Gaming Report: GVC Holdings Gets Nevada License, iGaming Affiliate Conference Coming to Zurich & More

GR_Cover_May 30
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  • Namita Ghosh May 30, 2019
  • 4 Minutes Read

The 50th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) is here! As the global poker fraternity follows the start of the world’s biggest poker tournament series, new developments have kept the international gaming sector on its toes.

In the U.S., the wait for Nevada residents to see leading online poker brand partypoker launch operations is now over. The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) has approved the license for the site’s parent company, GVC Holdings.

Switzerland is in the meantime getting ready to host the first Zurich iGaming Affiliate Conference on affiliate marketing that will bring together a large number of leading affiliates and online casino operators on a single platform on June 21.

Our next report takes us back to the U.S, where Tennessee has cleared the final hurdle for legalizing online sports betting, but Louisiana, that was close to legalizing sports betting this year will have to wait. The bill S153 backed by Senator Danny Martiny met with stiff opposition from members of Louisiana’s House Appropriations Committee early this week where it was deferred.

In Pennsylvania, the SugarHouse Casino located in Philadelphia has become the first casino in the U.S. state to offer internet gambling. The casino started accepting interactive sports bets on Tuesday, with a full launch slated to take place this weekend.

 

GVC Holdings Granted Local Gaming License in Nevada

GVC Holdings, the parent company of online poker site partypoker, has finally got a local gaming license to operate in Nevada. Last Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) approved the recommendation by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) for the same.

GVC Holdings

Image Courtesy: Best Online Casino Sites

With this, GVC will be able to go ahead and launch ‘Roar Digital,’ an online sports betting portal for which it has partnered with MGM Resorts International. Since the license also allows for interactive gaming or online poker, GVC Holdings can now launch online poker in Nevada as it has in New Jersey – where partypoker has partnered with the Borgata Casino Atlantic City.

The NGC, however, is keeping things under tight control and has granted the license for only two years. The primary reason for this is the firm’s history of operating in grey and black markets like Turkey. The controversy surrounding such operations was discussed at length during an NGCB hearing early in May. Top GVC executives, including CEO Kenny Alexander, spoke before NGCB members and though the first hearing didn’t go well, the latest hearing that took place on May 23 began with Alexander toning down his response. GVC Chairman Lee Feldman also courted an apologetic tone stating that the company had streamlined its compliance approach and structure to address the regulators’ concerns.

The NGC cleared the license application but announced that the company would be under the stringent eye of Nevada’s regulators and have to pay $100,000 to fund compliance checks. NGC chairman Tony Alamo is reported to have said that GVC’s license came with “a leash and that gives me some comfort,” and that he was “very comfortable going forward that you won’t step on a nail.”

NGC Commissioner John Moran, however, was more skeptical, and hoped that GVC wouldn’t leave the NGC with “egg on our face.”

Currently, the online poker market in Nevada is dominated by WSOP NV, but with GVC Holdings getting the license to operate in the U.S. state, the fight for market share is going to intensify.

 

Switzerland to Host First-Ever iGaming Affiliate Conference in Zurich

The first-ever iGaming Affiliate Conference on affiliate marketing in the gambling sector is going to take place in Zurich – Switzerland on June 21. Organized by Smile-expo company that conducts B2B events on innovative technologies, the conference will see many Swiss online casino operators, leading affiliates, regulators, legal firms, gaming consultants, and marketers in attendance.

Zurich iGaming Conference

Switzerland has recently enforced a new MGA law for casino regulation. The new set of rules allow the country’s land-based casinos that hold a license from the Federal Council to offer online gaming. The iGaming conference aims to take this new and significant development into perspective and explore legal aspects of online casino integration, and ways of promoting gambling in the country.

iGaming Conference Programme

A conference and demo will be part of the scheduled event. The issues covered will include online gaming regulations, successful affiliated marketing strategies in 2019, the future of gaming, and the latest technologies in gambling.

Among the notable attendees who will address the conference will be Dr. Simon Planzer who is partner of Planzer Law, Donal Barron, Head of Corporate Development at Banach Technology Ltd, Jakub Kolomičenko, Head of Legal Department at Endorphina, Jack Symons, CEO at Gamban and Steve Donoughue, Gambling Consultant at The Elephant Eaters Club Limited.

Overall, there will be six-panel discussions on –

a) European market experiences in online gaming

b) How to create and maintain an attractive online offer

c) Successful affiliate marketing: how to attract online players

d) Belgium and Switzerland: comparing two markets

e) Responsible gambling as the future of gambling

f) Data protection issues.

The conference will also have a special demo zone where participating firms and agencies will be able to demonstrate and share their projects and ideas.

The conference aims to act as a platform for stakeholders of the iGaming industry to network with each other, get legal advice, and identify industry trends.

