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// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // September/October 2016
aggregate first-quarter on first-quarter
sales contract by 3.5%. The mainland
Chinese lotteries in particular had a
slow start to the year, with sales only
beginning to pick up in the last month
of the quarter. In consequence, China
Sports Lottery recorded a Q1-on-Q1
decrease in sales of 7%, while the
Chinese Welfare lottery recorded a
Q1-on-Q1 decrease in sales of 1.9%.
In contrast, the sale of lottery products
rose by 24.7% at Hong Kong’s HKJC
over the January–March 2016 period,
as against the corresponding quarter of
2015, and by 15.4% at Australia’s Lot-
terywest over the same three-month
on three-month period.
israel to ban slots and
horse race betting
Israel’s notoriously strict gambling
laws are about to get even tougher,
with the sudden prohibition of betting
on horseracing and slot machines.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and
Justice Ministry Director General Emi
Palmor announced that the country
would be putting an end to both
forms of gambling as well as any plans
to legalize casinos.
regulated online poker
delayed in portugal until
at least november
scientific games expands
into romania
Scientific Games Corp. is among the
first online casino content providers
to have been licensed by Romania’s
gambling regulator.
e-sports sites draw the
attention of uk gambling
commission
In the wake of a recent controversy
surrounding an e-sports gambling site
associated with two YouTube stars,
the UK Gambling Commission is
increasing its enforcement of laws that
govern how gambling, competitions,
and lottery-style contests should be
operated in the United Kingdom. The
rising popularity of e-sports betting—
especially the practice of using “skins”
or virtual currency—has occurred
with little regulation to date. There are
several reasons for this:
• E-sports sites are easy to start up
• They are frequently shut down after
a short time in operation
• They are difficult to monitor
and police
• Many are operated from outside
the UK and attempt to circumvent
UK laws by stating that UK players
should not participate
There also is the legal question regard-
ing whether “skins” or virtual cur-
rencies can be regulated in the same
fashion as traditional betting. The UK
Commission’s position is that they fall
under the same legislative restrictions.
Recently, the website CS: GO Lotto
made news when it was revealed that
two YouTube stars were associated
with it. The site was positioned as
a get-rich-quick scheme to its pre-
dominantly young audience, which
sparked debates about the morality
of targeting young people with
gambling messages.
The UK Commission has contacted
more than 100 unlicensed online
gambling websites, informing them
that they should cease offering
services to British customers. Upon
that notification, most discontin-
ued their operations involving UK
customers, the commission said.
Others continue to be the subject of
on-going enforcement action. The
commission is seeking a consensus
on how it should proceed against the
non-compliant sites before a final
declaration of intent is published
this autumn.
polish gambling market
on cusp of major
regulatory change
The Polish government has adopted
a draft amendment to the Polish
Gambling Act. The Draft Amend-
ment was submitted to the European
Commission, and until October 31,
2016, awaits comments and consulta-
tions. The government has said that it
expects that the amendment will mini-
mize the grey market in gambling;
assure better protection of players
against negative consequences of gam-
bling, especially via online websites;
and ensure higher revenues generated
by the legal gambling sector.
This draft legislation would impose a
new, very radical, and tough gaming
framework in Poland, significantly
strengthening the position of the
gaming state monopolist by equip-
ping it with more competences and
additional channels of games distribu-
tion. Also, it introduces severe instru-
ments to combat illegal gaming, with
the intention of driving players to
the legal market which will be mostly
operated by the state monopolist. The
Draft Amendment, if enacted, will
extend the catalog of gambling games
which can be offered online. The Draft
Amendment would require all online
operators (including existing licensed
online betting operators) to enable the
Customs Office to have remote access
to the data stored in the operator’s
archive system, including adequate
tools and software ensuring protection
of the data. The Polish government has
decided to engage more intensely in
combatting illegal online gaming.
Finally, with the stated aim of prevent-
ing money laundering and financing
of terrorism, the new regulation re-
stricts online payments methods avail-
able to online players. It is e3xpected
that the new control instruments will
result in additional procedures and
mechanisms enabling its enforcement.