News of the Week: What’s New in the Gambling Markets of Ukraine, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the UK

When can the Ukrainian gambling regulator take up its duties? To what extent was the execution period of the project of a new casino resort in the Philippines shortened? What terms should online gambling operators fulfil to get a license in the Netherlands, and why have local authorities restricted the work hours of casinos? You can read about these and other news of the gambling field further in the weekly digest.

Commission for regulation of gambling and lotteries established in Ukraine

On September 23, the Ukrainian government adopted the resolution to set up the Commission for regulation of gambling and lotteries.

A workgroup has been created, intended to draft subordinate legislation required to form the regulatory body. The Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Federov was appointed the head of the workgroup.

Now the workgroup will, among other things, develop licensing conditions, create an open register with data about the organizers of gambling, adopt regulations on the formation of a commission, and create an online monitoring system.

The Ukrainian gambling regulator is expected to take up its duties in November of 2020.

New casino resort to open ahead of schedule in the Philippines

PH Resorts Group Holdings, a company that develops integrated resorts, intends to speed up the launch of the first phase of Emerald Bay Mactan Resort and Casino, which is being built in Mactan Island. The new plan envisages that the facility will open at the end of 2021. Previously, it was reported that the facility would start welcoming customers in the second quarter of 2022.

To raise funds for the increase in the pace of construction, the holding put up for sale its shares worth of 1.1 billion Philippine pesos.

The first phase of the project will involve a casino with 600 slot machines and 120 gaming tables, as well as a five-star hotel, five villas, a shopping complex, a conference center and restaurants.

The Netherlands specified the terms of online gambling license acquisition

The chairman of the Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit René Jansen said that the companies applying for the online gambling license had to provide evidence that they were not accepting bets on the Internet from residents of the Netherlands over the last 2.8 years. If it turns out that the operator provided services to local players in the specified period, its application will not be considered.

When applying for a license, the company has to pay € 45,000. If the application is rejected, this amount is non-refundable.

Another condition for obtaining a permit is the provision of a financial guarantee for € 830,000.

Casino open hours were limited in the Netherlands and in London, operators agreed to close bars in gambling facilities

The Dutch authorities have established rules according to which casinos and gambling halls will be able to operate until 01:00 in five regions of the country. At the same time, new visitors will no longer be admitted to facilities starting from midnight. The restrictions were introduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the IGB online portal reports.

It is proposed to establish similar requirements in London. In particular, the mayor of the British capital Sadiq Khan advocates that the entertainment facilities located in the city, such as casinos, cannot work from 22.00 to 05.00. This initiative also aims at preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection.

Executives of 26 land-based casinos sent a letter to the mayor of London explaining that the introduction of a curfew for gambling facilities could lead to negative economic consequences. In light of this, they offered a compromise. Operators agreed to close casino bars at 22.00 to prevent gatherings of large groups of people in such a way. At the same time, gambling facilities would continue their work.

Turkey plans to expand the network of lottery terminals

Scientific Games reported their plans to double the number of outlets in Turkey with terminals for selling instant lottery tickets by the end of 2020.

Today terminals under the brand Wave are found in 5,000 outlets of the Turkish national lottery Milli Piyango.

Scientific Games develops and supplies gambling solutions. In 2019, together with the Turkish operator Demirören Group, it founded Şans Girişim, a company that sells Iddaa sports lottery tickets.

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