Levy weather
UK government announces statutory levy and slot limit plans
Minister affirms government “commitment” to tackling gambling harms.
Sweeps news: A RICO class action is launched against sweeps in New Jersey.
New York City casino license progress jammed.
State legislators float model iGaming regs.
Polymarket moves to block French players in wake of ANJ investigation.
Just as long as my baby's safe from harm tonight.
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Safe from harm
John Wayne is big levy: The UK government has finally published its pals for the introduction of a new statutory levy of the gambling sector which it hopes will raise £100m a year to go towards the funding of treatment and better understanding of gambling harms.
The confirmation of the introduction of the new stake limits for slots players accompanied the announcement.
The levy's introduction requires secondary legislation, meaning it must pass through parliament.
Timetable: Culture minister Stephanie Peacock said it was hoped the legislation would be in place by next summer. Both the levy and the slot limits were recommendations from the UK White Paper.
The deets: The levy will be set for all UK licensees at between 0.1% to 1.1% of gross gambling yield depending on the sector.
The online sector, seen by the government as being associated with higher levels of problem gambling, will pay at the higher levels of rate vs. the land-based sector.
Collection plate: The levy will be collected by the UK Gambling Commission which will also dole out the new cash with 20% set aside for research purposes, 30% going to the funding of prevention and early intervention programs, and the remaining half going to fund treatment centers.
The research element will be overseen by UK Research and Innovation which will be set the task of delivering a bespoke Research Programme on Gambling. The Commission will distribute the rest.
The distribution of treatment will be overseen by the NHS.
Stephanie knows who: Peacock confirmed in her written statement that a Gambling Levy Programme Board will be set up.
This will be made up of representatives from key government departments including the Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as well as the representatives from the devolved governments.
A new Gambling Levy Advisory Group will also be established to provide expert advice on funding priorities and emerging issues.
Committed: Peacock said the statutory levy showed the government’s "commitment" to tackling gambling-related harms and the health lobby was foursquare behind the move with significant figures quoted in the government press release. Claire Murdoch, NHS national director for mental health said problem gambling can “completely ruin lives.”
She said the NHS would “continue to work with government to do all we can to protect problem gamblers from this billion-pound industry.”
Henrietta Bowden-Jones, the national clinical advisor on gambling harms at NHS England, said gambling harms had a “devastating effect on people’s lives.”
Finally, the minister charged with steering the Levy through parliament, Baroness Twycross, said gambling harms could “ruin people’s finances, relationships, and ultimately lives.“
Slot stakes
Your spin doctor will see you now: The new slot limits will be set at £5 per spin for all adults over 25 and at £2 per spin for those aged between 18-25 who the government said were “particularly vulnerable” to harms associated with high stakes play.
The slot measures will like the levy go before parliament with operators having six weeks after this to implement the new limits.
Peacock said the measures were “proportionate,” noting they brought online slots in line with the rules around B&M casino slots.
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Sweeps news
Mob rule: A RICO class action lawsuit against several sweepstakes operators has been filed in New Jersey federal district court. Gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach has the details of the suit against the operators of sweepstakes casino platforms High 5 Casino, WOW Vegas, CrownCoins Casino, McLuck.
Apple and Google are also named with the plaintiff seeking injunctive relief and recovery of monies lost for illegal gambling under New Jersey law.
Read across
No rush: The proliferation of sweepstakes casinos could tip the balance in favor of further iCasino legislation, according to Rush Street Interactive CEO Richard Schwartz.
As reported in Earnings+More, Schwartz told an investor conference earlier this week that there “used to be one or two” sweepstakes offering but now “there’s probably a hundred.”
He said that legislators within non-iCasino states could see the effects in terms of not generating any tax revenues and in terms of the lack of player protection.
“I think that’s a great reason to kind of jump start even more efforts on iCasino,” he added.
What we’re reading: The sweepstakes games that look a lot like online gambling. In WAPO.
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Brazil: The government has laid out a new ordinance for how customers will have their accounts transferred into the regulated sphere. The migration process will only take place on ce operators have paid the licensing fee ahead of the January launch.
Two licensees are known to have completed the process this week with Superbet and Aposta Ganha both saying they have had their license processed by the SPA.
Australia: A bill to lower the maximum bet for slot machines in Victoria has been introduced to the state parliament. The bill proposes lowering the maximum bet size from A$1,000 to A$100 alongside the rollout of carded play in the state.
Players will also have to set loss limits before they place a bet. Spin rate limits will also be introduced.
Blackstone-owned Crown Resorts is reported to back the bill, as similar measures on carded play have already been implemented at its Crown Melbourne property.
Nigeria: The country’s Supreme Court has ruled that state governments will regulate lottery and other games of chance operations and decided that the federal government does not have the power to regulate lotteries under the National Lottery Act, thus essentially voiding the act.
Arkansas: The Racing Commission is expected to conduct an informal discussion on legalizing iCasino in the state, according to Carlton Saffa, Saracen Casino CMO who was talking to LegalSportsReport.
Crash game provider Aviatrix is to integrate BetComply’s regulatory and technical compliance software into its platform BetComply recently assisted Aviatrix’ game launch in Sweden with a B2B license.
