6 9 September 2007

News:

All advertising of online gambling would be prohibited by South Africa's National Gambling Amendment Bill 2007 (NGAB), if it is passed in its current form by the National Council of the Provinces (NCP) and is promulgated into law by President Thabo Mbeki. "Section 15 of the Bill has been amended to ban all advertising of interactive gambling", said Fungai Sibanda, Deputy Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) corporate regulatory division.

The European Court of Justice, in case C-260/04, has reinforced its view, established in 'Gambelli' and 'Placanica', that a member state cannot place restrictions on foreign gambling operators if it is pursuing a policy of expanding gambling. The ECJ ruled that 'by renewing 329 licences for horse-race betting operations without inviting any competing bids, the Italian Republic failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 43 and 49 EC [freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services]'.

Bodog, the Antigua-based online gambling operator, has lost the rights to its domain names in a patent infringement case following a $49 million default judgment obtained by a US technology company.

Features:

The purpose of regulating online gambling, as South Africa announced in its aims for its National Gambling Amendment Bill, is to 'provide customer protection and regulate interactive gambling'.

While gambling is traditionally regarded as a vice in India and Hindu law calls for its prohibition by the king, a law has yet to be passed that specifically prohibits gambling, which has led many operators to regard India as a country of opportunity. Satyendra Shrivastava, an associate with ALMT Legal, explains the regulation of gambling and gambling payments in India, and the enforceability of gambling-related contracts.

Poland is attempting to maintain and extend its ban on internet gambling through amendments to its Gaming and Mutual Betting Act, currently being drafted by the Ministry of Finance. Bartosz Andruszaniec, an associate with Allen & Overy, explains how the bill's provisions, if adopted, would delay liberalisation of internet gambling in Poland and could lead to a number of cases coming before the European Court of Justice.

For the third time in less than a year, a German court has referred a case involving restriction of sports betting services to the European Court of Justice. Dr. Wulf Hambach and Sarah Madden, of Hambach & Hambach, explain the Stuttgart court's reasoning, including the two key questions that the Stuttgart court asked the ECJ to clarify, and debate the impact that the ECJ's ruling could have on state gambling monopolies in Germany and the EU.

The Administrative Court of Stuttgart, in a preliminary proceeding, has reversed the decision of a higher court to prohibit VfB Stuttgart, a football club, from advertising 'bwin' on its shirts. Gaming lawyer Martin Arendts, of Arendts Anwälte, reports on the case and an appeal against the decision from the State of Baden-Württemberg, speculating that in the ongoing battle over the ability of private operators to advertise and promote their services in Germany, the initiative may be moving back towards the operators.

The Gambling Act exempts quizzes and prize draws in which there is a fee to enter if an alternative free entry method, which is just as easy to use, is also offered. Geraint Lloyd-Taylor, an Associate with Lewis Silkin, examines the distinction between free prize competitions or draws, which are exempt from the Act and Lotteries, which require a licence. The Gambling Commission will have powers to prosecute operators of illegal lotteries under the Act.

The question over whether legislation should be enacted to protect people from addiction is constantly asked in the online gambling industry and is likely to keep occurring, especially as countries such as China have introduced legislation limiting the amount of time that people can spend playing online games. Professor Mark Griffiths, who is the co-author of the upcoming UK gambling prevalence study, examines different forms of addiction and questions whether legislation is needed on gaming addiction to protect the public.

The recent introduction of the UK Gambling Act has, as one would expect, had a major impact on the licensing regime in the Isle of Man. While most of the talk has been about super casinos and the bulk of the Act covers terrestrial gambling, there is a significant element that covers online gaming. The terrestrial portion has had little effect on the Isle of Man. The effects of the online part have been much greater.