Ladbrokes is to launch a new version of its online sportsbook this week, with plans to live stream over 30,000 sporting events on the site this year.
The bookmaker will hope that the new sportsbook will help to repair some of the damage done to the bottom line by two periods of unfavourable market conditions for sports betting providers, with the UK cold snap causing a wave of racing abandonments in December and January and Ladbrokes third quarter results being hard hit by football bets after the first 66 Premier League matches saw just four draws, compared with a five-year season average of 25% of games drawn.
The British bookmaker has spent over £3 million on internet broadcast rights to a range of sports fixtures including football from 11 countries including Italy, Portugal and Brazil and international, Europa Cup and Asian Champions League matches, as well as Wimbledon, Australian Open and ATP tennis events and the Australian Twenty20 league cricket.
With the exception of horseracing, these will be free to view for registered Ladbrokes customers, with punters obligated to place a minimum £1 bet to access racing coverage.
The site will also feature a dedicated in-play module on the homepage, with in-play betting having accounted for 43% of the firm’s online sports betting turnover excluding racing in 2009, and 38% the year before.
The launch coincides with the launch of Ladbrokes’ Italian poker offering today, Ladbrokes.it. The site, which has 35,000 registered customers, will offer free play Texas Hold 'em tournaments and plans to launch cash games when regulation allows. Ladbrokes was cleared to launch tournament poker in Italy in December.
Ladbrokes managing director of remote betting and gaming John O’Reilly said: “The site further reflects the growing importance of betting in-play and live video streaming content. This initiative, together with further development of our mobile offering and the development of new markets in Europe, will continue the growth.”
The company is the third operator this week to announce plans for a new sports betting product, with Titan Poker having launched the first ever Playtech-designed sportsbook this month and Tell Gaming to launch an Odds Matrix-powered sportsbook in March.
January 14, 2010
Estonians rejoice as online gambling legalized
A major change has just been made to Estonian gambling laws that makes it legal for players to gamble online. The impetus for the change is financial – Estonia is going to be entering the euro zone next year, and sees the taxation of online gambling operators as an outstanding potential for extra income. Estonia is currently experiencing one of the worst recessions in the EU, and the liberalization of gambling is expected to help the nation’s financial situation considerably.
The change is being made in two steps. First, effective immediately, players can begin using locally-hosted and licensed online gambling sites in Estonia. The next stage, which sees the opening of Estonia’s internet gambling industry to foreign operators, will not come into effect until 2011. This will give the regulatory bodies time to sort out licensing with foreign operators that are willing and able to comply with Estonia’s regulatory requirements. These requirements are still being drafted, but the country has made it clear that they will be precise, with rules designed to prevent corruption and money laundering.
Rumors of investments are already beginning to float around. Gambling operators may view Estonia as a gateway for the entire Baltic market. Estonia has recently seen a huge increase in advertising campaigns coming from foreign operators; now it seems these will really begin to pay off.
The Olympic Group is among the first to receive a local license. The group will be offering a Playtech-powered casino to Estonian players. Playtech Executive Manager Mor Weizer said, “We are truly glad of this opportunity to start our partnership with Olympic as the leading casino entertainment provider in Central and Eastern Europe.”
The decision to open up Estonia’s internet gambling industry comes in on the heels of the very successful Baltic Poker Festival.
The change is being made in two steps. First, effective immediately, players can begin using locally-hosted and licensed online gambling sites in Estonia. The next stage, which sees the opening of Estonia’s internet gambling industry to foreign operators, will not come into effect until 2011. This will give the regulatory bodies time to sort out licensing with foreign operators that are willing and able to comply with Estonia’s regulatory requirements. These requirements are still being drafted, but the country has made it clear that they will be precise, with rules designed to prevent corruption and money laundering.
Rumors of investments are already beginning to float around. Gambling operators may view Estonia as a gateway for the entire Baltic market. Estonia has recently seen a huge increase in advertising campaigns coming from foreign operators; now it seems these will really begin to pay off.
The Olympic Group is among the first to receive a local license. The group will be offering a Playtech-powered casino to Estonian players. Playtech Executive Manager Mor Weizer said, “We are truly glad of this opportunity to start our partnership with Olympic as the leading casino entertainment provider in Central and Eastern Europe.”
