8 3 March 2009

News:

The online gambling industry criticised restrictions within a draft Bill on opening to competition the online gambling sector, presented by France's Budget Minister Eric Woerth on 5 March, as potentially illegal. 'The prohibition of fixed odds for horse race betting constitutes, in our opinion, an unjustified restriction which would be challengeable in court', read a statement from the European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA). 'It will be up to the European Commission, on the basis of the Directive 98/34/EC [Technical Standards Directive], to determine whether the French Bill is in line with the rules of the EC Treaty'.

The European Commission (EC) will ask that European online gambling operators be immune from US prosecution, if its investigation proves - as the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) expects - that US restrictions on online gambling are in breach of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). If an agreement is not reached with the US, the EC will send the report to the World Trade Organization.

The European Parliament adopted a report on the integrity of online gambling on 10 March which states that the European Union's internal market rules should not apply to online gambling, as Member States are 'quite capable' of regulation. However, the report also calls on the European Council to 'seek a potential political solution' to 'enable action to be taken to solve the social and public order problems arising from cross-border online gambling, such as gambling addiction and misuse of personal data or credit cards'.

Features:

The French government's Bill to open up to competition the online gambling market has not been welcomed by organisations representing operators, however as they point out, the Bill is also not fit for purpose.

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA), representing the world's largest licensed and stock market-listed remote gambling companies, has been closely involved in the discussions on the integrity of online gambling in the European Parliament, even before they formally began in September 2008.

A court in California recently ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunises search engines from liability under Californian law for sponsored gambling advertisements. Joseph V. DeMarco, of DeVore & DeMarco LLP and Ben D. Manevitz, of Manevitz Law Firm, analyse the case and the implications of the court's ruling.

In a move to make addiction research more open and accessible, the Division on Addictions at the Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, has created a data repository called 'The Transparency Project'. This data repository allows scientists from around the world to engage in a free exchange of data from privately-funded research. Open access to information from research supported by private interests will promote evidence from this resource to take its place alongside that from government sponsored research. Ultimately, to the benefit of health providers as well as to political and legal decision-makers deciding on complex addiction-related issues, the Transparency Project will enhance confidence in scientific findings.

Popstar Lady GaGa recently released a music video for her single Poker Face featuring Bwin branding, which shortly after release had been downloaded 12 million times on YouTube, providing invaluable exposure for the online gambling internet site. Jason Chess, a Partner with Wiggin LLP, examines current rules on product placement involving online gambling sites.

UK Members of Parliament asked Google to review its policy allowing online gambling advertisements in a motion filed with the UK Parliament recently. The motion supported the Church of England's view that Google's decision to reintroduce online gambling advertisements in Great Britain 'during a period of economic downturn' risked normalising gambling in society. Nick White, an Associate at Couchman Harrington Associates, reviews Google's previous position on gambling advertising, discusses what is now permitted by Google and the terms that advertisers must comply with in order to advertise. White also examines the regulations that apply to online gambling advertising and potential penalties.

Estonia has recently introduced new legislation which from 1 January 2010 will regulate remote gambling. Kaupo Lepasepp, a Partner with Sorainen, examines the terms and conditions of the new legislation and issues raised about it, which whilst not offering an easy route for international operators to gain a licence in Estonia, does offer certain outsourcing opportunities for support and core services.

The Austrian Government has drafted an amendment to the Austrian Gambling Act ('Draft Amendment') which recently has been notified to the European Commission. The Draft Amendment intends to introduce new provisions for gaming venues and gaming devices, i.e. slot machines. However, there are also certain provisions which are relevant for online casino operators. Thomas Talos and Arthur Stadler, of Brandl & Talos Attorneys-at-Law, examine these provisions in light of EU law.