Speaking during a visit to the LGA’s offices, Mr Fenech underlined the importance of the gaming industry to the economy.

He said that revenue from duty on gaming has risen by 40% since 2007 and reached €47.5 million last year.

The number of licence holders increased three-fold in three years as the gaming sector grew by 29%.

He said the sector now employed 7,000 people, of whom 4,000 worked directly with the gaming companies and the rest were in support services.

There are 60 pending applications for gaming licences.

The minister said international giant Betsons would continue to invest in Malta and would create an extra 350 jobs over the next 12 months, the minister said.

Referring to the gaming parlours which are opening all over Malta, Mr Fenech said that 25 had opened so far. He recalled how the government had closed them all two years ago until a new regulatory framework was put in place. These establishments were now tightly regulated and monitored, he said. The LGA, he added, had introduced the concept of responsible gaming, with gamers in on-land facilities also being able to self-bar themselves. 1,000 people had used this facility, he said. The barring can last for a year or six months.

The LGA would also be setting up a Responsible Gaming Fund which would fund advertising campaigns on responsible gaming and help those who had gaming problems, he said.

The matter, he said, still had to be discussed in Cabinet but it was hoped that the Fund would be set up next year. The fund would be partly supported through contributions by the gaming companies as part of their corporate social responsibilities.

Mr Fenech also denied that the LGA was offering Maltco exclusivity on more games than mentioned in the tender document, as claimed in court yesterday by a rival gaming company.

Source: www.timesofmalta.com

During talks held, State Secretary Michael Ambühl, Head of the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF), and Ambassador Carlo Baldocci, Diplomatic Adviser to the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, discussed various financial and tax issues. Also in light of the recent developments in the European Union, their discussions included the model for an agreement on the regularisation of assets held in Switzerland by non-resident taxpayers and the introduction of a withholding tax on future investment income, as well as access to financial markets, existing black lists, the revision of the double taxation agreement (also with reference to the exchange of information) and the agreement regarding the taxation of cross-border commuters.

The parties have agreed to create a steering group which is to work towards resolving the pending financial and tax issues. It is scheduled to meet for the first time on 24 May 2012.

The parties noted with satisfaction that the issue of the outstanding payment of the retrocession for cross-border commuters has been resolved and the payment order in favour of Italy has been issued.

Source: www.intax-info.com

Described as “historic”, the document was signed with FIFA’s in-house agency, FIFA Early Warning System GmbH, to protect and maintain the integrity of football and sports betting.

Under the MoU, the LGA, in collaboration with its licensed operators, will provide the necessary assistance to ensure the early warning system works effectively. “Such collaboration will further increase the existing deterrents and will ensure that the possibility of achieving unfair winnings – a phenomenon which is particularly present with respect to unregulated betting activities – remains shut out of regulated markets, such as that regulated by the LGA,” the authority explained.

“The memorandum of understanding will bring together FIFA’s early warning system, the LGA, and its betting licensees to exchange betting-related information to assist the investigation of betting patterns or insider betting connected with sporting events and competitions.”

LGA chief executive Reuben Portanier and FIFA Early Warning System GmbH chief executive Urs Scherrer signed the document.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the development reflected the importance Maltese legislation places on game fairness. Besides stringent gaming legislation, Malta has a specific legal framework to prevent corruption in sports.

This latest collaboration is an important addition to the intention and spirit of the law, Mr Fenech said.

Source: www.timesofmalta.com

Betsson declared last week that Angler Gaming will target approximately 30 non-core markets in South America, Africa and Europe while its latest target for purchase is the operator of the NordicBet, ToBet and TrioBet brands.

“Through this transaction, Betsson continues to strengthen its Nordic operations and its leading position among private gaming company alternatives in the Nordic region,” said Magnus Silfverberg, Chief Executive Officer for President for Betsson

“In addition, Betsson’s brand portfolio is strengthened significantly within the betting segment as Nordic Gaming Group receives approximately 50 percent of its revenues from sportsbook.”

