Nambling Notes - Nov. 14, 2006

14 November 2006

New Regs in Germany? -- Germany's 16 federal states will attempt to prevent foreign companies from offering Internet betting services, German weekly magazine Focus reported on Nov. 12. The new regulations, scheduled to be signed off by state premiers on Dec. 13, will prohibit both German and foreign firms from offering Net betting services. Either Internet service providers (ISPs) will be required to filter out offending Web sites, or banks will be instructed not to transfer money used for Internet betting out of the country. The report comes shortly after the German states of Saxony, Bavaria and Hesse imposed bans on commercial betting in an effort to protect their lottery monopolies.

Chariot Under the Weather? -- U.K.-based paper Independent hinted yesterday that the Weather Lottery is considering a bid for fellow lottery organizer Chariot. After disappointing ticket sales this year dashed Chariot's hope of competing with the National Lottery, the company was put on the auction block. Weather is thought to be interested in certain of Chariot's assets and is unlikely to table an offer for the entire group, the paper reported. Weather has expressed interest in Chariot's database of players, which it may use to procure more players in hopes of strengthening its financial performance.

European Lotteries Joins EFTA Court Battle -- The European Lotteries and Toto Association (EL) announced its support of the arguments put forward by the Kingdom of Norway before the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) court, defending itself against allegations made by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (SA). On March 13, 2006, the EFTA SA alleged amendments to the Norwegian gaming and lottery legislation, which transfer the operation of slot machines from a market-based concession regime to the public monopoly already regulating other major forms of gaming, infringe free trade. And in May, Norway presented its statement of defense to the EFTA court. "In several previous cases, the ECJ [European Court of Justice] has recognized that a regulatory system of exclusive rights for national gambling is compatible with principles of the internal market, provided restrictive legislation is justified by legitimate objectives," said Dr. Winfried Wormann, president of EL. "[EL] are confident that the EFTA court will follow this precedent and that the court will leave the assessment of the scope of public protection to national governments," he added. Norway's statement of defense is also supported by the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Iceland.

View Norway's statement of defense.

Mobile Gambling Debuts in Uganda -- Lotteries provider Openlot Systems announced Monday the launch of a Uganda-based mobile lottery that offers both numbers games and sports betting via SMS. Players can receive game results in English via the Internet or telephone, and winners will automatically be notified by an SMS text message.