Legal & compliance – Page 3

September 12, 2024

Apuesta Total CEO warns against reintroduction of consumption tax on Peru gambling

Apuesta Total CEO Gonzalo Perez has warned the Peru government against the introduction of a consumption tax on gambling operators.
Law no 31557, which looked to regulate online gaming and sports betting in Peru, came into effect on 9 February. This sets out a tax of 12% on gross gaming revenue (GGR), although legislation originally included a 1% tax on the value of every bet, or consumption tax.

That 1% consumption tax was removed from legislation in July 2021. However the Peru congress is now discussing its reintroduction, with the potential rate not yet confirmed.

Perez fears this could be hugely detrimental to the licensed gambling industry and is urging the government to reconsider. “The consumption tax is, depending of course on the percentage they will apply and depending on the base fee, very harmful for us,” Perez tells iGB. “We are trying to reach the government to talk, to explain the possible impact.

“The proposed 1% consumption tax discussed in congress was crazy beca..

September 12, 2024

Chinese Football Association bans 43 players, officials for match-fixing

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has imposed lifetime bans on 38 soccer players and five club bosses accused of gambling and match-fixing. A two-year probe found that 120 matches were compromised.
In comments on Tuesday (10 September), Zhang Xiaopeng of the Chinese ministry for public security said the investigation “uncovered a series of online gambling, match-fixing and bribery cases”. They involved 128 suspects and 41 clubs.

Who’s involved?

Among those banned for life are midfielder Jin Jingdao, forward Guo Tianyu and goalkeeper Gu Chao, all of China. They can no longer take part in football or football-related activities. Seventeen others received five-year bans.

In a press conference on Wednesday, South Korea’s Son Jun-Ho protested his innocence. A tearful Son said he was “dumbfounded” by the “ridiculous charges”.

“They threatened that if I didn’t admit to the charges, my wife would be arrested,” he declared. “I said I hadn’t done anything like that.”

China targets spor..

September 11, 2024

Apuesta Total CEO: There isn’t room for everyone in Peru’s regulated market

Apuesta Total CEO Gonzalo Perez expects three or four operators will dominate the newly-regulated online market in Peru, while the remaining brands will fight for single-digit market share.
Law no 31557 came into effect in Peru on 9 February of this year as the government sought to regulate online gaming and sports betting in the country.

Operators active in Peru before the announcement had until 10 March to submit a licence application. Gambling regulator Mincetur warned those who did not comply could face a fine of up to Sol990,000 (€245,394/£212,401/$257,838) or criminal prosecution.

According to the law, Mincetur will process licence applications within 30 business days of submission. Perez said operators have a 15 November deadline to submit final certifications for their platform and content. Failing to meet that deadline could result in authorisation being revoked.

During that initial window in March, 145 licence requests were submitted. Meanwhile new entrants to Peru were g..

September 10, 2024

Betano leading in Brazil with 23% of grey betting market share ahead of Bet365

Betano is currently leading the way in Brazil with a 23% share of the grey wagering market, a new white paper from OpenBet has indicated using research from global industry data consultancy H2 Gambling Capital.
Offering exclusive data analytics and projections from H2GC, the OpenBet report revealed Betano 23%of the Brazil betting market, with Bet365 following closely behind with a 20% share.

However, the report also outlined that with the legal market set to launch on 1 January 2025, the Brazilian industry will be increasingly competitive as local brands as well as a raft of international brands seek to get their share of an onshore market that H2GC predicts could reach $10.1bn (£7.7bn/€9.2bn) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) by 2029.

That would represent growth of nearly double, with H2GC estimating Brazil’s legalonline sports betting and igaming market will be worth around $5.6bn in 2025 GGR.Around $3bn of that will come from online sports betting, with igaming responsible for $2.6bn…

September 9, 2024

Weekend Report: Brazil names betting chief, Bet365 fined in NJ

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we look at a letter calling for Austrian gambling reform and Bet365 getting fined in New Jersey.
New secretary of sports betting named in Brazil
In this week’s Weekend Report, Giovanni Rocco Neto, previously a counsellor in Brazil’s ministry of sport, will oversee the promulgation of rules and wagering launch in Brazil, reports Insider Sport. Legal, live sports betting is set to launch in January and 114 operators have applied for licences. Neto will report to sports minister André Fufuca and will be independent of the secretariat of prizes and betting. His new title is national secretary of sports betting for the economic development of sport.

In his last role, he was the chair of the committee of integrity, rights and duties in betting and gaming.

NJ regulator fines Bet365
The New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) last week fined UK-based Bet3..

September 9, 2024

Brazil government preparing heavy crackdown on illegal betting payments

Pay4Fun director Ari Celia tells iGB Brazil's ministry of finance has established a new department to target black market operators. He expects Pix blocking efforts to be successful.
Brazil’s government is implementing hefty measures to prevent illegal operators from processing payments ahead of the legal betting market’s launch on 1 January 2025.

The government’s ministry of finance is setting up a team of eight civil servants who will specifically work on preventing illegal sites from taking and receiving payments, according to Celia.

The team will process complaints from the sector and seek to punish unlicensed payment providers and illegal sites.

Blocking Pix payments will be successful
One measure the government has publicly announced is blocking payments involving illegal operators made via Pix, an instant payment service controlled by the Central Bank of Brazil which the majority of the betting market uses.

Regulators in other markets like Germany and across Europe..

