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Romanian government publishes plan for 40% tax on withdrawals

The Romanian government has published the country’s new draft Fiscal Code, featuring a tax hike on gambling withdrawals to as much as 40%.

The new code was published by the Ministry of Finance, and contains updates to the country’s tax laws.

Previously, gambling withdrawals in Romania of less than RON66,750 (£11,579/€13,493/$13,980) were taxed at 1%, while withdrawals of up to RON445,000 faced a 16% tax – plus an additional payment of RON667.50 and withdrawals beyond that total were taxed at 25%.

However, now withdrawals of up to RON3,000 will be taxed at 10%. Withdrawals of more than RON3,000 but no more than RON10,000 are taxed at 20%, plus a RON3000 fee. Beyond RON10,000, the tax rate will be 40%, plus a RON1,700 fee.

The tax will be applied with each withdrawal.

When the tax hike was first reported, trade body the Association of Remote Gambling Organisations (AOJND) said that it would push players towards illegal operators.

It estimated that – if the tax comes into effect – ..

July 4, 2022

Rhode Island sports betting revenue slips to $2.3m in May

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Revenue from sports betting in Rhode Island slipped to a year-low of $2.3m (£1.9m/€2.2m) in May, though the state’s handle was up month-on-month.

Player spending for the month reached $41.1m, up 45.2% from $28.3m in May of 2021 and also 2.2% higher than $40.2m in April this year.

Of this total, $25.3m was spent online, while the other $15.8m was bet at retail sportsbooks at the Twin River and Tiverton Casino locations.

Revenue was down 14.8% year-on-year from $2.7m in May last year and 11.5% lower than $2.6m in April of this year. The monthly figure was also the lowest total since $1.2m was posted in December 2021.

Some $1.9m of total revenue was attributed to online betting, with the remaining $461,059 being retail revenue split across Twin River and Tiverton Casino.

Of the two casinos, Tiverton Casino came out on top with $404,515 in revenue from $5.3m in player bets, ahead of Twin River with just $56,544 in revenue, but almost double the size handle of $10.5m.

Last week, it wa..

July 4, 2022

Virginia betting handle surpasses $5bn since 2021 launch

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The Virginia Lottery reported a year-on-year rise in both sports betting revenue and handle in May, while the amount wagered by players since the state launched in legal market has now surpassed $5.00bn (£4.13bn/€4.79bn).

Consumer spending for the month reached $351.5m, up 54.9% from $227.0m in May 2021, but 12.0% down from $399.5m in April of this year.

Spending in May meant the amount wagered by players since the state’s legal market opened in January last year stands at $5.33bn. Virginia surpassed $1.00bn in bets in June of last year.

Adjusted gross gaming revenue, which is defined as total bets minus winnings, bouses and promotions and other authorised deductions, jumped 75.2% year-on-year $15.7m to $27.5m.

This amount also represented a 32.2% month-on-month increase from $20.8 in April of this year.

Consumers won a total of $308.9m from sports betting during the month, while $10.0m in bonuses and promotions were issued to players. An additional $5.0m in deductions was also re..

July 1, 2022

Giving betting a voice

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Betting is becoming easier than ever as the industry aligns itself with technological breakthroughs. One of the most recent of these is speech technology, which allows machines to recognise spoken word and perform related commands. This has been widely integrated, with devices like Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa being a staple in many homes.

Technology company Voxbet seeks to bring automation into the sports betting world, giving bettors the opportunity to speak a bet or tip into existence. Its technology also allows bettors to type their bet for further accessibility.

Jonathan Power, CEO and founder of Voxbet, speaks about what the company offers and how voice technology creates a unique betting experience.

What does Voxbet offer that other providers don’t? How do these elements offer like a unique experience for players?

We’re a technology provider that simplifies the navigation of a sportsbook. So if you think about how you navigate anything else online, like Amazon or eBay, ..

July 1, 2022

Genius Sports expands partnership with Tipsport

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Genius Sports has expanded its long-term partnership with Czech sportsbook operator Tipsport.

As part of the expansion, Tipsport has agreed to increase the number of annual events that are covered by Genius Sport’s data and technology products.

In turn Genius Sports will show real-time feeds and pin-point pricing for a number of competitions; including the National Football League (NFL), Euroleague basketball and the English Premier League.

In addition, Tipsport will be able to access Genius Sport’s full NFL product suite, which includes the league’s real-time statistics, its sports betting data feed and its Next Gen Stats product.

