More and more countries understand benefits of legalized gambling activities

Publication date: 30 Nov 2020

News on gambling regulation in different countries for November 2020

Authorities of different countries around the world understand the benefits of legalized gambling activities. Gambling legislation helps regulate the industry, makes it safer and more attractive for customers, allows generating new tax revenue.

The Netherlands to divide gambling in two verticals

The Netherlands is planning to launch its regulated online gambling market in 2021. Ahead of the launch, the Dutch National Lottery (Nationale Loterij) will introduce separate online accounts for lottery and sports betting. From 1 March 2021, customers of gambling operators will need to have separate accounts for each of the two verticals. This, the Nationale Loterij has explained, is due to lottery and sports betting being subject to different laws. The current Gambling Act will cover lottery products such as Lotto, Eurojackpot, Lucky Day, and scratch cards. The sports betting service will be governed by the new Remote Gambling Act, which was supposed to become effective on 1 July. The Dutch regulated market is now set to open on 1 September 2021.

Ukraine to eliminate errors in its current legislation

Ukraine aims to eliminate errors in its current gambling legislation. Ukrainian authorities have already discussed which stipulations have to be excluded and what will happen if the current gambling legislation remains unchanged. It is already known that the new bill proposes to exclude the third paragraph of Article 7 on “Composition and Structure of the Authorized Body”. If approved, the bill will regulate the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Commission and the procedure for granting gambling licenses. It is also set to improve the current gambling regulation in the country.

Curacao to monitor online casinos more closely

Curacao has already taken the first steps towards modernization of its online gambling sector. The reason behind the modernization is the dubious reputation of several thousand service providers operating under Curacao licenses around the world. A reform of the current licencing system will help create a transparent and legitimate online casino sector. Learn more about new requirements for obtaining a Curacao gaming license.

Canada to legalize sports betting on single events

Canada is getting ready to legalize sports betting on single events. The Federal Government has picked up Bill C-218, the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, to turn it into a government bill. Single-event sports betting is currently prohibited in Canada and subject to criminal liability. Sports betting with local lotteries is only legal if bets are placed simultaneously on at least three events or more. The bill is backed up by statistics on losses of local legal operators. According to Convers.com, online and illegal operators have drawn an estimated $15 billion offshore this year while just $500 million is wagered legally through local lotteries.

Indian authorities understand benefits of legalized sports betting

Indian authorities have voiced the idea that the safest thing to do about shadow gambling in the country is to legalize and regulate it. Legalising sports betting will help get match fixing under control and monitor people allegedly involved in corrupt practices, as well as allow generating new tax revenue. Indian business owners earlier asked officials to issue gambling licenses to six local casinos.