Compliance Updates
Norwegian Government Introduces New Legislation to Crack Down on Unlicenced Operators
The Norwegian government has introduced new legislation to crack down on unlicenced operators and affiliates promoting them.
The new legislation unifies the country’s previous Lottery Act, Gambling Act and Totalisator Act while maintaining the market monopoly shared by Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto by “strengthening the exclusive rights model”.
The new gambling law was first proposed in June 2020, before the government notified the European Commission of the proposal in August of the same year.
Minister of culture and gender equality Abid Raja said the law would specifically crack down on operators who are not permitted to offer gambling in Norway.
“I am pleased to finally be able to present the new gambling law, which is a milestone in the government’s work to prevent gambling problems and ensure responsible gambling.
“We are tired of foreign gambling companies that do not respect Norwegian law, and that do not operate with proper accountability measures. Therefore, the new law provides the Norwegian Lotteries Authority with new tools for detecting, reacting to and sanctioning violations of the law.”
Under the new law, marketing gambling without a Norwegian licence is prohibited. The government said that this would apply not only to operators, but also to those who “pass on” customers, such as affiliates.
“Violation of the ban can result in punishment,” the government said.
Furthermore, marketing gambling to children will be a criminal offence, and there is a blanket ban on gambling with credit cards so as to promote responsible gambling habits.
Any operators are also obliged to introduce accountability measures, and any marketing to self-excluded gamblers will be a criminal offence. Marketing must also “not go beyond what is necessary to attract players to the legal gaming offers”.
Raja added: “Things are happening in the gambling field in Norway. The government has worked consciously for many years with gambling policy and this is yielding results.
“Foreign gambling companies and their payment intermediaries are withdrawing from the Norwegian market, their turnover is declining and advertising is no longer as easy to reach.”
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Compliance Updates
Snooker Player Mark King Banned for 5 Years for Fixing Match and Providing Inside Information
English snooker player Mark King was handed a five-year ban on Friday after being found guilty of match-fixing and providing inside information in the latest corruption scandal to blight the sport.
The punishment for the 50-year-old King, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 in 2003, related to a match against Joe Perry at the Welsh Open played on Feb. 13 last year that was flagged following suspicious betting patterns.
King was suspended by snooker’s world governing body a month later and an independent disciplinary commission has ruled that he fixed the result of the match, while giving information to others about that match for betting purposes. He had denied the charges.
His ban ends after March 17, 2028, and King was also ordered to pay more than 68,000 pounds ($86,000) in costs.
“I have known Mark King since he was very young, he is a very experienced player who has enjoyed great success, and I am deeply saddened to read the finding in this case,” said Jason Ferguson, a former player who is now chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. “However, the integrity of this sport will always be our No. 1 priority.”
King had also been charged with fixing the outcome of a match against John Higgins played on Dec. 13, 2022, and for providing inside information on it. Those charges were dismissed.
The governing body said Perry and Higgins were not accused of any misconduct related to the case.
The post Snooker Player Mark King Banned for 5 Years for Fixing Match and Providing Inside Information appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has backed Texas to legalise online sports betting in the state’s next legislative session.
Christie helped pave the way for sports betting liberalisation across the US by bringing the Supreme Court case that led to the repeal of PASPA.
The case was fought and won by prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who Christie hired to argue the case for states to make their own decisions on sports betting. Olson died last week at the age of 84.
After Missouri became the 39th US state to legalise sports betting in some capacity, attention has quickly turned again to the big three states of Texas, California, and Florida.
“I think it’ll happen in Texas in the next legislative session,” said Christie, speaking to Covers.com. The next session is due to commence in Texas on January 14, 2025.
Christie is less confident about California, however, where competing sports betting ballots failed in 2022 amid a bitter dispute and lobbying war between online operators and local tribes.
California is seen as essential to the future prospects of US sports betting operators, given its size and wealth and dramatic impact on the country’s total addressable market (TAM).
“I don’t know about California,” said Christie. “This really takes gubernatorial leadership, and Gavin Newsom has got to decide if this is one of the issues he wants to lead on.
“Without gubernatorial leadership, the legislature won’t do it because they’re pulled like taffy in too many directions by too many different interests. Without the governor pushing for it, I just don’t think it’ll happen.”
Despite another potential setback in California, Christie has backed sports betting to penetrate pretty much every state eventually.
“I really believe sports betting is inevitable to go just about nationwide, because people in America love their sports, they just do,” he said. “I think it is in the leagues’ best interests to grow their audience. The government gets some piece of the pie out of that which they enjoy, and the public seems to be pretty happy for the most part.”
Depending on expansion, US sports betting could, in theory, reach every state. It would then become a national issue, but Christie has warned the federal government not to interfere.
“Let the states handle it,” he said. “The states are doing fine. You haven’t heard of anything awful or irreversible happening since each state has been involved and they should have the ability to decide whether they want gambling or not.
“I don’t think the federal government should have anything to do with it and I don’t think they ever should have. I don’t think they have to be babysitters for the governors of the country.”
Compliance Updates
Spillemyndigheden Calls Attention to FATF’s Updated Lists of High-risk Jurisdictions
The Danish Gambling Authority has called attention to FATF’s (Financial Action Task Force) updated lists of high-risk jurisdictions: the Grey List (jurisdictions under increased monitoring) and Black List (call for actions). Among other things, gambling operators must include FATF’s lists of high-risk jurisdictions when risk assessing players.
Jurisdictions listed on the Grey List are Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Croatia, DR Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.
Jurisdictions listed on the Black List are Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran and Myanmar.
Gambling operators are required to conduct enhanced customer due diligence (EDD) pursuant to section 17(1) of the Danish AML Act, if a player is assessed to impose a higher risk of the gambling operator being misused for money laundering or terrorist financing.
Gambling operators shall conduct this risk assessment based on Annex 3 to the AML Act (high-risk factors) which includes the FATF high-risk country lists (the so called black list and grey list).
It is not required that gambling operators perform EDD if a country is listed on the FATF’s list. EDD are only a requirement for players from jurisdictions listed in the EU Regulation of High Risk Third Country list pursuant to 17(2) of the AML Act.
The post Spillemyndigheden Calls Attention to FATF’s Updated Lists of High-risk Jurisdictions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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