“Never-ending innovation is firmly part of our DNA so we’re thrilled to widen our partnership with Genius Sports for the upcoming years,” said Petr Komarek, Tipsport head of data and streaming.

“Considering this strong bond, we’re excited to engage many more customers and provide them with our world-class services. We look forward to create compelling a..

June 30, 2022

Betfred Sports switches to OpenBet in Iowa

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Betfred Sports has expanded its partnership with OpenBet having selected its digital and retail technology across its operations in the US state of Iowa.

Betfred’s Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort sportsbook facility is now powered by OpenBet’s retail solutions including betting counters and self-service kiosks. Betfred will also utilise OpenBet’s digital technology and sports betting engine for mobile and online betting.

The two groups have already partnered for Betfred’s entry into the Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana and Pennsylvania regulated markets.

Bryan Bennett, chief operating officer at Betfred, said: “OpenBet’s products and technology perform consistently across our existing locations, so naturally we entrusted the company to power our offering in Iowa. We first launched in Iowa in 2020, and we look forward to working with OpenBet to continue building on that success.”

Betfred had launched in Iowa with an Optima-powered product, though it used the technology of Openbet owner..

June 30, 2022

NFL hires first sports betting executive

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The NFL, the most popular sports league in the US, has hired David Highhill as vice president, general manager of sports betting; the first executive the league has had dedicated to sports betting.

Highhill will lead the league’s efforts to reduce the effects of gambling-related harm, advance the value of the NFL’s brand and reputation, support fan engagement, as well as improve the value of the NFL’s data and intellectual property.

He has been with the NFL for 10 years, and will move from the corporate strategy group, where he previously led the league’s analytics department.

The NFL already has a number of sports betting partnership agreements, most recently with 888sport, which will be the league’s official sports betting partner in both the UK and Ireland until 2025.

In the US, FOX Bet, BetMGM, PointsBet, and WynnBET were announced as official partners last year, alongside Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings.

June 29, 2022

Online gambling proposal confirmed for California’s November ballot

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A measure to permit online gambling in California – backed by a number of commercial operators but opposed by many tribes in the state – has been confirmed for November’s ballot.

The Secretary of State in the US’s most populous state announced on Monday that the proposed law, which is backed by major gaming groups such as BetMGM, has attracted around 1.1 million valid signatures – well above the 997,000 required to make the ballot.

The confirmation it has qualified for the ballot was met with opposition from tribal gaming groups, whose own Tribal Sports Wagering Act initiative that would legalise sports betting at limited locations, including tribal casinos, has already been accepted for November’s poll.

Tribal chairman Cody Martinez, of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, said: “We will run a vigorous campaign against this measure and are confident the voters will see through the deceptive promises being made by these out-of-state gambling corporations.”

For the full article, ..

June 28, 2022

Towards intolerance of illegal operators

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Illegal online gambling remains a threat to both player protection and government tax yields. Yet, as Paul Girvan explains, most regulated jurisdictions continue to tolerate operators making money outside of the regulatory environment. Could more be done to fight the unlicensed sector?

Online gambling has existed since the inception of the internet, and over time we have seen increasing concern arise from the issue of black market gambling.

Equally, nearly all countries implementing legal market controls have encountered rising rates of gambling harm and negative social consequences, the causes for many of which remain outside the licensed market.

While there is much talk about the “licensed level playing field”, it’s hard to see how any marketplace is effectively levelled to the benefit of any parties if it tolerates the presence of the illicit black market. These shadow operators reap a competitive advantage as their regulated competitors pay a licence fee and taxes and comply wi..

June 28, 2022

Laos to mimic POGO model with new offshore licences

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Laos is set to regulate online gambling, setting up a regime where operators licensed in the country targeting markets elsewhere in Southeast Asia such as Thailand.

In a model similar to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), operators that receive a licence may set up an online gambling operation, but may not accept customers who are based in Laos.

Danny Too, a consultant assisting the Laotian government on the process, told iGB that the government is currently in the process of drawing up its regulations for the sector.

He said that the government had planned to publish guidelines to apply for licences in two months’ time.

According to Too, initial master licences are set to be issued to a small number of businesses, which can then contract out “sub-licences” to a wider number of businesses, similar to the model in Curaçao.

Too noted that this was due in part to the effects of Covid-19, which was devastating to Laos’ foreigner-only land-based casinos.

“During the pandemi..

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