Transcript European Gaming issues

European Gaming Issues
Thibault Verbiest
IAB, Chicago
22 September 2006
European Gaming Issues
“ If you bet on a horse, that’s gambling. If
you bet you can make three spades, that’s
entertainment. If you bet cotton will go up
three points that’s business. See the
difference ? ”
European Gaming Issues
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A brief “update”
Traditional gaming: Bookmaking agencies,
brick and mortar casinos, horse racing, bingo,
sports wagering, lotteries
Non-traditional gaming becoming more
prevalent :
internet gaming
SMS games
Video games
and much more !
European Gaming Issues
• Remarkable growth of the online gambling market
 Traditional bookmakers are using the internet to
make gambling much more accessible to a much
wider audience:
Ladbrokes, William Hill (UK)
 Traditional land-based bookies now compete with
online-only sportsbooks : BWin, Sportingbet
 Online poker: fastest growing segment in the last
18 months
 Online casino: lower growth / often added to
sportsbooks or poker sites
European Gaming Issues
• What is noticeable on each of these sites?
 Markets that were differentiated offline become
one: “the online gambling market” versus “the
casino market”, “the betting market”
 Monopolies go online and diversify: eg, Française
des Jeux offers lotteries, sports betting, and more
and more casino style games
 More competition
European Gaming Issues
• Where do the problems come from ?!
 Outdated legislation, not aimed at internet gaming:
eg, French 1836 Lottery Act!
 No European harmonization: each countries has its
own laws: Malta and UK ≠ France
 Restrictive gaming policies: monopolies based on
false pretense of consumer protection, anti-fraud,
public order
 Consequence: unfair competition, infringement of
internal market rules ► complaints and litigation
European Gaming Issues
• Most recent one: France
 Executives of Gibraltar based bookmaker BWin
arrested following complaint by monopoly
 Criminal proceedings based on “unlawful games of
chance, unlawful lotteries and unlawful horse
betting”
 But pressure from European Commission growing:
infringement proceedings to be launched soon
against 8 countries including France
 Fierce battle between Europe and France is starting
European Gaming Issues
• Belgium : From prohibition to regulation
New Games of Chance Act to allow
European remote gaming operators to apply
for “quality labels certificates” with
Gaming Board
Entry into force 2007
European Gaming Issues
• Concluding remarks
Boom of European gambling market
pushing towards liberalisation and reform of
outdated systems
National “de facto” opening (Belgium, Italy,
Germany) closely followed by European
scrutiny
Outlook: market opening 2-5 years
Thank you for your attention
[email protected]