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OMG, Brexit is a fact!

Say what you want, the people have made their say.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 2120
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ixgames wrote: OMG, Brexit is a fact!

Say what you want, the people have made their say.
A vote for Brexit—a British exit from the EU—would have no immediate impact on U.K. regulation or on the sites where British players can play. The EU will not suddenly drop a barrier across internet poker.

However, within the world of EU gambling legislation, the UKGC stands out as a beacon of common sense. The U.K. laws are clearly legal under EU treaties, and the U.K. is one of the main voices within the EU Commission demanding the same level of compliance from other jurisdictions.
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The number of distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks is on the rise and online gaming sites remain the number one target.

According to the latest State of the Internet Security report by Akamai Technologies, the number of DDOS attacks in the first quarter of 2016 was up 125% from Q1 2015 and up 22.5% from Q4 2015.

Online gaming sites – which includes not only gambling but also console gaming networks – were the targets in 55% of the Q1 DDOS attacks, about the same as in Q4. Software & technology sites ranked a distant second at 25%, while media & entertainment were third with just 5%.

On the plus side, the average duration of Q1’s DDOS attacks was 16.14 hours, down more than one-third from Q1 2015.

On the downside, Akamai says multi-vector attacks are becoming more popular, presenting greater challenges for sites’ security practitioners. Single-vector attacks have declined from 56% of the total in Q2 2015 to just 41% in Q1 2016.

Akamai counted a record 19 attacks in which the volume of data topped 100 gigabytes per second (Gbps), up from just five such mega-attacks in Q4. The previous record of 17 100-Gbps attacks was recorded in Q3 2014.

The gaming industry was targeted in three of these mega-attacks, all of which occurred the day before or the day of this year’s SuperBowl, strongly suggesting that the attackers weren’t targeting console gamers.

Akamai believes DDOS attackers are becoming more persistent in targeting specific sites. Targeted sites were hit with an average of 29 attacks in Q1, up from 15 in the same period last year. Akamai credited the rise to the ease with which attackers could now acquire DDOS attack platforms.

Akamai didn’t name names, but Q1’s most frequently targeted website was hit with 283 DDOS attacks, an average of three per day. This type of focus is typical of what Akamai called the latest DDOS trend, in which attackers “hammer away at high-value organizations, regardless of effect, looking for a moment when defenses might drop.”

DDOS attacks are also being used more and more as “a diversion technique to exhaust company resources while attacks are launched against the primary target.” Akamai suggests data exfiltration as the true motivation behind many repeated DDOS attacks.

Akamai believes a lot of DDOS attackers are now mimicking tactics pioneered by the infamous DD4BC group, which offered to forego large-scale DDOS attacks if the victims coughed up a certain number of Bitcoins.

China was the source of 27% of all DDOS attacks in Q1, followed by the United States at 17% and Turkey with 10%. Turkey has now made the top-10 for two straight quarters, which Akamai credited to Russian hackers migrating outside their home country.






DDOS Attacks on the Rise, Online Gambling Top Target | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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Manne wrote: The number of distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks is on the rise and online gaming sites remain the number one target.

According to the latest State of the Internet Security report by Akamai Technologies, the number of DDOS attacks in the first quarter of 2016 was up 125% from Q1 2015 and up 22.5% from Q4 2015.

Online gaming sites – which includes not only gambling but also console gaming networks – were the targets in 55% of the Q1 DDOS attacks, about the same as in Q4. Software & technology sites ranked a distant second at 25%, while media & entertainment were third with just 5%.

On the plus side, the average duration of Q1’s DDOS attacks was 16.14 hours, down more than one-third from Q1 2015.

On the downside, Akamai says multi-vector attacks are becoming more popular, presenting greater challenges for sites’ security practitioners. Single-vector attacks have declined from 56% of the total in Q2 2015 to just 41% in Q1 2016.

Akamai counted a record 19 attacks in which the volume of data topped 100 gigabytes per second (Gbps), up from just five such mega-attacks in Q4. The previous record of 17 100-Gbps attacks was recorded in Q3 2014.

The gaming industry was targeted in three of these mega-attacks, all of which occurred the day before or the day of this year’s SuperBowl, strongly suggesting that the attackers weren’t targeting console gamers.

Akamai believes DDOS attackers are becoming more persistent in targeting specific sites. Targeted sites were hit with an average of 29 attacks in Q1, up from 15 in the same period last year. Akamai credited the rise to the ease with which attackers could now acquire DDOS attack platforms.

