News In Brief: April 29-May 3, 2024

A pair of bills prohibiting college player proposition betting in North Carolina have been filed in the state legislature.

House Bill 967, authored by Representative Marcia Morey, a Democrat, would ban in-person sports wagers at college sporting venues eight hours before a game begins and during the game. Currently, there are no retail sportsbooks at college venues in North Carolina. 

Democratic Senator Julie Mayfield also filed Senate Bill 788 on Wednesday (May 1) that mirrors Morey’s measure. 

Mayfield’s bill passed its first reading on Thursday and has been assigned to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate. HB 967 has yet to receive a committee assignment. 

The effort to ban college prop bets in North Carolina comes after Ohio and Maryland recently banned the wagers, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has requested that all states eliminate the bet type. 

The Wyoming Gaming Commission is scheduled to discuss the issue at its meeting on Thursday (May 9).

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has issued warnings to two online gambling operators for their use of role models in advertising.

Advertising rules introduced in July 2023 prohibit the use of role models in gambling adverts.

One sports-betting operator received a warning for offering players a chance to win a t-shirt of a famous footballer from a Dutch Eredivisie club.

The other warning was issued to an operator who used images of a well-known actor to advertise an online gambling game.

“The violations have now ended,” according to the KSA update on May 1.

“There are opportunities for providers of less risky games of chance such as lotteries to use role models. If they want to use a celebrity, they must first research the reach of that person among minors and young adults. If that research shows that a celebrity is interesting for that target group, this role model may not be used,” the KSA stated.

A planned German appellate court hearing on the question of whether online sports companies without a licence should have to reimburse losing players has been cancelled, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe said.

The cancellation of the hearing, originally set for today (May 2) came because the defendant in the case has withdrawn its appeal, the court said.

In April, the court had signalled that it was inclined to rule in favour of the plaintiff, a gambler seeking reimbursement for €12,000 in losses from an Austria-based online gambling company.  

A loss reimbursement hearing in March with different litigants was also cancelled when the parties agreed to try to reach a settlement.

Two years after Barry Diller received a limited license due to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into a stock sale, the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday (May 1) unanimously recommended approval of his license as a director for MGM Resorts International.

Diller is chairman of IAC/Interactive Corp., a holding company that owns nearly 20 percent of MGM. The Nevada Gaming Commission will make a final decision on Diller’s license on May 16. 

The commission only gave Diller a two-year conditional license in 2022 because the SEC was investigating him and two others for insider trading in which they reportedly realized a $60m profit, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Sean McGuinness, an MGM attorney, told the NGCB that the SEC informed Diller’s representatives that it had closed its investigation with the recommendation that no enforcement action be taken. 

However, control board member George Assad expressed concern that the investigation could be reopened and proposed granting Diller a three-year license. Andrew Nussbaum, an attorney representing Diller, told the three-member control board the SEC letter contained standard language. 

Chairman Kirk Hendrick and board member Brittnie Watkins disagreed with Assad’s wanting another limited license. But they did all agree on a condition to Diller’s license that he notify state gaming regulators within 48 hours of any changes.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has issued a three-count complaint against former casino executive Scott Sibella, who pleaded guilty in January to violating the Bank Secrecy Act in connection with an ongoing federal illegal bookmaking case. 

Sibella was fired last September as president of Resorts World Las Vegas after overseeing the $4.3bn property’s opening in June 2021. The complaint deals with events that occurred in 2018 when Sibella was president of MGM Grand. 

Sibella is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday (May 8) for violating federal anti-money laundering compliance programs in allowing Wayne Nix, an alleged illegal bookmaker, to gamble at the casino and pay his debts in cash. 

He faces up to five years in prison, but The Nevada Independent reported that Sibella is likely to receive a one-year probation and a fine. 

In February 2023, the NGCB ended its investigation into Sibella and Resorts World concerning the property’s relationship with a restaurant partially owned by a felon. Sibella was granted a limited gaming license before Resorts World opened, only to be given a full license a year later. 