Betsson stated that it will acquire Nordic Gaming Group from ‘a number of individuals including both the founders of the company, members of management and employees as well as from external investors’ with €5 million of the purchase price due to be paid via shares at a historical ten-day average price or in cash with the remaining €60 million due in cash.

“For Nordic Gaming Group, this is an attractive solution as the company can incorporate Betsson’s global strength into its operations and it strengthens our possibilities to continue to grow rapidly and with good profitability in the Nordic region, the Baltics and Poland,” said Per Hellberg, Chief Executive Officer for Nordic Gaming Group.

“The two companies have similar cultures and we foresee a smooth integration and we believe that we can quickly benefit from each other’s strengths.”

Nordic Gaming Group increased its net gaming revenues by 37 percent when compared to the previous twelve-month period while revenues from the beginning of April 2011 to the end of last month totaled €50 million with earnings before interest and tax of €111 million.

Source: www.igamingbusiness.com

Brussels-based ESSA is an industry body committed to legal and responsible sportsbetting and works to keep wagering free from insider betting or bet rigging and manipulation.

The LGA stated that its memorandum of understanding will see it cooperate with the ESSA in order to ‘avoid the manipulation of sports events and competitions’ by assisting the group with its reporting relationships in collaboration with its licensed operators.

Gayle Kimberley, European Union and International Affairs Legal Manager for the LGA, declared that the agreement with the ESSA is ‘one of a series of agreements’ covering sports integrity that the regulator has plans to enter as it regards this subject as ‘important’ and ‘high priority’.

“Kimberley believes such collaboration initiatives will demonstrate that match-fixing through sportsbetting does not find fertile ground in thoroughly regulated jurisdictions such as Malta’s,” read a statement from the LGA.

Established by some of the world’s leading online sportsbooks in 2005, the ESSA has agreements in place with the International Football Federation, the Union of European Football Associations, the European Professional Football Leagues, the Football Association, the German Football League, the Association of Tennis Professionals, the International Tennis Federation and the Women’s Tennis Association alongside close relations with the International Olympic Committee and many other global sports regulators. The group aims to be an early-warning system by providing regulators with information regarding unusual betting patterns or irregularities.

“It’s in all our interests to defeat betting-related match-fixing,” Said Khalid Ali, Secretary General for the ESSA.

“By signing a memorandum of understanding with the LGA in Malta we have a direct link with the regulator to report any suspicious betting patterns thereby developing a robust ecosystem to protect the interests of consumers, sport and the betting operators.”

Source: www.igamingbusiness.com

The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought in August by the Israel Internet Association against the Israel Police after law enforcement officials issued an order requiring the nation’s Internet service providers to obstruct access to a list of gambling sites located abroad including StanJames.com and VictorChandler.com.

According to a report from The Times of Israel newspaper, Tel Aviv District Court judge Michal Rubinstein ruled that current laws allow Israelis to fully access information of any type via the Internet even if this could be used for illicit or illegal activities.

“Even if the information on a site is wholly negative and serves no positive social role such as on a site that promotes racism or drug use, it is still information and is covered by laws dealing with freedom of expression,” ruled Rubinstein.

“Clearly, gambling not approved by the state is a negative social phenomenon but that in itself is not a reason to restrict that information. By blocking the gambling sites, the freedom of Israelis to access information was damaged since they could not access the site to get the information stored there.”

Rubinstein declared that while she agreed that there was information on the Internet that ‘deserved’ to be banned, ‘the damage that this information can cause does not make it eligible for protection’.

In addition to annulling the injunction, Rubinstein also ordered the Israel Police to the plaintiff’s court costs of around £3,348.

“Our aim is to prevent restriction of access to information and undue damage to freedom of expression and speech,” said Rimon Levy from the Israel Internet Association.

“Our petition was not directed at encouraging online gambling but to prevent the police from imposing limits on access to information. The idea that the police would decide what is protected speech is simply chilling.”

Source: www.igamingbusiness.com

The new Angler Gaming subsidiary, which itself owns another entity with a Curacao online gaming license, is due to be listed on Sweden’s AktieTorget stock exchange from July and will be led by experienced gaming professional Michael Bennett as Chief Executive Officer.