Akamai didn’t name names, but Q1’s most frequently targeted website was hit with 283 DDOS attacks, an average of three per day. This type of focus is typical of what Akamai called the latest DDOS trend, in which attackers “hammer away at high-value organizations, regardless of effect, looking for a moment when defenses might drop.”

DDOS attacks are also being used more and more as “a diversion technique to exhaust company resources while attacks are launched against the primary target.” Akamai suggests data exfiltration as the true motivation behind many repeated DDOS attacks.

Akamai believes a lot of DDOS attackers are now mimicking tactics pioneered by the infamous DD4BC group, which offered to forego large-scale DDOS attacks if the victims coughed up a certain number of Bitcoins.

China was the source of 27% of all DDOS attacks in Q1, followed by the United States at 17% and Turkey with 10%. Turkey has now made the top-10 for two straight quarters, which Akamai credited to Russian hackers migrating outside their home country.






DDOS Attacks on the Rise, Online Gambling Top Target | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
Thanks for the update, Manne.
Join: 2014/04/23 Messages: 86
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Pennsylvania legislators may be poised to step up the ante when it comes to gambling in Pennsylvania. The idea of expanding gambling to include online gaming is gaining traction as an easy way to increase government revenue.

But before Pennsylvania jumps into this quagmire, there has to be an honest and full debate as to the social impact online gambling would bring to Pennsylvania.

One problem with online gambling is accessibility. It offers folks the opportunity to gamble wherever and whenever they want, including at work and school.

For addicts, the temptation would be sitting right there in their phone, at their computer or at their desk. With brick-and-mortar casinos, individuals have to at least get up out of their chair, navigate their way to a casino and then navigate back home.

The privacy and seclusion that online gaming offers is dangerous as people can sit in the comfort of their homes and gamble for hours on end.

With accessibility also comes a lack of monitoring. Vulnerable people, such as children, problem gamblers, addictive types and the mentally impaired, can use a gambling site without any supervision. In a traditional casino, dealers and staff oversee the amount of time spent at tables and discourage problematic conduct. Not so with online gaming.

Another issue is the lack of fiscal awareness. Gaming sites deal exclusively with electronic cash, which may distance a gambler from how much money he or she is actually spending. The advent of e-cash systems allows gamblers to access money with a click of a button, never having to leave the game and leading to the deception that virtual cash is less valuable then actual cash.

Gambling also drives people to become involved in unhealthy behavior, including crime.

Take a case directly out of Northampton County. The president of his class at Lehigh University was sucked into the world of online gambling. He felt so desperate that, on Dec. 9, 2005, he robbed a bank. His online poker addiction drove him to become a criminal.

There are also many other crimes that are exclusive to online gambling. There are fake gaming sites and lottery scams. Criminals have begun to use the internet as a way to broaden their base of victims as it allows them to send out mass messages in a short amount of time, maximizing their efforts.

Backroom internet betting parlors make it much more difficult for prosecutors to find participants and for the government to regulate the gaming. These parlors use the anonymity and dark corners of the internet to hide from the law, enabling far more illegal activities than a traditional casino.

Essentially, there is no way to track the money that is being traded online because virtual cash leaves no paper trail. It is nearly impossible to find where and when the money is turned over into real liquid cash. This sort of gambling is perfect for money laundering in that high volumes of money are being transferred constantly.

Legislative leaders should scrap the idea of online gambling for Pennsylvania.





Pa. lawmakers should reject online gambling - The Morning Call
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An update of people convicted and sentenced in the courts in Hull and the East Riding

Callam Callis, 22, of Knightscourt, Orchard Park, received a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and must pay £630 compensation, for concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property, namely using a stolen bank card to put £630 in his online gambling account.

Ricky Peacham, 29, of Woodcock Street, west Hull, was discharged conditionally for 12 months for stealing an Einstein Jumparoo children's development chair, worth £150. He must pay £89.99 compensation and a £15 surcharge.

Dean Inglis, 31, of Louis Drive, west Hull, was ordered to pay £200 compensation, and have up to 50 days' rehabilitation, for assaulting two female constables in the execution of their duty; damaging a bottle worth £7.99 belonging to one of them; and possessing cannabis. He must pay an £85 surcharge.

Alison Mitchelmore, 30, of Worcester Road, west Hull, was discharged conditionally for 18 months for stealing goods worth £140.97 from Asda. She must pay £85 costs and a £20 surcharge.

Samuel Few, 22, of Hutt Street, west Hull, was fined £80 for stealing two Loreal face creams from TK Maxx; and stealing two packets of Nescafé coffee, worth £6, from Tesco. He must pay £85 costs and a £30 surcharge.

