Central Europe

A Q&A session with Endorphina’s Head of Legal!

Published

4 months ago

June 11, 2021

A Q&A session with Endorphina's Head of Legal!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Recently, Jakub (Head of Legal at Endorphina) had an interview and dropped some professional insights and thoughts about Germany, their new regulations, the treaty, and more.

So, big things are happening in Germany, right?

Yes, Germany was always a rather complicated market. The need for new gambling legislation to fully legalize online gambling was very urgent. Finally, there is hope when the new legislation has been introduced in 2020. And in spring 2021, the number of states to approve the new gambling treaty was met and Germany’s State Treaty on Gambling aka “Der Glücksspielneuregulierungstaatsverag” will become effective from the 1^st of July 2021.

The Treaty on Gambling becomes effective in July, does that mean that starting from July all operators must have a respective gambling license issued by German regulator?

No, it does not mean that. Germany is not that far in the process and the new regulatory body must first be established. Work to establish this body is underway, and sources suggest it will be fully operational by the end of 2022.

When the regulatory body is not established yet, how will Germany apply or enforce new rules introduced in the Treaty on Gambling?

The transitional regime has been introduced and does stipulate guidelines that certain online gambling offerings, namely those of virtual slot machines and online poker, which are actually not yet permitted under the current Interstate Treaty on Gambling, will be exempt from enforcement if operators meet certain requirements that are recognized as technically feasible. Basically, it is some sort of “gentleman agreement” between operators and the government saying: “follow the rules and we will leave you alone”. However, such “guidelines” cannot be mistaken with an effective law!

What requirements must be met in order to comply with the guidelines of the transitional regime?

It is a set of various rules. For example, for virtual slot games, the maximum bet must be 1 euro, the spin duration must be at least 5 seconds, no jackpots or auto-spins are allowed, reality checks must be triggered after 60 minutes session of un-interrupted duration and after that, the player must take a 5-minute cool-down break, where they are unable to place a bet, etc. As you can see, the new Treaty on Gambling really focuses on player protection and preventing gambling addiction.

Are there any problematic parts of the new regulation?

There are always some problematic parts and challenges from the regulatory point of view. On one side, the regulator tries to protect players but on the other side, games still must remain attractive compared to other markets. So, we can see those lacking jackpots, spin duration, and EUR 1 maximal bets could potentially cause some issues with the attractiveness of games and that is even before we will get into taxes.

What is wrong with taxes?

There is a proposal of new taxation of poker and online slots in the amount of 5,3% from all stakes. Considering that the average RTP (return to player) rate from slot games is 96%, such taxation would mean that the operators would be losing money on slots. Actually, to make the revenue from slots equal as without the proposed tax, the RTP of the slots would have to be reduced. And here we come back to the attractivity of games for players. Why would you play a game with a lower RTP when, just a click away, you can play the very same game with a higher RTP, only in an unregulated casino? This is why many experts are afraid that such taxation would drive players to the black market, which is very risky, especially if the jurisdiction is just opening. This taxation is still not yet agreed upon, but unfortunately, there is a high probability that it will actually happen. Even with bet limits or spin durations, Germany is still a very interesting market so we can only hope that the German parliament will reconsider their tax proposal.

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Central Europe

STS seals long-term official data and trading partnership with Genius Sports

Published

1 day ago

September 23, 2021

George Miller

STS seals long-term official data and trading partnership with Genius Sports

Reading Time: < 1 minute

STS, the leading betting operator in the regulated Polish market, has announced a new official data and trading partnership with Genius Sports to drive the expansion of its in-play offering.

STS will utilize Genius Sports’ award-winning LiveData and LiveTrading solutions, delivering official data and pinpoint live pricing across thousands of sporting events per year. Included in this partnership is Genius Sports’ extensive portfolio of premium official data rights, comprising Euroleague Basketball, Ekstraklasa and Polish Basketball League.

“STS is not only the largest Polish bookmaker, but we are also one of the biggest technology and data-driven companies in the iGaming industry,” said Mateusz Juroszek, CEO of STS. “One of our advantages is our own technology and the ability to easily implement the most attractive tools from the best suppliers. This is one of the reasons why we generate 46% of turnover in the Polish sports betting market. We are constantly improving the customer journey at STS, and in-play odds, powered by Genius Sports will be a pillar of this.”

“Partnering with STS, the leading operator in the Polish betting market is further validation of our global commitment to official sports data,” said James McKiernan, Head of Commercial, EMEA at Genius Sports. ”With access to the fastest, most accurate and reliable live betting content, STS will deliver Polish players with best in-class betting experiences on the biggest sports leagues.”

Central Europe

CEEGCVirtual – Final agenda and meet the sponsors

Published

3 days ago

September 21, 2021

Zoltan Tundik

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The virtual CEEGC is taking place on 22 September in a virtual layout.

The team at Hipther Agency is excited to announce the final agenda of one of the most important conferences in the Central and Eastern European region, the CEEGC.

The yearly Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference was launched in 2016 and is the crown event for the gambling industry professionals that are looking to dive into quality discussions about the CEE, CIS, and Balkans.