The decision to open up Estonia’s internet gambling industry comes in on the heels of the very successful Baltic Poker Festival.
Irish bookie taking bets on Sarah Palin's news gig
Two days ago, word came out that Sarah Palin will be joining FoxNews, one of the largest US television news broadcasting networks. Palin has been a key name in the US political scene since the 2008 presidential candidate John McCain chose her to be his running mate. Palin is the former governor of the state of Alaska.
Palin’s new post at Fox News is as a news commenter – a role which many feel she lacks qualifications for. One skeptic is PaddyPower, the largest online sportsbook in Ireland, which is now taking bets that she won’t last a year.
There are actually two bets being offered. The first is “When will Sarah Palin lose her Fox News position?”, and the sportsbook is giving 8:1 odds that she’s gone by September. The second wager is a bit more interesting – it’s called “First Minority Group Sarah Palin offends”, and it lists 15 different odds, from 4:1 for Gay/Lesbian/Bi-sexual to 25:1 for Jehovah's Witness. Interestingly, the site lists the Irish as one of the least likely to be offended. PaddyPower says this second bet will be settled on “the first public apology Sarah Palin makes on Fox News”.
Paddy Power is also giving 5:1 odds for the 2012 US presidency – she ties with Hillary Clinton for fourth place. Palin is also getting 50:1 odds as the next replacement for Simon Cowell on the popular television show American Idol.
While online sportsbooks obviously focus on sports matches and events, it is becoming more common for these side bets to show up, covering major world events, elections, television programs, and more. Commenting on this trend, PaddyPower spokesperson Ken Robertson says, "We did in fact offer a number of betting markets on Tiger Woods, the most popular of which was the value of the potential Woods divorce settlement."
Palin’s new post at Fox News is as a news commenter – a role which many feel she lacks qualifications for. One skeptic is PaddyPower, the largest online sportsbook in Ireland, which is now taking bets that she won’t last a year. There are actually two bets being offered. The first is “When will Sarah Palin lose her Fox News position?”, and the sportsbook is giving 8:1 odds that she’s gone by September. The second wager is a bit more interesting – it’s called “First Minority Group Sarah Palin offends”, and it lists 15 different odds, from 4:1 for Gay/Lesbian/Bi-sexual to 25:1 for Jehovah's Witness. Interestingly, the site lists the Irish as one of the least likely to be offended. PaddyPower says this second bet will be settled on “the first public apology Sarah Palin makes on Fox News”.
Paddy Power is also giving 5:1 odds for the 2012 US presidency – she ties with Hillary Clinton for fourth place. Palin is also getting 50:1 odds as the next replacement for Simon Cowell on the popular television show American Idol.
While online sportsbooks obviously focus on sports matches and events, it is becoming more common for these side bets to show up, covering major world events, elections, television programs, and more. Commenting on this trend, PaddyPower spokesperson Ken Robertson says, "We did in fact offer a number of betting markets on Tiger Woods, the most popular of which was the value of the potential Woods divorce settlement."
Australian Open embraces online gambling
The Australian Open kicks off in a few days, starting on Monday January 18 and lasting for about two weeks. Out of 32 official sponsors that the tournament has picked up this year, one comes from the world of online gambling. The sponsor is Betfair Australia, an internet bookmaker based out of Hobart.
Tennis has had a rough couple of years, and its association with gambling has been carefully watched lately. Just last week, for example, a player on the WTA Tour named Ekaterina Bychkova was approached and asked to throw a match. When officials found out, Bychkova was suspended for 30 days and fined $5,000 just because she didn’t report the incident.
The connection between the Australian Tennis Open and an online sportsbook in Australia is therefore raising some eyebrows. Betfair Australia will be prominently displayed throughout the Open, setting up its own booth and advertising its services. Open officials are being cautious, and have asked Betfair to provide details of all customers who place wagers on tournament matches this year.
The partnership, however, is offering something unique that could have an impact on the relationship between the tennis world and the gambling industry. Betfair Australia has promised to give a portion of every wager placed on the Open to Tennis Australia, a nonprofit federation that puts together the tournaments. The amount of money that Tennis Australia will make from the deal is quite small, but this high-profile commercial link could well suggest to the public that Open officials condone online gambling, or even complicit in online gambling scandals.
