Pennsylvania casinos have lost a bid to close down online lottery games that they say are too much like casino gambling, just days before the state’s first casinos launch their own online gambling portals.

The decision of Commonwealth Court is a victory for the state lottery, although the casino owners’ 9-month-old lawsuit will continue.

Lottery officials say the games are in accordance with the 2017 state law that authorised them, but the casinos argue that some online lottery games violate it because they simulate slot machines and casino-style gambling.

The state regulators will allow Parx Casino and Penn Nation’s Hollywood Casino to launch their online gambling portals to patrons statewide as part of a three-day test.

New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada are the only other states that allow online casino gambling.

SYNOT Games, an established content supplier licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, has acquired the certification to enter the Portuguese iGaming market.

The regulatory news comes after recent launches in Sweden and Denmark and outlines further expansion to south European markets expected in the upcoming weeks and months.

“Portugal is another significant destination for SYNOT Games and marks our entry to the Iberian Peninsula. The certification underlines our commitment to further focus on expansion in regulated markets. We believe that our diverse portfolio will prove to be highly popular among Portuguese players,” Ivan Kodaj, CEO at SYNOT Games said.

Portuguese market has gone live in 2017. Last year, revenues in online gaming and betting show significant growth compared to the previous year.

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the gambling regulator in the Netherlands, has announced a new rule that would implement a two year “cooling off” period for potential gambling licensees.

The rule, which is still at the draft stage, requires all operators applying for a KSA licence to have refrained from providing online gambling products to consumers in the Netherlands for a period of two years.

Before the passing of Remote Gambling Act 2018, the Netherlands government said that it would be important to avoid offering licenses to gambling operators that had targeted the Dutch market.

As per the new rule, the KSA will apply six tests to establish whether a company had illegally targeted Dutch consumers, as part of its ongoing work to establish the licensing process. It is expected that licensing will begin in July 2020.