74 / 76
74
// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // July/August 2016
good causes, humanity, and entertainment.
The design of the symbol also refers to the
letter V in the name Veikkaus.
Finland Veikkaus:
Olli Sarekoski Appointed CEO
of the New Gaming Company
Mr Sarekoski has been working for Veik-
kaus in several different positions, so he is
thoroughly familiar with the changes in the
gaming industry, together with the needs for
development in the Finnish gaming system.
The gaming company to be launched at the
beginning of next year will need to earn its
position among Finns from the very begin-
ning. The company will be operating on a
market that is subject to digital competition.
We will need to be able to respond to that
competition in a responsible manner in all
respects. The new Veikkaus will be support-
ing the wellbeing of all Finns, including
equine industry, in a broad-ranging sense.
Further information: Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo,
Chairman of the Board of FRV Evo Oy,
requests for interviews via Communica-
tions Manager Anna-Maria Halle, tel. +358
40 821 3406.
Norway: Åsne Havnelid Appointed
New CEO of Norsk Tipping
Ms. Havnelid comes from the position as
Secretary General of the Norwegian Red
Cross. She has a broad background and
extensive experience from central positions
within business, sports and the humanitarian
sector. Before joining the Red Cross in 2011,
Ms. Havnelid has held several leading posi-
tions in Norwegian sports and businesses.
Amongst them are positions as CEO of the
Nordic Ski World Championship in 2011,
Deputy Head of Olympiatoppen, Head of
Toppidrettssenteret, as well as leading posi-
tions within Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).
“I am very glad and excited, but also humble
to have been given this opportunity. Norsk
Tipping is a vital contributor to Norwegian
society. I look forward to lead Norsk Tippings
task of developing and offering attractive games
within a framework of responsible gaming.
The company ensures funding for a broad
range of sports-, culture- and humanitarian
organizations in Norway,”
states Havnelid.
“I am looking forward to getting to know the
company and the industry. But most of all I am
looking forward to meeting my new colleagues
at Norsk Tipping. However, I also have to say
that it will not be easy to leave the Red Cross,
an important humanitarian organization,
both in Norway and internationally.”
Åsne
Havnelid will begin in her new position this
autumn. The exact date will be confirmed at
a later stage. For further information, please
contact Åsne Havnelid, 419 00 370 Linda
Bernander Silseth, Chairman of the Norsk
Tipping Board 907 35 979 Bjørn Maaseide,
Dep. chairman of the Norsk Tipping Board
996 39 000.
Limit on German Sports Betting
Licenses is Lifted
A German court has ruled that a treaty- im-
posed limit on the number of sports betting
licenses is illegal, thereby opening the market
to the rest of the European Union (EU).
The 5th Chamber of the Administrative
Court of Wiesbaden held that a cap of 20
sports betting licenses imposed by a treaty
was unlawful. The Treaty for European
Union (TFEU) has primacy over state and
federal laws in EU member nations, includ-
ing Germany. National or regional parlia-
ments that pass laws in conflict with the
TFEU are legally unable to enforce them.
The Court of Justice of the European Union
(CJEU) has ruled that operators cannot be
penalized for violating national laws that are
inconsistent with the TFEU. Since the Ger-
man Interstate Treaty is no longer enforce-
able, and there are no other laws governing
sports betting, operators licensed in other
EU member states can now offer services to
German customers.
The gambling industry thinks a federal solu-
tion is needed.
The most prominent industry lobbying
group is the German Association of Tele-
communications and Media. Its most influ-
ential member is partly state-owned telecom
company Deutsche Telekom (DT).
DT has an online gaming platform; it
was one of the original applicants judged
to be suitable for a sports betting license.
DT wants the federal government to inter-
vene, arguing that there is little chance of
the 16 separate Länder agreeing to changes
that will produce measures acceptable un-
der EU treaties.
“The exodus of investment and sales abroad
and the resulting loss of tax revenue in the bil-
lions can be avoided by creating legal certainty
for the industry and consumers,”
the DVTM
said in a statement.
“Only a liberalised,
regulated market can protect the youth, data
and consumer, expand addiction-fighting
measures and keep the real ‘black sheep’ out of
the industry.”
Novomatic to Buy 53% Stake
in Ainsworth Game Technology
Novomatic Buys Tatts Group
UK Slots Business
Australian gambling operator Tatts Group
announced the sale of its UK-based slots
subsidiary Talarius to Austrian gaming
equipment manufacturer Novomatic for the
amount of A$210 million.
Novomatic Lottery Solutions
(NLS) Partners with Safran
to Supply Terminals
for the Catalonia Lottery in Spain
Partnering with Novomatic Lottery Solu-
tions (NLS), Safran Identity & Security has
delivered 2,500 S8 lottery terminals to the
Catalonia Lottery in Spain. Miriam Lind-
horst, CEO de NLS, the Catalonia Lottery
operator:
“The NLS system is a state of the art
solution utilizing the most modern technologies
in the industry. It was important to us that this
was the case end to end.”
Friedrich Stickler,
a long-standing
member of the Board of Österreichische Lot-
terien GmbH and six years as President of
the European Lotteries association, became