Register here for free | View the agenda

The focus in 2021 is on industry updates from Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and the final agenda looks the following way:

22 SEPTEMBER 2021 – All times CEST (Central European Summer Time)

– 9:30 – 10:15 – INDUSTRY UPDATE: ROMANIA
Moderated by Andrius Gabnys – Founding Attorney at Gabnys.Gabniene
Panelists:

Nicola Longmuir – Chief Commercial Officer at Push Gaming
Cosmina Simion – Managing Partner at Simion & Baciu
Dan Iliovici – Vice President at Rombet

– 10:15 – 11:30 – INDUSTRY UPDATE: CENTRAL EUROPE
Moderated by Andrius Gabnys – Founding Attorney at Gabnys.Gabniene
Panelists:

Dr. Robert Skalina – Senior Advisor at WH Partners
Helembai Gabor – Senior Associate at Bird & Bird Budapest
Dr. Jan Rehola – Director at IFGR and Partner at PS Legal
Aleksej Mišković – Senior Partner at Law Firm Glinska & Mišković Ltd.
Jaka Repansek – Media and TECH Law Expert
Piotr Dynowski LL. M. – Partner/Attorney at Law/Head of IP/Media/Tech&Comms Practice at Bird & Bird Poland

– 11:30 – 12:30 – CEE AND CIS AS THE MOST IMPORTANT HUBS FOR ESPORTS
Moderated by Lyubomira Lazarova – Chief Marketing Officer at UltraPlay
Panelists:

Anton Janér – Founder & CTO at Abios
Vlastimil Venclik – Founder and CEO of Oddin.gg
Peter Ivanov – Head of Trading at UltraPlay
Alexandr Iaroshenko – CEO at Betbazar

– 12:30 – 13:15 – INDUSTRY UPDATE: D-A-CH
Moderated by Dr. Simon Planzer – Partner at PLANZER LAW
Panelists:

Dr. Christian Rapani – Attorney at Law at Dr. Christian Rapani
Dr. Holger Jakob – Senior Lawyer at MELCHERS LAW

– 13:15 – 14:00 – INDUSTRY UPDATE: BALKANS
Moderated by Joe Ewens – Managing Editor of Vixio
Panelists:

Lazar Miuchin – VP of Strategic Partnerships at NSoft
Luka Popović – Partner at BDK Advokati

– 14:00 – 15:00 – INDUSTRY UPDATE: CIS
Moderated by Dr. Simon Planzer – Partner at PLANZER LAW
Panelists:

Tamar Jikia – Senior Associate at MG Law Office
Araksi Sargsyan – Head Of Business Development at DS Virtual Gaming
Ilya Machavariani – CEO and Senior Partner at 4H Agency

If you haven’t already registered, make sure to register here for free.

The conference is sponsored by UltraPlay, Nordic Gambling, and PLANZER LAW.

UltraPlay is a multi-awarded betting provider, founded in 2010, offering a turn-key iGaming platform to online operators worldwide. The company focuses on sports and eSports betting, live betting, white-label, online casino, and blockchain technology.

Assembled by a team of iGaming professionals with vast experience in betting product development, operations, eSports, and marketing, UltraPlay is a trusted partner for delivering superior sports betting software and odds products to its customers.

Learn more about the company here: www.ultraplay.co

Nordic Gambling is the only legal firm in the Nordic countries that specializes in gambling-related law such as licensing, compliance advice, and public affairs.

They have gained extensive experience in the industry from working with operators, suppliers, service providers, and government regulators. Their team has been closely involved in the development of the law and regulation in a number of European jurisdictions, including Denmark and Sweden.

The partners of Nordic Gambling are recognized among the leading legal experts in the gambling industry and are qualified to assist you with whichever legal issue you may encounter.

The team at Nordic Gambling is also very pleased to announce that they have contributed a section on Sweden, first published in the latest version of the International Comparative Legal Guide to Gambling 2020. You can read that chapter here.

Visit https://www.nordicgambling.com/ for more details.

PLANZER LAW is a law firm specializing in gaming & entertainment and technology & online businesses. Its team notably provides strategic, regulatory and legal advice on all matters relating to EU/EEA and Swiss gaming regulation. PLANZER LAW enables and facilitates business development and compliance programs. Clients profit from an unrivaled global network and highly specialized expertise.

Dr. Simon Planzer, founding partner of PLANZER LAW has been recognized by the leading ranking by Chambers & Partners as a global gaming law expert. He has been endorsed by interviewees as “absolutely excellent” and “the top Swiss lawyer” for gaming.

For more details visit https://www.planzer-law.ch/en/

Central Europe

IGT Secures Instant Ticket Printing Deal with WestLotto

Published

1 week ago

September 15, 2021

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

International Game Technology PLC has announced that its subsidiary, IGT Global Solutions Corporation, has signed a new instant ticket services contract with Westdeutsche Lotterie GmbH & Co. OHG (WestLotto).

Under the terms of the agreement, IGT will provide a range of instant ticket production and services for WestLotto with unlimited potential. The Lottery will gain additional marketing support from IGT’s Instant Advantage programme that includes portfolio planning, game development, analytics, distribution and retail execution to provide the best player experience.

“WestLotto has worked with IGT on instant ticket production to grow our instants business responsibly. IGT provides top-level service and support for the development of each instant ticket game in the portfolio, and we are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership,” Andreas Kötter, CEO of WestLotto, said.

“As WestLotto’s instant ticket supplier of choice, IGT is committed to supporting a strategic, innovation-rich game portfolio that meets the needs of the Lottery’s players. With IGT’s Instant Advantage program we draw upon global and market-specific deep-dive analytics, benchmarks and databases to support continuous growth for WestLotto instant ticket sales and contributions to good causes,” Jay Gendron, IGT’s Chief Operating Officer for global lottery operations, said.