SBC CIS Editorial Team is happy to present a quick recap of the gambling industry events, news, regulations and partnerships that happened last week.
SBC Summit Latinoamérica will offer more than 3,000 attendees the opportunity to explore partnership and advertising strategies specific to Latin America through the Affiliates & Advertising track. This special conference will open the first day of the gambling and sports betting event, which will take place on Wednesday, November 1st at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Miami. The conference will include discussions with the leading specialists in affiliate programs and advertising from key regions of Latin America. Panel sessions will look at the best practices affiliate sites can use to build brand loyalty and maximise conversions, new M&A traffic strategies that social media has to offer for operators looking to grow their audience, and much more!
The Commission for Regulation on Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) revoked the licences of three gambling companies in Ukraine. In accordance with the decision taken at the Commission’s meeting after the renewal of the quorum, three legal entities had their licences revoked in accordance with earlier imposed sanctions:
- Parimatch LLC — licences for the organisation and conduct of casino gambling activities on the Internet and for the organisation and conduct of sports betting activities;
- Pokematch.Ua LLC — licences for the organisation and conduct of poker games on the Internet;
- Pointloto LLC — licences for the organisation and conduct of casino gambling activities on the Internet.
KRAIL made a decision to revoke the licences due to the presence of managerial ties with Russian residents.
GG.Bet obtained licences from the Ukrainian Gambling and Lottery Regulatory Commission, allowing it to operate as both a bookmaker and an online casino. This eSports betting company is famous for organising and sponsoring CS:GO and Dota 2 tournaments, as well as its support of well-known eSports teams Navi and Team Vitality. Although the exact launch date has not yet been announced by the company, GG.Bet has stressed that the launch details will be revealed soon. GG.Bet pleases its customers with the opportunity to bet on more than 30 eSports disciplines, and also offers the opportunity to bet on both traditional and virtual sports. The brand aims to actively develop the eSports community and promote the principles of responsible betting and online casino gaming. In addition to its activities in the field of eSports, the company is also making plans to support and develop traditional sports in Ukraine. This includes investing in sports and the implementation of social projects related to physical activity, as well as cooperation with influential personalities in the world of sports.
State Tax Service of Ukraine published an explanation regarding the taxation of gambling winnings. In their statement, Ukrainian authorities clarified their stance on taxing winnings as follows: all payments, such as payouts of winnings and refunds of bets, from the operator to the player should be subject to a 19.5% tax, regardless of previous expenses, such as deposits or losses. Read the comment by Dmitry Hotsyn, Senior Consultant at 4H Agency, where he notes that a stance the state took would not turn out beneficial.
Committee of the Finance, Tax and Customs Policy in Ukraine proposed amendments to the Ukrainian Gambling Law, which will make banks conduct more thorough checks of their customers. Lenders will have to determine if the person is already involved in gambling. If a player is found to be on the self-exclusion list, they will not be eligible to enter into a loan deal. This includes a ban on online gambling and access to national land-based establishments. The amendment is awaiting final approval.
Ukraine’s Parliament brought back the 18% GGR tax for online casinos. According to the estimates of Daniil Getmantsev, Head of the Financial Committee in the Verkhovna Rada, the restoration of the tax will add at least 1.5 billion UAH to the state budget.
The Romanian National Gaming Office (ONJN) revoked the licence of Betting Frenzy, a Bucharest-based operator, after discovering tax violations on the part of the operator. The company did not declare or pay taxes, including contributions to the Olympic and Sports Committee of Romania in the amount of 1% and fees to the National Paralympic Committee in the amount of 0.2%.
Bulgarian National Revenue Agency (NRA), the government agency that regulates gambling, ordered operators to ban self-excluded gamblers from entering a casino or gambling hall. According to the agency’s latest information, companies that violate this agreement will be subject to fines of up to BGN 20,000 ($11,200), under the provisions of the Bulgarian Gambling Law. The announcement comes after an investigation into whether employers can hire people that are listed in the self-exclusion register.
BETER Live added Ukrainian roulette to its range of roulette games. This is a new addition to the brand’s portfolio, which already includes the game show Gravity Roulette, as well as classic European and French roulette variants.
7777 Gaming launched at Betano Bulgaria through a newly established Kaizen Gaming partnership. With over 100 exciting games in its portfolio, 7777 Gaming has already won the hearts and minds of Betano players. They can choose from a wide range of games including the latest hits like Zeus Quest, Club Mr. Luck, Pearls of Egypt and many more.
REEVO, a B2B content aggregation platform joined forces with action game studio Barbara Bang. The partnership will give REEVO’s partner operators access to Barbara Bang’s innovative games, enhance the service, and provide a fresh and exciting experience for partner operators and their players. Created to bridge the gap between gamers and gaming platforms, Barbara Bang is quickly gaining recognition in the iGaming market. Their desire to bring unique concepts to life and support even the most original ideas is very much in tune with the REEVO’s philosophy.
REEVO partnered with RubyPlay to provide their partner operators with the access to the extensive RubyPlay catalogue, which includes more than 80 interactive slot games. Renowned for optimisation and simplifying the lives of its partners, REEVO’s aggregation platform seamlessly integrates RubyPlay content through a single API integration. This integration will allow operators to easily access customised RubyPlay content.
Slotegrator expanded its network of APIgrator partners by entering into a new agreement with live gaming experts at ATMOSFERA. Under this agreement, ATMOSFERA’s wide range of gaming products will be made available through the game integration solution. This range includes interactive games such as Keno, Live Roulette, Auto Roulette, Music Wheel and BlackJack, which will be available 24/7. In addition, players will be able to enjoy two types of special bonuses – tournaments and free chips.
Podcast Review: Open Banking for iGaming – Evolution, Affordability, and PSD3
In a recent episode of iGaming Daily, Martyn Elliott, Senior Media Manager at SBC, discussed Open Banking’s potential evolution within iGaming with Payment Expert’s Editor, Joe Streeter. Joe Streeter, also known as payment guru, shared his opinion on some important points regarding Open Banking.
“Open Banking and gambling is massive. Well, it has the potential to be massive. As we’ve seen in other spaces, the tech is really sort of transforming payment journeys across retail and across e-commerce. We have seen that the best principles of e-commerce payments can be taken into gambling payments. It takes time, but they can be taken there and the iGaming payment journey can benefit from them.” — Joe Streeter
Read the full version of the iGaming Daily podcast review on our website.
Stay tuned for more news this week and subscribe to our Telegram channel!
