
Norwegian Culture Minister Thorhild Widvey is seeking to liberalize Norway’s online gambling laws.
Norway’s ambition to legalize online gambling has moved one step closer: the country’s community Committee has requested an impact evaluation on dramatic legislation proposals that could completely open up the market. The committee will closely examine the experiences of other countries, such as for instance Sweden, Denmark therefore the UK, before drafting its own legislation that the federal government hopes to implement year that is next.
Norway currently has some of the tightest gambling controls in European countries. Online gambling is largely illegal in the nation, with just two companies that are state-owned to provide restricted games of possiblity to its residents, Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Norsk Tipping offers games like lotteries, keno and some sports betting, and falls underneath the jurisdiction of this Ministry of Culture and Church affairs, which ensures that players are just permitted to place bets at certain times of the time and imposes restrictions in the amount players are allowed to bet. Norsk Riksoto, meanwhile, offers parimutuel gambling exclusively for horseracing.
Nothing to Bank On
In 2010, the government passed a law that banned Norwegian banks from processing all kinds of gambling transactions, online and live, not simply within Norway, but all over the planet, basically barring Norwegians from making use of their credit cards to gamble in overseas jurisdictions, also where such practices are legal. That means that, currently, Norwegian people to Las Vegas, for example, may find it difficult to spend their resort bills because the resorts offer gambling.
Presumably this statutory law was introduced because Norwegians who fancy a wager regularly embark on gambling trips abroad. As such, the Norwegian Poker Championships is an event that is itinerant has been held, through the years, such diverse places as Stockholm and Dublin, as poker tournaments are illegal and you can find no casinos in the mom country.
Despite this, Norway has somehow been able to maintain a thriving poker community, the one that has produced numerous poker champions over the years, from Annette Obrestad to Johnny Lodden to Andreas Hoivold, all of who cut their teeth playing on unlawful overseas sites, along with thousands of other Norwegians.
Thawing of Attitudes
Norway’s need to regulate and willingness to put its borders open to licensed foreign gambling that is online, then, is a major overhaul and, while the exact nature of the legislation is yet become drafted, it also seems to be an admission that prohibition is not working. Certainly, there has become a thawing of attitudes within the national government, particularly towards poker.
A recent report, the biggest survey ever conducted in the Sweden, concluded that poker had been one of the ‘safest’ gambling games, scoring at a somewhat low danger element for issue gambling. Another report estimated that offshore operators are using $120 million to $170 million in gross video gaming revenue from Norwegian citizens each year, a sum that might be taxed by the federal government in a market that is regulated.
And Norway, this indicates, is also waking up towards the slightly embarrassing state of affairs that needs its poker players that are best to travel abroad every year to attend the Norwegian Poker Championships.
‘I hope we can have a framework that is regulatory place in time for the Norway Championship of Poker to be held in Norway in 2015,’ Culture Minister Thorhild Widvey stated recently.
Ultimate Gaming Severs New Jersey Online Ties
Ultimate Gaming has accused the Trump Taj Mahal of ‘multiple breaches’ that led towards the end of their partnership; the operator that is online down its NJ operations this weekend. (Image: Ultimate Gaming)
Ultimate Gaming never took off in New Jersey, trailing far behind offerings by companies like partypoker (partnered with the Borgata) and the Caesars/888 partnership. Now, with their land-based partner Trump Taj Mahal more likely to close later this year, Ultimate is now the first gaming that is online to bow out of the New Jersey market.
The shutdown associated with Ultimate Gaming sites, including a casino that is reasonably popular and a struggling poker room, happened at 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday night. That followed a Friday announcement that the business had terminated its relationship with Trump Taj Mahal Associates, following ‘multiple breaches’ of contract by the casino company.
‘We are grateful towards the State of nj and also the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for allowing us to be one of the primary companies to bring online gaming to the citizens of New Jersey and appreciate their leadership as one of the first states to allow on the web gaming,’ stated Ultimate Gaming Chairman Tom Breitling.
Ultimate and Trump Had relationship that is tenuous
Trump Entertainment Resorts, that is the parent company that runs the Taj Mahal, hasn’t commented on the Ultimate shutdown. Nevertheless, the closing associated with the Ultimate web sites comes after a tumultuous relationship between the online gambling firm therefore the Atlantic City casino.
In the most Atlantic that is successful City, brick-and-mortar casinos have worked with their online software providers to help market and promote the web sites. Ultimate Gaming received few such advantages of the Taj Mahal, making Ultimate to mostly market the site on their own.
