Germany Adapts to Change
The district court of Freiburg has declared that private broadcaster Neun Live's quiz shows do not constitute the operation of an illegal online lottery. The court ruled that the costs per telephone call to the Neun Live show are insignificant and therefore not subject to the ban on unauthorized lotteries.
The district court of Cologne ruled on April 21 that German courts must consider criteria set forth by the European Court of Justice in the Gambelli and in doing so has refused to punish cross-border providers of sports betting services. The court stated, "The penal provision of Art. 284 German Criminal Code in conjunction with the Sports Betting Act of North-Rhine Westphalia in view of the ECJ's Gambelli decision of Nov. 6, 2003 is not compatible with the community law and, therefore, not suitable as legal basis for the punishment of the accused."
The German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) on May 17 hosted a conference for representatives from football leagues and associations as well both domestic and international bookmakers to discuss ways for all the groups to collaborate in an effort to fight match fixing. Most parties in attendance reportedly favored the suggestion that an early warning and reaction system be introduced in the future. Such a solution would involve the European Sports Security Agency (formed by the European Betting Association) imposing obligations on its members to communicate early warnings detected by sports betting analysis firm Betradar. The conference concluded with a vote in favor of composing a code of conduct. At the end of April DFB representatives agreed upon their own code of conduct that bars players, coaches, referees and officials from betting on football matches. The suspected leader of the recently revealed match-fixing ring in German football--a Croatian man identified only as Ante S.--has reportedly told prosecutors that 10 more players helped to fix at least two more undetected fixed matches, both of which took place in 1994. Investigators suspect that four referees and 14 players have been involved in fixing at least 10 games, mostly in lower divisions. Referee Robert Hoyzer has already been banned for life from the sport, and officials are seeking a similar punishment against the other referees.
Germany will host the World Cup in 2006.
Israel to Move Forward with Casino Legislation
After years of debate, the Israeli government is finally ready to move forward with plans to legalize casino gambling. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the legislature that he was beginning to plan a project to construct a casino strip in Eilat and also preparing the necessary legislation. A bill is expected to be introduced by the end of the year, with the first casino up and running within 18 months.
The Jueteng Problem
The massively popular illegal numbers game jueteng has received a great deal of attention in Philippine newspapers during the last month. To improve legislation, President Macapagal-Arroyo has called for stricter enforcement of the country's anti-gambling law. Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Casar Purisima has suggested merging the country's gaming operator, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. Purisima says the merger would ultimately lead to the selling of franchises for the operation of legal gaming and sweepstakes, which will give the government more revenue and screen the quality of legal operators. The game is widely popular, but the government is not prepared to legalize it.
Developments in Australia
The New South Wales government has announced that poker machines in the state will soon display clocks and pop-up messages to inform gamblers how long they've been playing and how much money they've won or lost. The measure is just one of more than a hundred recommendations from last year's "Gambling: Promoting a Culture of Responsibility" report that the government will implement. Another is a ban on the offering of vouchers for sex industry services as an incentive for gambling. The government will also allot AU$8 million in funding to 22 problem gambling organizations over the next two years.
Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon will allow the Legislative Council to decide within the next two or three weeks whether his state will grant Betfair a license to operate. The five Labour Party members on the council are thought to favor licensing the company, but there is no certainty about how the council's 10 independent members will vote. Last month Betfair hired Sydney-based law firm Gilbert and Tobin to investigate whether Australia's racing industry and totalisators engaged in anti-competitive tactics in an effort to prevent Betfair from obtaining an operating license in Australia. This week it was revealed that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has begun inquiring whether any of the racing or betting investigations are indeed culpable for restraint of trade. Meanwhile, Betfair is reportedly searching in Hobart for office space to become its Australian headquarters.
South Korea Detains Online Gamblers
The Korea Times reports that South Korean police have arrested about 13,000 people for gambling on foreign Internet gambling sites. Police estimate that that the suspects wagered an estimated US$12 million at about 50 different gambling sites. According to the Times, "Police requested an arrest warrant for seven suspects on charges of habitual gambling, while 26 others, including a diplomat identified as Kim, 41, were booked without physical detention." Kim allegedly used his credit card 122 times to spend a total of $30,000 with foreign gambling sites. Police say that only individuals who have spent more that $25,000 or used their credit cards more than 100 times will face criminal charges. Police have also asked the Ministry of Information and Communication to block access to detected foreign online gambling sites, and they estimate that up to $100 million has been leaked offshore due to gambling, $25 million of which is thought to go via online gambling wins.
New law in Slovakia
A new gambling law in Slovakia raises taxes for betting shops, casinos and any other operators of gambling-related games. The law, which went into effect May 1, also ends a state monopoly on scratch cards and other gaming products.
Chinese Eradication of Gambling Continues
China's Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate have declared that new interpretations of China's gambling law (Article 303 China's Criminal Law) that take effect this Friday will provide the ability to prosecute Internet gambling operations. Article 303 states that "whoever, for the purpose of reaping profits, assembles a crowd to engage in gambling, opens a gambling house or makes an occupation of gambling is to be sentenced to not more than three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention or control, in addition to a fine." With the introduction of the new interpretations, anyone who sets up an Internet gambling site will now be treated as one who opens a gambling house. Furthermore, anyone who "knowingly offers capital or Internet services and telecommunications facilities to gambling participants or organizers" will be regarded as an accomplice to the gambling operation. Especially severe punishments will be delivered to gamblers or operators who are civil servants, who organize civil servants to gamble overseas or who organize juveniles to gamble. The National Coordinating Office to Strike at Illegal Gambling (the agency charged with eradicating gambling) has stated that the Ministry of Public Security will unite telecom departments, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and other departments in an effort to crack down even harder on Internet gambling operations. The agency also revealed plans to create a judicial expertise center that would specialize in appraising electronic data to solve the problem of gathering admissible evidence of online gambling.