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by John Hagan, Partner
and Melanie Ellis, Senior Associate
Gambling Commission sends a clear message to licensees: raise standards or face the consequences
It has been a tumultuous week for the gambling industry. The global news is of course that a casino operator has been elected President of the United States and we await the impact upon the US gambling market with interest, not least upon the slow gathering traction for the legalisation of online sports betting. This is of course long overdue, not least for the protection of consumers, a theme to which we return below. Of more immediate and local interest was the speech by Gambling Commission CEO, Sarah Harrison, in Birmingham to an impressive gathering of those responsible for regulatory compliance across the entire UK gambling industry, including the National Lottery.
The language of the speech was strong and unambiguous. Whilst there …
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Guest post by Dr Joerg Hofmann, Senior Partner at Melchers Law, Germany, and Immediate Past President of the International Masters of Gaming Law
In an email circulated this Tuesday, the gambling regulator of the German state of Hesse, the Ministry of the Interior, informed the sports betting industry that the toleration regime “has been suspended for the time being”. Notably, the suspension was announced on the last day of the formal toleration application deadline – the decision therefore clearly marks an emergency stop which followed a court order issued by a local administrative court.
Under German administrative laws, a “formal toleration” …
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by Bahar Alaeddini, Partner
Following the success of the first and second editions published in 2012, and 2014, (of which more than 2,000 copies were distributed worldwide) Julian Harris was asked to act again as General Editor of the third edition of Gaming Law.
The third edition of the publication includes more than 40 jurisdictions and important jurisdictions such as Argentina, China, Portugal, Romania and various US States. Julian co-authored the chapter on England and Wales with Bahar Alaeddini, and Bahar authored the chapter on Alderney. The foreword to the publication is written by …
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by John Hagan, Managing Partner
We are delighted to announce that Harris Hagan has today been ranked as the top gaming law firm in London in the 2017 edition of the prestigious Chambers & Partners legal directory.
The Firm has been ranked in Band 1 since it was founded in 2004, but for the very first time is named as the only gaming law firm in the top tier of the directory.
We wish to thank our entire team for their exceptional performance. They are deservedly recognised as “excellent lawyers and extremely efficient with extensive legal knowledge”.
Most importantly, …
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by Melanie Ellis, Senior Associate
Yesterday (31 October 2016) a new version of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (“LCCP”) document came into force. The changes are aimed primarily at upholding the first licensing objective, which is to prevent gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime.
The key new requirements on licensees are:
– A requirement to conduct and keep up to date an assessment of money laundering risks to their business. Following this, licensees must put in place appropriate policies, …
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by Melanie Ellis, Senior Associate
Advances in technology and new trends in gaming present challenges for those seeking to determine where new gambling products fit into the regulatory environment. One issue currently being considered is how participating in video games for prizes (eSports) and also betting on the outcome of these games should be regulated. Looking at the recent success of the mobile game Pokémon Go, could augmented reality gambling products be the next big thing?
In this article for Casino & Gaming International Magazine I consider these issues in more detail.
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