Betting on Italian Football: Is It Still Worth a Business?

By Quirino Mancini, Partner, SCM LAWYERS

At a time when Italian football is offering the world its worst face both on and off the pitch as shown also by the recent street riots between Rome FC and Naples FC during the Italian Cup final that took place in Rome in early May, one asks himself if investing on Serie A clubs is still a wise and worth business.  The instinctive answer will probably be negative for many bearing in mind that Italy has now plummeted in the official UEFA ranking, unlike all other first-tier European leagues where the trend of average crowds is upwards, the number of Italian supporters going to the stadium is constantly shrinking, hooliganism and racism are thriving in most football arenas of the Peninsula, and the vast majority of the facilities (starting from the Rome Olympic decrepit stadium) is old, run down and quite unfit for the clubs to be able to offer proper corporate hospitality packages to their sponsors.  … Continue Reading

EiG 2014

Host: Clarion Gaming

Date: 21 – 23 October 2014

Location: Berlin

http://www.eigexpo.com/

Revised Dutch remote gaming bill notified to brussels ahead of parliamentary process

By Frank Tolboom and Dr. Alan Littler, Kalff Katz & Franssen Attorneys-at-law

Sooner than expected the Dutch government notified, on 5 March 2014, a revised version of the remote gaming bill (“notified bill”) to the European Commission (“EC”). The standstill period ends on 6 June 2014, although given the legislative process ahead the bill will not be adopted before this date anyway. It is expected that the bill will enter into the political arena in The Hague just before the  summer and plenary debates will follow later this year or even in the beginning of next year.

At the time of writing the EC has not made an English translation available of the 170+ page bill and the accompanying explanatory memorandum. Therefore, this article will set out some of the key features and changes as incorporated by the Ministry of Security and Justice (“Ministry”) following the consultation period which resulted in almost 90 submissions from various stakeholders. On a final note, we will have a look into our crystal ball and discuss next steps, including an estimated legislative timetable until licensing commences.

Read the whole article in European Gaming Lawyer here.

World GES 2014

Meet the CEOs from the world’s leading online and landbased gaming operators

Host: Terrapinn

Date: 8 – 10 July 2014

Location: Barcelona

http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/wges/

Swiss Government Publishes Draft Gaming Act

By Dr. Simon Planzer, Planzer Law

Gaming operators have been eagerly awaiting news from Switzerland for quite a while. Now, the Swiss government finally published the first draft of a new Swiss gaming act. It contains significant changes to the current system, most notably the licensing of online games and the permission of poker tournaments outside of casinos. However, in the current version, only the land-based casino operators already established in Switzerland would be able to legally offer such games. The road to the final version of the gaming act is still long and no doubt will see the influence of various pressure groups. … Continue Reading