A damning indictment, disgrace, hammering: Disastrous verdict on the draft for the new German gambling treaty – Brussels rejects proposal submitted by the Minister Presidents

By Andreas Schultheis

Brussels/Kiel/Munich, July 2011 – What had to happen, happened: On eleven pages, the European Commission has torn to pieces the proposal for a new inter-state treaty on gambling (GlüStV) submitted by 15 federal states (E 15) – not including Schleswig-Holstein. Brussels criticises the E 15 draft in particular because it provides for seven time-restricted national licences from 2012 onwards, which at best constitutes a conditional opening of the sports betting market. Until today, the reason for the number of seven licences has remained a well-kept secret of the conference of Minister Presidents and their gambling advisors. Furthermore, the draft provides for a non-competitive licensing duty of 16.66 per cent of the stakes, on top of the normal value added tax.
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The season fixture list as a protected copyright – Will liberalisation flush licence fees into the professional leagues’ pockets?

By Yasmin Farhumand, German Lawyer at Hambach & Hambach Law Firm

It is generally known that the sports betting market will be opened at the beginning of 2012. The only issue which is still being discussed is how this is going to take place. In the meantime, the German football league (DFL) does not want to leave its fate in the hands of the 15 states and the draft submitted by them (E 15 draft). If the DFL has its way, the Bundesliga fixtures will, from January 2012 onwards, no longer be available for everybody for commercial utilisation, but only for those who pay a licence fee to the DFL. By doing so, the DFL intends to prevent the sports betting providers from using the Bundesliga fixture list free of charge as a basis for their bets. The DFL is of the opinion that the fixture list is subject to copyright protection. Others hold the same view: The national basketball and handball leagues have now followed suit and are claiming their share of the profits from sports betting.
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Online Gambling in Belgium – Recent Developments

by Thibault Verbiest and Tatjana Klaeser

General Introduction
On 3 December 2009 the Belgian Parliament adopted the new Belgian Gaming Act, entered into force on 1 January 2011 even though its implementing provisions (Royal Decrees of execution) had not been adopted given that the Belgian government was outgoing.

Further to the new Gaming Act, online gambling licenses may only be issued to land-based operators already operating in Belgium under an A, B or F1 license (the so-called “offline requirement”). They are therefore referred to by the legislator as “supplementary licenses”. Additionally, online gambling servers are required to be located in Belgium. … Continue Reading

Viewpoint – Licensing: Jurisdiction for individual or multiple geographical regions? Part 1 and 2

In this month’s Viewpoint, Becky Liggero sits down with Quirino Mancini from Italy, a newly licensed EU member state jurisdiction, and Gayle Kimberly from Malta, an established jurisdiction that accepts players from around the globe. They talk about the gray areas of the igaming industry regulation around the world as well as the challenges and hopes the industry is facing. … Continue Reading

The Road to Regulation

The Netherlands takes some early steps towards the regulation of online gaming.

by  Dr. Alan Littler, Gaming Lawyer at VMW Taxand Amsterdam and Tilburg University, the Netherlands.

2011 is proving to be the year in which the established regulatory architecture for all permitted forms of gaming is undergoing a substantial redesign. One of the key elements in what can be considered, in many respects, to be a ‘back to the drawing board’ approach is the proposed introduction of a regulatory framework for online gaming. Whilst the plans of a former Minister of Justice to permit the incumbent casino monopolist to provide online gaming services for a trial period of three years were rejected by the upper house of parliament in April 2008, a change in government in October 2010 has given renewed impetus to efforts to provide a regulatory framework for online gaming.

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