Spain’s gambling industry regulator will issue licences three months earlier than first thought. Deputy general director of the Spanish Gambling Commission (CNJ), Juan Carlos Alfonso Rubio told eGR licences would be handed out by 31 March after they decided three months was long enough to look over the reams of applications received. They had delayed it from January due to worries over whether the regulator had enough time back at Christmas. It still means unlicensed operators have around six weeks to serve their last customers before it’s hasta la vista.
Belgium has called in the country’s police force to help continue the fight against unlicensed gaming industry operators. The Belgian Gaming Commission enlisted the help of the boys in blue in order to file a report on blacklisted firms that is now in the possession of the Public Prosecution Office. Peter Naessens, head of the commission’s regulatory unit, told eGR IP bans are among the imminent measures to make sure Belgium remains a walled-garden. Naessens explained how operators could get their name off the list.
“If they [are awarded] a Belgian licence, if they close down their .be website or if they exclude Belgian players from their .com website, then these operators will be removed from the blacklist at the next meeting of the BGC.”
“We will examine if they really exclude Belgian players at their .com site. If they really do, then we will propose the BGC (at the beginning of next month) to remove them from the black list.”
PokerStars has gained a remote gaming licence from Malta to operate its new PokerStars.eu site. The Lotteries and Gaming Authority licence will, according to head of corporate communications Eric Hollreiser, enable Stars “to provide an enchanced service to players in several European markets.”
