‘Big victory’ Gaming scores a rare win in Spain over ad ban
Spanish Supreme Court victory, Brazil sets a timeline, Alabama last gasp, Ohtani saga continues +More
The Spanish Supreme Court hands gambling a victory over advertising.
In +More: Brazil’s regulatory framework, BettingJobs’ Jobsboard.
Last call for Alabama bill.
Ohtani interpreter ‘cutting deal with feds.’
New Jersey weighs up a college prop bets ban.
Gaming’s Spanish Court win
Notch one up: The overturning by the Spanish Supreme Court of a number of restrictions on the advertising of gambling on the grounds that they went against “freedom of enterprise” was described by one legal expert as a “breath of fresh air.”
Fight for the right: The case was brought by JDigital, the Spanish online trade body, and its media counterpart AMI along with other organizations, highlighting the economic impact of the restrictions on advertising and stressing the discriminatory nature of the rules regarding differing media.
The Supreme Court has annulled the rules regarding a number of activities, including new customer advertising and promotion, the use of celebrities and social media advertising.
However, the verdict makes no mention of sports sponsorship and also leaves the restrictions on TV and radio advertising to between the hours of 1am and 5am.
Champagne on ice: Santiago Asensi, a Spanish gaming law expert with his eponymous firm, said the ruling was “great news for the industry.” While he warned the sector could expect the government to “find a way” to reimpose its “restrictive dynamic,” he added that in the short term the new ruling would apply.
“Operators will be able to advertise their products in the Spanish market without the restrictions and the limitations that have been declared void by the Supreme Court, which is certainly cause for celebration,” he added.
The Supreme Court found the government had overstepped the mark with the Royal Decree, which was imposed in late 2022. Speaking at the Gaming in Spain conference in May last year, JDigital’s Jorge Hinojosa said the restrictions had “made the market less appealing” to operators.
Asensi said the judgment focuses on the “lack of legal basis” for the measures adopted by the government through a Royal Decree.
The Supreme Court found the attempt to restrict advertising of gambling services lacked “sufficient legal coverage.”
Asensi added that the ruling highlighted the “absence of proportionality in the approval of certain broad prohibitions or limitations that are deemed disproportionate to the purpose of the regulation, also clashing with the free enterprise right.”
Victory parade: “This is a big victory for the industry,” Asensi said. While it is true there are “very significant restrictions” still in place, it didn’t “diminish the importance of the favorable outcome” of the ruling.
Asensi suggested the government would also now be forced to take its time to regroup. “The government could initiate a legislative process in order to incorporate the provisions voided either by amending the Spanish Gambling Act or by producing a new law,” he said.
“However, it should be taken into account that the legislative process for the approval or amendment of a law is a complex procedure, which means that in the short term there will be no legislative updates in this regard.”
Diary date: The next edition of the Gaming in Spain conference takes place on May 6. Tickets are available here.
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Brazil: The authorities have outlined a four-stage process that it hopes will see the regulations for online sports betting and iCasino implemented by the end of July this year. The notice from the Ministry of Finance said the regulatory policy of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) “provides legal certainty and ensures predictability and efficiency to the regulatory process, thus solidifying the foundations for a stable and reliable betting environment in Brazil.”
Among the measures the SPA will outline the ordinances for payments firms, which will be published later this month.
Ordinances on AML and other financial rules will come in May as well as the definitions of which iCasino games will be made available including live casino.
More rules on how the games will be overseen and monitored including what the authorities expect in terms of RG measures will come in June and July.
Netherlands: Dutch banks are pushing back on proposals that would involve monitoring transactions linked to problem gamblers. Despite proposals being drafted by lawmakers for banks to review transactions between customers and gambling operators as an interim solution until cross-operator deposit limits could be implemented, the Dutch Association of Banks (Nederlandse Vereniging van Banken) said it would violate the privacy of account holders.
France has made “substantial progress” in reducing gambling harm in recent years, but the industry can do more, regulators have said.
As part of its plan for the next two years, l’Autorite Nationale des Jeux has also tightened anti-money laundering and anti-fraud rules, noting that the French gaming industry has also shown visible improvement in this area.
