The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) received 76 applications for the new ‘offshore’ online gaming licenses. PAGCOR expects to award the first 25 online licenses before the end of October. The licenses will be valid for one year and PAGCOR says it might be changing the rules and regulations prior expiry date of the […]

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) received 76 applications for the new ‘offshore’ online gaming licenses.

PAGCOR expects to award the first 25 online licenses before the end of October. The licenses will be valid for one year and PAGCOR says it might be changing the rules and regulations prior expiry date of the licenses.

“It will last for a year and they (licensees) know that we might be changing the rules and regulations after that,” PAGCOR CEO Andrea Domingo said they will use the first three to six months of the new licensing regime to monitor the gaming activity.

The licensees will be permitted to offer online casino games and sports betting services exclusively to foreigners outside of the Philippines over the age of 21. Foreigners staying in the Philippines and Filipinos residing abroad will not be allowed to participate in the gaming activity.

Companies applying for an offshore gaming license had a fee of $50,000 in application for online casino and $40,000 for sports betting. Operators must pay another $200,000 for an online casino license and $150,000 for a sports betting license upon receiving confirmation of their approval from PAGCOR.

Tech giant Apple has removed dozens of applications for online casinos and betting from the App Store following the request from the Dutch Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA). Even though some online gambling operators were already banned from offering their services in Holland, their apps were still available in the App Store. Due to the recent […]

Tech giant Apple has removed dozens of applications for online casinos and betting from the App Store following the request from the Dutch Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

Even though some online gambling operators were already banned from offering their services in Holland, their apps were still available in the App Store. Due to the recent move by Apple, Dutch nationals will no longer have the opportunity to download gambling apps, including those from companies such as Unibet and Bwin.

According to the Dutch Gambling Authority, 55 Apps have been removed from the App Store, blocking at least 10,000 illegal downloads.

“One of the app stores heeded the request of the Gaming Authority and deleted initially 49 and later six so-called real-money gambling apps,” the KSA stated on its website.

The apps were not offered by Google.

Currently Dutch Government is working on a new legislation which will legalise online gambling apps for companies licensed to operate in the Netherlands. The legislation is expected to be in effect by 2018.

Allowing two local lottery operators to offer online betting provides a regulated and safe alternative for gamblers, said Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin. His comments came as a response to the criticism that the decision to regulate online betting is in conflict with Singapore‘s Remote Gambling Act (RGA). As of 1st of […]

Allowing two local lottery operators to offer online betting provides a regulated and safe alternative for gamblers, said Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin.

His comments came as a response to the criticism that the decision to regulate online betting is in conflict with Singapore‘s Remote Gambling Act (RGA). As of 1st of October punters in Singapore are allowed to bet online through two operators: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club. The opponents of the decision claim that such move is sending “confusing and conflicting signals”.

Responding to his critics, Tan Chuan-Jin pointed out that regulating online betting will better protect the citizens that are drawn to these sites. He said that illegal online betting cannot be completely eradicated and in fact “is there and it is growing”.

“You can close down sites, but new sites will be set up, sometimes faster than you can close them down,” he said, according to The Strait Times. “It is a global market with a lot of money to be made, and the worst thing is that it is unregulated and there are no safety measures in place.”

The Minister said that the decision to exempt two operators was inspired by the examples in Norway and Hong Kong, which also allow a small number of legal betting operators. Tan Chuan-Jin claims that such technique will enable the government to spot and effectively moderate any problems before they have a chance to grow.

“If we don’t have this environment, what it means is that those who seek to bypass existing bans that are in place will then operate in a place that is completely unfettered,” the Minister said. “And I think that is quite dangerous, because they are exposed to criminal elements as well, over and above the social ills that come with gambling. So it is really a combination of these measures that we think would be one way to deal with the potential growing problem.”

UK government is said to be considering introducing a law that would ban gambling operators from TV advertising before the 9 PM watershed. According to a report in Times newspaper, the government is about to review the UK gambling industry and proceed with some changes. The Times quoted an unidentified senior minister saying „the gambling […]

UK government is said to be considering introducing a law that would ban gambling operators from TV advertising before the 9 PM watershed.

According to a report in Times newspaper, the government is about to review the UK gambling industry and proceed with some changes. The Times quoted an unidentified senior minister saying „the gambling industry’s luck has run out.”

According to current rules in UK, gambling companies are allowed to advertise before 9 PM only if the adverts are for bingo or the adverts appear during commercial breaks in live sporting events.

The Times‘ source claims that due to the sports exemption „betting sites can basically be advertising to children all weekend.”

It is reported that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has identified these adverts as “an area of concern” and will review the possibility of removing daytime advertising for all gambling related activity.

An attempt to restrict gambling advertising is likely to be met with resistance from UK broadcasters, who could lose millions of pounds as the result.

South Africa is preparing new ways to fight against illegal online gambling. One of the new measures is government‘s right to confiscate any unlawful winnings. South Africa‘s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published the National Gambling Amendment Bill of 2016, which will be open for public comment until November 15, 2016. It proposes changes […]

South Africa is preparing new ways to fight against illegal online gambling. One of the new measures is government‘s right to confiscate any unlawful winnings.

