The SGA had accused Betsson Nordic of violating chapter 11, section 2, of the Swedish Gambling Act, by offering illegal bonuses, and failing to register agents selling gambling vouchers. Betsson defended itself, insisting that it always operated legally. 

Now, after a year of proceedings, the administrative court has agreed with Betsson, ruling that the SGA “lacks legal grounds for its decision in both cases,” and overturning the fine and warning. 

The SGA may still take the case to the Court of Appeal. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Congratulations to Betsson for fighting it’s corner on this one. However, the SGA has time and again proven itself incapable of making rational, balanced decisions, so we expect it will appeal and continue to dig a deeper hole for itself. 

Staying with the Swedish online gambling market, earlier today we reported that the country’s Ministry of Finance has proposed introducing even stricter marketing rules.

Established in May 2013 in Gibraltar, Lottoland was subsequently registered in Malta in 2019 and is now based at the St. Julian’s Business Centre. Its online offerings are operated by EU Lotto Ltd, which is registered in Gibraltar, along with Germany-based Deutsche Lotto and Sportwetten Limited. 

According to the Times of Malta, using a 2010 EU directive, German authorities requested Maltese help in pursuing the tax, and the case has been heard in front of a Maltese court. 

Despite Lottoland arguing it is not liable to pay the tax bill, Mr Justice Mercieca judged that the documents presented by German and Maltese tax authorities proved the company did owe the outstanding tax to the German authorities. 

Justice Mercieca clarified that the German request, under the EU directive, has given the Maltese tax authority the powers to deal with the outstanding tax as if it were a request for a civil debt due to the Maltese government.

AYO.NEWS says:

This could be something of a landmark case for the Maltese iGaming industry. Though the directive dates from 2010, it has been rarely used in Malta thus far – and gaming operators have probably felt pretty safe, hidden behind convoluted multi-company structures spanning several jurisdictions. Is this part of a concerted effort by Malta to clean up its act, or a one-off anomaly? Time will tell.

Last year, Flutter increased its stake in FanDuel to 95% through a purchase from Fastball Holdings. In order to help close the deal, Fox purchased new Flutter shares with the option to acquire an 18.6% stake FanDuel in July 2021. 

The dispute centres around the price for that stake. Flutter insists the agreement was for Fox to pay a “fair market value in July 2021” if it decided to exercise the option. 

However, Fox says the deal was based on it paying the same price Flutter paid for the interest in December 2020. Considering FanDuel’s total valuation in December 2020 was $11.8B, Fox claim means the share would be worth $2.09B. 

In a statement reported on CNBC, a Fox spokesperson said: “Fox Corporation has filed suit against Flutter to enforce its rights to acquire an 18.6% ownership interest in FanDuel Group for the same price that Flutter paid for that interest in December 2020.”

Flutter responded with: “Flutter will not allow Fox’s filing, which is without merit, to distract from its business and will vigorously defend its position in the arbitration.”

Charges were brought in response to an investigation by Liquor & Gaming NSW, that found Tabcorp had run an advertising campaign on 13-14 December 2019, via Instagram Stories, aimed at Tabcorp account holders. 

Details of 900 New South Wales residents who had closed their Tabcorp accounts had also been provided to Facebook, Instagram’s owner, for the advertising campaign. 

The NSW Betting and Racing Act makes it illegal to publish gambling advertisements that include any inducement to participate in gambling or open a betting account. 

The gambling operator pleaded guilty to the offence on 25 November, at the Downing Centre Local Court, Sydney. Regarding the 900 former account holders’ details, the company said the information had been included due to human error. 

Magistrate Erin Kennedy warned Tabcorp that some of the 900 former account holders may have closed their accounts due to gambling problems, and that they shouldn’t have been exposed to gambling advertisements. 

Tabcorp was convicted and fined $18K AUD, with $12,276 AUD in legal costs. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the total fine and legal costs amounting to just under €18,500 euro, we doubt Tabcorp is going to notice the financial penalty, but the negative press is very damaging to the Australian gambling industry’s cause, and plays straight into the hands of those pressing for further repressive legislation.

‘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. 

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With a trial, relating to Apple’s removal of Fortnite from its App Store in retaliation for Epic adding its own payment gateway, scheduled to start on 3 May 2021 in California, Epic is pressing home the attack, filing a similar suit with the Australian Federal Court. 

