Casino City's iGaming Pocket Directory - 2016 Edition

Sponsored by 91 Visit iGamingPocketDirectory.com for more information. UNITED KINGDOM & EUROPE The U.K. online gaming market was £1.9 billion in 2014, according to data provided by the U.K. Gambling Commission. As a result, the tax has generated a healthy revenue stream for the government. But it also takes a fair amount of money out of the pockets of operators. The pressures of an increased regulatory and tax burden resulted in several significant mergers, such as bwin.party with GVC, Betfair with Paddy Power, and Ladbrokes with Coral. With compliance, tax and operating costs on the rise, the marketing budget was also a target, with affiliates feeling the pinch. Several sites made significant changes in their affiliate agreements, with PokerStars earning the most attention as it put a two-year sunset on revenue share for referred players, including players who had been referred under lifetime revenue share deals. Has balance been reached in the first year under the POC tax? Or are more cost-saving measures yet to come? That’s the big question that remains to be answered in 2016. EUROPE The rest of the Europe continues to move toward regulation of online gambling. Poland liberalized its online gambling law in 2015, allowing companies based in the EU to offer gambling services as long as they establish a presence in Poland. Portugal will launch regulated online gambling in 2016, and the Netherlands is on the verge of moving forward as well. Switzerland’s parliament considered proposals to allow its land-based casinos to apply for licenses to operate online in 2015, though it’s not clear if that legislation has a path forward in 2016.