Denmark Planning Liberalisation of Internet Gambling

November 10th, 2009

Denmark might be paving the way for other more protectionist Scandinavian states, as the country plans the liberalisation of large parts of its internet gambling market. As a result, consulting firm MECN and law firm Horten have joined forces to develop a new report with a comprehensive analysis of Denmark’s online gambling market.

The report provides detailed explanations of the current legislation and the taxes imposed, comprehensive market data up to 2008 -such as market size and development of sales/turnover as well as gross revenues, registered users- and an analysis of all sectors of the gambling market: interactive/online gambling, betting, lottery, gambling machines, and casinos.

Although not as big as that of France or Italy, Denmark’s projected liberalisation could prove to be highly relevant for the global market, because other nations within the EU are looking at the Danish policies as a model for the implementation of taxation and levies for the independent operators and how the government will respond to the social impact of online gambling on their citizens.

Denmark goes even further, as the government's intention is to go beyond the online gambling sector, opening the doors to other wagering operations such as the land-based betting market. Online gaming operations looking at participation in the new liberal approach offered in Denmark will gain valuable experience and receive a reputation for being compliant and solid.

Australia on the Verge of Legalizing Online Gambling

October, 29th, 2009

A report produced by the Australian Productivity Commission (PC) recommends that online gambling in the country be legalized, regulated, and taxed. Since 2001, Australian players have been struggling with the “Interactive Gambling Act” a law that made it illegal for companies to offer real money Internet gambling in Australia, and that’s very similar to America’s own “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act”.

As in the U.S., it isn’t illegal for citizens to play on those sites, but it is illegal for the sites to let them play. However, this ban has proved to be pretty ineffective because many online poker and gambling sites still provide their services to millions of players with little or no regulation.

This initial report is only a draft, and although it is more than 600 pages long, and took into account submissions by 264 organizations, a completed paper is due in February 2010. The recommendation on an online gambling reform can be summarized by the statement: "The Australian Government should repeal the Interactive Gambling Act, and in consultation with state and territory governments, should initiate a process for the managed liberalization of online gaming”. Indeed, the potential for fully legal online gambling in Australia is getting closer to a reality.

The Social Gaming Take-off

October 19th, 2009
 

Social gaming is rapidly expanding beyond its traditional audience of young male video and over 35 women casual gamers, as tens of millions of consumers are opting to play simple, quick games on social networks like Facebook, MySpace and others. The addictive qualities of these kind of games has turned gaming into the most popular application category on all social networks, with an estimated 100 million people spending their time on social games like Mafia Wars, Bejeweled and Pet Society.

This major change in the way people play games has had a domino effect on an industry worth $45 billion, as established video-game companies are starting to try and take advantage of the social gaming craze. Big names like Nintendo, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts are focusing on games that intend a return to simpler graphics and elementary objectives.

After the hit of the recent economic crisis, many of theses companies see the revenue potential of the social gaming genre as a good way to compensate, and are therefore trying to leap into the fray. But if social games are free, how do they make any money? Well, much of the cash is coming in via the so called “fremium” model and old-fashioned advertising.

This model has its roots in Asia, and is based upon the idea of “virtual goods”. Although you can play just for fun and not spend a cent, to get “deeper” in the games and have all the features available, you have to buy virtual goods or invite friends, creating a potential chain reaction of people spending money on the games.

FIFA Will Watch Online Wagering Activity

October 12th, 2009

The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) will ensure the legitimacy of all football matches in the upcoming 2010 World Cup -to be held in South Africa, by making use once again their Early Warning System, now a FIFA subsidiary organization that watches online wagering sites looking for any sign of suspicious activity.

This gambling surveillance company originated as a pilot project with the objective of monitoring the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but has now expanded and was even asked by the International Olympic Committee to watch betting patterns related to the Games in Beijing.

The advanced software used by the Early Warning System not only follows the wagers being made on each game, but also includes an instant messaging service that can be used by any of the bookmakers in order to identify odd betting patterns.

So far during the qualifying rounds, the EWS hasn’t detect any illicit betting, but it can’t be ruled out as explained by Detlev Zenglein, head of competition analysis: “Just because we have not found any evidence that does not of course mean that no illegal activity has taken place”. Although the larger, high-profile games are not likely to be targeted by illegal wagering syndicates, that’s not the case with the so called “lesser” games, so the EWS will be watching them more closely.