On the other hand, since Internet betting in Australia, like all forms of gambling in the country, is socially acceptable, the deal could also work the other way. The fact that Betfair Australia is contributing financially to the Australian Tennis Open may help to heal the bruised relationship between the sport of tennis and the gambling industry in general. As always, only time will tell.
Tennis has had a rough couple of years, and its association with gambling has been carefully watched lately. Just last week, for example, a player on the WTA Tour named Ekaterina Bychkova was approached and asked to throw a match. When officials found out, Bychkova was suspended for 30 days and fined $5,000 just because she didn’t report the incident.
The connection between the Australian Tennis Open and an online sportsbook in Australia is therefore raising some eyebrows. Betfair Australia will be prominently displayed throughout the Open, setting up its own booth and advertising its services. Open officials are being cautious, and have asked Betfair to provide details of all customers who place wagers on tournament matches this year.
The partnership, however, is offering something unique that could have an impact on the relationship between the tennis world and the gambling industry. Betfair Australia has promised to give a portion of every wager placed on the Open to Tennis Australia, a nonprofit federation that puts together the tournaments. The amount of money that Tennis Australia will make from the deal is quite small, but this high-profile commercial link could well suggest to the public that Open officials condone online gambling, or even complicit in online gambling scandals.
On the other hand, since Internet betting in Australia, like all forms of gambling in the country, is socially acceptable, the deal could also work the other way. The fact that Betfair Australia is contributing financially to the Australian Tennis Open may help to heal the bruised relationship between the sport of tennis and the gambling industry in general. As always, only time will tell.
January 13, 2010
Titan Poker launches Playtech sportsbook
Titan Poker, the leading poker room on the iPoker Network, has launched a sportsbook.
TitanBet is the first and only sports betting platform developed by Playtech, and is powered by Bet Radar, which provides users with statistics, live scores and results.
Marc Kenigsberg, marketing vice president at Titan parent company Euro Partners said: “Sports betting is one of the major growing markets in online gaming and Euro Partners is approaching it with full force.”
Titan Bet uses the same cashier as TitanPoker, meaning that deposits can be used to bet on either platform. It will be available in German, French and Spanish by the end of January, with Danish, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish language versions to follow.
TitanBet is the first and only sports betting platform developed by Playtech, and is powered by Bet Radar, which provides users with statistics, live scores and results.
Marc Kenigsberg, marketing vice president at Titan parent company Euro Partners said: “Sports betting is one of the major growing markets in online gaming and Euro Partners is approaching it with full force.”
Titan Bet uses the same cashier as TitanPoker, meaning that deposits can be used to bet on either platform. It will be available in German, French and Spanish by the end of January, with Danish, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish language versions to follow.
UK cold snap hits racing bets
Bookmakers with major racing markets including Betfair, Coral and Ladbrokes have been hit hard by Britain’s cold snap, the December figures from top odds comparison site Oddschecker reveal, with the weather having caused a wave of racing abandonments.
The data from the site, which boast more than 600,000 unique users a month, has been seen exclusively by EGRmagazine.com, and shows racing cancellations having diminished Betfair’s strong lead in referrals from the site over Bet365 and having allowed SkyBet to overtake Coral.
The abandonments also saw Ladbrokes lose the ground it won on Oddschecker in November, when its traditional strength in horseracing saw it overtake Stan James and arch rival William Hill.
Oddschecker commercial manager Simon Miller said: “The gap at the top has shrunk to its smallest ever level. Bet365 kept its market share static but Betfair saw its share slide by 1.2% and now only stand 0.4% ahead of Bet365. Betfair always perform strongly in months full of racing but with abandonments around, especially on Boxing Day, this blunted Betfair’s strongest weapon and saw it fall back.
“On the flip side, Skybet used this opportunity to jump above Coral for the first time since June. Relatively weak in racing without Best Odds Guaranteed, Skybet weren’t harmed as much as the others and its strength in football saw its market share rally. As abandonments continue into January, it will be interesting to see which bookmakers have come out on top in testing times.”
With the cold weather intensifying this month and with a new cold snap hitting Wales, south east and south west England only last night, the impact on racing-heavy bookmakers is likely to be even greater in January.
Miller added: “Attracting racing customers in January has been more competitive than ever, but bookmakers who are competitive on markets such as specials, darts and golf could see their market share on Oddschecker increase.”