The Australian court filing alleges “Apple’s conduct has forced Epic and other app developers to pay Apple monopoly prices [the 30% commission] in connection with all in-app purchases of their in-app content on iOS devices,” and says this has pushed up costs for Aussie gamers, and unfairly hurt profits of Epic and other app developers. 

Epic’s hopes of defeating Apple down under rest on section 46 of Australia’s Competition and Consumer Act, which categorically prohibits firms wielding a “substantial degree of market power from engaging in conduct that has the purpose, effect or likely effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.” 

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Epic isn’t seeking monetary damages with its Australian lawsuit, and instead wants a ruling to force Apple to allow the operation of third party app stores and direct payments to developers.

Responding to Epic’s actions in Australia, Apple has released a statement defending its 30% commission, and pointing out that Epic was one of the most successful developers on iOS, and going on to say:

“In ways a judge has described as deceptive and clandestine, Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that apply equally to every developer and protect customers. Their reckless behaviour made pawns of customers, and we look forward to making this clear to Australian courts.”

Keen to gather allies in its fight, Epic is being careful to frame the legal battle as for the good of the wider developer community, and has repeatedly pointed out that in the United States, Australia, and elsewhere, all developers are being hit by Apple and Google’s 30% ‘tax’. 

As previously reported, the company has even teamed up with Spotify, Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, European Publishers Council, Match, News Media Europe, PrePear, Protonmail, SkyDemon, and Tile, to launch the Coalition for App Fairness. 

Epic Games has also launched legal action against Google in the US, alleging similar abuses of power, though no trial date has yet been set. 

AYO.NEWS says:

So far things don’t seem to be going so well for Apple, with a US federal judge last week rejecting most of the firm’s counterclaims. And, at first glance it seems difficult to argue the tech giant hasn’t breached Australia’s Competition and Consumer Act by forcing apps to be sold only through its own store… but hey, we’re no lawyers. 

One thing is clear, Epic is going to make sure this fight lives up to its name! 

‘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. 

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Earlier today, Romania’s National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI) confirmed it will be holding an auction for confiscated Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The action is in response to a ruling from the Prosecutor’s Office in the Ploiesti Court, and involves cryptocurrency seized during a fraud case. 

ANABI has stressed that it will only transfer the crypto assets to a winning bidder who provides public addresses associated with a legal and registered crypto platform, adhering to Romania’s legislative norms, and complying with Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering provisions. 

As previously reported, it was only in July 2020 that Romania finally brought its cryptocurrency regulations up to full 5AMLD standard. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s no secret that there’s a whole lot of cryptocurrency sloshing about in the criminal world, so we can expect to see this kind of thing become common as courts and various authorities become more comfortable with handling crypto. In February, the United States Marshals Service (USMS) auctioned over 4,000 confiscated Bitcoins (BTC), worth around $37.4m USD at the time. 

‘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. 

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Scheinberg was one of several executives charged with multiple serious offences, including conspiracy to defraud the US, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering. In handing him the fine, the judge took into account time already served in federal custody. 

As we reported in January 2020, Scheinberg, a duel Canadian-Israeli national national, was arrested by US authorities after voluntarily returning to New York, following almost a decade in exile in Canada, the Isle of Man, and Switzerland. 

US authorities finally filed an extradition request with the Swiss government in 2019, leading to his arrest by Swiss police on 7 June of that year. Though he initially appealed against extradition, it thought he returned of his own accord after reaching a deal with the Federal Prosecutor. 

Initially, Scheinberg had pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $1M bond, but on 25 March he entered a guilty plea. 

UIGEA and Black Friday

The whole drama started when the US passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October 2006. This made it a federal crime to knowingly accept payments in connection with unlawful internet gambling in most circumstances. 

However, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker continued to serve US-based players. This eventually led to the US Department of Justice indicting executives, including Scheinberg, at the operators, seizing the PokerStars.com domain, and blocking US players, on what became known as ‘Black Friday.’

PokerStars lived to fight another day

Though PokerStars managed to survive after Scheinberg exited it, and the company forked out nearly $731M to settle a government lawsuit, and in 2014 it was acquired by Canada-based Amaya Gaming, becoming The Stars Group, Scheinberg was forced into exile abroad to escape prosecution. 

