Connect with us
SOFTSWISS

Industry News

Curacao’s Gambling Overhaul: Adjusting the Scheduling for Reform

Published

on

Reading Time: 4 minutes

 

Acquiring an online casino license is a challenging task, and there are a lot of protocols and requirements to clear before a gambling license can be issued. In the online casino industry, it is considered that the most accessible jurisdiction and regulator to obtain a license from is Curacao. Due to the low entry barriers, such as low license fees and moderate monitoring of operators, many prospective online casinos’ go-to licensing regulator is Curacao. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Curacao faced various financial struggles, which resulted in the regulator receiving aid from the Dutch Government. Due to the involvement of the Dutch government, Curacao was encouraged to overhaul their gambling licensing requirements and a reform was drafted. Below we provide an overview of the current Curacao gambling regulations and the proposed reform.

Current System in Curacao

Compared to industry standards, the current gambling legislation in Curacao is outdated. Currently, more than 400 online casinos have a Curacao iGaming license, and these casinos have paid a low licensing fee and are not monitored regularly. With the current system, four businesses have ‘master licenses,’ which in simple terms, mean they have the discretion to award iGaming licenses to betting operators on behalf of the government. When you consider all factors of the current system, it is easy to notice that the liberal nature of the current regime has many red flags. The call for a change of the regime was finally answered when the government of Curacao and the Curacao Gaming Control Board decided to follow the advice of the Dutch government and create a new gambling board and introduce updated legislation.

Proposed Reforms

The proposed reforms and changes planned for the online gambling regulation in Curacao are focused on key features which include implementing money laundering measures and licensee employment requirements. The changes drafted by the Curacao government are listed below:

  • Establish a new gambling regulator (Curacao Gaming Authority) to oversee licensing and gaming operations
  • Issuing of B2C licenses and B2B licenses for operators
  • Updated licensing fees for operators; starting at €400 per application, €12000 per annum once approved, and €250 monthly for URL
  • A minimum of three employees from the prospective operator to be hired into key positions in the company and be located on the island of Curacao
  • Enhanced monitoring of operators and anti-money laundering controls

Dutch Government Updates and Quarterly Progress Reports

As per the terms of the proposed agreement between the Dutch government and the Curacao government, quarterly updates were to be released on the progress of the reforms and the timeline for the updated legislative framework. The 2022 Quarter 4 update mentioned that the new bill would be detailed and explained to parliament in February 2023.

Stakeholder Input and Adjusted Schedule

February 2023 was considered a tentative date, as the deadline could be postponed due to ongoing engagement with relevant stakeholders. Earlier this year, the 2023 Quarter 1 update was published, and it emerged that the proposed February 2023 deadline was extended to later this year. No specifics were mentioned as to why the deadline was extended, although the government made mention of the Temporary Work Organization. The Temporary Work Organization, a body of the Dutch government which deals with the prospective reforms of the new bill, stated ‘’is still awaiting an adjusted schedule from the Curacao Ministry of Finance.’’

Official Consultations and Progress

We are still unsure about the latest information on the new bill and the consultations between the relevant stakeholders. The only available information was at the backend of 2022, which mentioned that consultations are ongoing between all parties and that a decision should be reached soon. It stated, ‘’in accordance with an agreement between the minister of finance of Curacao and the minister of legal protection of the Netherlands, official consultations will take place in January about the progress of the [gaming bill].’’

Potential Implications and Future Outlook

Due to the ongoing consultations regarding the new gaming bill, the implications of the bill are expected to be a game changer for all stakeholders in Curacao, including existing license holders. Current license holders will be expected to reapply for an iGaming license within 18 months (about 1 and a half years) of the new bill being passed, should they want to stay in the industry and continue working with Curacao.

When a new gaming bill is passed and the new legislation implemented, the future of online gambling in Curacao will evolve, and the standard will be similar to other regulators in the industry. The expected benefits of the new bill will provide players with more security and allow Curacao Gaming Authority to closely monitor betting operators. The threat of money laundering and other fraudulent activities in the industry will also be controlled and managed. All in all, stakeholders from within Curacao and those watching from afar are patiently waiting for the new and improved Curacao gaming regulator to enter the iGaming industry.

Comparison with New Zealand Gambling Regulations

New Zealand players should keep a close eye on the developments in Curacao, as most of the online casinos available to New Zealand players are licensed by the Curacao regulator. The gambling regulations in New Zealand prohibit local companies from operating online casinos within the country. Therefore, options available to New Zealand players include opening casino accounts and playing games at offshore casinos. There are some similarities between the reforms in Curacao and the gambling landscape in New Zealand, with the important one focusing on player safety and controlling the possibility of fraudulent activity by betting operators. The notable difference is the legality of local companies opening online casinos, which is legal in Curacao but prohibited in New Zealand.

