How to promote betting and gambling: the results of july 2023

Publication date: 01 Aug 2023

July 2023 brought a lot of new developments to the global gambling market. Changes affected legislation, tax collection, rules for advertising online casinos and bookmakers.  All information that can help in the promotion of betting and gambling is collected on 3S.INFO.

Gambling from A to Z: new laws, taxes, advertising peculiarities

Australia is planning to introduce a complete ban on betting advertising. If the authorities and bookmakers agree, such a restriction will be implemented within 3 years. According to sports betting operators, this will lead to significant losses, and revenues to the budget will be reduced by $100 million.
Meanwhile, in the state of Victoria in 2024, the gambling spending limit will be reduced 10 times: from $1,000 to $10.  The speed of spins will increase to 3 seconds per game, and slots areas will be closed from 4:00 am to 10:00 am.

Belgium, through the Gambling Commission (Kansspelcommissie / KSC), has reminded licensed operators that they must warn customers about the dangers of gambling in all their communications. Furthermore, operators must also refer to the national self-exclusion scheme Stopoptijd in their messages. Consequently, the law requires that every message to a player must contain the following: “Gambling can be addictive. Stop in time! More information at www.stopoptijd.be”.
Recall that from 1 July 2023, the country introduced a radical ban on gambling advertising.

Brazil has finally decided to take “temporary” measures to launch sports betting. In July 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the document, Congress now has 120 days to debate and amend it. The main points of the betting and gambling regulation in Brazil: 

• The creation of a regulator responsible for all regulatory measures of the local gambling industry called the National Secretariat of Gaming and Betting (SNJA).
• Operators based in another country will also be able to obtain a betting license in Brazil. Regardless of the applicant’s jurisdiction, the cost of a Brazilian 5-year license will be R$30 million (about $6.35 million).
• Introduction of a tax on betting revenue: 18% on gross gaming revenue (GGR). After the tax increase (now at 16%), Brazilian operators said they were actually paying 30.82% of the GGR due to additional fees. 
• Now within 4 months the amendments will have to be approved and the Brazilian Congress must either accept or reject the amendments to the gaming legislation.

The Czech Republic is drafting amendments to the gambling law, which came into force at the beginning of 2017. The amendments are aimed at improving player safety and preventing crime from entering the market. At the same time, the possibilities of legal gambling are expected to be expanded.
In particular, as part of player protection, a “panic button” is to be placed on all gambling sites. When it is activated, access to gambling will be immediately prohibited to the player for 48 hours at all licensed operators. The player will have the option to put himself on the self-excluded register for a certain period and the option to extend this blocking. During this period, the player cannot be removed from the self-exclusion database. In addition, those under criminal investigation will be added to the registry.
As well, the bill paves the way for legal live dealer games, expanding the range of online products beyond random number generator and digital table games.

Germany has calculated the volume of the gray gambling sector in the country. According to the data of the regulator GGL for 2022, gambling and betting services are offered to Germans by 207 unlicensed operators through 843 gambling sites. Among them 132 illegal operators have the jurisdiction of Curaçao, 37 more are based in different EU countries, the location of 23 operators failed to find out. Experts estimate that the illegal market receives between 300 and 500 million euros annually, only a maximum of 4% of the total German gambling market.

India is introducing a 28% tax on online gambling, horse racing and casinos. The tax will be levied on the full cost of the bet or chips bought, i.e. on the entire amount collected by the bookmaker from the player. Experts warn that “this decision will encourage illegal operators and attract Indian users to them. At the end of the day, all this will neither lead to optimal tax collection nor increase the legality of the industry.” In July 2023, more than 100 Indian gambling companies wrote a common letter asking for the decision to be reversed.

Ireland may prohibit gambling advertising during daytime hours. As part of the change in gambling laws, it is proposed that all gambling and betting advertising between 5.30am and 9.00pm will be banned. 

Italy has chosen to reform its gambling legislation.  The new gambling law should provide more protection for players and more revenue for the state coffers. According to the new bill, gambling providers must adhere to certain opening hours. The most significant restriction may be the ban on sports betting for minors, who can now easily bet in land-based establishments.
In addition, the law will also include restrictions on betting, winnings and losses. The bill also includes mandatory training for operators and their staff, various improvements to the self-exclusion register.
If the decision on the need for gambling and betting reform in Italy is finally approved, it will take between 18 and 24 months to draft. Once this is done, it will take another year to implement the new system.

Kenya has estimated revenues following the increase in excise tax on rates from 7.5% to 12.5%.  For the 2022-23 financial year (ending 30 June), the country’s budget received more than KES 15.1 billion (approximately US$107 million). According to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), revenues increased by 23.9% year-on-year.

Malta continues to be a source of interesting news! In June, the local authorities passed Law N55, which allows operators with a Maltese license to freely accept players from any EU country (without the need to obtain a local license).
In turn, the European Commission has announced its plans to scrutinize the controversial bill and has requested further information. We will be waiting for a decision on this controversial law!

Sweden is significantly reducing gambling advertising by 15%. If in 2021 the advertising budget of gambling and betting operators was SEK 4 billion ($365 million), in 2022 – SEK 3.4 billion ($310 million). Casinos spend the most (30% of the total amount) on advertising. Almost the same amount (28%) is spent on betting advertising. The share of lottery advertising was 26%, betting on horse racing – 12% and the remaining 4% is the share of bingo advertising.

Turkey in July 2023 doubled the tax on betting from 5 to 10%. The tax on other gambling games also increased – from 7 to 14%. This is planned to help balance the budget and finance new industries.

The USA (Ohio) is ahead of the curve in July with a first-of-its-kind proposal to regulate betting. Regulators will have new powers: they will be able to prohibit people who “harass athletes” from betting on sports. Specifically, the draft state budget for next year includes a change about players who “threaten violence or harm” to individuals in connection with sporting events. In practice, this means that “if an individual is identified as threatening an athlete on social media, they could potentially receive a permanent ban on all legal sports betting options in the state. The names of such individuals would be reported to betting operators in the state, who would be expected not to accept any bets from them.”