It is unclear Wednesday (May 1) when the Nevada Gaming Commission will consider the complaint. Sibella faces penalties of license suspension or revocation and possible fines.

The Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) has issued a memorandum announcing an amendment to the District of Columbia’s (D.C.) sports-betting regulations that would eliminate the ban on wagering on college sports or athletic events that take place in the nation’s Capital.

According to the memorandum, the OLG has submitted to the District of Columbia Register for publication of the final rulemaking to adopt the proposed rule. As of Wednesday (May 1), the proposed rule had yet to be published. 

The memorandum advises licenses that the proposed rule does not eliminate the ban on wagers associated with any college teams or players on those teams that are based in the District of Columbia. 

Athletics teams associated with American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University and Howard University fall under D.C.’s betting prohibition, regardless of where the event takes place.

New rules in the Netherlands that will beef up operators’ duty of care responsibilities will arrive in stages, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has said.

Hinting at potential changes to draft regulations, the KSA has said that although most of the new requirements will come unto effect from June 3, some will be delayed.

Rules around recording player behaviour and intervening to prevent gambling harm will not become effective until October 1. The KSA said that these regulations could still change as the result of a recently closed consultation.

“The Ksa thus gives providers time to implement any necessary changes in the field of ICT, policy and personnel,” it said.

A bill to legalize sports betting in Minnesota passed the House Taxes Committee on Tuesday (April 30), despite opposition to the measure from Republicans on the committee.

House File 2000, authored by Representative Zack Stephenson, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. 

Republican Representative Greg Davids introduced an amendment to strip the bill of everything except a $40m tax break for charitable gaming in the state. Davids said he opposed any expansion of gaming and stressed that Stephenson’s bill will not pass.

“This is something we can do to help our charities. This bill will pass the House but not the Senate,” Republican Representative Patti Anderson said in support of Amendment 28. 

Stephenson opposed the amendment, reminding opponents on the committee that the $40m tax cut was tied to revenue generated from legal retail and mobile sports betting, along with legal daily fantasy sports. 

The amendment was narrowly defeated by a 10-9 vote. HF 2000 would tax mobile sports betting at 20 percent, while daily fantasy sports would be taxed at 10 percent. 

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, wants lawmakers to consider how residents are taxed on sports betting in the state. 

Cooper posted about the issue in response to an article by Nathan Goldman, a CPA and accounting professor at North Carolina State, and Christina Lewellen, who is also an associate professor of accounting at NC State.

“When it comes to sports wagering, it’s not fair to have to pay taxes on your winnings without being able to deduct your losses,” Cooper posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“Legislators should fix this,” the governor said. 

Goldman and Lewellen noted in their article that many state taxpayers are faced with an unexpected increment tax burden. The state does not allow people to deduct their losses from their gambling winnings for tax purposes. 

The professors cited this example in their article. At the end of a year, a person has won $9,000 and lost $9,000, resulting in no net cash flow on this activity. 

If the taxpayer earns $200,000, their gambling activity will increase their gross income by $9,000 to $209,000. If single, the taxpayer will have an additional $2,880 in tax liability due to a 32 percent rate on $9,000.

Macau, Manila and Cyprus casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment has announced a rebranding of a forthcoming Colombo integrated resort (IR) as City of Dreams Sri Lanka.

Heralding the IR, developed by top Sri Lankan listco John Keells Holdings, as “the first integrated resort in Sri Lanka and South Asia”, Melco said its local subsidiary received a 20-year casino licence from the government.

“Melco will fit-out and operate the gaming area at City of Dreams Sri Lanka, and Melco will manage the top five floors of the hotel under its Nuwa brand of ultra high-end luxury rooms, which represents 113 of the 800 total hotel rooms at City of Dreams Sri Lanka,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday (April 30).

Melco on Tuesday estimated its initial investment in the property at $125m. City of Dreams Sri Lanka’s non-gaming facilities are scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2024, followed by the casino in mid-2025, it said.

John Keells will manage the remaining hotel rooms, it added.

Previously known as Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort, the central Colombo development has been under construction for a decade, with residential and corporate apartments already in use.

