Category: Industry News

Gambling has been legal in Romania since December 2010. However, due to the unfortunate lack of an external third party to monitor online systems, Romania has delayed legalizing internet gambling for all these years.

Even though conditions prevalent in Romania showed signs of improvement in 2013, regulations set by the official government bodies continued to remain just as dismal and inoperable to a fair degree.

 

Fresh directive with new proposal

Following drastic attempts to gain a precedent over the battle to legalize internet gambling, a renewed legislative proposal has been drawn and submitted to governing authorities and is currently in debate.

Impending results of this long drawn out legal dispute is to be announced soon after Presidential elections are concluded in November this year. Prospects look great and reflect positive responses with strong indications toward legalizing web-based gambling and licensing for Romanian based operators.

 

License classes

Proposal set before the Romanian government has defined three varying types of classes for operators who wish to offer remote gambling within the country.

The first class focuses on remote online gambling operators who will have a fee based on turnover made strictly from registered Romanian users and players. The second class of licenses surrounds legal personnel who operate within the field of remote gambling. While the third class of licenses focus on local Romanian based operators that look to offer online players access to Romanian lottery and other remote lottery as well.

Current validity of license term set at 5 years, also looks to double in number as the new proposal look to expand it to a 10 year minimum. Fees and taxes on player revenues is another section of events being considered as well.

 

Increase in revenue

If the bill is to be passed, Romanian players will enjoy the opportunity to easy and secure access to online gambling solutions provided by reliable and legal operators. A number of facilities like sports betting, casino games, poker, slot games, and bingo will generate vast number of players.

Since the country at the moment doesn’t regulate gambling industry locally, this new venture is certain to gain increased amounts in terms of revenue gained from licensing fees alone.

Like a major poker tournament, the Boston casino licensing had one big lucky winner and several other bidders who were not so lucky. The big winner of one of the largest deals in the Massachusetts gaming industry, Steve Wynn acted with confidence and won with seeming effortlessness.

Events leading to the win

Wynn teamed up with some of the best investors the industry—Steve Tocco, CEO of Ml Strategies, and former Governor Bill Weld—to win the remarkable bid. Plus, Wynn proved that he didn’t need any local mayor’s support to achieve what he did.

 

The opposing teams of Suffolk Downs and Mohegan Sun, though they consisted of big names in the industry like Tom Reilly (ex attorney general) and Charlie Flahert (former House Speaker), were not strong enough to successfully compete against Wynn’s team.

Tom Menino, the former mayor, had a very different reaction to the issue. Last fall, when Suffolk Downs decided to dump its casino operator Crowns from its venture, Menino withdrew support to a project that he was once excited about. It was as if the mayor became aware that he didn’t stand a chance, and quit before it was too late.

After Suffolk Downs moved the new casino complex close to the horse track’s Revere side, present Mayor Marty Walsh tried to set right his chances. He took his chances and bet on the Mohegan Sun, but unfortunately for him, he didn’t prepare for the worst case scenario.

The scene for Suffolk Downs

Suffolk Downs had a tough chance this time, and legalization of wagering has been long been supported by owners of Revere and East Boston—two aging horse tracks in the region. The winning of Suffolk Downs could have bought a large number of job opportunities to the state, but it also meant that the money would be concentrated in the hands of a few.

In all, gambling is a game where the winner can take all, and Wynn is ready to take his winnings this time.

 

The CJEU, more appropriately known as the Court of Justice of the European Union, could make a drastic ruling involving poker and gambling in Denmark. Their verdict is based on a case involving the Royal Scandinavian Casino, which stated that online poker websites operating in Denmark should not be allowed to pay different tax rates to regular casinos.

The Danish government thought long and hard about these taxation policies. They concluded that it was better to place a lower tax on online poker sites, because they wanted them to operate in the country. Getting a license is expensive enough for online sites. The Danish government did not want to scare them away with the same tax rate that applies to established land casinos.

