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[bleepy] 11/9/2010 19:38

European Union Court Rules Austrian Gambling Laws, Is US Next?

[bleepy] 09/9/2010 21:32

Next week, the Congressional session in the US begins again in both the House and the Senate. One of the pieces of legislation that may be discussed is Representative Barney Frank's online gambling bill. Online poker players and gamblers are urged to call their senators and representatives to support the bill.

[bleepy] 09/9/2010 12:07

ECJ: Austrian gaming legislation contrary to EU law

Time to harmonize gambling rules across the European Union
Brussels, 9 September 2010

In a decision published today (1) , the European Court of Justice ruled that the Austrian laws regulating the provision of gaming services are disproportionate and discriminatory and therefore not compliant with EU law.

Only a day after the landmark rulings issued against the German lottery and sports betting monopoly the ECJ out rightly rejects the Austrian gaming provisions as also being in clear breach of EU law.

The Court concluded on a number of questions which will not only lead Austria to modernize its legislation but will also directly impact other Member States:

"The obligation on persons holding concessions to operate gaming establishments to have their seat in Austria constitutes a restriction on freedom of establishment" (ECJ press release n°80/10)
"There are in fact various less restrictive measures available to monitor the activities and accounts of such operators. In addition, any undertaking established in a Member State can be supervised and have sanctions imposed on it, regardless of the place of residence of its managers. Moreover, there is nothing to prevent supervision being carried out on the premises of the establishments" (Idem)
"The absence of a competitive procedure when the concessions were granted to Casinos Austria AG does not comply with freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services" (Idem)
Tendering procedures "must be based on objective, non discriminatory criteria, known in advance, in such a way as to circumscribe the exercise of the authorities discretion so that it is not used arbitrarily" (Point 55 of "Engelmann ruling," C-64/08)

Commenting on the case, Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of the European Gaming and Betting Association said: "Today's ruling against the Austrian gambling laws confirms clearly that Member States cannot require EU licensed online operators to be physically present on their territory. In the Digital age there are obviously other and more efficient means available to monitor the activities of the operators".

"The European Commission has been given new legal arguments to pursue infringement procedures against several Member States that have similar provisions. Commissioner Barnier has now a clear mandate to go ahead with the Green paper and to start discussions on EU regulation for the sector", Ligné added.

[bleepy] 09/9/2010 07:59

European Court Opens Door For Foreign Gambling Presence In Germany

The ruling could be a precedent setting case that opens up gambling markets throughout the world.

[evox] 08/9/2010 20:20

All good stuff!

[bleepy] 08/9/2010 14:42

srpactive

Alongside mark up and merger news are...

* Poker Voters of America(PVA)about to introduce amended bill in California for intrastate online poker system by the end of 2010(PG has interest here)

* India looking toward legislating sports betting and looking at UK model

* German gambling monopoly has been ruled illegal by the EU's highest court and must be dismantled

* Portugal setting up working group toward drafting online gaming legislation

* Greece about to open their markets to a new online gaming industry

[srpactive] 08/9/2010 09:57

bleepy

8 September and moving higher, maybe the
mark up and the merger could be gainging
momentum.

dyor

[bleepy] 02/9/2010 08:30

evox

Congress back from recess on Sept. 8th could well see the mark up of the tax companion bill enabling both bills to be brought to the floor.
With the seasonal increase in poker traffic about to start the big casinos will be under immediate exposure to any player boycott and consequential loss of revenue.Not forgetting the likes of WPT sponsor the casinos in staging world class tournaments.
As you say the gates are opening and compromise will pave the way toward their support.
The bills can then be finalised with provisions that meet all interested parties concerns and needs.As a result you would expect more senators coming forward to sponsor the bills toward implementation.
The much needed revenue and jobs will then follow on.

[evox] 01/9/2010 20:43

bleepy - re 15393 - it seems that even the big casinos are seeing the inevitability of legalised online poker. USA needs this revenue too so I don't think it will be long before the gates open.

[bleepy] 01/9/2010 18:18

Online Poker in the US: PokerStars, Full Tilt Won't Be Able to Sell Assets

[bleepy] 31/8/2010 15:22

WPT secures three year primetime TV broadcast with FSN

[bleepy] 27/8/2010 13:53

Greece unveils proposals to regulate gambling
27Aug10
The Greek government has unveiled proposed legislation to regulate the country's online and machine gaming market, admitting that the current system has created a contrary situation to the desired effect, while at the same time depriving the state of much needed revenues.