Angela Oldridge, 47, of Roborough Close, Bransholme, received a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for six counts of fraud by false representation, by failing to declare she was living with a person as husband and wife, intending to make a gain of Jobseeker's Allowance and employment and support allowance. She must pay £85 costs and an £80 surcharge.

Pedro Fernandes, 21, of High Street, Old Town, was fined £40, and was ordered to pay £13.20 compensation, for travelling on the railway between Beverley and Bridlington without paying the fare of £13.20. He must pay £100 costs and a £20 surcharge.




Read more at Man used stolen bank card to boost online gambling account: Hull court listings (June 28 2016) | Hull Daily Mail
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Manne wrote: An update of people convicted and sentenced in the courts in Hull and the East Riding

Callam Callis, 22, of Knightscourt, Orchard Park, received a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and must pay £630 compensation, for concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property, namely using a stolen bank card to put £630 in his online gambling account.

Ricky Peacham, 29, of Woodcock Street, west Hull, was discharged conditionally for 12 months for stealing an Einstein Jumparoo children's development chair, worth £150. He must pay £89.99 compensation and a £15 surcharge.

Dean Inglis, 31, of Louis Drive, west Hull, was ordered to pay £200 compensation, and have up to 50 days' rehabilitation, for assaulting two female constables in the execution of their duty; damaging a bottle worth £7.99 belonging to one of them; and possessing cannabis. He must pay an £85 surcharge.

Alison Mitchelmore, 30, of Worcester Road, west Hull, was discharged conditionally for 18 months for stealing goods worth £140.97 from Asda. She must pay £85 costs and a £20 surcharge.

Samuel Few, 22, of Hutt Street, west Hull, was fined £80 for stealing two Loreal face creams from TK Maxx; and stealing two packets of Nescafé coffee, worth £6, from Tesco. He must pay £85 costs and a £30 surcharge.

Angela Oldridge, 47, of Roborough Close, Bransholme, received a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for six counts of fraud by false representation, by failing to declare she was living with a person as husband and wife, intending to make a gain of Jobseeker's Allowance and employment and support allowance. She must pay £85 costs and an £80 surcharge.

Pedro Fernandes, 21, of High Street, Old Town, was fined £40, and was ordered to pay £13.20 compensation, for travelling on the railway between Beverley and Bridlington without paying the fare of £13.20. He must pay £100 costs and a £20 surcharge.




Read more at Man used stolen bank card to boost online gambling account: Hull court listings (June 28 2016) | Hull Daily Mail
It's not the first time and absolute not the last time!
Join: 2006/12/11 Messages: 1758
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Ever since ‘Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey’ legalized it, online gambling has been growing slowly. All three states missed their initial revenue forecasts.

New Jersey state had estimated to bring in $1 billion in its first year, but the real figures were only 12% of that. Following 2014, their Internet gambling revenue rose by only 17.6%. Delaware made $1.4 million in the first year and $1.8 million in the following, while Nevada completely stopped reporting Internet gambling revenue as a separate item. Apparently, they do not have numbers worth showcasing. The only online gambling brand in Nevada (Online Poker) is just a drop in the bucket of the state’s $11 billion gambling market.

Many states are still waiting in the sidelines hoping for a wave of expansion in this emerging industry.

As predicted by the Gambling Compliance based in San Francisco, California or Pennsylvania may approve Internet gambling this year, followed by New York and Mississippi. In 2016 they predict nine states may consider legalizing it.

The United States has been one of the biggest markets for online gambling, but all of a sudden players became anxious about whether they were playing legally or not. In 2006, Congress passed the legislation “Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act” (UIGEA), which was aimed at curbing money-laundering activities online. What it effectively did was prohibit American online players from engaging in financial transactions with gaming sites.

The biggest side effect of this rule out by UIGEA was that online players were panicking about not being able to get their funds back.

While the UIGEA was meant to make life difficult for online gambling sites, it in fact had a bigger impact on the players. The poker sites which were shut down by the Department of Justice were yet to return funds to players, many of who are still waiting.

It is now taking time for these players and other consumers to consider online gambling completely reliable.

The picture is however different in Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey. They have a steady increase in users as more and more people are being made aware of new laws. They seem happy enough about it and the state government are raking in bigger amounts of money. The popularity of online gambling is shifting. It clearly depicts that all 50 US states could launch their gambling sites earlier than 2020 if they wanted to. While it may not happen that soon, it is almost inevitable that it will happen eventually.

