The Need for New Regulatory Changes in Spain

by Santiago Asensi, Partner, Asensi Abogados

Just over one year has elapsed since the first online gaming licenses were granted in Spain and the latest figures published indicate a clear downward trend. It is certainly shocking to see how a situation of stagnation has been reached after such a short time in a new market whose growth figures were initially expected to have much greater room for improvement. … Continue Reading

Will the Italian Gaming Operators ever manage to pull their lobbying acts together?

By Quirino Mancini, Partner, Head of Sports, Media &Gaming Practice at SCM Lawyers, Rome

Over the last few months the Italian gaming industry has been heavily targeted, more than ever before, by the media whose bias, ill-information and populistic propaganda are simply stunning. Many politicians looking for visibility also promptly rode the media wave urging the government to freeze any release of new authorisations and licences to gaming operators but obviously omitting to say how to offset the ensuing shortfall in tax revenues that would immediately and substantially impact the Treasury’s budget if it did decide to anyhow downsize the gaming operations in Italy. … Continue Reading

Joint Cocktail Reception with IMGL at EiG in Barcelona (Strictly by invitation only)

On the occasion of the European iGaming Congress & Expo, Gaminglaw.eu and the International Masters of Gaming Law teamed up again to launch another special get-together event where the cream of the cream of the gaming law experts from all over the world will meet over drinks with the elite of the international gaming industry at the Gran Hotel La Florida. … Continue Reading

Social Networks, Social Games and Gambling Monetizing the German market – top or flop?

By Dr. Stefan Bolay and Axel Knabe, Hambach & Hambach Law Firm

Online operators move ahead in their attempt to monetize the vast customer base that has coalesced around the social web in recent years. Social games and online gambling promise to be ideal candidates for creating additional revenue, not least for social networks. In Germany, however, arguably Europe’s most important market in this regard, many such business models seem destined to fail due to a rather hostile regulatory landscape. Yet that is only half the truth: The time to enter the German market is now, as it presents market players with unique opportunities. … Continue Reading

Why do the federal states forgo extra revenue of 1.5 billion Euro? – Germany bottom of the list: European gambling legislators oriented to the successful Danish model

By Andreas Schultheis

Barcelona/Munich, July 2013. The German federal states could generate additional tax revenue of more than 1.5 billion Euro between 2014 and 2017. This would require neither redistribution nor tax increases. It would merely be necessary to adjust the inter-state treaty on gambling (GlüStV), which has been in force for one year, to market realities. The model act already exists in Schleswig-Holstein. Possible tax revenue would increase by more than five times the sums generated under the current partial opening of the market. Up to 93 per cent of the betting stakes could furthermore be channelled to regulated platforms. This is the conclusion reached by a study presented by the consultancy company Goldmedia (“Glücksspielmarkt Deutschland 2017”) http://www.goldmedia.de. … Continue Reading