Tasmania Delays Decision to Approve Betfair
It had been anticipated that Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon would announce sometime around September 20th whether his government would endorse British firm Betfair's bid to obtain a license to operate a betting exchange in the state, but the decision has been postponed until October 18th so that discussions between Betfair, the state government and the state's racing industry can continue further. The Melbourne Herald Sun reports that Lennon believes he already has enough support in both chambers of the legislature to pass a licensing plan for Betfair through Parliament. As a consequence of Tasmania licensing the British firm against the wishes of other state governments and racing industries, Tasmanian racing could be banned from the SuperTAB, TAB Limited and UNiTAB wagering pools.
Sweden's Svenska Spel Likely to Launch Internet Poker
The 14th annual Spelakademin (Gaming Academy) was held in Sweden this month, giving the country's legal gaming operators the opportunity to meet with politicians, public bodies, media representatives, suppliers and researchers to discuss different political, legal, economic and social aspects of the gaming market. Sweden's Vice Prime Minister Bosse Ringholm stated at Speladkademin that he believed Sweden's gaming operators should have the same business opportunities as private foreign bookmakers. He was most likely indicating that the Swedish government will indeed grant the country's national lottery operator Svenska Spel a license to operate online poker on its Internet site. Svenska Spel applied for such a license in January of this year. It is estimated that foreign betting companies collect 84 percent of the revenue form interactive gaming in Sweden. Svenska Spel thinks it could get take 30 percent of the Internet poker market in the country and deliver US$40 million to the government in taxes if it were licensed. Other speakers at the Spelakademin discussed Sweden's ongoing study into a possible new gambling framework. The study will be published on December 15th.
Gambling and Internet Restrictions Tighten in China
China's Ministry of Public Security has urged local police in border areas to stop Chinese citizens from gambling in neighboring countries. Some casinos in neighboring countries have reportedly re-opened specifically to entertain Chinese gamblers. Many of them closed earlier this year after China initiated a campaign to stop its citizens from gambling with them. Public security departments are now ordered not to issue tourist exit permits to Chinese citizens who are destined for neighboring countries with casinos.
The Chinese government has also introduced a new set of regulations to control the operations of online news organizations. According to the new rules, "Online news service units should… serve the people, uphold the correct leadership of public opinion, and protect the interests of the nation and public…. The state encourages online news service units to transmit healthy and civilized news that will help to raise the quality of the nationality, push forward economic development and promote social development." News organizations must have experienced staff and registered premises and capital, and an internal system that makes clear who is responsible for what is published. They may not publish news that is deemed seditious, harmful to social order, superstitious, or forbidden by other laws.
Complaints Against EU Gambling Monopolies Grows to Eight
This week Jacques Toubon, a member of the European Parliament, will raise a question before Parliament regarding the impartiality of a study commissioned to the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law by the European Commisison. Some of the work on the study was subcontracted to the Gaming Studies Research Centre of the University of Salford in Manchester, which is sponsored by British gaming company Stanley Leisure, Britain's largest casino operator and hence a proponent of gambling liberalization across Europe. Toubon questions how unbiased the Gaming Studies Research Centre can be if Stanley Leisure supports it.
In July a Paris tribunal heard state-owned French betting monopoly PMU's case against Maltese Internet betting company Zeturf and ruled that Zeturf's offering of wagers on French horse racing violates French law. Zeturf has appealed the decision in France and also filed a complaint with the European Commission against PMU and the French government for restricting trade in violation of EU law. Zeturf's complaint joins seven others already pending before the EC against Member States that restrict their markets from foreign operators. The EC is to consider whether to launch infringement proceedings against the eight Member States at its next meeting in early October.