Over the past several weeks, there has been a variety of news items from countries around Europe with regards to gambling. Although not all topics have been related to online gambling, any gaming laws passed as sure to be followed by avid online gamblers.
German Online Gambling News
The German province of Schleswig-Holstein recently broke away from the other provinces with regards to the legalization of online gambling. The province developed a liberalized proposal that was approved by the European Commission and from industry-leading online gambling operators. However, the joint proposal from the remaining 15 states was rejected by the European Commission as a violation of European Union laws.
The Schleswig-Holstein province was able to pass the proposal which made the entire industry excited for the new law. Currently, online gambling operators are anxiously awaiting the regulatory framework established by the province. Recently, the German Press Agency released a newsworthy item that Schleswig-Holstein decided to hold additional discussion with the other provinces regarding the state Gambling Treaty until at least September 2011.
This has come as a major surprise because of the variance between the two proposals. Schleswig-Holstein proposed unlimited licenses and a 20 percent tax on all gross profits. However, the proposal from the other states called for the approval of only seven licenses and a 16.66 percent tax. The German State Gambling Treaty is scheduled to expire in January 2012.
Spanish Online Gambling News
In Spain, the government is fully committed to the legalization then regulation of online gambling. A recent study conducted by Casinoenlinea.es uncovered that the benefits of the activity to Spain are much more than originally expected. Spanish regulation of online gambling will lead to tax and license revenues equating to approximately 137.5 million Euros in 2012. Also, this is expected to bring up to 120,000 new jobs due to the number of currently active players.
United Kingdom Gambling News
The latest from the U.K. pertains to a proposed amendment to the UK Gambling Act of 2005 as announced by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport. Unfortunately, the Gambling Commission is only currently sharing information with sports governing bodies. The amendment is attempting to include the International Olympic Committee and other sports bodies to share information on the suspicious betting activity.
Europe has been a leader in online gambling regulations for several years. Therefore, when different countries talk, the gaming community listens. It appears as if all three countries are on the right track to implementation and keeping their citizens safe from moving to unregulated sites.