The data from the site, which boast more than 600,000 unique users a month, has been seen exclusively by EGRmagazine.com, and shows racing cancellations having diminished Betfair’s strong lead in referrals from the site over Bet365 and having allowed SkyBet to overtake Coral.
The abandonments also saw Ladbrokes lose the ground it won on Oddschecker in November, when its traditional strength in horseracing saw it overtake Stan James and arch rival William Hill.
Oddschecker commercial manager Simon Miller said: “The gap at the top has shrunk to its smallest ever level. Bet365 kept its market share static but Betfair saw its share slide by 1.2% and now only stand 0.4% ahead of Bet365. Betfair always perform strongly in months full of racing but with abandonments around, especially on Boxing Day, this blunted Betfair’s strongest weapon and saw it fall back.
“On the flip side, Skybet used this opportunity to jump above Coral for the first time since June. Relatively weak in racing without Best Odds Guaranteed, Skybet weren’t harmed as much as the others and its strength in football saw its market share rally. As abandonments continue into January, it will be interesting to see which bookmakers have come out on top in testing times.”
With the cold weather intensifying this month and with a new cold snap hitting Wales, south east and south west England only last night, the impact on racing-heavy bookmakers is likely to be even greater in January.
Miller added: “Attracting racing customers in January has been more competitive than ever, but bookmakers who are competitive on markets such as specials, darts and golf could see their market share on Oddschecker increase.”
January 12, 2010
Ladbrokes CEO Chris Bell to go
Ladbrokes is seeking a new chief executive, Chris Bell having decided to step down this year after almost two decades at the British bookmaker.
Bell, who joined Ladbrokes in 1991, will leave the British bookmaker in the summer.
Ladbrokes chairman Peter Erskine said: “Chris Bell has made an invaluable contribution to the growth and development of Ladbrokes during his 20 years with the company, nine-years as chief executive.
“It has been agreed between the board and Chris that this is an appropriate time to seek new leadership for the business. The Board is currently engaged in the search for a new chief executive to fully capitalise on Ladbrokes’ brand strength and position the company for a new era of profitable growth.”
Bell joined Ladrbokes in 1991 from drinks company Allied Domecq and became managing director in 1995. He became chief executive when Ladbrokes was split from the Hilton International hotels group in February 2006, after serving as chief executive of Ladbrokes Worldwide.
Bell has been criticised over the past 12 months for overseeing a difficult period that included a heavily-discounted rights issue in October last year that led to a wave of short-selling of Ladbrokes stock. He took the decision to move the Ladbrokes online sports book offshore to Gibraltar in November after years of lobbying the UK government over gambling taxes.
Bell, who joined Ladbrokes in 1991, will leave the British bookmaker in the summer.
Ladbrokes chairman Peter Erskine said: “Chris Bell has made an invaluable contribution to the growth and development of Ladbrokes during his 20 years with the company, nine-years as chief executive.
“It has been agreed between the board and Chris that this is an appropriate time to seek new leadership for the business. The Board is currently engaged in the search for a new chief executive to fully capitalise on Ladbrokes’ brand strength and position the company for a new era of profitable growth.”
Bell joined Ladrbokes in 1991 from drinks company Allied Domecq and became managing director in 1995. He became chief executive when Ladbrokes was split from the Hilton International hotels group in February 2006, after serving as chief executive of Ladbrokes Worldwide.
Bell has been criticised over the past 12 months for overseeing a difficult period that included a heavily-discounted rights issue in October last year that led to a wave of short-selling of Ladbrokes stock. He took the decision to move the Ladbrokes online sports book offshore to Gibraltar in November after years of lobbying the UK government over gambling taxes.
January 11, 2010
BetOnSports chief exec Carruthers jailed
Former BetOnSports boss David Carruthers has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in the business offering online gambling to Americans.
Carruthers, 52, the London-listed business' one-time chief executive, was sentenced in a federal court in Missouri after having earlier pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.
He was arrested in Texas in July 2006, and had agreed to cooperate with US authorities for leniency.
The sentencing "concludes a lengthy investigative and prosecution effort by several law enforcement agencies," the Justice Department said in a statement.
BetOnSports was founded in 1995, and by the time of its float on London’s Alternative Index Market (AIM) in 2004 had nearly one million registered customers. The company ceased operations in 2006 following Carruthers’ arrest and the suspension of trading in the US.