The bottom line is that, this is going to take some time.
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Manne wrote: A vote for Brexit—a British exit from the EU—would have no immediate impact on U.K. regulation or on the sites where British players can play. The EU will not suddenly drop a barrier across internet poker.

However, within the world of EU gambling legislation, the UKGC stands out as a beacon of common sense. The U.K. laws are clearly legal under EU treaties, and the U.K. is one of the main voices within the EU Commission demanding the same level of compliance from other jurisdictions.
A vote for Brexit—a British exit from the EU—would have no immediate impact on U.K. regulation or on the sites where British players can play. The EU will not suddenly drop a barrier across internet poker.

However, within the world of EU gambling legislation, the UKGC stands out as a beacon of common sense. The U.K. laws are clearly legal under EU treaties, and the U.K. is one of the main voices within the EU Commission demanding the same level of compliance from other jurisdictions.


i read, that by according to the survey 80 % of Britons poorly understood all the consequences of this political decision. So...
Join: 2016/05/25 Messages: 23
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Manne wrote: Marilyn Manson and Motorhead are among the acts that have canceled shows in Paris following the terrorist attacks that killed at least 132 people. Hollywood is also responding by toning down the "Hunger Games" premiere.


Hard rock groups Motorhead and Marilyn Manson were scheduled to perform at The Zenith, on of Paris' most prominent venues, on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

Both shows were called off due after French authorities ordered that concerts be suspended.

"It was not The Zenith or the artists who wanted to cancel their shows, but we cannot go against the local government decree," the venue wrote on its website.

Motorhead and Marilyn Manson are the latest in a series of cancellations, after US, Foo Fighters and Coldplay called of Paris shows over the weekend following Friday's deadly attacks.


Read more: Entertainment industry tempers its tone after Paris attacks | Culture | DW.COM | 16.11.2015
Now this happens more and more often.. (
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At long last, China has made a late run at securing the Euro 2016 illegal betting bust title.

After staying uncharacteristically quiet on the Euro 2016 betting bust front, Wednesday saw Chinese media outlets report that police in Guangdong province have broken up a major online betting syndicate following simultaneous raids in five cities. A total of 543 suspects have been detained as part of an operation dubbed Jufeng-10, which was launched on June 21.

Liang Ruiguo, deputy director of the criminal investigation bureau of the provincial Department of Public Security, said the “soccer betting gang” had attracted “a large sum” of wagers since Euro 2016 kicked off on June 10. The raids resulted in the seizure of cash totaling RMB 3m (US $452k) and the freezing of another RMB 90m ($13.6m) held in 983 bank accounts.

Liang said the Jufeng-10 operation targeted betting agents in Foshan, Shenzhen, Guangshou, Dongguan and Shantou. Police continue to pursue other agents who have so far evaded detection and Liang said “special efforts will be made to crack down on gambling gangs, bankers, key members and beneficiaries.”

VIETNAM’S JAILS GETTING CROWDED
Over the border in Vietnam, police have followed up this month’s bust of a major online football betting ring by arresting 10 individuals who ran an illegal football betting operation in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Hai Phong. Police said the gang provided punters with access to bank accounts that were used to transmit cash to and from internationally licensed online betting sites.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security held a press conference this week to trumpet its success in waging war on illegality. Over the first half of 2016, the Ministry claims to have launched 21k criminal cases, of which 4,820 were gambling-related and 242 involved online football betting. An estimated 21k individuals were arrested as a result of these gambling cases.




China Busts Major Euro 2016 Online Betting Ring | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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It appears that a bill which would legalize online gambling in the Netherlands has been gaining support and may very well become law soon, according to numerous reports. Originally introduced two years ago, the bill was finally debated by the Dutch Lower House last week. That debate is set to continue today, June 30th, with a likely vote next week.

According to GaminginHolland-com, the bill should pass the Lower House because it has the support of the majority coalition. The bigger question is whether or not it can pass muster in the Senate, as the two coalition parties – the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA) – only account for 22 of the 75 total votes when 38 are needed for the bill to succeed.

GaminginHolland did report, though, that the opposition parties – Democrats 66 (D66) and Party for Freedom (PVV) – agree with the bill “in principle” and will likely give their support, even if they are not as gung-ho about it as the VVD and PvdA. Thus, if all of them vote in the affirmative, there is a good chance that their counterparts in the Senate will, as well.

Currently, Dutch law considers online gambling illegal, but unlike in the United States, where most online operators have withdrawn from the market despite online gambling, particularly poker, landing in a legal grey area in most jurisdictions, online operators have continued to accept Dutch customers without much trouble.