Aviatrix is already licensed or certified in Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, and Georgia, and more recently in the Netherlands, Italy and Venezuela.
Kick it out: The controversial streaming platform has moved to quell criticism about ads for gambling sites being visible to underage users by instituting a system of ID checks for approved gaming sites. The new system takes effect on February 1.
Moving on: The UK Gambling Commission has announced that chair Marcus Boyle is to step down at the end of January after three years in post. The Commission will begin its search for his replacement.
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This year’s model
Super model: A ban on sweepstakes and a suggested operator tax rate feature in the full draft model legislation for iGaming unveiled by the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS).
The Model Internet Gaming Act (MIGA) aims to serve as a blueprint for state legislators aiming to legalize online casino gaming in the coming years.
Sweeping: An entire chapter (between license fees and tampering with equipment) is given over to a total ban on sweepstakes. With social sweeps designated as unlawful, legislators propose a penalty of between $10,000 and $100,000 for each violation, growing to potential imprisonment for egregious breaches.
Nine lawmakers from different states developed the MIGA, and now the public will have its say before a vote by NCLGS takes place, likely in January.
These rules apply to all: The framework is built around a set of principles that include strict regulation, not cannibalizing retail gaming, player deposit limits, and clear lines to avoid trampling on tribal gaming and state online lottery operations.
NCLGS recommends a tax rate between 15% and 25% of operators’ adjusted gross revenue.
They believe this bracket “maximizes revenue” while allowing firms to remain competitive.
Some states may implement a graduated tax rate, the proposals suggested, noting that Michigan operators pay on a sliding scale based on adjusted gross receipts.
Illinois is currently transitioning to a graduated rate of up to 40% for the biggest revenue-generating sportsbooks.
I want it that way: The overall aim of the model is to give online gaming proposals a better chance of succeeding, with stronger regulatory consistency between states formulating new laws.
Wishlist: However, one industry watcher told C+M the much-hyped model resembled more “an industry wishlist” than anything with a hope of passing in states where no regulation exists.
Targeting social sweeps is also “an unnecessary addition that will create new and powerful enemies for online gambling bills”, said Chris Grove, managing partner at Acies.
“The vague and obtuse language included in the draft ensures significant unintended consequences, including threatening traditional social casinos, mobile and video games, and promotional activities of blue-chip consumer companies like Starbucks and Walmart,” Grove added.
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Crosstown traffic jam
Not so fast: A vote to speed up the bidding process for three New York City casinos has been vetoed by Big Apple Governor Kathy Hochul.
Senator Joseph Addabbo’s bill S9673A, which passed through the state House and the Senate in June, had a deadline of August 31, 2024, for bids to be submitted.
Hochul did not approve that legislation, and has officially killed off any chances of a swift resolution to the saga.
“Changing the timeline …. would likely have the impact of helping certain bidders and hurting others,” Hochul was quoted by the New York Post. “I cannot support a bill that aims to change the rules in the middle of the process.”
The New York Gaming Facility Location Board has also consistently disagreed with the August deadline, despite lobbying from lawmakers.
Rather, they believe a June 2025 deadline gives applicants enough time to cross t’s and dot i’s, with the board having enough flexibility to consider applications before its approval deadline of December 31, 2025.
Pull your fingers out: Addabbo told SBC Americas he wasn’t messing with the timeline, merely formally suggesting one that would improve the “unduly prolonged downstate casino process”.
Further delay to the process postpones the creation of “thousands of union jobs” and over $2bn in guaranteed funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Addabbo said.
“Therefore, what rational reason is there for the state to hinder the submission of applications for a downstate casino process indefinitely, because without codifying a submission and completion date said process can meander on as it has been for over two years already,” he said.
Addabbo promised to “reintroduce revised legislation” that will hammer down the proposed June 2025 timeframe, and the intent to finalize the process in December 2025.
Runners and riders: Big names jostling for one of the licences include Bally’s, Caesars, MGM Resorts, Hard Rock, Las Vegas Sands and Mohegan. Despite pitching a dazzling array of sites ranging from Times Square to Long Island to the Bronx, none has yet submitted a formal bid.
New York will get a minimum of $500m from each selected bidder, however Addabbo estimates that could reach $750m each.
MLB’s Mets owner Steve Cohen has been given the nod from all of the Queens Borough community boards for his $8bn proposal, which would transform the area around the baseball club’s Citi Field stadium.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, the New York City Planning Commission and the city council are still to decide on Cohen’s plans.
Le block
Pas de prédictions ici s'il vous plaît: Polymarket has responded to the French authorities’ investigation into the anonymous French whale who hit the headlines betting on the recent Presidential election with prediction market Polymarket by banning players from the country engaging with the site.
A new pop-up on the site appears if users log in from France saying “it appears you are the United States, France or another related jurisdiction.”
It goes on to say that trading for residents of the US or France.
The news came earlier this month that the French gambling regulator Autorité Nationale des Jeux had launched an investigation into Polymarket.
An ANJ spokesperson told Bloomberg that it was “aware of this site” and was “examining its operation and compliance with French gambling legislation.”
Sleuth: Meanwhile, a French journalist posted on X in response to the news of the ban on French players that he had been able to access the site via a VPN.
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