Lottery Incumbents to be Investigated
Te Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in favour of a European Gaming and Betting Association complaint dating back to 2016.
EGBA: “We welcome the CJEU’s ruling to annul the Commission decision, and find in EGBA’s favour, but frankly speaking we are not surprised by it.”
THE NETHERLANDS LEGISLATION
UK - Britain’s horseracing industry has launched a petition urging the UK Government to halt planned legislation which would subject bettors who lose as little as £1.37 a day to “intrusive” affordability
checks.Proposals for two tiers of checks were set out in April of this year when the Government published its Gambling White Paper.
The first tier would be for those who lose as little as £125 in 30 days or £500 in a year to be subject to “frictionless” background checks using “publicly available data”. The second would result in more detailed scrutiny for bettors with net losses of £1,000 within 24 hours or £2,000 in 90 days. These checks would involve credit reference agencies in the first instance, with bookmakers also required to ask customers for personal documentation such as bank statements and proof of earnings.
The petition launched on behalf of Britain’s horseracing industry was initiated by Nevin Truesdale, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, the UK’s largest racecourse operator. The petition, entitled ‘Stop the implementation of betting affordability/financial risk checks’, has received over 90,000 signatures, with 100,000 ensuring debate.
MALTA – Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has announced former SBTech and DraftKings executive Andrew Cochrane as its new Chief Business Officer (CBO) for Platform & Sportsbook, marking a significant
step in the tech providers’ growth plans.
Teaming up alongside GiG’s newly appointed CEO for Platform & Sportsbook, Richard Carter for a second time, the pair will look to power growth for GiG’s innovative product suite with new partnerships in growth markets worldwide, and to cement its position as a market leader for turnkey solutions.
SWEDEN – Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has welcomed proposals to increase consumer protection and combat crime. In the referral that is now being submitted to the Council on Legislation, it is proposed that telemarketing of gambling should require written approval and it is also proposed to impose higher fines on gambling companies that violate the Money Laundering Act.
It is proposed that gambling companies with a Swedish licence should have the right to access personal data about finances and health that players themselves have provided to counteract excessive gambling. The amendments are proposed to enter into force on 1 April 2024.
P14 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Te Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that the European Commission must investigate possible unlawful financial advantages resulting from the way in which the Dutch State granted licences to incumbent lotteries in the Netherlands.
In 2020, the Commission concluded that a formal EU investigation into the Dutch licensing procedure was not necessary, stating that the procedure did not provide incumbent lotteries with illegal state aid, and subsequently closed the original complaint filed by European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) back in 2016.
EGBA appealed the Commission’s decision to the CJEU in March 2021, asserting that the renewal of multiple lottery licences of incumbent holders, without consideration at market rate and without an open, transparent, and non- discriminatory licence allocation process, constituted illegal state aid. EGBA argued that the Commission’s refusal to investigate the case infringed upon its rights under EU law.
Te ruling saw CJEU side with EGBA, confirming the infringement of its rights and annulling the Commission’s decision, concluding that: “Due to the complete absence of appropriate investigation by the Commission at the preliminary examination stage of whether the contested measure conferred an indirect
advantage on those bodies, while the remittance of part of the proceeds generated by the activity of the licence holders to bodies that serve the common interest designated by those licences constituted one of the main features of the legislation at issue, the fact that this issue was not examined in the contested decision does not make it possible to rule out the existence of serious difficulties in that connection.”
According to EU law, if there is any doubt about the possible existence of illegal state aid, the Commission is obligated to initiate an investigation. Consequently, the Commission will now have to commence a formal state aid investigation to determine whether illegal state aid was indeed involved. Te CJEU also ordered the Commission to pay EGBA’s costs for its appeal at the CJEU.
Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA, said: “We welcome the CJEU’s ruling to annul the Commission decision, and find in EGBA’s favour, but frankly speaking we are not surprised by it. Te facts and data of this case raised serious doubts about the compliance of the Dutch licensing procedure with EU law, which should have warranted the Commission to open a formal state aid investigation to address those doubts. We are confident the Commission will now carry out a thorough investigation, and we are ready to provide any necessary information.”
Bosnia Quixant partners with Elas to fulfil EMEA demand
Quixant has partnered with Bosnia-based Elas for the exclusive manufacturing of its Quantum and Qinetic cabinet, kiosk and betting terminal solutions to the EMEA market.
Powered by market-leading hardware platforms, the solutions leverage the benefits of embedded hardware platforms and extensive sector specific expertise. With the Quantum and Qinetic range being successfully deployed in the US market, the natural progression for Quixant was to develop a strategic EMEA partnership to fulfil growing demand from this region.
Reflecting on the partnership, Leo Bateman, VP of Business Development – EMEA at Quixant, commented: “We are extremely
pleased to finalise the partnership with Elas. Our integrated cabinet and kiosk roadmap is a fundamental part of Quixant’s future technology strategy, and a major objective for us was identifying and selecting a manufacturing partner who shared our engrained ethos of quality, reliability, and sustainability so we can provide an enhanced product and service offering to our EMEA customers.
Elas’ R&D Manager, Bojan Knezevic, added: “It is great to see the partnership move forward, with the first product prototypes to enter the market imminently, where the recipients of these products will soon be able to realise the benefits of this collaboration.”
Italy
Blueprint Gaming has expanded upon its presence in the Italian iGaming market after securing a content distribution agreement with
NetBet.it.
Te new partnership covers the integration of Blueprint’s vast portfolio of online and mobile slots, supporting the operator’s ambitions to deliver digital entertainment for its fast- growing customer base.
NetBet Italy players will now gain access to releases from some of Blueprint’s most iconic game franchises including Fishin’ Frenzy, King Kong Cash and Eye of Horus, as well as popular branded titles such as Te Goonies, ted and D10S Maradona.
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