The property is managed by John Keells subsidiary Waterfront Properties, which weathered initial government anti-gambling sentiment that forced Australian operator Crown Resorts, a then Melco associate, to withdraw its plans for the market.

Its $850m to $1bn price tag has varied according to the strength of the US dollar.

Javier Silvania, Curaçao’s minister of finance, has reportedly made amendments to the National Ordinance for Games of Chance (LOK) in response to criticism received from the Curaçao Bar Association, the Advisory Council (RvA) and advice from the Dutch government's Temporary Work Organization (TWO).

The amendments include removing a requirement for lawyers to be accredited by the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), instead replacing the proposal with a certification system, according to local media site the Curaçao Chronicle.

Lawyers will be able to get certified for up to three years by the CGA but it will not be a compulsory requirement to work with licence holders.

Additionally, the CGA will gain more independence, in line with advice given by the RvA.

Ukrainian authorities are investigating 450 criminal offences related to illegal gambling and have blocked more than 2,500 unlicensed gambling websites, according to the Prosecutor General's Office.

State authorities have also sent indictments for 72 people, including seven indictments against 68 members of criminal groups, to the court, according to an update on April 27.

In 2023, authorities suspended the activity of ten casinos, registered 169 gambling-related offences, 52 indictments against 97 persons were sent to court, more than 7,000 computers and other equipment were seized, and around 500 searches of premises were carried out.

“There is also a pre-trial investigation into a sanctioned legal entity, which, being under the control of structures and citizens of the Russian Federation, organized and conducted illegal bookmaking activities based on the resources of an international bookmaker office,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

The enforcement update comes soon after Ukraine’s government has increasingly pushed for major changes to the supervision of the country’s gambling industry.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree 234/2024 on April 20 to “counteract the negative consequences of online gambling”.

Just days later on April 24, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed on first reading a bill that would disband the country’s gambling regulator, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL).

The UK Gambling Commission fined FSB Technology £29,237 on April 6 over regulatory failures prior to May 2022.

The commission said the company, which was formerly most well known for its white-label operations, had breached anti-money laundering, customer interaction and terms and practices licence conditions.

The regulator did not announce the relatively small regulatory action via its usual news channels.

The fine relates to a time when FSB held a “combined operating licence”, which it subsequently gave up to focus on B2B products.

“Commission officials note the immediate remedial action taken by the licensee and acknowledge that the licensee has co-operated with the commission throughout the investigation. Commission officials also note the licensee ceased providing B2C services in May 2022,” the regulator said.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission announced Friday (April 26) that it will consider a new “use or lose” rule for its sports-betting license holders.

The rule will not allow a license holder to apply for license renewal if it does not offer sports betting within the state during its preceding term, according to the rule changes proposed by the commission.

The license holder will have to wait a year from the expiration date of its license to reapply for a new one. An Ohio sports-betting license costs $150,000 and expires five years after the date of licensure.

The new rule affects those licensed to offer online apps or open sportsbooks and sports wagering kiosks in Ohio.

Last year, Ohio gaming regulators granted an extension to approved licensees, giving them more time to begin taking bets. That extension runs out on June 30. 

Betsson’s Q1 report revealed that inflation in Argentina had a “negative effect” on their reported revenue though they did not release the extent of the damage.

Betsson cited the new Argentine president Javier Milei and his austerity measures as the reason behind the losses. 

Milei, who is a self-branded libertarian, took office and devalued the Argentine peso by 50 percent in December, when prices skyrocketed by 25.5 percent. 

Argentina has oscillated wildly between leftist presidents and right wingers who promise to fix their decades long inflation problems with free market policies. Former president Cristina Kitchner ran on a platform of liberal social policies, her successor businessman Mauricio Macri tried austerity, Kirchner’s ally Alberto Fernandez then reinstated many of her economic policies, and then Milei took office. All lasted a single term.  In recent memory, no president has held office long enough for any economic rescue plan to work. 

Despite this, the country remains an attractive market for online operators, as evidenced by Betsson’s boast in their report that they now operate in three of the country’s provinces.