South Africa‘s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published the National Gambling Amendment Bill of 2016, which will be open for public comment until November 15, 2016. It proposes changes to minimise social ills generally associates with gambling and to curb online gambling, said South Africa‘s Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies.

Minister Davies said that even though the gambling industry contributes significantly to employment and the GDP in South Africa, the fact remains that it has a negative effect on gambling addiction. According to Davies, on average about R3000 monthly is spent by gamblers in the country.

According to 2004 Gambling Act, the government was required to appeal to the High Court in order to confiscate illegal gambling winnings. This part is repealed in the new proposal, enabling automatic forfeiture of illegal winnings to the new National Gambling Regulator

DTI Minister Rob Davies commented on monitoring gamblers’ online activity. “If you go online, we may not be able to stop you when you play the game, but when you win, we get you.”

Today only online sports betting is permitted in South Africa, any other type of online casino or poker remains illegal.

Online gambling will become legal in Singapore under tightly controlled conditions. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved applications of two operators: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club. MHA announced in their statement that the two companies were found suitable to be exempted from the Remote Gambling Act (RGA), which came into force in February […]

Online gambling will become legal in Singapore under tightly controlled conditions. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved applications of two operators: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club.

MHA announced in their statement that the two companies were found suitable to be exempted from the Remote Gambling Act (RGA), which came into force in February last year.

Singapore Pools will launch its web-based betting services on October 25 and Turf Club will launch new web and mobile platform on November 15. Both companies will offer online gambling for existing games and lotteries. Neither of them is permitted to offer new products without approval. Further, casino games or poker will not be available either.

The operators will also have to maintain social safeguards. Only those aged 21 and above will be able to open player accounts, no gambling on credit will be allowed, daily funding and gambling limits will have to be set. The fines of SG$1 million would be faced if the companies breach any of the conditions.

“ While our blocking regime is one of the most comprehensive in the world, and significantly restricts and impedes access to remote gambling, it is not straightforward to eradicate remote gambling totally. A complete ban would only serve to drive more remote gambling underground, making it harder to detect, and exacerbate the associated law and order and social concerns,” MHA said on the occasion.

“A tightly-controlled exempt operator regime mitigates such concerns. The stringent exempt operator regime is part of our multi-pronged strategy to deal with remote gambling, which includes comprehensive legislation, enforcement, blocking measures and public education.”

The exemption certificates will be valid for three years. Operators will have the option to renew them.

The tandem of Melco International Development Limited of Macau, Hard Rock of Las Vegas and Phassouri of Cyprus seems to be the one to win the Cyprus casino license after Cambodia’s NagaCorp pulled out of the race. According to a filing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NagaCorp stated that it would not proceed to […]

The tandem of Melco International Development Limited of Macau, Hard Rock of Las Vegas and Phassouri of Cyprus seems to be the one to win the Cyprus casino license after Cambodia’s NagaCorp pulled out of the race.

According to a filing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NagaCorp stated that it would not proceed to the final bid stage: “After careful review and given all the latest information available to us, the board of directors of the company wishes to inform that the company will not be participating in the RFP and the decision made is in the best interest of our shareholders and the company.”

The Cambodian casino operator put an end to the recent rumours that it was still in the running for the first-ever casino resort in the Republic of Cyprus. The recent change in the competition followed the announcement that Philippines-based developer Bloomberry Resorts Corporation will not proceed in the three-way race.

The final decision regarding the licence will be known at the end of this year. The winning Project is expected to open in 2019.

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) announced its partnership with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) to examine the design, management and execution of contracts using blockchain technologies. The pilot project will begin by automating corporate transactions between the two institutions. This is one of the first projects built on the Hyperledger Project fabric, which is […]

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) announced its partnership with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) to examine the design, management and execution of contracts using blockchain technologies.

The pilot project will begin by automating corporate transactions between the two institutions.

This is one of the first projects built on the Hyperledger Project fabric, which is an open-source blockchain platform, to use blockchain for real-life contract management on the IBM Cloud.

IBM said in their press release that together with Japan’s largest bank BTMU, they have created a prototype of smart contracts on a blockchain to improve the efficiency and accountability of service level agreements in multi-party corporate interactions.

Mr. Motoi Mitsuishi, deputy chief executive officer of BTMU Asia & Oceania and general manager, Singapore branch and corporate banking division for Asia & Oceania said on the occasion: “Blockchain technology has the potential to change not only the financial world, but also other areas of the business world, leading to improved efficiency of the end-to-end business process.”

IBM Industry Platforms senior vice president Bridget van Kralingen commented: “IBM continues to invest billions of dollars into research on emerging technologies that hold transformative potential for our clients. Blockchain will reinvent complex multi-party and contract-based business models, especially in banking and financial services.”