The case brought forward by the Royal Scandinavian Casino argues that by enacting this lower tax bracket, the government of Denmark is creating unfair competition. Having unfair competition is strictly prohibited in EU laws. By having a lower tax threshold, the online betting companies can change their prices and policies relative to land casinos, but still bring in the same types of profits.

A ruling is expected at the end of the month, but many are expecting the court to rule in favor of the casino’s case. There are similar cases currently awaiting verdicts in Portugal and the Netherlands. Both countries are attempting to sort out their laws relative to online poker. They hope to follow the Danish government’s lead by pushing through different tax brackets for online sites.

The CJEU could put an end to such policies throughout the EU if they rule in favor of the Royal Scandinavian Casino. If that happens, it will be very interesting to see how online sites react. If the ruling is only valid in Denmark, the impact will be minimal. If it stretches to countries such as Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy, the consequences for online poker could be severe.

 

In recent polls, it seems that the massive majority of voters in Britain have deemed Fixed Odd Betting Terminals (FOBTs) to be a primary cause for concern and blame when it comes to gambling addiction. These terminals are a source of great controversy amongst those involved with casinos and betting shops.

Some of these machines operate at highly expensive prices, with the cap on some of the amounts able to be bet going as high as £100 per spin. While the payoff for a more expensive spin can be great, the odds of the outcome being in favor of the person playing are a cause for concern. A greater cause for concern, though, according to surveys and feedback from the public, is the potential for gambling addicts to lose hundreds or thousands of pounds in just minutes, leading to great distress and misery for the player and those associated with them.

Gambling addiction is becoming a problem about which the British public is more and more concerned. Because of this, the voters have called for action. An overwhelming majority of nearly three out of four voters have said they believe the £100 ceiling should be lowered, with six in ten voters saying that it should be cut to just 2% of that amount and capped at £2.

Voters have also raised concerns over the motivations and morality behind the actions of bookmakers who run the machines. With nearly half those surveyed saying they believe that the bookmakers should be far more limited in regards to the number of FOBT machines they’re allowed to operate, and 56% saying there should be a cap on the amount punters can input into the machines, it seems that there is a growing tension between the bookmakers and the public. Accusations from the public have also stated that many believe the bookmakers are strategically placing FOBT machines with higher stakes in lower income areas, causing a rise in the financial hardship and addiction to gambling that populations in these areas face. With all these topics becoming more and more prevalent, it seems that the debate over gambling addiction has only just begun to grow in the UK.

 

Bet365 will be raising the stakes for players this January with a big prize that awaits Bingo players as the new year gets into gear. Bingo Bonanza will be giving players the unique opportunity to take home a total of 20,000 pounds when they win big. From the the 3rd of the month to the 30th of January, 5,000 pounds will be given away each week with the total 20,000 pounds being given away by the end of the month. Players can get their hands on grab tickets for weekly prize drawings that are worth up to 5,000 pounds each.

Each grab ticket also comes with loyalty points that can also be used in Bingo as well. One tickets earns you 10 points that go towards all the Bingo fun. There are also games that offer the chance to win two tickets on top of the 10 loyalty points. These games include Superstar Bonanza, The Catwalk, Mojo Lounge, and Kiss & Tell. When you enjoy all the action through these games, you double your chances of winning. These games also offer there own individual chances of winning for players who log on. Over 110 weekly prizes can earn players up to 1,000 pounds in winnings. Additionally, there is no limit to the number of tickets that you can take home when you play.

January also brings some unique offers to the table in January every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 21:00 onward. The games roll out in the Mojo Lounge, allowing players a rare opportunity to play Mojo Roll On Disco. All players have to do to gain entrance is to put 10 pounds on Bingo. When players do so, they have an all-access pass for that night as well as every other night of the week. While inside this Bingo365 room, players will be competing for 50 different Roll On prizes. Each game puts up to 110 pounds up for grabs. The good times are guaranteed to roll when the Mojo Room is open to you. There is no better time to start exploring the winning potential that Bet365 has to offer to players. The 20,000 pounds that is being made available through Bingo Bonanza is just the beginning of the opportunities that players can have at their fingertips.