
The European Commission’s Harrie Temmink, who told ICE week that is last EU-wide online gambling legislation would not take place in his lifetime ‘or the next.’
The European Commission (EC) has abandoned the idea of a pan-European framework that is regulatory online gambling, accepting that each member states largely oppose synchronizing their Internet video gaming regulations. The move interestingly mirrors similar issues in the US, where states’ rights vs. federal dictates are becoming an ongoing battle in the iGaming wars.
Talking at last week’s International Casino Exhibition in London (ICE), Harrie Temmink told the industry emphatically that the EC wasn’t working on sector-specific legislation in gambling.
‘The Commission is not proposing it and will not propose it,’ he said. ‘Not in my lifetime or the following.’
Temmink leads the gambling team unit and chairs the EC’s Expert Group on Gambling Services.
This may be a cry that is far the EC’s previous stance. In 2011, Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier proposed A eu-wide framework devoted to protecting consumers and citizens, preventing fraudulence, and maintaining the integrity of activities.
EU Action Plan
Barnier’s view at that time was that ‘the prevailing regulatory, societal and technical [online gambling] issues in the EU’ could not be ‘tackled adequately by member states individually.’
‘This is particularly true given the dimension that is cross-border of gambling,’ he stated in 2012, with regards to was announced that the EC would prepare an ‘action plan’ to make clear the regulation of this sector and encourage cooperation between member states.
The EC frowned on the regulatory actions that had been drawn in France, Italy, and Spain, which saw those markets ring-fenced and operators taxed at a rate that is high in obvious conflict with EU ideals of free movement of services between member states.
Barnier’s plan wasn’t proposing a single licensing that is EU, but rather had the goal of ensuring that member states adopted its vision for an even more liberal regulatory landscape across Europe. User states that refused to play ball would be sanctioned, then in Barnier’s vision.
But Barnier left the post in 2014, and his successor, Günther Oettinger, seems less zealous about pushing the cause and more resigned to making regulation to individual jurisdictions.
More Fragmented than Ever
As Temmink explained, ‘I can assure you that whenever we proposed legislation on gambling, in the 1st conference with the Council, we would have 26 away from 28 member states that could be fiercely opposed to the proposition.
‘It will be committing suicide,’ he added.
Since Barnier outlined their plan in 2012, a wave of brand new legislation has spread across Europe, and many licensing that is new have sprung up, from the UK to Portugal. Europe has become even less coordinated regarding the front that is iGaming while the fragmented regulatory landscape proves a greater challenge to operators than ever.
‘Operators need to have a license for the country that is specific which they offer games, without having to be able to count on the recognition of licenses between one European country and another,’ said Temmink. ‘For their part is for the Member States to make sure a non-discriminatory system of issuing licenses.’
Nevada Voters Courted by Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Democratic Caucus Is Going To Be Key
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are focused on reaching as numerous Nevada voters as possible prior to the Silver State caucuses on Feb. 23rd in what’s shaping up to be a make-or-break point into the campaign that is democratic. (Image: Jim Young/Reuters)
Nevada voters are the focus for both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders’ campaigns appropriate now, as the two Democratic presidential nominees try to persuade as numerous last-minute voters to vote for them before this week’s February caucus that is 23rd.
After Clinton’s slim victory in Iowa, followed closely by a hefty defeat in brand new Hampshire, the Silver State had long been thought to be her roadblock to stop any Bernie Sanders momentum. She once held a nearly 50-point lead over her challengers, but Sanders’ grassroots movement has severely tightened the race, with numerous analysts now believing Nevada is up for grabs.
Clinton and Sanders each spent the week-end making stops around the state. Sanders campaigned in Reno on Saturday, then Las vegas, nevada on Sunday, while their opponent met with voters in several places across the gaming mecca throughout the weekend.
The two Democrats concluded the weekend on Sunday at the Victory Missionary Baptist Church in Las Vegas, a congregation largely made up of African-Americans.
‘we send a profound message to the entire country, and that message is that the people of this country will no longer accept establishment politics,’ Sanders said during his brief remarks if we can win here in Nevada.
Clinton responded to Sanders with line as vague as Bernie’s plan of just how he will fund his utopian eyesight.
‘I am perhaps not an issue that is single,’ Clinton said. ‘ Because if we were going to achieve everything about banks and money and politics, would that final end racism?’
Say what now?
