Caribbean online gaming hub Curaçao, is set to tighten its regulations, with major consequences for gambling companies licensed there.

Despite promising to strengthen oversight for several years now with little appreciable results, the tiny Carribean island country, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has now agreed to take concrete action.

The measures are being supported by the Dutch government, which has helped the island through the COVID-19 crisis, and will see the launch of a new independent regulator by March 2021. 

Currently, Curaçao license holders pay a 2% corporate profit tax, and annual master license fee of ANG 240,000 (approx. $134,000 USD). However, the launch of the new regulator may also coincide with fee and tax rate changes. 

More concerning for operators relying on a Curacao license, is the prospect that they may be prohibited from accepting customers from other regulated territories, including those from the Netherlands itself – whose regulated gambling market is finally set to launch in 2021. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s no secret that, while many reputable companies operate with a Curacao license, the island’s soft touch regulation has also made it attractive to those looking to get away with shady business practices. If the new regulatory regime ends up being even half as strict as what’s on the cards for the Netherlands itself, then more than a few operators are likely to find themselves with tough choices.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Carousel Group, operator of SportsBetting.com, has secured a B2C online sports betting and casino gaming license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). 

SportsBetting.com launched in Colorado in September, and is slated to go live in four more US states before the end of 2021. 

The company says the new license will help it position SportsBetting.com for potential favourable legislation in Canadian provinces like Ontario, and for marketing spillover from extensive advertising in the United States. 

An MGA license will also give Carousel Group a tax-efficient structure for entering European markets in the future. 

Commenting on the news CEO of Carousel Group, Daniel Graetzer, said:

“Receiving our license from the MGA is a major achievement for our company and a catalyst for our future goals. After two years of product development and building our team of more than 100 employees, SportsBetting.com is now live in the U.S. and we could not be more excited to compete. We have built a proprietary and hyper-personalized sportsbook that gives bettors the content they want, timely betting information and market-leading pricing and limits.

“We’re thrilled about our U.S. expansion and we look forward to bringing SportsBetting.com to more markets. As our brands become household names in the gaming space, we will make a positive and everlasting impression on the global gaming community.”

AYO.NEWS says:

With a domain as strong as SportsBetting.com, you could argue it would be hard for Carousel not to succeed as it builds its presence in the rapidly growing United States markets. But, behind the 1st class domain is also an experienced, well-resourced team with big ambitions, so we’re expecting them to give FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM a run for their money stateside. And, now the company has a Maltese license, the path into Europe is open.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Omni-channel turnkey supplier Oryx Gaming has partnered with Maxima Compliance to assist new market entries. 

The deal will give Slovenia-based Oryx Gaming access to the Complitech compliance database, which includes all technical compliance requirements for nearly 30 regulated markets, and a suite of tools to perform gap analysis. 

According to Maxima Compliance, Complitech users are able to enter regulated markets on average 60% faster than others, and net considerable cost savings in the process. 

Commenting on the news Oryx Gaming CEO Matevz Mazij, said:

“In regulated markets, meeting technical compliance requirements faster and more efficiently is a significant competitive advantage for Oryx Gaming.

“This is why we are so excited to be using Complitech, a one-of-its-kind tool which is already helping us make more informed strategic decisions about future market entries.”

While Maxima Compliance Managing Director, Antonio Zanghi, added: 

“Oryx Gaming is not only one of the most innovative and fastest-growing suppliers around, but also a company which takes a modern approach to compliance.

“So, we are thrilled to see Oryx utilising Complitech to create additional efficiencies and cost-savings. We continue to build new features into Complitech, and will work closely with Oryx to ensure it delivers exactly what is required.”

Complitech launched earlier this year as the gaming industry’s first technical compliance database. It lists over 10,000 requirements from almost 30 regulated markets.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

BoyleSports has been fined £2.8M (€3.15M) by the UK Gambling Commission for anti-money laundering (AML) failures.

The Ireland-based operator was found to be using unsuitable and ineffective AML policies for its Boylesports.com and Boylecasino.com sites. 

As a result, in addition to the fine, stricter conditions have been applied to the operator’s license. These include the requirement to appoint a qualified Money Laundering Reporting Officer, and to ensure all staff, including senior management, undertake AML training. 

Commenting on the case executive director of the Gambling Commission, Richard Watson, said:

“It is vital that all gambling businesses have effective anti-money laundering policies and procedures firmly in place and as part of our ongoing drive to raise standards we will continue to take tough action against operators who do not.”

Earlier this month, the UKGC also revoked the license of Silverbond Enterprises, operator of Park Lane Casino, London, after changes regarding the control of the company. 

Staying with BoyleSports, at the end of October, the company extended its partnership with gambling technology company Playtech for another five years. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

The Swedish government has proposed to extend the current emergency online gambling restrictions through June 2021. 

Originally introduced under the pretext of protecting players from developing gambling problems during the long hours stuck at home during the COVID-19 crisis, the restrictions have been repeatedly slammed by operators as cynical and politically motivated. 

Now, a memorandum, which has been submitted for consultation until 23 November 2020, proposes the extension of the “temporary measures”, including the SEK 5000 deposit limit, until the end of June 2021. 

Supporting the proposal, Minister of Social Insurance, Ardalan Shekarabi, said:

“We see that the development of covid-19 is going in the wrong direction in several parts of the country. The situation is very serious. In the wake of the pandemic, we see continued risks in the area of ​​gambling, which means that we need to act to reduce the risks for vulnerable consumers.”

AYO.NEWS says:

When Shekarabi and co pushed these measures through, we predicted they would turn out to be less “temporary” than advertised, and it looks like we were right. Given the fact that all the restrictions have done is push vulnerable gamblers into the arms of unlicensed offshore operators, where they are completely unprotected, it is difficult to see how the extension of these restrictions can be justified. 

Nevertheless, we expect they will be pushed through by zealots like Shekarabi, and furthermore, we wouldn’t be surprised if they are extended again when June comes.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Aspire Global has received a SEK 15M conditional fine in Sweden, for compliance failures.

AG Communications, a subsidiary of Aspire Global, has been slapped with a conditional fine of SEK 15M (approx. €1.47M) by Sweden’s Patent and Market Court, for Gaming Act Violations related to its Karamba brand. Specifically, the sanction was applied for advertising that violates the Gaming Act’s requirements for moderation. 

The operator has also been ordered to provide clearer information when it comes to promotional offers. This action was prompted by a Karamba promotion offering a SEK 2,000 bonus, but attaching steep wagering requirements, with players needing to gamble more than SEK 70,000 to actually get the bonus.

Unsurprisingly, the sanctions were welcomed by Sweden’s consumer ombudsman, Konsumentverket, with spokesperson Pär Magnusson saying:

“It is good that the court clearly states it is not allowed to mislead someone into believing you get a big bonus, when in fact it is about having to play for very large amounts for a short time to have a chance to get the bonus or be able to withdraw some winnings.”

Despite the action, reports suggest that the company’s actions to remedy the failings and ensure compliance, mean it has escaped having to actually pay the fine. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Perhaps the real surprise is that operators have been allowed to get away with using wagering requirements for promotions at all, especially in markets like Sweden and the UK.

Similar practices simply wouldn’t be tolerated in other sectors, and as we’ve pointed out before, there’s the very real possibility that, at some point, in some market, mass civil legal action will be brought forward, in the same manner as the PPI drama in the UK, with potentially catastrophic consequences for even the biggest operators. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.