal’s varied current offer in Spain and strengthen our market positioning. We understand the need to personalise the casino content for the Spanish market and we know that R. Franco Digital will definitely give us games the Spanish customers would like to play."
UK – SIS has appointed Simon Johnson as its new Chair. Mr. Johnson brings with him a wealth of senior leadership experience in the commercial sports and media sector, currently holding the role of
Chair of the Rugby Football League and Non- executive Director at HW Fisher, the top 25 UK chartered accountancy firm.
SPAIN – Casinos, bingo halls and slot halls have reopened in Catalonia following an improvement in the control of the spread of coronavirus. The venues, which have been shut since October 31, are limited to 30 per cent of the venue’s capacity and must close by 10pm. The move follows a meeting with executives from the Catalan Civil Protection Plan (Procicat), Alba Vergès Minister of Health, Josep Maria Argimon, Secretary of Public Health; and Miquel Sàmper, Minister of the Interior. However, in Valencia, hospitality venues have been allowed to reopen while gaming venues have been told to remain shut.
SWEDEN – LeoVegas is set to acquire Expekt from the Betclic Group for €5m. Expekt is an established sports betting brand in Sweden and the Nordic countries, strengthening LeoVegas’ brand portfolio in Scandinavian sports betting.
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P13
Wire EMEA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146