Thailand’s cabinet has endorsed the House committee report recommending the legalization of casinos, the latest step that could put casinos on track to open before the end of the decade, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
What we’re reading
Winning friends: FanDuel CEO Amy Howe admitted to a “spectacular fail” over the fruitless ballot effort in California while speaking at the Indian Gaming Association event in Anaheim.
She also tipped her hat to the centrality of the tribes of the process in California.
“If legalized wagering is going to be done in California, it is going to be done with and through the 100-plus tribes that exist in the state of California. It’s critical for us to do this together and not against one another.”
Recall, IGA conference chair Victor Rocha told Compliance+More in March that the commercial sportsbooks were “doing the mea culpa tour.”
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Alabama’s last chance
Give me one more shot: Legalization of casinos, sports betting and a state lottery in Alabama hangs in the balance as lawmakers meet in a final effort to reconcile the package of legislation.
Saloon door opens: In February, the House approved a bill that would go to voters, however, the Senate shot it down, and both sides have been in deadlock ever since. A conference committee is reviewing the proposals in the hope of finding a middle ground, and it is expected to be worked on today and tomorrow.
It is the last chance for the gambling legislation this year and will be picked over by three members of each chamber.
Into the great wide open: The original bills sponsored by Rep. Chris Blackshear contained provisions to repeal the total prohibition of gambling in the Heart of Dixie, create a state lottery and allow casino gaming and sports wagering in seven locations. However, the legislation has been carved up by lawmakers who hold opposing views on gambling.
The Senate removed the sports-betting provisions and reduced the number of casinos allowed.
The lottery and electronic gambling at dog tracks were left in.
The Senate also demanded all casinos be on tribal property and allowed for Gov. Kay Ivey to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
There’s no way: Dissenting voices are growing louder, and the Alabama Political Reporter noted an “insidious threat” in the shape of a “disinformation campaign meticulously orchestrated to derail the bill.”
It said a coalition of interests “with deep pockets and a vested interest in keeping Alabama’s gambling laws stagnant” had found allies within right wing media, Alabama Baptists, talk show radio hosts, think tanks and a major insurer.
“The original House bills and the Senate versions are very different, and it could be that the two sides are just too far apart,” said Greg Davis, president and CEO of the Alabama Citizens Action Program.
“Both versions would result in legitimizing, normalizing and expanding access to gambling in Alabama. Both bills choose winners and losers and reward selected illegal operators.”
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Ohtani scandal
From the big leagues to the big house: The former interpreter of Shohei Ohtani is negotiating a guilty plea in connection with the alleged theft of the LA Dodgers star’s money to pay gambling debts, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Ippei Mizuhara, former best friend of the two-way MVP, was fired from his role as Ohtani’s interpreter last month.
He is alleged to have wired up to $4.5m from the Japanese star’s bank account to cover debts he owed to an illegal bookmaker operating from Southern California.
Ohtani’s representatives were reportedly quick to request a legal investigation into the scheme, with MLB opening its own inquiry following the firing. Ohtani has reportedly also been interviewed by the feds as part of the legal investigation, which began about three weeks ago, according to the Times.
The probe is reportedly a joint effort led by the Los Angeles branch of the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal division, the Department of Homeland Security and the US attorney’s office for the Central District of California.
New Jersey college props move
The kids aren’t alright: New Jersey is weighing up a ban on prop bets on college games as a way of protecting student athletes from “appalling” abuse. Sen. Kristin Corrado introduced legislation that would prohibit New Jersey’s sports-wagering licensees from offering or accepting wagers on player-specific proposition bets on collegiate sports.
“Proposition bets have led to a rise in the harassment of student-athletes and have threatened the integrity of college sports,” said Corrado. “I have heard about many individuals who have been the victim of online harassment because they didn’t perform to the expectation of a bettor who made a side wager. This legislation will ban player-specific prop betting in New Jersey, which will help curb that appalling behavior and make college athletic events safer for all participants.”
Bill S3080 defines a prop bet as a side wager on a part of a sport or athletic event not linked to the final outcome. Player-specific prop bets concern statistical performance lines and wagers such as which player will score first.
States are lining up to ban prop betting, with Ohio, Maryland and Louisiana the latest to implement new laws.
Calendar
Apr 17-18: East Coast Gaming Conference, Atlantic City
May 6: Gaming in Spain
May 7: SBC Summit North America Player Protection Symposium
May 28-30: IAGA, Washington DC
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