Carruthers sentencing follows that of BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan, who was jailed for more than four years and ordered to hand over more than $43m (£26m) in illegal earnings in November for his part in the business, after earlier admitting conspiring to violate the federal racketeering and other US laws at the US District Court in St. Louis in August.
The plea was widely expected after Kaplan was left as the only executive of the sportsbook facing trial after his brother, Neil Kaplan, and sister Lori Kaplan Multz pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy and the illegal transmission of bets in June 2009, in what was expected to have been a prelude to a deal with Kaplan himself, with former colleague Penelope Tucker pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting wire wager act violations along with the pair.
He was arrested in Texas in July 2006, and had agreed to cooperate with US authorities for leniency.
The sentencing "concludes a lengthy investigative and prosecution effort by several law enforcement agencies," the Justice Department said in a statement.
BetOnSports was founded in 1995, and by the time of its float on London’s Alternative Index Market (AIM) in 2004 had nearly one million registered customers. The company ceased operations in 2006 following Carruthers’ arrest and the suspension of trading in the US.
Carruthers sentencing follows that of BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan, who was jailed for more than four years and ordered to hand over more than $43m (£26m) in illegal earnings in November for his part in the business, after earlier admitting conspiring to violate the federal racketeering and other US laws at the US District Court in St. Louis in August.
The plea was widely expected after Kaplan was left as the only executive of the sportsbook facing trial after his brother, Neil Kaplan, and sister Lori Kaplan Multz pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy and the illegal transmission of bets in June 2009, in what was expected to have been a prelude to a deal with Kaplan himself, with former colleague Penelope Tucker pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting wire wager act violations along with the pair.
Danske Spil chooses PartyGaming to launch online games in Denmark
PartyGaming, the world’s leading listed online gaming company, today announces an exclusive, five-year agreement to provide an online gaming platform for poker and casino games in Denmark for Danske Spil A/S (‘Danske Spil’).
Controlled by the Danish Government, The Danske Spil Group is one of the largest betting and gaming organisations in Europe with DKK 10,955 million of turnover in 2008. Offering a variety of gaming products in Denmark including the national lottery, numbers games, instant games as well as gambling on machines, Danske Spil has also established a large online gaming business and already has over 500,000 registered online customers.
In 2009 the Danish Government published draft legislation for a partially liberalised gaming market in Denmark that is expected to become law in 2011. If adopted, poker and casino will be among the games subjected to open competition in the Danish market. Whilst Danske Spil has strengthened its position in a number of online gaming categories such as bingo, sports betting and casual games with strong growth in the number of players and revenues, it recognised the need to join forces with a leading online gaming company in order to achieve its potential.
Over the past seven months, Danske Spil has screened the market for providers of services and potential online partners that specialise in poker and casino games. As part of its selection criteria, Danske Spil was determined to find a supplier that matched its own high standards for product quality, security and ethical requirements. PartyGaming passed all of these pre-requisites and is set to create a new strategic alliance with Danske Spil in Denmark. It is expected that the commercial terms between both companies will be finalised within the next few weeks.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of PartyGaming said:
“This is a landmark B2B deal for PartyGaming and validates our strategy to become a leading provider of B2B services to both corporates and governments around the world. Danske Spil is widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading gambling businesses, one that is pre-eminent in the Danish market. We are delighted that Danske Spil has recognised our expertise and high standards of business practice and we look forward to building a significant and profitable enterprise as soon as the newly regulated Danish online gaming market opens.”
H.C. Madsen, CEO at Danske Spil, said:
"With some of the world’s leading products in online poker and casino as well as a large international customer base, PartyGaming is definitely a strong business partner for Danske Spil. Combining this with Danske Spil’s unique and strong position in the Danish market with more than 500,000 Danish online customers will guarantee that together we will deliver a highly attractive customer experience to players in Denmark."
Controlled by the Danish Government, The Danske Spil Group is one of the largest betting and gaming organisations in Europe with DKK 10,955 million of turnover in 2008. Offering a variety of gaming products in Denmark including the national lottery, numbers games, instant games as well as gambling on machines, Danske Spil has also established a large online gaming business and already has over 500,000 registered online customers.