It is pleasing to note the developments and the ongoing process of the gambling overhaul in Curacao. For too long, online casinos have tried to bypass strict regulators and instead try and obtain an iGaming license from the adequately regulated Curacao regulator. The prospective gambling bill and the new legislative framework will change the way you can play at online casinos in New Zealand. They will allow better monitoring of operators and end fraudulent activities. The new gaming bill also has implications for New Zealand players based on the current gambling laws in New Zealand. Due to the prohibition of locally owned online casinos, New Zealand players will most likely use online casinos that Curacao licenses. Thankfully, with the updated Curacao gambling bill, all New Zealand players will be protected when playing at these online casinos.

Industry News

Entain Examines Possible Sale of Overseas Gambling Brands

Published

on

Reading Time: < 1 minute

 

Entain has hired advisers to oversee the possible sale of several of its overseas brands, according to reports.

These brands include Netherlands-based BetCity, which the gambling firm had bought last year.

The Netherlands, last year proposed a plan for tighter deposit limits from the second quarter, which is expected to hit Entain’s annual revenue and profit, the company said earlier this month.

A local offshoot of Ladbrokes in Australia, Sweden-based Enlabs and Georgia-based CrystalBet are other brands that are not integrated into Entain’s main tech platform and under review, reports said.

Wall Street boutique advisory Moelis is advising Entain’s board and the group’s recently formed capital allocation committee, and any disposals will be of brands that are not integrated into the company’s technology platform, which makes them easier to sell.

Entain, like other gambling firms, gained from a rise in online betting during the pandemic, but stiffer regulations in its main markets have hurt its bottom line.

The UK, the gambling firm’s largest market, is expected to put out a review this year, which is said to include a stake cap on slots at 5 pounds ($6.37) and increased affordability checks.

Entain expects its core profit to incur a 40 million pounds hit in 2024 from the regulatory moves in the UK and Netherlands.

Continue Reading

Industry News

The RNG scaling problem

Published

on

The RNG scaling problem
Reading Time: 4 minutes

 

By Lorenzo Nardini, Head of Technical Compliance and Maths Services, at ComplianceOne Group

When I was a child, I lived in Italy and I used to play some card games with my friends. There is a huge variety of Italian traditional card games: Briscola, Scopa, TreSette are only a few of them. All these games are played with an Italian deck of cards, which consists of 40 cards divided into four suits, each containing ten cards ranked from one to ten. (If you are not familiar with these cards, I suggest searching them online as their artwork is beautiful and it varies across the different regions of that country). Most of the games I played required an equal distribution of cards among the players. This was easily done when playing in two or four as each player would get respectively twenty or ten cards each. However, when we played in a group of three, a problem naturally arose: how could we equally split the deck since 40 is not a multiple of 3? Fortunately, this was not a difficult problem and for most games it was perfectly acceptable to simply remove (reject) one card from the deck and then to assign the remaining ones in 3 groups of 13.

Later in life, I discovered that this seemingly childish problem was a recurring issue for gaming companies seeking certification for their Random Number Generators. In the gaming industry, the generation of random numbers is a core element that enables gaming platforms to produce unpredictable events. In this regard, RNGs are the engine that games use to decide, for instance, the final position of the symbols in a slot machine, the cards that will be dealt in a Poker or Blackjack hand, or when the plane will crash in the recently popular Crash games.

Each Random Number Generator is unique in terms of its components and the applications for which it is designed to generate random events. You can have a software RNG that is based on famous (in this community) algorithms such as the Mersenne Twister, you can have cryptographically strong solutions that take entropy from random events. I even once read a short paper about a “banana” RNG based on the natural decay of potassium atoms inside that fruit.

Regardless of the basis of your RNG solution, it will most likely generate unscaled random numbers. The most typical format is probably the 32bit which means the RNG returns a number between 0 and 232-1 (that is 4,294,967,295). This range is typically too large to be directly employed to generate game events: most card games require numbers between 1 and 52 as that is the standard deck size, numbers for slot machine outcomes typically range in the hundreds or thousands, and if you simply need to decide where the ball will land in a virtual single zero roulette, you simply need to request a number between 0 and 36.

How to then use the 32bit number to create outcomes for all these games? Assigning a number from the “large” range to one in the “small” range is called “scaling”. There are several methods to perform this operation and, in order to comply with jurisdictional standards, most countries require that the scaling method is performed in such a way to not introduce any bias, that means that all mapped numbers (also known as final outcomes) have the same probability to occur.

This is, in fact, the same problem that I was facing as a child when trying to equally split the deck of cards. And in the same way, this is easily solved when the large number (232 in our case) is a multiple of the target range, though this is seldom the case. This is exactly where I have seen multiple suppliers of RNG solutions failing their testing: ignoring that the target range not always divides the unscaled one results in having final outcomes that are not equally likely. Effectively, this means that when playing a roulette game, it is more likely that the ball lands on 0 rather than on 36.

However, the same solution I used as a child when playing cards in a group of three can be applied here: simply discard/reject some values until we are left with a multiple of our target range. For instance, if you need your RNG to generate numbers for a slot game in the target range 100 because such is your reel length, you first get an unscaled number in the 32bit format (that, remind, is 0 – 4,294,967,295) and then you discard it in the unlikely event that this is at least 4,294,967,200. All remaining numbers are then equally mapped to the target range by taking the remainder of their division by 100 – which simply means you take its last two digits.