[masterpo] 26/8/2010 22:37

Appreciate your posts Bleepy, keep up the good work.

[bleepy] 26/8/2010 09:55

Nevada Officials Worried Over Harry Reid's Support of Online Gambling

Some Nevada gambling companies are already positioning themselves to take full advantage of the possible new law. Harrah's, which owns the World Series of Poker, is widely being discussed as a company that would acquire the world's 4th largest online poker venture, PartyGaming. That group recently announced plans to merge with one of Europe's largest Internet sports betting firms, Bwin.

[bleepy] 25/8/2010 17:27

Internet poker's enemies are dropping like flies.

[bleepy] 24/8/2010 22:33

Holland To Add Online Poker To Legalized Gaming Options

[masterpo] 23/8/2010 09:27

Yes, as far as I know but please DYOR. Doesn`t appear to be any on my trades.

[leoneobull] 23/8/2010 09:22

can u still trade these stamp duty free?

[bleepy] 19/8/2010 09:57

bwin Half Year Financial Report 2010 19 Aug 2010

Announcement by bwin Interactive Entertainment AG ("bwin")

Below is the text of an announcement issued today by bwin.


Half Year Financial Report 2010

Key financial indicators (pro forma consolidated, unaudited)

EUR million
Q2 10 Q2 09 % YoY H1 10 H109 % YoY
Gross gaming revenues 127.2 95.1 33.7% 260.4 212.8 22.4%
Net gaming revenues 100.4 77.8 29.2% 209.7 179.9 16.6%
Total revenues 112.5 96.7 16.3% 232.6 216.1 7.6%
EBITDA (adjusted*) 11.0 15.1 -27.0% 41.3 51.1 -19.2%
EBITDA (adjusted* excl. German Soccer League) 11.0 9.7 13.4% 41.3 40.9 0.9%
EBIT -3.0 0.0 n.a 15.1 21.9 -30.9%
Result after tax 2.8 0.1 n.a 14.7 19.1 -22.7%


Highlights of business development in Q2 2010

• Record turnover for sports betting due to successful Soccer World Cup underscores market leadership
• Promising start to sports betting and poker in France at end of Q2
• Result temporarily affected by intensive preparations and start-up costs in lead-up phase in calculated move in anticipation of further regulation of online gaming markets in Europe
• First mover: Competitive advantage achieved by targeted marketing campaign in France immediately after granting of licence
• Poker and casino affected by World Cup and seasonal trend
• Significant growth for games

Q2 2010 (pro forma consolidated)

• Gross gaming revenues of EUR 127.2 million, or EUR 113.8 million excl. Gioco Digitale (Q2 2009: EUR 95.1 million)
• Sports betting margin 7.2% (Q2 2009: 5.9%)
• Net gaming revenues of EUR 100.4 million, or EUR 93.1 million excl. Gioco Digitale (Q2 2009: EUR 77.8 million)
• Record number of active customers: 1,381,000 active and 360,000 new active real-money customers (plus 30.7% and plus 43.5% respectively)
• EBITDA (adjusted*) of EUR 11.0 million (Q2 2009: EUR 15.1 million, or EUR 9.7 million excl. effects of German Soccer League marketing rights)
• Result after tax of EUR 2.8 million (Q2 2009: EUR 0.1 million)

Merger of bwin and PartyGaming

• Implementation of merger on schedule with conclusion expected in Q1 2011
• Proposed merger with PartyGaming opens up new opportunities strategically, financially and operationally
• Consolidated company will be market leader in poker, sports betting, casino and games, particularly bingo
• Merger to ensure optimal positioning to take advantage of growth potential due to regulation of European and international gaming markets


* Excluding non-cash expenses in connection with share-based payment (IFRS 2) and one-off effects in connection with proposed merger.

The complete half year financial report 2010 can be found online on the bwin investor relations website at www.bwin.org, and here where it can also be downloaded in pdf format.

[adieadie] 18/8/2010 21:34

I guess someone is selling a huge amount. expect we'll see an RNS

[stoxx67] 18/8/2010 14:18

wtf is occurring?

i had thought we had broken trend to the upside at 2.90.....WRONG...