In 2009 the Danish Government published draft legislation for a partially liberalised gaming market in Denmark that is expected to become law in 2011. If adopted, poker and casino will be among the games subjected to open competition in the Danish market. Whilst Danske Spil has strengthened its position in a number of online gaming categories such as bingo, sports betting and casual games with strong growth in the number of players and revenues, it recognised the need to join forces with a leading online gaming company in order to achieve its potential.
Over the past seven months, Danske Spil has screened the market for providers of services and potential online partners that specialise in poker and casino games. As part of its selection criteria, Danske Spil was determined to find a supplier that matched its own high standards for product quality, security and ethical requirements. PartyGaming passed all of these pre-requisites and is set to create a new strategic alliance with Danske Spil in Denmark. It is expected that the commercial terms between both companies will be finalised within the next few weeks.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of PartyGaming said:
“This is a landmark B2B deal for PartyGaming and validates our strategy to become a leading provider of B2B services to both corporates and governments around the world. Danske Spil is widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading gambling businesses, one that is pre-eminent in the Danish market. We are delighted that Danske Spil has recognised our expertise and high standards of business practice and we look forward to building a significant and profitable enterprise as soon as the newly regulated Danish online gaming market opens.”
H.C. Madsen, CEO at Danske Spil, said:
"With some of the world’s leading products in online poker and casino as well as a large international customer base, PartyGaming is definitely a strong business partner for Danske Spil. Combining this with Danske Spil’s unique and strong position in the Danish market with more than 500,000 Danish online customers will guarantee that together we will deliver a highly attractive customer experience to players in Denmark."
January 08, 2010
Spain's regulators to debate draft egaming laws
Spain is on the cusp of publishing new draft laws to regulate online gaming.
The Sectorial Gaming Commission, a grouping of the gaming authorities of the country’s 17 autonomous regions and its two federal gaming authorities, the State Lotteries Monopoly and National Gaming Board, is expected next week to call a meeting to discuss the draft regulation.
This follows a wait of more than three years for the draft rules to be published.
However the fate of any draft gaming regulation in Europe's fifth largest economy will be decided by tax provisions in the proposed rules, with regional regulators likely to veto national laws in favour of attempts at local regulation if the national schemes does not give them a large enough share of tax revenue compared to federal government.
As a result of both the protracted wait and doubts over their potential tax share, some autonomous regions, such as the Canary Islands, are believed to have already initiated the drafting of regulation locally.
Santiago Asensi, a gaming lawyer at law firm Asensi Abogados, said: “They know it doesn’t make any sense for Spain to regulate online gaming 17 times over, but it’s a question of money. If money doesn’t arrive proportionally [to the regions], then there will be barriers to national regulation.”
The draft laws will not contain specific details on taxation, which is likely to lead to heated debate as the regulation takes shape over 2010.
Asensi added that Autonomous Regions’ freedom to regulate online gaming is “a grey area,” as although they possess the authority to regulate gaming within their own region, it is unclear under which circumstances online gaming is considered to cross or not to cross regional boundaries.
The Sectorial Gaming Commission, a grouping of the gaming authorities of the country’s 17 autonomous regions and its two federal gaming authorities, the State Lotteries Monopoly and National Gaming Board, is expected next week to call a meeting to discuss the draft regulation.
This follows a wait of more than three years for the draft rules to be published.
However the fate of any draft gaming regulation in Europe's fifth largest economy will be decided by tax provisions in the proposed rules, with regional regulators likely to veto national laws in favour of attempts at local regulation if the national schemes does not give them a large enough share of tax revenue compared to federal government.
As a result of both the protracted wait and doubts over their potential tax share, some autonomous regions, such as the Canary Islands, are believed to have already initiated the drafting of regulation locally.
Santiago Asensi, a gaming lawyer at law firm Asensi Abogados, said: “They know it doesn’t make any sense for Spain to regulate online gaming 17 times over, but it’s a question of money. If money doesn’t arrive proportionally [to the regions], then there will be barriers to national regulation.”
The draft laws will not contain specific details on taxation, which is likely to lead to heated debate as the regulation takes shape over 2010.
Asensi added that Autonomous Regions’ freedom to regulate online gaming is “a grey area,” as although they possess the authority to regulate gaming within their own region, it is unclear under which circumstances online gaming is considered to cross or not to cross regional boundaries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)