Euroslot-Sep08-pg22-23 8/21/08 9:36 AM Page 23
www.euroslot-online.com LEGISLATION
GREECE SLOVAKIA
The European Court of Justice in Case C-65/05 of 26 Last year, each adult Slovak spent an average of almost
October 2006 ruled that the Greek laws which ban the Sk12,000 on lotteries, gambling, and similar activities. This
installation and operation of all gaming machines violate a number of is an annual increase of about Sk2,000.
Internal Market principles. Out of every Sk100, gamblers got back Sk74, with wins totalling nearly
In response, the Greek government has come up with a draft amendment Sk40 billion. This means that people gambled away over Sk13.9 billion, the
to its law, but the industry believes that – if anything – the new law is even Finance Ministry data shows.
worse than the old one. For full report see page 46
SPAIN
HUNGARY The Spanish National Lottery has capitalised on the rapidly
A new licence has to be requested annually for every gaming increasing popularity of online gaming in Spain with the
machine in Hungary. In 2007, there were 30,485 machines, recent launch of loteriasyapuestas.es, a site offering online lottery and
which implies a slight decrease of 0.6 per cent, compared to 2007. The sports betting games. Source Gaming Intelligence Group
industry has been in continuous decline – there was a 2.7 per cent drop in In Spain, Karin Klein, Regulatory Affairs Director for Bwin, introduced at
activity in 2006. There was no significant new legislation in 2007, the law the recent Gaming Executive Summit in Madrid a new tax regulatory
was changed only slightly. Although it has been mentioned for several proposal for Spain. This new regulation system builds on the European
years that the Gaming Act of 1991 should be revised, no action has been Union's present tax system for games of chance by using a firm's gross
taken to our knowledge at this time. income as an aggregate tax base along with associating the incomes of
firms from member states to those obtained in Spain. With this Spain
could collect $1.03 billion each year from online gaming.
IRELAND Source: Euromat
Irish Minister For Justice, Equality & Law Reform, Dermot
Ahern, TD, has published the Report of the Casino
Committee - Regulating Gaming In Ireland UNITED KINGDOM
This report makes some 32 recommendations that have significant In the UK, after the Minister of Sports Gerry Sutcliff asked
public policy implications regarding the future architecture of many aspects the UK Gambling Commission to prioritise research in the
of gaming and betting in Ireland. For full report see page 44 risk posed by high stakes gaming machines (B2, FOBTs, B3, B3A), the
Commission presented now its plan to assess the impact of those gaming
machines on problem gambling. It was confirmed that the Commission
LATVIA actions will include the establishment of a panel of international problem
In Latvia, the Health Ministry will introduce a total smoking gambling experts and the re-examination of existing data. According the
ban to come into force on 01 April 2010. The ban shall Gambling Commission, this research would need the help of the industry to
include public transport and taxis as well as all indoor public catering collect data directly obtained from gamblers in real environments. It is
places. Outdoor cafes have to create designated areas for smokers. The envisaged to report on possible short-term initiatives by June 2009.
ban explicitly includes casinos and gambling halls, where smoking will only Source: Euromat
be permitted in separate rooms or areas, designated for smoking. Source
Euromat
UNITED STATES
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab requested an
NETHERLANDS postponement of the meeting with European Union officials.
The threat of a change in the taxation system is still The meeting was scheduled to take place this month in Washington DC.
present. The Dutch government wants to replace the VAT The EU requested this meeting after a formal questionnaire was met with
system with a gambling tax, which would mean a triple tax burden for the denial by Ms Schwab. In her answer, Schwab denied the allegations of
gaming and amusement sector. VAN-Speelautomaten (the Dutch trade discriminatory enforcement and stated that the questions were based on
body) is still fighting against this measure, which is expected to come into wrong assumptions and that charges against European gambling
force on 1 July 2008. The Senate adopted a motion in which the companies were not brought on the basis of nationality. Until now neither a
government was asked to provide information about the economic (shock) justification nor a new date have been given by Ms Schwab. Source:
effects of the tax measure, before the measure comes into force. Euromat
SEPTEMBER 2008
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