September 2, 2024

Federal Revenue Service to address Brazil sports betting tax concerns at CPI hearing

Special secretary of Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service Robinson Barreirinhas will appear in front of the parliamentary commission inquiry (CPI) on match-fixing to explain how sports betting tax from companies abroad will be kept in Brazil.
The special secretary will appear at the request of Carlos Portinho, who is looking to clarify how tax payments will be made across borders.

Barreirinhas will be heard this Wednesday (4 September) by the CPI on manipulation, which was set up in April to counter match-fixing on sports betting in Brazil.

As set out in Normative Ordinance No 827, operators must have a headquarters on Brazilian soil. Foreign companies are still eligible for a licence, although they must have a local subsidiary of which a Brazilian owns at least 20% of the share capital.

Businesses must also provide a joint certificate from the special secretariat of federal revenue and the attorney-general’s office of the national treasury to show they are registered to pay tax in the ..

August 30, 2024

Does Flamengo’s Flabet set a blueprint for sports teams to become betting operators?

Brazilian football club Flamengo’s new Flabet sportsbook could set a trend for other teams to become operators, according to two lawyers from Bichara e Motta Advogados.
Udo Seckelmann and Pedro Heitor de Araújo, who work in the gambling & crypto practice of Brazilian law firm Bichara e Motta Advogados, say other clubs may adopt a similar model to grow revenue.

Earlier this month, Flamengo revealed plans to launch Flabet with Pixbet, the club’s master sponsor, managing the brand. Essentially the arm’s-length agreement allows the operator to become an active participant in Brazil’s sports betting market, rather than only generating revenue through sponsorship.

The Flabet agreement lasts until 2027, with Pixbet paying Flamengo a minimum amount of BRL82.5m (£11.1m/€13.2m/$14.7m) over that timespan. The club will receive BRL10m in 2024, BRL22.5m in 2025 and then BRL25m in both 2026 and 2027.

Additionally, the club could receive a royalty fee of 1% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) if that ..

August 29, 2024

Caixa expects to be a major player in the Brazil betting market

Caixa Loterias president Carlos Antônio Vieira Fernandes believes the company will be one of the leaders in the upcoming Brazil betting market.
Caixa, Brazil’s federal bank, submitted its licence application on 20 August, a day before the initial 90-day preference window closed. By applying during that timespan, Caixa, like other operators who filed in that window, is guaranteed its request will be processed by 1 January 2025. That is the expected launch date of the legal betting market in Brazil.

Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) received 113 applications during the priority window.

If the application is successful, Caixa, a Brazilian bank which holds a federal monopoly on lottery, will be able to offer sports betting to players in Brazil. The market is expected to be highly lucrative.

A study by the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) predicted sports betting turnover will reach $34bn (£26.8bn/€31.1bn) by 2028. Of that, onshore gross win is expected ..

August 27, 2024

Survey estimates 10% of Brazil population has suffered gambling-related financial issues

A survey by market research specialist Hibou has revealed 10% of the population in Brazil has endured financial problems from gambling ahead of regulation coming into force.
The survey, which included 2,839 respondents in Brazil from all social classes, studied the prevalence of gambling in the population.

The study found 68% of Brazilians gamble, with around 16% of respondents stating they had suffered from financial issues due to their gambling.

Is pre-regulation gambling causing social issues?
That equates to around 10% of the Brazilian population. While this may cause concern it is important to note it covers a period before the legal online market launches. The first legal bets will be placed on 1 January 2025, with 113 operators applying for a licence during the initial 90-day window of preference.

Of those who had endured financial problems from gambling, 32% stated they had sold assets to make up for their losses. Additionally, 29% borrowed from friends or family, while 25% ..

August 27, 2024

LiveScore CEO on overregulation and users’ “endless” demand for sports content

LiveScore Group chief executive Sam Sadi says the business may turn to generative AI to satisfy sports fans’ insatiable demand for content and admits the operator would not have entered the Dutch igaming market today.
“Betting has moved towards the recreational, socially acceptable way to consume sports,” Sadi tells iGB. “Maybe 10 years ago, people would be betting on one or two types of markets, the winner market or number of goals.

“Now we see a wider distribution of bets into more entertainment-like products [such as] bet builders and SGPs (same game parlays), as [users consume] different types of statistics. People follow the sports in a much deeper way than they used to.”

With this evolution of betting behaviours, users have developed an almost insatiable demand for content Sadi explains. “Producing this, almost to individual needs, is expensive to be able to deliver at scale.”

Like others, LiveScore sees generative AI as a solution to satisfying that consumer demand.

Can g..

August 21, 2024

Priority window closes for Brazil licence applications as 113 apply in total

The window for prioritised licence applications in Brazil has now shut with 113 operators submitting requests ahead of the deadline and excitement is building ahead of the market going live.
By applying before the 20 August deadline passed, the 113 operators have ensured their licence applications will be processed by 1 January 2025, the forecast launch date of the legal market in Brazil.

The 90-day initial window of preference opened in May. For a while, it appeared the number of applications would fall well short of industry expectations with just Kaizen Gaming-owned Betano applying by the end of June.

However, the publication of the remaining ordinances sparked an acceleration of requests, with 108 of the 113 applications coming after the final ordinance on sanctions was announced on 31 July. Notably, the much-awaited Normative Ordinance No 1,207 on online games clarifying which games would be allowed was one of the last to be published.

The total number of applications fell shor..

November 2024
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

Tag: Legal & compliance