Operators have had to tread lightly in the Netherlands, though. In February, the Netherlands Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit), issued updated guidelines for gambling advertising, warning that it was only permissible for licensed gambling operators to market their services in the country. Currently, Holland Casino has a legal monopoly on land-based gambling in the Netherlands, with more than a dozen venues. Online sports betting is also available, with De Lotto licensed by the government to operate sportsbooks and Scientific Games Racing to operate horse racing sites. Aside from those companies, though, nobody else is licensed to offer gambling, land-based or online, in the Netherlands.

That said, online poker rooms and other gambling sites still accept Dutch customers. They just have to be careful not to advertise to them. Essentially, the customers have to find the sites. Sites are not permitted to “actively promote players’ participation in games of chance” nor can ancillary or even unrelated companies issue things like press releases touting sponsorship deals or marketing partnerships. It’s like the first rule of Fight Club: “You do not talk about Fight Club.”

Thus, online poker operators have avoided advertising to the Dutch directly. The Kansspelautoriteit is said to not have much in the way of teeth, which is why poker sites continue to take customers from the Netherlands and the Dutch keep playing, but operators have kept an arms-length distance because of one big reason: future licensing. Similar to how PokerStars has been getting out of grey markets in an effort to keep its image squeaky clean for regulators in the United States, online gaming operators have been willing to avoid advertising in the Netherlands so that they don’t already have a black mark against them when they apply for a license if and when online gambling becomes legalized.

Back to the bill, one of the reasons it has taken so long to get to this point even though it was introduced two years ago is that Dutch legislators have submitted over 500 questions on it, all of which needed to be addressed in some form or another. Nearly 30 amendments have already been proposed, as well.

One of the amendments that has caused the most consternation has to do with the gaming tax rate. One proposal was to have separate tax rates for online and land-based operators (presumably a higher rate for internet operators), but that didn’t happen. The plan that will likely be approved is a flat 29 percent (yes, that high) on gross gaming revenue. It is supported by the majority parties. Online operators are not thrilled with this, though, and not just because it a lofty rate. As GaminginHolland succinctly tells it:

But remote operators have criticised a lower tax rate which currently applies to lotteries, which will also be allowed to enter the online market when the new reforms enter in force.

Lottery operators are paying effectively 8 to 10 percent on lottery revenue and the differential tax appears set to continue. In Portugal, where the online gambling market was opened in June last year, a differential tax system has prompted online firms to file a state aid case with the European Commission.





Dutch Online Gambling Bill Beginning to Move -
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Gibraltar-based online gambling operators will remain committed to their operations, despite fears that the Rock will be the British Overseas Territory to suffer the most from the exit vote, Minister for Financial Services and Gaming Albert Isola told local media.

Last week, a referendum was held on whether the United Kingdom should leave the European Union. The majority of votes showed support for the nation’s exit and there is no doubt that the most frequently asked question has ever since been “What is going to happen now?”

It is too early to say how exactly Brexit would affect the iGaming industry. There is still fog of confusion hovering over and it is as if no one is brave enough to provide a firm and at least partially adequate prognosis as to how the business would be impacted.

However, concerns have been voiced by industry experts that Gibraltar would be the jurisdiction to be the most severely hit by the exit vote and particularly its remote gambling industry.

The Rock is a tax haven for online gambling companies as these are levied at 1% of their turnover. With the UK out of the EU, operators may face serious challenges in providing their services to Member States, due to the fact that some countries have strict regulations regarding who can operate remote gambling options within their borders.

However, Minister Isola reassured that he has spoken personally with every single gambling company based in Gibraltar and that they have indicated they would remain fully committed to the local remote gaming industry. According to the official, several companies have even pointed out that they are considering expansion, including recruiting staff and leasing new offices.

Minister Isola also noted that Gibraltar’s Government will continue working closely with the UK Government to make sure that there will be little or no change at all for those living or traveling to the Rock.

Earlier this year, the Gambling Act Review was published and it is in a consultation stage now. The Gibraltar Minister for Gaming said in his statement to media that the legislation will most certainly be proceeded and expanded so as for local gambling regulations, as well as licensing, and taxation procedures to remain fit.

Currently, there are more than 30 gambling groups to have based their remote gaming operations in Gibraltar.





Minister for Gaming Dismisses Worries about Gibraltar Online Gambling Industry
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First lady: All states easing licensing for military spouses.


Michelle Obama says her campaign to help military families has reached a new milestone.

All 50 states have now eased the requirements for military spouses whose careers require a professional license, such as nursing or teaching.

