Tag Archives: Legal

Police raid German sports betting operator

Police raid German sports betting operator

Police in Germany have carried out raids and arrested six people as part of an investigation into an unnamed sports betting operator.

The German sports betting raids took place yesterday (20 April) and followed two and a half years of undercover investigations related to the operator, with allegations including suspicion of forming a criminal organisation, offering illegal gambling and withholding wages in reference to undeclared work.

Raids were carried out by police from the German regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen, Berlin, Saxony and Bavaria, as well as authorities in Malta and Croatia. Raids took place at premises across all these regions, although the focus of the effort was Cologne.

In a joint statement issued by the Prosecution of Organised Crimes (ZeOS NRW) and the State Criminal Police Office for North Rhine-Westphalia, investigating authorities executed over 100 search warrants and six arrest warrants during the raids.

More than 100 private apartments, betting sho..

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Kentucky governor signs sports betting bill into law

Kentucky governor signs sports betting bill into law

Kentucky’s Democrat governor, Andy Beshear, has signed into law a bill that will legalise sports betting in the Bluegrass State.

House Bill 551 will make nine racetracks eligible to offer on-site retail sports betting, while each track will also be able to partner with up to three online operators, meaning up to 27 licences may be issued by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC).

The bill also establishes a two-tier system to taxation, with online operators to be taxed at 14.25% of gross gambling revenue, compared to the 9.75% imposed on the retail offerings.

Read the full story on iGB North America

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Kentucky sports betting bill heads to governor’s desk

Kentucky sports betting bill heads to governor’s desk

House Bill 551 – which would authorise sports wagering in the Bluegrass State – is heading to Governor Andy Beshear’s desk after clearing the Senate just hours before the deadline.

Beshear, a Democrat, has stated his intention to sign the bill, meaning that the outlook looks optimistic for legalised sports betting in Kentucky.

Lawmakers approved the legislation 26-12, with a 23-vote threshold for passage. The two-thirds majority requirement is a result of state rules regarding revenue generating laws being passed in a session not devoted to the budget.

There is a long tradition of horse racing in Kentucky

“After years of urging lawmakers to legalise sports betting, we finally did it! Today’s result shows that hard work pays off,” said Beshear on Twitter. “Kentuckians will soon be able to place their bets here and, for the first time, we are going to keep those dollars to support our roads and bridges, schools and communities.”

Read the full story on iGB North America

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Oklahoma tribal sports betting bill clears House

Oklahoma tribal sports betting bill clears House

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has voted through a bill that would allow tribes in the US state to add legal sports betting to their existing gaming compacts.

House Bill 1027 passed yesterday (21 March) by a vote of 66-26 and will now move forward to the Senate for a further committee progress, where it could face additional amendments.

The final version of the bill would need approval from both the House and Senate before it could be passed to the governor for final sign-off.

Read the full story on iGB North America

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Missouri House votes to approve sports betting bill

Missouri House votes to approve sports betting bill

The Missouri House of Representatives has voted to approve a bill that would legalise sports betting in the US state.

While the vote is a step forward in the authorization of sports betting in the Show-Me State, a formal roll call vote is required in the House before the bill is sent to the State Senate for final confirmation.

House Bill 556, which would allow for retail and online sports wagering in Missouri, is being co-sponsored by Republicans Dave Hinman and Adam Schwadron, as well as Democrats Keri Ingle and Ashley Bland Manlove.

The bill was introduced to the House at the start of the year and approved last night (March 20). Following a formal roll call, which is expected to take place later this week, the bill will then progress to the Senate for further discussion.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

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Norway announces new distribution of Norsk Rikstoto profits

Norway announces new distribution of Norsk Rikstoto profits

The Norwegian Ministry of Food and Agriculture have established new regulations, formalising the revenue share received by the different national equestrian organisations from Norsk Rikstoto.

Under the new rules, the profits distributed to these various bodies will be formalised, with each organisation receiving a set percentage of the proceeds. This differs from the repealed regulations in which the Ministry had far more discretion over where the profits were distributed.