 

Tennessee Legalises Sports Betting

After Montana, Indiana and more recently Iowa, the U.S. state of Tennessee has become the fourth state to legalize sports betting in the country. HB 1 was okayed by the House in Tennessee after which it headed to Governor Bill Lee’s desk for approval. Lee’s inability to sign or veto the bill has led to the bill being cleared, by default.

Tennesse

Image Courtesy: WSN

The bill is the first in the country to allow only online sports betting. In other states where online sports betting has been legalized, separate legislation has been brought in for online sports betting with online operators requiring to partner with casinos before commencing operations.

Notably, there is not a single casino in Tennessee, and Governor Lee has vehemently opposed gambling in the state. Lee took to Twitter to explain why he let the online sports betting legislation pass. “This bill ultimately did not pursue casinos, the most harmful form of gambling, which I believe prey on poverty and encourage criminal activity,” he said, adding, “Let me be clear: any future efforts to expand gambling or introduce casinos in Tennessee will assure my veto.”

The bill comes into force on July 1, and once that happens, the state’s lottery commission will draft regulations for the market. Tennessee is also the first U.S. state that dictates operators to use official data from the leagues. Operators will have to dish out an annual license fee of $750,000, and revenue will be taxed at 20%.

 

Louisiana Lawmakers Refuse to Legalize Sports Betting

Louisiana seemed to be on track to legalize sports betting this year, but a set of amendments added to the pertaining legislation, S153, by the U.S. state’s House Appropriations Committee has put a dent to those plans.

Louisiana

Image Courtesy: TT News

During a hearing last week, the House Appropriations Committee members discussed the bill that was propounded by Senator Danny Martiny. Martiny’s appeal for advancing the bill, however, did not find much favor. “I don’t like the form the bill is in. I don’t think it will pass muster after that. But I hope that you would vote it out of Committee so that we could continue the discussion,” he reportedly told the Committee members.

However, the members instead voted 16-to-five to retain the bill in the Committee and then voted 14-to-six to shelve the bill. With this, the legislation has effectively come to a dead end, and any attempt to reconsider the measure will require a two-thirds vote from the Committee members.

Expressing his disappointment after the Committee hearing, Martiny said, “I’ve read the room. I don’t see any light left at the end of the tunnel. We’re out of time.”

Part of the roadblock was the two amendments that were discussed and adopted during the meeting. The first amendment proposed by Representative Jack McFarland pertains to empowering sports leagues to control the data used for LA sports betting and directs regulators to consider league input when determining which type of bets to prohibit.

Despite Martiny’s opposition and argument that no other U.S. state includes such provisions in its sports betting law, the amendment was adopted.

The second adopted amendment suggested by Rep. Gregory Miller allows the state’s video poker establishments to offer sports betting. Louisiana has an estimated 2,800 video poker parlors, and if the amendment is implemented, each of these parlors would require to take a license to offer sports betting.

The Louisiana Gaming Commission (LGC) and Louisiana Casino Association voiced disagreement to the second amendment because such a framework would strain the state’s regulatory machinery and the law enforcement authorities. Their opposition, however, fell on deaf ears as the Committee opted to adopt the amendment regardless.

Reacting to the Bill being shelved, Martiny later said that even if the legislation were to now reach the House floor, the objectionable amendments would not find enough legislative support.

 

Internet Sports Betting Launches in Pennsylvania at SugarHouse Casino

The Philadelphia-based SugarHouse Casino has become the first establishment in Pennsylvania to launch sports betting. On Tuesday, regulators of the U.S. state gave the green signal to the casino management. The casino has started taking interactive sports bets, but a full launch will take place on Friday.

SugarHouse Casino

Image Courtesy: The Inquirer

SugarHouse already runs an online sports betting operation in New Jersey since last year, and Pennsylvania bettors can now use the same internet address, but they will have to register separately since interstate wagering is prohibited.

Though the SugarHouse betting app can be accessed on an Android device or a PC, it is not available on iOS platform for now mainly due to Apple’s restriction on new apps that are ‘wrapped’ versions of the operator’s website. Despite this limitation, SugarHouse management was jubilant about the launch of the casino’s app. “It’s just an unbelievable day for us at SugarHouse and for sports bettors across the commonwealth. We see in New Jersey the appetite for wagering on sports online,” said Evan Davis, general counsel for SugarHouse Casino.

The casino’s online systems including accounting and other mechanisms were scrutinized for days by the regulators before they gave the go-ahead for online sports betting.

Chief Operating Officer of Rush Street Interactive, a unit of the casino’s parent firm Rush Street Gaming, Mattias Stetz said that SugarHouse’s successful online betting operation in New Jersey, and a combined casino and sportsbook in Colombia helped the company get regulatory approval in Pennsylvania.

While SugarHouse is the first to get the regulators nod, other brick-and-mortar casinos are expected to follow. As for SugarHouse, the casino has launched just in the right time before the busy NBA and NHL season.

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