The first lady says just three states accepted licenses from other states when she and Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, launched a broader military initiative in 2011.

Military spouses seek new employment every few years, more often than civilians, based on when their enlisted husbands and wives are deployed to new posts. The White House says about one-third of military spouses have careers that require a professional license. Each move often required them to spend considerable time and money to get a license in their new home states.
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Manne wrote: It appears that a bill which would legalize online gambling in the Netherlands has been gaining support and may very well become law soon, according to numerous reports. Originally introduced two years ago, the bill was finally debated by the Dutch Lower House last week. That debate is set to continue today, June 30th, with a likely vote next week.

According to GaminginHolland-com, the bill should pass the Lower House because it has the support of the majority coalition. The bigger question is whether or not it can pass muster in the Senate, as the two coalition parties – the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA) – only account for 22 of the 75 total votes when 38 are needed for the bill to succeed.

GaminginHolland did report, though, that the opposition parties – Democrats 66 (D66) and Party for Freedom (PVV) – agree with the bill “in principle” and will likely give their support, even if they are not as gung-ho about it as the VVD and PvdA. Thus, if all of them vote in the affirmative, there is a good chance that their counterparts in the Senate will, as well.

Currently, Dutch law considers online gambling illegal, but unlike in the United States, where most online operators have withdrawn from the market despite online gambling, particularly poker, landing in a legal grey area in most jurisdictions, online operators have continued to accept Dutch customers without much trouble.

Operators have had to tread lightly in the Netherlands, though. In February, the Netherlands Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit), issued updated guidelines for gambling advertising, warning that it was only permissible for licensed gambling operators to market their services in the country. Currently, Holland Casino has a legal monopoly on land-based gambling in the Netherlands, with more than a dozen venues. Online sports betting is also available, with De Lotto licensed by the government to operate sportsbooks and Scientific Games Racing to operate horse racing sites. Aside from those companies, though, nobody else is licensed to offer gambling, land-based or online, in the Netherlands.

That said, online poker rooms and other gambling sites still accept Dutch customers. They just have to be careful not to advertise to them. Essentially, the customers have to find the sites. Sites are not permitted to “actively promote players’ participation in games of chance” nor can ancillary or even unrelated companies issue things like press releases touting sponsorship deals or marketing partnerships. It’s like the first rule of Fight Club: “You do not talk about Fight Club.”

Thus, online poker operators have avoided advertising to the Dutch directly. The Kansspelautoriteit is said to not have much in the way of teeth, which is why poker sites continue to take customers from the Netherlands and the Dutch keep playing, but operators have kept an arms-length distance because of one big reason: future licensing. Similar to how PokerStars has been getting out of grey markets in an effort to keep its image squeaky clean for regulators in the United States, online gaming operators have been willing to avoid advertising in the Netherlands so that they don’t already have a black mark against them when they apply for a license if and when online gambling becomes legalized.

Back to the bill, one of the reasons it has taken so long to get to this point even though it was introduced two years ago is that Dutch legislators have submitted over 500 questions on it, all of which needed to be addressed in some form or another. Nearly 30 amendments have already been proposed, as well.

One of the amendments that has caused the most consternation has to do with the gaming tax rate. One proposal was to have separate tax rates for online and land-based operators (presumably a higher rate for internet operators), but that didn’t happen. The plan that will likely be approved is a flat 29 percent (yes, that high) on gross gaming revenue. It is supported by the majority parties. Online operators are not thrilled with this, though, and not just because it a lofty rate. As GaminginHolland succinctly tells it:

But remote operators have criticised a lower tax rate which currently applies to lotteries, which will also be allowed to enter the online market when the new reforms enter in force.

Lottery operators are paying effectively 8 to 10 percent on lottery revenue and the differential tax appears set to continue. In Portugal, where the online gambling market was opened in June last year, a differential tax system has prompted online firms to file a state aid case with the European Commission.





Dutch Online Gambling Bill Beginning to Move -
Always nice if something is going in the right direction.
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mike1 wrote: Always nice if something is going in the right direction.
Study the past if you would define the future.
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Gibraltar’s gaming industry is putting on a brave face despite lingering questions over the British Overseas Territory’s future in a post-Brexit world.

The British public’s vote to leave the European Union has prompted much speculation regarding the fate of the couple dozen Gibraltar-based online betting firms that theoretically stand to lose access to EU markets and whose employees may lose their ability to freely travel to work from homes in neighboring Spain.