After the repeal of PASPA in May 2018, PokerStars once again offered its services to US-based customers, this time legally, initially in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In October 2019, The Stars Group entered a huge £10BN GBP merger with London-listed online gambling giant Flutter Entertainment (formerly Paddy Power Betfair). 

AYO.NEWS says:

Considering how much has changed regarding online gambling in the United States since Black Friday, it would have been more than a little cynical for the judge to have handed out any additional prison time, and we’re sure Scheinberg will be relieved with the $30K fine. After almost a decade, the Black Friday epic may finally be coming to a close. 

‘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. 

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Oracle and Walmart to TikTok’s rescue?

The Chinese app could be allowed to continue operating in the US, after President Trump apparently approved a plan involving Oracle and Walmart. 

In a statement, the Treasury said:

“The President has reviewed a deal among Oracle, Walmart, and TikTok Global to address the national security threat posed by TikTok’s operations. Oracle will be responsible for key technology and security responsibilities to protect all U.S. user data. Approval of the transaction is subject to a closing with Oracle and Walmart and necessary documentation and conditions to be approved by CFIUS.”

The TikTok ban has now been delayed until 27 September, pending a review of the proposal by the Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS). If CFIUS does approve the plan, and the Chinese government also gives it the green light, then TikTok’s US operations may be saved. 

Injunction granted against WeChat ban

In related news, yesterday Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler issued a preliminary injunction against the sanctions imposed on Tencent-owned WeChat by the United States Department of Commerce. The injunction had been filed on Friday afternoon by the WeChat User Alliance – a group representing US users of the app. 

Judge Beeler granted the injunction on the grounds that she believed the sanctions against the app would infringe on users’ First Amendment rights, and that the government had not provided evidence to the court showing that WeChat posed a threat to national security.

Elaborating on her decision, Judge Beeler said:

“Certainly the government’s overarching national-security interest is significant. But on this record — while the government has established that China’s activities raise significant national security concerns — it has put in scant little evidence that its effective ban of WeChat for all U.S. users addresses those concerns. 

“And, as the plaintiffs point out, there are obvious alternatives to a complete ban, such as barring WeChat from government devices, as Australia has done, or taking other steps to address data security.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the obviously political nature of this drama, even if the US approves the Oracle/Walmart plan for TikTok, there’s no guarantee the Chinese government will allow it. And, as for the injunction against the WeChat ban, it’s likely just a temporary reprieve, as we’re sure the feds will be able to magic up some ‘convincing evidence.’

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According to News24, Willie Breedt, who is accused of stealing up to $16.3 million USD from approximately 2,000 investors through his VaultAge Solutions scam has been forced to declare bankruptcy by a court in South Africa. 

Promised returns never materialised

Breedt founded VaultAge Solutions (VS) in 2018, and began seeking investors with the promise of weekly returns on their deposits. According to VaultAge, the company would use crypto mining and trading to deliver the returns to investors, and accepted deposits from $50 upwards. 

However, investors claim to have only received around 1% of the promised gains, and one of the company’s biggest investors, Simon Dix, who handed over 7.5 million South African rand (approx. $440,000 USD), initiated legal proceedings against Breedt, applying for a sequestration order against Breedt. The order was subsequently granted by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

On the run from debt collectors, an angry colonel, and the Hawks

Reports suggest that, in the weeks prior to his arrest, Breedt had emptied his bank account of $3.15M and gone into hiding from debt collectors who had been hired by a group of disgruntled investors led by a colonel in the South African National Defence Force. 

Though Breedt was initially suspected of having fled to neighbouring Mozambique, he was eventually tracked down to a guest house in the Silver Lake Estates, Pretoria. 

Although the guesthouse was raided by South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as “the Hawks”, and a laptop and a Ledger Nano crypto hardwallet were confiscated, it seems Breedt was not arrested. 

The South African Reserve Bank is also said to have assigned PwC to investigate VaultAge and any agents that may have handled its transactions. 

AYO.NEWS says:

No doubt investors will be hoping their missing funds are still stored on the hardwallet, but we very much doubt it – Breedt was obviously fully aware he was going to be raided at some point. Given the state of corruption in the country and the incredible ineffectiveness of much of the South African police force, perhaps the most surprising thing is that Breedt was even raided… unless, nah, I won’t be that cynical. 

‘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. 

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