Eastern Europe

Romania slaps fine on betting operator

The HALLO ECHO

  Romania’s competition regulator has slapped a fine of €50,000 (£44,000/$58,000) on Westgate Romania on irregularities in completing a deal to acquire Stanleybet’s brands in the country. Westgate accepted that company completed the acquisition before deal was fully approved by the competition regulator. The admission of charges lowered the fine. Here is what happened. Westgate…

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Gambling companies in Belarus raise concern against $ 1 Million Security Deposit

The HALLO ECHO

  The government of Belarus has recently proposed a mandatory $1 Million security deposit for online gambling companies. The online gambling operators fear that this will adversely affect their business. While this is not a new thing – Italy requires a guarantee of € 1.5 million and Czech Republic requires € 1.1 million – this…

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Georgia invites bids for controlling gambling business in the country

The HALLO ECHO

  In an interesting new development, the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia has released a tender document on its official website, which basically invited bidders for a project that offers a mechanism for controlling gambling business in the country.  “To date, the Revenue Service has no mechanism to establish and carry…

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Romania cancels gambling licenses

The HALLO ECHO

  In a surprising move, Romania’s gambling regulator, Oficiul National Pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN), has temporarily suspended gambling licenses of two operators. Online gambling operator, Sea-Bet Limited, and fixed-odds betting licensee, Bet Club Sistem SRL, are the companies whose licenses were suspended. The reason for the license cancellation is not known. Sea-Bet, which is…

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Ukraine exempts poker from anti-gambling laws

The HALLO ECHO

Ukrainian government has re-inducted poker into the list of national sports, thereby exempting it from the purview of anti-gambling legislation. In the the newly published Register of Recognized Sports from the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine, in Document 3780, Poker is one  of the entries. Poker was removed from the list of bnational…

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Belarus makes online gambling legal

The HALLO ECHO

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has signed the order that legalises online gambling in the country. The new decree sets in motion a new system of licensing and taxation of online activities in the country. The Decree №305 also defines the requirements and conditions to conduct online gambling in the country. Those companies interested…

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