Nevada Key State in Runoff
When Sanders officially announced his decision to run for the presidency in May, the so-called ‘Clinton machine’ was currently planning to work in Nevada. Volunteers were making hundreds of daily phone calls, going door-to-door, and obtaining endorsements from key state and local leaders.
The Vermont senator didn’t have much of a chance, at least according 888 casino italy to political pundits.
Fast-forward nine months, and Clinton just canceled an occasion in Florida this to stay the course in Nevada and shake every hand, ascend each stage, and grasp every microphone she can before Nevadans head to caucus on Saturday week.
Nevada has a long history of being a swing state within the general presidential election, and its constituents have actually a nearly perfect record of voting for the winner that is eventual. Since 1912, Nevada has properly chosen the president that is next except for in 1976, whenever Nevada went along to Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter.
A win in Nevada for Clinton will be anticipated, while a win for Sanders pull off exactly what would perhaps function as the biggest political upset in modern history.
Neck-in-Neck to the Finish
Nevada houses the gambling epicenter of the United States, so maybe it’s appropriate that there is small statistical evidence to run using in determining which candidate will win on Saturday.
The stark reality is that gambling on Clinton or Sanders is equivalent to gambling on black or red. The absolute most poll that is recent TargetPoint, 1st political information on the competition since late December, has Clinton and Sanders tied 45-45.
Scalia Death Further Stirs the Pot
Adding to the intensity of it all, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away on Saturday in Texas of apparent natural factors at the chronilogical age of 79. Appointed to your bench by President Reagan in 1986, the consistently conservative judge’s death leaves a vacancy on the highest court that is already causing more political divide between Republicans and Democrats.
A bunch of names have already been tossed around, including current Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (R). A welcomed compromise to both conservative and liberal congressional leaders though Sandoval’s GOP label might make him seem unlikely for an Obama endorsement, his pro-choice and pro-immigration views could make the first Silver State governor of Hispanic heritage.
Nevada Gaming Regulator Michonne Ascuaga Resigns Over Alleged Sparks Nugget Improprieties
Michonne Ascuaga, who may have resigned through the Nevada Gaming Commission in the wake of the news that a home she previously managed with her family, the Sparks Nugget in northern Nevada, is being examined for lax anti-money controls that are laundering. (Image: ktvn.com)
Michonne Ascuaga has resigned from her post on the Nevada Gaming Commission, following the revelation of alleged improprieties that are financial the Sparks Nugget, the casino in northern Nevada that she handled for 16 years.
The Nugget has been investigated by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) over allegations it didn’t comply with financial regulations during Ascuaga’s tenure, and neglected to establish an effective anti-money laundering program.
The investigation came to light in a court filing week that is last as section of a longstanding contractual lawsuit brought by the Ascuaga household up against the casino’s new owners, Wolfhound Holdings, the private investment team that bought the home in 2013.
Sandoval Unaware of Investigation
April a spokeswoman for Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said that Sandoval was unaware of the investigation when he appointed Ascuaga to the Gaming Commission panel last.
‘Michonne Ascuaga has served the Nevada Gaming Commission well,’ had written Brian Sandoval in accepting the resignation. ‘I admire her and desire to recognize her family’s long history as leaders into the gaming industry.
‘I appreciate that she has put the credibility and reputation regarding the Gaming Commission first,’ he added. ‘Michonne is a consummate professional and will continue to be a frontrunner in our community.’
Ascuaga has claimed in a statement that is official she ‘did not purposely hold back information from the governor.’
‘The Sparks Nugget ended up being informed in November 2013 by the Department of Treasury that the Department ended up being investigating she added whether it was appropriate to impose civil penalties for possible violations of anti-money laundering regulations. ‘The matter arose from an audit-type examination carried out by the IRS during the casino this year. This was all disclosed immediately to your buyer.’
Ascuaga Lawsuit
It is alleged that the Nugget is being investigated for laxity in its record-keeping and reporting requirements. By legislation, all businesses must file a Currency Transaction Report on all deals over $10,000, and report any activity that is suspicious FinCEN, as a way of guarding against money-laundering.
Ascuaga is the daughter of John L. Ascuaga, the son of a Basque shepherd who owned the Nugget for over 50 years before its sale to Wolfhound. The Ascuaga family believes it’s still owed $500,000 under the purchase and sale agreement of the Nugget.
Ascuaga said she was resigning ‘out of deep respect for the Nevada Gaming Commission and to not allow myself to become a distraction that is unnecessary the essential regulatory oversight work it does.’
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