The Minister for Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy, has spoken about the articles that the Supreme Court annulled that limited the promotion and advertising of gambling.

In an interview, the minister has stated that “we are going to recover those articles that the Supreme Court considered did not have the necessary regulatory rank”, stating that the amendments “are already drafted” and will be incorporated into the regulatory procedure in Congress “as soon as possible”.

The German model is not the solution for pathological gambling.

Bustinduy states that it will be a matter of time before the limitations are re-implemented in the Sector and warns that “additional figures” such as loot boxes will be included in the text. Among the activities that the minister has criticised, he points out advertising through social networks, the use of famous people or welcome bonuses that, according to him, “everyone knows that they are aimed especially at the younger public”.

Everyone knows that SELAE and ONCE are also Gaming Operators, with a prevalence of Gaming much greater than that of private Gaming, and yet they continue to offer endless privileges to entities that explicitly seek to attract the youngest...

The 19 people were arrested on Friday after midnight in a bar on "2 Korriku" street in Prizren, where illegal gambling was suspected.

"It is reported that 19 people have been arrested as Kosovar male suspects, after being found inside a bar, where illegal gambling and betting were suspected," the police statement said.

All suspects have been arrested. Sports betting in Kosovo was closed in 2019, following the decision of the Haradinaj government. This blanket ban was put in place following several murders that occurred in the casino.

What it says the law?

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo published the Judgment in Case KI 185/21, submitted by the “CO COLINA” L.L.C., whereby was requested the constitutional review of Law no. 06/L-155 on the Prohibition of Games of Change and Judgment of the

The circumstances of the present case are related with the termination of the exercise of the Applicant’s sports betting activity, which was exercised based on the licenses issued by the Tax Administration of Kosovo in accordance with Law no. 04/L-080 on the Games of Chance. Based on the latter, the last license issued to the Applicant to exercise this activity was valid from 8 August 2018 to 7 August 2019. However, on 10 May 2019 entered into force Law no. 06/L-155 on the Prohibition of Games of Chance, based on which all games of chance in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo were closed and prohibited.

Companies which apply for a licence to offer land-based bingo in Denmark will be guaranteed authorisation from 1 January 2025 onwards, as long as their applications are filled in correctly and all relevant information is supplied.

Should Spillemyndigheden require additional information, the regulator can issue special permits with certain conditions while the remaining detail is submitted.

To assist operations with applications, Spillemyndigheden will hold a meeting on 5 December to provide information on the new rules for offering land-based bingo in Denmark.

The requirements to offer land-based bingo

The licence to offer land-based bingo will last for up to five years at a time. There are, however, a number of requirements for operators to adhere to.

The applicant company must submit a form completed by all members of its executive board and board members, all stakeholders in a partnership and a representative appointed in Denmark if the business is not domiciled in a European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) nation.

Denmark setting up new gambling rules

Companies must also submit criminal records and debt declarations so Spillemyndigheden can assess there’s no imminent danger of abuse. Companies can have no debt to the public sector if they wish to offer licensed land-based bingo.

After a company has received a licence, should a member of the business be convicted of a criminal offence with a risk of imminent abuse of working in gambling, Spillemyndigheden can order the person in question to resign.

Each application will cost DKK20,000 (£2,231/€2,682/$2,789), while renewal will cost DKK10,000.

Once an operator has gained a licence, they must pay an annual fee. This will depend on their gross gaming income over a year.

The fee rates are as follows:

Denmark gambling revenue on the slide

In November, Spillemyndigheden released data showing gambling revenue in Denmark was 2.8% lower year-on-year in September, falling to DKK533 million. It was also 3.2% down on August’s total.

The overall decrease was despite online casino gaming, the primary source of revenue in Denmark, reaching DKK288 million in September. This is 12.1% up year-on-year. Sports betting revenue plummeted 21.7% to DKK144 million when compared to the same month in 2023.

A wide range of MPs, including ministers and opposition spokespersons, have shown their support for Responsible Gambling Week 2024.

This event brings together the entire gambling industry with the aim of promoting safer gambling practices. During this week, the tools available for customers to maintain control over their gambling habits are highlighted, as well as offering information and guidance to those who need it.

The initiative, organised by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), BACTA and the Bingo Association, brought responsible gambling messages to digital platforms and physical venues, seeking to foster a national conversation about the importance of gambling responsibly. Responsible Gambling Week 2024 underlines the industry's commitment to prioritising the wellbeing of its customers and providing support to those who may be at risk.

The European Commission (EC) said on Friday that a 64.8 million euro German public capital injection granted to the casino operator WestSpiel violates European Union (EU) rules on state aid.

Brussels said in a statement that Germany must now recover the public aid, including interest. In December 2019, the EC opened an in-depth investigation to analyze whether the public financing granted by Germany to WestSpiel complied with EU rules on state aid.

The Commission's investigation covered two measures in favor of the casino operator taken by the bank NRW.BANK, 100% owned by the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

These were an annual loss coverage in the years 2009 to 2015 amounting to approximately 63.6 million euros and a capital injection in 2015 amounting to 64.8 million.

Following the investigation, Brussels concluded that the annual loss cover does not constitute State aid and does not provide an economic advantage to WestSpiel.

However, the Commission did find that the capital injection in 2015 is incompatible with the EU club's State aid rules. It stressed that in this case an economic advantage is given to WestSpiel, since the decision to inject additional capital into a company, despite its continuously negative financial situation, was not the one that a comparable private investor would have chosen.

The EC thus ordered Germany to recover the 64.8 million euros, plus interest, from WestSpiel.