GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 16 - May 2011

“After much study, we are convinced that the lack of regulation of Internet gaming within the U.S. must change. We must recognize that this activity is occurring and that law enforcement does not have the tools to stop it.” –Wynn Resorts CEO SteveWynn By Dan Igo G ermany’s 16 states have agreed to allow open bidding for seven online sports betting licenses, but will tax the practice at 16.67 percent. Under the new regulations, in-game sports betting would be banned and li- cense holders would be barred from ad- vertising on television. The regulations are scheduled to start in 2012, should state premiers sign them into law at a meeting on June 9. Online casinos and poker rooms will not be legal under these initiatives. Europe’s major online sportsbooks criti- cized the proposals and saw their stock prices tumble following the news. Shares in bwin.party dropped 16 percent while Betfair’s dropped 3.7 percent. Bwin.party generates around 23 percent of its revenues from Germany. “Implementation of the principles present- ed by the minister-presidents yesterday is just as likely to fail as the outgoing monop- oly model in Germany,” said bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger in a statement. “A proposed tax rate of 16.67 percent on the stakes placed in sports betting would make it impossible to offer a competitive product. Furthermore, excluding poker and casino products from this licensing model will continue to drive consumers into the black market.” Under these proposals, 16.67 cents of every dollar wagered by a player will go directly to the government. And that’s before the vig. Teufelberger is confident these regula- tions will be changed by the time they are scheduled to be signed into law. “We trust that these proposals will un- dergo the necessary corrections so that the new regulations will govern the en- tire German market in a coherent and consistent manner in line with EU law,” he said. QUOTABLES WEBMASTER NEWS Germany to regulate online sports betting “Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits.” – U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, on the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker “Advised all my clients who are sponsored by @PokerStars & @FullTiltpoker to not comment today.” – Tweet by poker agent Brian Balsbaugh after “Black Friday” “One must wonder if just a few more people may have voiced their opinions, made phone calls to members of Congress, contributed to key campaigns, and joined the effort to fight for our rights how much more progress might have been made.” – WSOP media director Nolan Dalla, on the failure to legalize online poker in the U.S. “Some people inside the poker industry are delusional when it comes to the likelihood of legislation.” – High-stakes poker player Brandon Adams, to the New York Times “It is a big shift [in policy], but this is a new government with a more liberal approach.” – Jaap Oosterveer, a spokesman for the Dutch ministry of public safety and justice, on attempts in the Netherlands to legalize online gambling “The creation of a legal fiction deeming all wagers to have ‘originated’ in Atlantic City cannot overcome the clear and unambiguous language of the State Constitution.” – N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, after vetoing an online gambling bill that passed in both houses of the state’s legislature “There’s more to life than being a United States senator. I never anticipated I would be in public service for 26 years.” – Noted online gambling opponent Jon Kyl, announcing his plan to retire from the U.S. Senate in 2012 Webmaster News