To many, this might seem like a trivial problem. Yet, I was surprised by how frequently I encountered this exact issue when testing RNG solutions. The issue had to be reported to the supplier, failing their testing, that meant that they eventually had to rewrite some portion of their code, make a new submission and, all in all, spending extra budget and time for something that can be easily avoided.

While the RNG scaling problem may seem simple, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are far more complex issues in the world of RNGs that require expert guidance. Understanding these problems is the first step towards improvement. If you’re looking for someone who can not only assist you in navigating these challenges but also help you understand them in a clear and accessible way, I’m here to help. Let’s work together to enhance your RNG solution and make your gaming platform stand out.

Continue Reading

Industry News

Flexion “Direct-to-Consumer” Talks with Top Mobile Game Developers at GDC Will Define the Future

Published

on

Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

Executives from Flexion, the games marketing company, will hold a series of summit talks with top developers at GDC in San Francisco (18 to 22 March 2024) to discuss how direct-to-consumer (D2C) services could enhance revenue.

The D2C’24 Summit will focus on the opportunities offered to developers by recent moves freeing up the mobile games market and, in particular, on new routes to user acquisition. The aim will be to align the industry on the best way forward in light of changes in the app stores.

Flexion is already the leader in accessing alternative markets including Amazon, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Aptoide, DT Hubs and ONEstore, boosting revenue for top games without upfront costs or significant effort. It is building on its partnerships with these platforms and other industry leading companies from UA to 3rd party billing to meet future developer needs.

“We have many years of experience and the know-how in taking an existing game and finding new revenue sources. We have also built partnerships across the industry – including with alternative app stores – that will allow us to help developers go much further in future,” Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion, said.

In the last quarter, Flexion saw a 64% increase in its own revenue, as an increasing number of developers took the plunge into alternative markets. Through working with Flexion, developers see a more than 10% average boost in revenue (over marketing in Google Play alone) without significantly adding to their costs.

Jens said: “Developers have been frustrated by difficult user acquisition, where it is challenging to achieve positive returns due to changes in tracking and high store fees. But with the DMA in Europe and court cases in the US forcing Google and Apple to ease their stranglehold on the mobile games market, now is an excellent time for developers to re-engage directly with consumers.

“Many will hesitate at the underlying complexity and size of investment needed to exploit these opportunities, and so third-party services, like those being developed by Flexion, are going to be vital in making the ROI figures work.”

Through the D2C’24 Summit, Flexion will canvas opinions and share its ideas on direct-to-consumer marketing with top developers. The goal will be to create a consensus on the tools and services developers will need to maximise returns.

“We’re at the edge of a step change in the mobile games market and it’s important for the industry that we get things right. That’s why we’ve invited developers to these talks, and I’d be happy to hear from anyone else who would like to contribute to the discussion,” Jens said.

Ben Anquetil’s appointment as Head of Business Development is an important part of Flexion’s future-focused strategy. He has a brief to evaluate the company’s value proposition for D2C with the aim of ensuring that developers generate better return on their marketing spend going forward.

“I’m delighted to welcome Ben to the Flexion family at such an exciting time. He has a wealth of experience in the alternative distribution space and in strategic initiatives that generate more revenue and audiences for developers. With his help, Flexion will grow a whole new aspect of its business, offering developers easy access to the burgeoning range of markets that will become the norm,” Jens said.

“I foresee amazing opportunities for developers. By using D2C services, they will be able to enhance user engagement and retention for their games while improving margin. These factors will give them the freedom to grow revenue and audiences,” Ben said.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Alpha Affiliates
Advertisement

EveryMatrix

Advertisement

Launch your iGaming business swiftly and effortlessly with our comprehensive turnkey solutions

Trending

Get it on Google Play

EuropeanGaming.eu is a premier online platform that serves as a leading information hub for the gaming and gambling industry. This industry-centric media outlet reaches over 200,000 readers monthly, providing them with compelling content, the latest news, and deep-dive insights.

Offering comprehensive coverage on all aspects of the gaming sector, EuropeanGaming.eu includes online and land-based gaming, betting, esports, regulatory and compliance updates, and technological advancements. Regular features encompass daily news articles, press releases, exclusive interviews, and insightful event reports.

The platform also hosts industry-relevant virtual meetups and conferences, and provides detailed reports, making it a one-stop resource for anyone seeking information about operators, suppliers, regulators, and professional services in the European gaming market. The portal's primary goal is to keep its extensive reader base updated on the latest happenings, trends, and developments within the gaming and gambling sector, with an emphasis on the European market while also covering pertinent global news. It's an indispensable resource for gaming professionals, operators, and enthusiasts alike.

Contact us: [email protected]

Editorial / PR Submissions: [email protected]

Copyright © 2015 - 2024 - European Gaming is part of HIPTHER. Registered in Romania under Proshirt SRL, Company number: 2134306, EU VAT ID: RO21343605. Office address: Blvd. 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.5, Targu Mures, Romania

We are constantly showing banners about important news regarding events and product launches. Please turn AdBlock off in order to see these areas.