Betsson stated that the markets Angler Gaming is due to target comprise less than 0.1 percent of its current total revenues and encompass around five percent of its existing registered client base.

“This company will initially target approximately 30 markets in South America, Africa and Europe based on client bases and technological platforms acquired from Betsson,” read a statement from Betsson.

“Angler’s operations will be based on technical solutions for which Betsson has decided to discontinue development work and on geographical markets lying outside Betsson’s core areas.

“In addition to the technological platforms and client bases mentioned above, Angler Gaming has an amount of cash totaling €2.5 million, which is expected to be sufficient to cover costs until the company has a positive cash flow, which is expected to take place during 2014.”

Source: www.igamingbusiness.com

Giving details of the new applicable VAT rates as from the start of this year across the bloc, a document released by the European Commission shows that, at 18 per cent, Malta still enjoys one of the lowest rates in the EU, almost three percentage points below the average, which stands at 20.9 per cent.

Due to the ongoing financial crisis, many member states had to revise their VAT rates upwards over the past two years. In all, 14 out of the 27 members raised the standard rate by at least a notch, and in places like in Ireland and Hungary even by two percentage points.

According to the Commission, only Cyprus and Luxembourg have a lower VAT rate than Malta. The overwhelming majority of member states, tax consumption at higher rates with Sweden, Denmark and Hungary topping the list.

Malta, Ireland and the UK are the only EU member states that still charge no tax on foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals. This concession had been given to Ireland and the UK many years ago and was successfully negotiated by Malta prior to its accession to the EU in 2004.

In a Green Paper by the Commission last year, it was clearly stated that zero rates, like the ones enjoyed by Malta, should be abolished to lower the risk of distorting competition in the EU.

Malta has always maintained that it would stick to its accession commitments as long as Ireland and the UK retained the same system.

The EU Treaty does not allow any harmonisation of VAT rates across the EU because this is the sole competence of individual member states.

Both the UK and Ireland have already stated that they have no intention of giving up their zero rates on food and medicine.

The lowest standard VAT rate allowed in the EU is 15 per cent.

Source: www.timesofmalta.com

The ‘seizure’ of the domain names has blocked all US consumers from access to the sites; for example, PokerStars players were met with the message “We are sorry but, due to government regulations, playing real money ring games is not allowed in your area”. However, each site’s operations outside of the US appear to be operating as normal; which questions the accuracy of the term ‘seizure’ in the wording of the indictment.

Reaction to the FBI’s action has been widespread. One UK City analyst told iGaming Business that, “This caps what has been a dramatic few weeks for the online gaming industry. Clearly, this will have a significant impact on liquidity and confidence in the respective sites. I would expect this could have a knock-on effect on their European operations. It also raises the question of what might happen to their European licenses. If the authorities remove these then this could create a seismic shift in the market.”

Hilary Stewart-Jones, Partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP, also spoke to iGaming Business, stating, “Conspiracy theorists had long claimed that the seeming indifference of the DOJ was only to allow those few high profile operators still deriving benefit from the US to amass such fortunes that the windfall for the DOJ would be immense when the swoop happened,” she said.

“However, before the virtuous non-US operators crow too much, one can’t escape the fact that UIGEA is badly drafted and, effectively, did not change existing federal and state laws. A test case is long overdue.”

David Fried, a California-based lawyer, also weighed in to the debate. “This indictment may be a game changer internationally in a world that PokerStars and Full Tilt have dominated since 2006,” he said.

“It sets up a long overdue legal showdown: is Internet poker illegal in the US? The UIGEA does not answer that question. So the government will have to rely on the 1961 Wire Act, which was aimed at sportsbetting, and an assortment of state laws. Regardless, the fall out is immense.”

He continued, “In the US, PokerStars and Full Tilt’s march to Nevada alliances and legitimacy at a time when individual states are considering allowing ring-fenced games, has been broken. They may not be on the starting line for new regulated markets, including California. What about European regulated markets? Will the details that spill out affect licensing in other jurisdictions?”

We can only wait to see.

Source : http://www.igamingbusiness.com