Casino City's iGaming Pocket Directory - 2014 Edition

Sponsored by JURISDICTIONS 117 Visit iGamingPocketDirectory.com for more information. Three states – New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware – have taken up the cause. And each has had a different set of regulatory standards. In Europe, country-specific regulations created their own set of compliance headaches for operators. For example, in France, licensed operators can only offer sports betting and poker. Online casinos are illegal. And poker and sports betting are taxed heavily and in a specific way. Each poker pot is taxed 2 percent – which has to be paid by the players. The 2 percent tax is not figured into the rake. There’s also a 2 percent tax on tournament entries. There’s an 8.5 percent tax on each sports bet made. Private data for French players must be stored on special servers. And French regulations are very specific about addressing problem gaming in certain ways, which need to be baked into the software. Just as important, French players cannot play against players outside France. The French market has been removed from the worldwide liquidity pool. So have the Spanish and Italian markets. Spain, France, and Italy have been discussing the possibility of pooling player liquidity among the three nations. But late in 2013, France removed itself from the equation – choosing to continue the ring-fencing of their players. Italy and Spain may still choose to share players. With operators having to comply with several regulatory structures, operating and compliance costs are rising. And instead of paying one low tax rate in an offshore jurisdiction, operators have to pay much higher taxes in several jurisdictions. The new regulatory schemes are also affecting players as well. Players are seeing higher rakes and poorer odds in many instances. But they’re also seeing some increased consumer protections. The industry has spoken with a clear voice over the past few years – it does not like having a mishmash of regulations, with no sign of harmonization on the horizon. But it appears they’re fighting a losing battle. Country by country – and state by state – regulation is here to stay. And the companies that adapt best to this new reality are the ones that will succeed. IGAMING JURISDICTIONS OVERVIEW