That left the business in a tough spot, which especially revealed up in its poker numbers. Ultimate Poker never ever found much success in brand New Jersey, with the poker room ranking at or nearby the bottom of sites into the state, in terms of both revenue and traffic throughout its presence. The business’s casino product (UCasino) fared better, bringing in over $4.4 million in revenue through August this present year. However, that nevertheless lagged behind the other Internet gaming operations in Atlantic City.
Player Funds Can Be Withdrawn
Players nevertheless have several days in which to access their Ultimate Gaming accounts quick hits slot machine tips and withdraw funds. After September 28, Ultimate will begin automatically processing refunds to players at their addresses that are registered.
‘we have been working closely with the Division of Gaming Enforcement to ensure a transition that is smooth our online gaming customers as we wind down our brand New Jersey operations,’ Breitling said.
The Trump Taj Mahal is presently undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, also it’s likely that Ultimate Gaming will be engaged in those proceedings going forward. Fertitta Acquisition, an ongoing business associated with Ultimate Gaming owner Station Casinos, is listed as a creditor owed nearly $1.5 million through the casino.
The news headlines won’t affect Ultimate’s operations in Nevada, where they operate Ultimate Poker. That site currently ranks second with regards to traffic in the Nevada on-line poker market, and Breitling states more improvements are arriving at their software package there.
Ultimate isn’t the only company in New Jersey that could be impacted by troubles at Atlantic City casinos. Betfair was formerly partnered with Trump Plaza, which shut its doors earlier this month. While the Department of Gaming Enforcement has temporarily allowed Betfair to operate with no brick-and-mortar partner, it seems unlikely that such an arrangement would be allowed to continue indefinitely.
EU Match-Fixing Treaty Garners 15 Country Help
Fifteen European nations have actually agreed to sign a treaty that is aimed at fighting the problem that is all-too-common of. (Image: edition.cnn.com)
A new EU match-fixing treaty to be signed by 15 European nations will address a significant sports issue which has continued to plague league after league throughout the world. Match-fixing is a scourge that hurts fans, sports tournaments, and gamblers that are honest bookmakers alike.
That’s why combating match-fixers is this type of hot button issue in the world of sports in the past few years, with governments and bookmakers teaming up with organizations like FIFA and the International Olympic Committee in an effort to stamp it out.
Now, these 15 nations in Europe have agreed to work together in purchase to avoid and discipline match-fixing around the globe. Last at the Conference of European Ministers of Sport in Switzerland, the nations signed the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, pledging to help promote integrity in sports in their nations thursday.
EU Nations Sign Convention
The signatories include several major European nations. The nations within the convention had been Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Switzerland.
These countries have agreed to increase the flow of information and improve cooperation between national and international bodies, including sports books, leagues and competitions, and governments by signing the convention. Recreations regulators that are betting operators will likely be expected to simply take more steps to combat fraud, while governments are expected to use legislation and other measures to protect the integrity of matches.
‘This convention is a major step forward for integrity, ethics and transparency in sport,’ stated Thorborn Jagland, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General.
The European Commission called the treaty a ‘new milestone’ in the battle against match-fixing. The human anatomy played a critical role in helping to bring together the convention over the last two years.
‘Match-fixing is a cross-border problem and action at European level is essential if we are to combat this scourge,’ said Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for sport.
Sports Betting Groups Approve Treaty, With Reservations
Reaction from sports betting organizations was additionally largely positive. Groups including the Gaming that is european& Association (EGBA) and the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) came out in support associated with the convention, also should they may have had some reservations.
‘It is our hope that [the meeting] will further set the tone for the more effective cooperation between all stakeholders to eliminate match repairing,’ said EGBA secretary general Maarten Haijer. ‘However, we are award that the CJEU [the Court of Justice of europe) has rightly been asked to provide its opinion on the compatibility associated with the concept of ‘illegal activities betting’ with EU legislation, and consider that the application of at the very least this provision is postponed before the CJEU has supplied appropriate clarity.’
RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood said that bookmakers worked hard to ensure no bet that is particular were banned in the convention.
‘The regulated gambling sector worked difficult to explain why measures of the kind would not make any material difference to the integrity of sport,’ Hawkswood stated. ‘What we have finally is just a relatively balanced and workable framework, which rightly seeks to mirror the selection of existing national regulatory frameworks rather than replace them.’
The convention was set to come into effect 3 months after it received at the least five signatories, at least three of which were EU Member States. The convention will start on January 1, 2015 since that threshold was reached on Thursday. Other nations can be a part associated with meeting; while the treaty is made to fight against corruption worldwide, nations don’t need to be in European countries to sign on.