What Happened in the Gambling Field over the Week? News of the Gambling Market in Greece, Singapore, Turkey, Norway, and Germany

Which consortium became the first holder of the license for construction of a casino resort in Greece? What changes in the gambling law are offered in Norway? Which operator obtained the first license in the online and offline segments of the German betting market? Read about these and other news of the gambling industry in our weekly digest.

Greece issued a license for a casino resort and started to accept applications for running online gambling business

The regulator Hellenic Gaming Commission issued a license that permits construction of a casino resort Hellinikon in Greece. The facility will be located in the suburbs of Athens. The project work is planned to start in 2022. The resort will occupy the area of 620,000 sq.m. Around 15,000 sq.m. will be allocated to the casino, which is expected to house 120 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines.

The license belongs to the consortium that includes operator Mohegan Gaming and development company GEK Terna. It will pay €150 million for acquisition of the license.

Besides, Greece started to accept applications for online gambling licenses. According to the new gambling law, operators can get two types of permit: for sports betting, online casinos and online poker.

A gambling license is issued for seven years and costs €3 million.

Singapore authorities allowed two cruise lines with casinos

The Singapore Tourism Board allowed Genting Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International to launch cruises. The first operator will deploy World Dream cruise ship and the second – Quantum of the Seas ship. Both ships will provide casino services. The first tour is scheduled for November 6.

Cruises will be available only for residents of Singapore. To ensure safety, ships with casinos onboard will carry half of the total possible number of passengers. Ships will not be able to stop in other countries during the voyage. Besides, ships will adhere to mask regime and social distancing requirements.

The first virtual sports betting operator will start work in Turkey

Gaming software supplier Inspired Entertainment is entering the Turkish market. It will be the country’s first operator to launch virtual sports betting. Services will be provided as part of the agreement signed with the Turkish national lottery operator Sisal Şans.

Virtual games will be available on the website of Misli, an online betting company.

The president of Inspired Entertainment Pierce Brooks said that his company was satisfied with the collaboration with the Turkish operator. In their turn, Sisal Şans stated they were glad to be the country’s first certified platform to offer virtual sports betting services.

Norway plans to reform its gambling legislation

Login Casino reports that the Norwegian regulator Lotteritilsynet offered to introduce a number of changes to the local gambling legislation to make gambling available through legal channels and provide a better control over the activities of operators.

In particular, the gambling regulator offers to allow gambling only to the customers that have opened an account with the operator. The collegial body believes that this restriction will help to protect players better.

Another initiative of the regulator relates to the introduction of ban on competition with the state operator. Lotteritilsynet offers to specify in the law that a number of gambling activities that require special public control would be organized only by the operator Norsk Tipping, which is capable of ensuring player protection.

Furthermore, the collegial body thinks that non-profit organizations with the turnover of up to 200,000 Norwegian krone could be allowed to host some types of gambling on the existing digital platforms without holding a license. Besides, they want to allow the operator Norsk Rikstoto to accept fixed-odds bets on horseracing.

First betting license was issued in Germany

The Regional Council of Darmstadt issued a state betting license to Cashpoint. The permit gives the right to accept bets on the Internet and in land-based outlets.

Cashpoint is a subsidiary of the international Gauselmann Group. It became the first operator in the German market that got an official permit to accept bets on sports.

According to Markus Ettlin, who is responsible for the sports betting department of Gauselmann Group, provision of services under the state license will allow ensuring better player protection.

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