On Friday, Gibraltar’s Minister for Gaming Albert Isola (pictured) issued a statement saying the gaming sector “remains strongly committed to its Gibraltar operations.” Isola said the government had spoken to each Gibraltar-licensed operator to “assure them of our support and vision for this sector in the short, medium and long term.”

Isola also said that the Gibraltar government’s discussions with their UK counterparts suggested “there will be little or no change to the current arrangements for those who live and work in or travel to Gibraltar, and all the indications are that it really will be ‘business as usual’.”

Moreover, Isola claimed that Gibraltar-licensed operators had “confirmed their intention to continue with their expansion plans in Gibraltar,” both in terms of widening their office space footprint and to fill these spaces with new employees.

The Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association (GBGA) issued its own statement welcoming Isola’s remarks and affirming its willingness to work with the Gibraltar government during “this period of uncertainty.”

The GBGA emphasized that until the UK actually Brexits, no changes will be forthcoming. The GBGA also noted that more and more EU markets now require local licenses and thus the Brexit impact on GBGA members “is therefore likely to be minimal.”

However, EU politicians have stated that Britain won’t have a long grace period in which to invoke Article 50 and begin its Brexit. Once that process begins, Gibraltar-licensed operators could choose to relocate to Malta, a rival licensing jurisdiction and EU member state.

Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, as did Scotland, and there has been some highly speculative talk about these two teaming up on a bid to re-enter the EU, which seems about as probable as some overeager Spanish foreign ministry comments about finally reclaiming Gibraltar three centuries after Spain lost the Rock to Britain.




Gibraltar Preaches Calm Following Brexit Vote | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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New Jersey, the last of the three states so far to launch online gambling, continues to lead the other two big time both in number of sites and total revenue. (Here are May’s numbers, for instance.)

In New Jersey, five operators (Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Caesars Interactive Entertainment – NJ, Golden Nugget Atlantic City, Resorts Casino Hotel, and Tropicana Casino & Resort) are currently offering a total of 12 online casinos and five online poker rooms.

These numbers are in striking contrast to online gambling in Nevada and Delaware. In Nevada, two operators, WSOP.com and Real Gaming, each have a poker site, with WSOP accounting for about 99 percent of the business.

In Delaware, all online gambling is under the control of the Delaware State Lottery in partnership with 888 Holdings. Each of the three licensed racinos in the state — Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington Raceway and Casino — offers online gambling for both casino games and poker.

Even though the initial revenue generated by online gambling fell far short of the projections in all three states, there has been a steady growth — demonstrably in New Jersey, and to a lesser extent in Delaware.

During its first full year of operation, NJ online gambling took in a total of $122 million. During the calendar year 2015, NJ iGaming generated $148.8 million in revenue, 21 percent higher than the total for 2014. The figures so far for 2016 suggest continued growth, up an impressive 29 percent from last year.

The first full year of online gambling in Delaware generated $1.4 million, followed by an increase to $1.8 million in revenue for the calendar year 2015. As for 2016, the most recent figures released by the Delaware Lottery show that total iGaming revenue has established new records for three consecutive months (March, April, and May).

A major contributing factor to the growth in online gambling revenue in Delaware in both 2015 and 2016 has been the combined poker player pool with Nevada online players. Previously, there simply weren’t enough players to make the Delaware online poker games an attractive option.

Nevada stopped issuing separate reports for iGaming revenue at the end of 2014, but the relative contribution of online poker to the state’s total gambling market, which is estimated at $11 billion, is believed to be negligible. But in fairness to both Nevada and Delaware, there is no way that either of these states could have come close to achieving New Jersey’s success because the Garden State has about triple the population of Nevada and Delaware combined.

Meanwhile several other states are currently offering online lottery ticket purchases but have not made the decision to offer online casino gambling or poker. The states to keep an eye on as the most likely next group for the second wave of legalized state-run online gambling in this country are Pennsylvania, New York and California.
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Manne wrote: Gibraltar’s gaming industry is putting on a brave face despite lingering questions over the British Overseas Territory’s future in a post-Brexit world.

The British public’s vote to leave the European Union has prompted much speculation regarding the fate of the couple dozen Gibraltar-based online betting firms that theoretically stand to lose access to EU markets and whose employees may lose their ability to freely travel to work from homes in neighboring Spain.

On Friday, Gibraltar’s Minister for Gaming Albert Isola (pictured) issued a statement saying the gaming sector “remains strongly committed to its Gibraltar operations.” Isola said the government had spoken to each Gibraltar-licensed operator to “assure them of our support and vision for this sector in the short, medium and long term.”