“This expands our expertise in helping clients identify the right projects and build out blockchain solutions to solve day-to-day business problems more effectively. We are delighted to be expanding the scope of our partnership with BTMU with this blockchain initiative,” Bridget van Kralingen added.

BTMU and IBM aims to manage agreements between them with the new system by the end of 2017.

The Dutch Authority for Financial Markets is committed to ban advertising of binary options trading and contracts for difference (CFDs) in the country. The Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) has published a statement claiming that the said ban would help protect against activities that encourage “harmful investment” for some consumers. The change will affect both Dutch […]

The Dutch Authority for Financial Markets is committed to ban advertising of binary options trading and contracts for difference (CFDs) in the country.

The Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) has published a statement claiming that the said ban would help protect against activities that encourage “harmful investment” for some consumers.

The change will affect both Dutch operators and those active in the country on a European passport.

AFM chairman of the board Merel van Vroonhoven commented: “We find it very important that an advertising ban is for binary options and other harmful investment.”

“The advertisements for these investments lure consumers with the prospect of earning quick money, but the reality is that you can easily lose your entire investment,” Vroonhoven said.

However, the only licensed provider of binary options in the country “Optieclub” believes the proposed ban is no more than “window-dressing”. The company’s attorney added: “All necessary regulation to address misleading advertising already exists.”

Spanish video bingo provider Zitro Interactive has passed the requirements of Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and obtained a Class 4 gaming licence for its video bingo games. By doing that Zitro Interactive became the first company to acquire such licence for this category of games. The licence will enable Zitro Interactive to target a wide […]

Spanish video bingo provider Zitro Interactive has passed the requirements of Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and obtained a Class 4 gaming licence for its video bingo games. By doing that Zitro Interactive became the first company to acquire such licence for this category of games.

The licence will enable Zitro Interactive to target a wide range of online casino firms around the world. The company is expected to announce new partnership agreements in the coming months.

“Obtaining the Malta licence is a real boost to our pride here at Zitro, especially for the online division,“ said Rais Busom, divisional director of Zitro Interactive. “It’s an acknowledgement of a job well done, and is definitely a major step forward towards the new successes to come.”

The new licence joins a list of certificates already acquired by Zitro Interactive, including some granted by the top level consultancies such as PWC, Deloitte and BMM.

Sebastian Salat, chief executive of Zitro, commented: “Zitro is committed to its objective of being amongst the top companies in the gaming industry, and this includes expanding our presence online. The licence granted by the Maltese authorities is a very significant advance towards this objective.”

Bitcoin Suisse founder Niklas Nikolajsen said it is only a matter of time before European banks will be offering bitcoin accounts. Although digital currencies are faster and cheaper than traditional banking methods, the possibility that the banks will offer bitcoin wallets soon was thought to be unrealistic. In an interview with finews.ch at the Fintech […]

Bitcoin Suisse founder Niklas Nikolajsen said it is only a matter of time before European banks will be offering bitcoin accounts.

Although digital currencies are faster and cheaper than traditional banking methods, the possibility that the banks will offer bitcoin wallets soon was thought to be unrealistic.

In an interview with finews.ch at the Fintech Conference Finance 2.0, Nikolajsen predicted the change to happen by the end of 2016. However, he did not specify which European banks would offer bitcoin wallets first. The only thing he mentioned is that it would “not be an exotic bank.”

One of the biggest issues regarding such change would be to handle private keys. Those who have access to their private key can spend bitcoins associated to that account. If banks were offering bitcoin wallets to their customers, they would be required to give up the control of those particular keys. If that is the case, such move would raise a number of security issues.

The central bank of UK, however, has a different idea on blockchain revolution. Andrew Hauser, executive director for banking, payments and financial resilience of the Bank of England, said “there is no likelihood of such an extreme revolution occurring any time soon.”

“Much more work is needed across a whole range of issues, including: speed and scaleability; confidentiality protections; developing common protocols; integrating cash and securities movements; and establishing regulatory and legal norms,” explained Hauser, according to Fortune.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched the first-of-its-kind legal action in the country. On Friday, the BBC reported that YouTube stars Craig Douglas and Dylan Rigby have been charged with offences under the UK Gambling Act. UKGC alleges that the pair of Essex residents promoted a lottery and advertised unlawful gambling. Craig Douglas, known […]

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched the first-of-its-kind legal action in the country. On Friday, the BBC reported that YouTube stars Craig Douglas and Dylan Rigby have been charged with offences under the UK Gambling Act. UKGC alleges that the pair of Essex residents promoted a lottery and advertised unlawful gambling.

Craig Douglas, known as Nepenthez on YouTube, frequently publishes video game-related content to his 1.3 million subscribers and is being charged with advertising the practice of unlawful gambling as well as inviting children to take part in gambling activities. Dylan Rigby is being charged with providing facilities for gambling.

Both men have promoted their sites in the past without fully identifying the act being an advertisement. Even though their followers have been reminding them of the possible consequences, the pair chose to ignore the warnings.

The case, which was brought forward by UKGC which is responsible for regulating commercial gambling in Great Britain will have a follow up hearing on October 14.