Gambling on horse racing in Norway is supervised by the state-owned monopoly of Norsk Rikstoto, which collects all legal pari-mutuel bets on the vertical. The profits from this company are then shared among a variety of Norwegian equestrian organisations in order to support the sport.

Distribution of profits

The new regulations outline that the Norwegian Trotting Association, the national harness racing association, is to receive 82% of the profits. The Ministry says that the grant will be used in order to suppor..

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Massachusetts’ mobile sports betting market goes live

Massachusetts’ mobile sports betting market goes live

The six online operators approved to launch mobile sports betting offerings in Massachusetts – FanDuel, DraftKings, WynnBet, Barstool, BetMGM and Caesars – have gone live in Massachusetts.

More than six months on from when then-governor Charlie Baker signed House Bill 5164 into law, players have begun placing bets from the six online operators licensed by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) – joining the now majority of US states that have legalised the activity.

The rollout follows the launch of retail sports betting towards the end of January, that permitted any land-based casino or racetrack operator to apply for a licence.

“The debut of sports betting in Massachusetts has delivered an incredible amount of excitement and activity to our retail sportsbook at MGM Springfield,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt. “We’re proud to expand our best-in-class wagering experience statewide during one of sports’ biggest months of action.”

Role of sports fans

President of Caesars Digit..

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Duelling sports betting bills fail in Georgia

Duelling sports betting bills fail in Georgia

Two separate sports betting bills in Georgia have failed in the State House and the State Senate.

This means that Georgia’s sports betting dream is dead until the 2024 Georgia legislative session at the earliest.

The Senate bill’s primary sponsor and Republican Majority Leader Bill Cowsert’s strategy was focused on amending the Constitution of the State of Georgia to allow the legislature to pass laws.

The Senate effort aimed to amend Georgia’s constitution

In turn, this would have allowed for sports betting to be operated in the state.

Georgia currently prohibits the authorization of gambling operations, with an enumerated exception for lotteries.

This bill – titled Senate Resolution 140 – did not get the requisite two thirds majority needed for an amendment of the state constitution, and so failed at 30-26 votes.

If the resolution had passed, sports betting would have appeared on the ballot by referendum in November 2024.

And while the amendments enabling legislation Senate B..

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First ilottery and online sports betting solution launched in Brazil

First ilottery and online sports betting solution launched in Brazil

NeoGames and Intralot do Brasil have announced the launch of LotoMinas, the first regulated ilottery and online sports betting solution for Brazilian state Minas Gerais' official lottery, Loteria Mineira.

The multi-year turnkey agreement – which was first announced in June – sees NeoGames enter the Brazilian market, in a project that will involve long-term cooperation with the state’s lottery operator.

The undertaking is NeoGames’ first large scheme led by its subsidiaries with Aspire Global and BtoBet – companies that the business acquired last year.

neogames will provide ilottery and online sports betting services to the lottery operator

NeoGames CEO Moti Malul said the organisation was “excited” to launch in the Brazilian market and to be partnering with Intralot do Brasil, who are more familiar with the local market than the Israel-based supplier.

“Together we will provide online lottery and sports betting players in Minas Gerais with a first-class online gaming experien..

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HKJC blasts proposal to increase football betting duty to 80%

HKJC blasts proposal to increase football betting duty to 80%

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has hit out at a proposal from the New People’s Party (NPP) to increase the region’s football betting duty by an additional 30%, saying the plan lacks “understanding”.

The current rate is set at 50% on net stake receipts, but the NPP proposal would increase this to 80%, which in turn would mean the HKJC would have to pay significantly more tax.

The HKJC estimated that if the duty change was to be approved, the amount it pays in tax would jump from the current HK$25.00bn (£2.58bn/€2.94bn/US$3.19bn) to HK$31.00bn, while revenue would fall from HK15.00bn to HK$9.00bn, a decline of 40%.

“It will result in a zero surplus at best or more likely a negative one, preventing the Club from making necessary investments to secure its future and from contributing to the community,” the HKJC said.

“In reality, however, consumer behaviour can be highly dynamic. Any perturbation such as a tax increase, or simply the perception of such, could easily result in a disp..

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