Isola also said that the Gibraltar government’s discussions with their UK counterparts suggested “there will be little or no change to the current arrangements for those who live and work in or travel to Gibraltar, and all the indications are that it really will be ‘business as usual’.”

Moreover, Isola claimed that Gibraltar-licensed operators had “confirmed their intention to continue with their expansion plans in Gibraltar,” both in terms of widening their office space footprint and to fill these spaces with new employees.

The Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association (GBGA) issued its own statement welcoming Isola’s remarks and affirming its willingness to work with the Gibraltar government during “this period of uncertainty.”

The GBGA emphasized that until the UK actually Brexits, no changes will be forthcoming. The GBGA also noted that more and more EU markets now require local licenses and thus the Brexit impact on GBGA members “is therefore likely to be minimal.”

However, EU politicians have stated that Britain won’t have a long grace period in which to invoke Article 50 and begin its Brexit. Once that process begins, Gibraltar-licensed operators could choose to relocate to Malta, a rival licensing jurisdiction and EU member state.

Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, as did Scotland, and there has been some highly speculative talk about these two teaming up on a bid to re-enter the EU, which seems about as probable as some overeager Spanish foreign ministry comments about finally reclaiming Gibraltar three centuries after Spain lost the Rock to Britain.




Gibraltar Preaches Calm Following Brexit Vote | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
Brexit Won’t Harm Gibraltar Online Gambling


The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association has moved to allay fears of the potential fallout from Brexit on its online gambling industry. Gibraltar is a member of the European Union by virtue of its status as a British Overseas Territory, and its inhabitants voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the union in last month’s referendum, by more than 94 percent.

As a major online gambling hub, which licenses well-known online gambling sites like 888 and PartyPoker, along with some 30 major licensees, the jurisdiction and its stakeholders benefitted from the free cross-border movement of people, goods, services, and capital that EU membership assured.

But suddenly Gibraltar finds itself facing a very real exit from the EU and there are concerns that its licensees and stakeholders might jump ship for Malta, a jurisdiction that has no likelihood of triggering Article 50 anytime soon, even by accident.

Gibraltar is dependent on its online gambling industry, its biggest employer, for thousands of jobs as well as 25 percent of its GDP.




www-cardschat-com/news/brexit-wont-harm-gibraltar-online-gambling-industry-says-gbga-27047
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The Netherlands could launch its regulated online gambling market by Q3 2017 now that parliamentarians have approved the necessary legislation.

The lower house of the Dutch parliament approved the country’s Remote Gaming Bill by a wide majority on Thursday. The Senate is on its summer break, but is expected to pass the bill without too much fuss once they reconvene this autumn.

The legislation imposes a 29% tax on both online and land-based gambling revenue, plus a further 1.5% to fund the activities of the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulatory body and another 0.5% to fund problem gambling programs.

The bill underwent a furious spate of amending earlier in the week, including a prohibition on the country’s land-based gambling operators from using their current player databases to market their online sites, a move that ensures they won’t have an unfair advantage over new entrants.

The amended bill also removed the right of the KSA to IP-block the domains of unauthorized gambling sites. The amendment noted that blocking unauthorized sites was a noble goal but found there were “more disadvantages than advantages” to this scheme, which could interfere with “the smooth technical operation of the internet.”

The bill contains some new advertising restrictions, including limits on marketing sites via non-pay TV channels and promoting in-play wagers during sports broadcasts. Online gambling operators will also be prohibited from accepting wagers on any sports team with which they have a sponsorship deal. Further amendments are likely once the bill hits the Senate.

DUTCH PARLIAMENT SEEKS GREATER CONTROL OVER CURAÇAO GAMBLING SECTOR
In a separate vote, the Lower House approved a motion calling for the KSA to assert greater control over the online gambling industry in Curaçao and St. Maarten, two former members of the Netherlands Antilles and now constituent countries of the Netherlands.

A motion put forward by two MPs calls for the KSA to go after illegal gambling operators in these two island states. The KSA already has a history of slapping six-figure fines on some Curaçao-licensed online gambling sites that accept Dutch customers.

The Dutch government appears doubtful about the motion’s legality. The Curaçao Chronicle reported that when the motion was initially announced, the Junior Minister of Justice and Security pointed out that Curaçao and St. Maarten are autonomous entities when it comes to monitoring their gambling sectors and the Netherlands couldn’t take unilateral action to alter this arrangement.

Curaçao is home to a number of online gambling operators, the most prominent of which is online sportsbook Pinnacle (formerly Pinnacle Sports).






Netherlands Lower House Approves Remote Gaming Bill | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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