Online Casino Transfer: News - Danish Land Casinos Complain

06/27/2010		Online Casino Style: News Danish Land Casinos Complain
Home History Games News Dictionary		It seems that when it comes to the online gambling market in Denmark, it’s a continued pattern of two steps forward, one step back as more obstacles make themselves known in the ever-pressing efforts to liberalize the monopolistic industry. June 4th marked a special date with the unanimous vote by their parliamentary body, Folketinget, that will officially liberalize the market, but additional complained submitted to the European Commission will send lawmakers back to the drawing board in terms of developing the structure for the regulation of the new market. A number of land-based gambling companies in the region have complained to the EU that the proposed tax provisions are unfair to them, giving internet casinos an advantage in a very competitive market. Though the law won’t go into effect until January of 2011 (giving the Denmark monopoly Danske Spil a nice head start) the regulations on how to manage the taxation of the new industry will have to be decided upon long before that. Pending the response from the European Commission on the complaints, Denmark’s taxation minister has been granted the power to extend the January date if need be. Specifically, the land-based casinos are alleging that an unfair advantage will be given to new online gambling groups, as the taxes for slots and online casino games would be at 20 percent. The levies on revenue generated on similar games at brick-and-mortar establishments can be anywhere from 45 to 75 percent, depending. Those tax rates apply not only to the casinos, but also to legal slot machines in bars, restaurants, and even arcades. “We think it is illegal for the government to support internet gambling in this way,” said Gunnar Sorensen, director of the Danish Gaming Association (DAB). “If two gambling companies do not have the same tax treatment, then the Danish government is effectively supporting the online gambling companies.” These complaints are the most recent, but not by far the only ones. Danske Spil has been ordered to abandon an agreement made with worldwide online gambling company Party Gaming after criticisms were made by Playtech.

06/27/2010

Online Casino Style: News
Danish Land Casinos Complain

It seems that when it comes to the online gambling market in Denmark, it’s a continued pattern of two steps forward, one step back as more obstacles make themselves known in the ever-pressing efforts to liberalize the monopolistic industry. June 4th marked a special date with the unanimous vote by their parliamentary body, Folketinget, that will officially liberalize the market, but additional complained submitted to the European Commission will send lawmakers back to the drawing board in terms of developing the structure for the regulation of the new market.

A number of land-based gambling companies in the region have complained to the EU that the proposed tax provisions are unfair to them, giving internet casinos an advantage in a very competitive market. Though the law won’t go into effect until January of 2011 (giving the Denmark monopoly Danske Spil a nice head start) the regulations on how to manage the taxation of the new industry will have to be decided upon long before that. Pending the response from the European Commission on the complaints, Denmark’s taxation minister has been granted the power to extend the January date if need be.

Specifically, the land-based casinos are alleging that an unfair advantage will be given to new online gambling groups, as the taxes for slots and online casino games would be at 20 percent. The levies on revenue generated on similar games at brick-and-mortar establishments can be anywhere from 45 to 75 percent, depending. Those tax rates apply not only to the casinos, but also to legal slot machines in bars, restaurants, and even arcades.

“We think it is illegal for the government to support internet gambling in this way,” said Gunnar Sorensen, director of the Danish Gaming Association (DAB). “If two gambling companies do not have the same tax treatment, then the Danish government is effectively supporting the online gambling companies.” These complaints are the most recent, but not by far the only ones. Danske Spil has been ordered to abandon an agreement made with worldwide online gambling company Party Gaming after criticisms were made by Playtech.