The French Connection
Political strife is jeopardizing France's efforts to legalize online casino gambling and could shelve a proposed tax hike on existing gambling.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: France’s political tumult slams the brakes on proposed gambling reforms.
LEGAL and REGULATORY UPDATES: MI tax increase; Smoking Bans in MO and KS; Online poker stalls in WV; GA Lawmaker pens sports betting op-ed.
NEWS: World Series of Poker looks to crack down on electronic assistance.
VIEWS: The World Health Organization joins the anti-online gambling chorus.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: But can you make it work?
STRAY THOUGHTS: Is federal action looming?
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France Turmoil Leaves Tax Hikes and Online Casino Regulation Up in the Air
STTP has been following several storylines coming out of France, and to say things have gone from strange to stranger would be an understatement.
The first bit of news was an effort to legalize online casinos (which was shelved for 2024), followed by a vote in the Senate to increase tax rates on soft drinks, tobacco, and gambling.
But all that is now up in the air, as the French Government is in utter disarray.
As Jake Pollard is reporting:
“France’s online gambling sector is waiting to see who President Macron will appoint following Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s resignation yesterday after his government became the first to lose a confidence motion since 1962.”
The country cannot hold an election until July 7, 2025 (France had snap elections on July 7, 2024, and has to wait at least one year before holding another). That raises the possibility that the 2024 budget will be adopted for 2025, ending the efforts to raise taxes on gambling.
Per Pollard, the working committees studying online casino regulation are expected to continue, “but it was still too early to know how they would be impacted by this week's political events. However, a left-wing-led government would not be a promising prospect.”
Those efforts were already tenuous, with at least three factions in the mix:
Representatives of the country’s casino industry want complete control of the online industry.
The country’s horse racing and lottery industries have come out in opposition to online casino legalization.
Current online operators want a pathway to licensure.
As previously reported in STTP:
“CdF VP Fabrice Paire, who represents the country’s casino operators, said that an open market would be a rigged contest and that the casino industry would be making the same mistake it made in 2010 when it allowed existing unregulated operators access to sports betting and poker licenses. If the market were completely open, it would mirror the current online sports betting markets, where three brands control 80% of the market, Paire said, per Pollard’s reporting.”
Legal and Regulatory Updates: Tax Bill in MI; Smoking in MO and KS; iPoker in WV; GA Lawmaker’s OSB Op-Ed
Michigan bills would (slightly) increase online gambling tax rates: The industry is fighting back against the possibility of increased tax burdens in several states, the latest being Michigan. However, unlike other locales, Michigan lawmakers have proposed a modest bump, increasing the sports betting tax rate from 8.4% to 8.5% and the online gambling tax rate by 1%. The bill also slightly modifies how the tax revenue is allocated.
Kansas and Missouri consider casino smoking bans: Two more states have added their names to the list of states considering casino smoking bans: Kansas and Missouri. “85% of Kansans and Missourians do not smoke,” said C.E.A.S.E. Kansas and Missouri Founder Joe Hafley. “We have lots and lots of support [from] different groups, American Heart, American Lung, Americans for Non-Smokers Rights.”
Online poker operators are giving West Virginia the cold shoulder: West Virginia legalized online casino gambling and online poker in 2019. The first online casinos went live in 2020. So far, no online poker sites have launched. Intrastate online poker was shunned due to the state’s small population, but hopes were high when West Virginia joined the MSIGA in November 2023. Over a year later, there are still zero online poker sites. John Myers, Director of the West Virginia Lottery, tells Poker Industry Pro that despite the regulator having long completed its preparations, no one has applied. “We are ready when they are,” Myers said.
Full story from Poker Industry Pro (paywall)
Georgia lawmaker pens op-ed in support of sports betting: Georgia State Sen. Brandon Beach wrote an op-ed for the Atlanta Constitution-Journal calling Georgia’s lack of sports betting “shortsighted.” Beach pointed to a May survey asking Republican primary voters: “Would you support a statewide vote to allow gaming in Georgia so the voters can decide this issue instead of politicians in Atlanta?” The question received 81% support, to which Beach asked, “Why do Republicans keep denying our base that opportunity?”
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WSOP Amends Electronic Assistance and Coaching Rules
After some controversy at last year's Main Event final table, the World Series of Poker has updated a rule against coaching and electronic assistance.
If you missed it at the time or need a refresher: 2024 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Tamayo, a professional poker player, bested an amateur, Jordan Griff, to win the title and the $10 million first-place prize. The controversy began when it became clear that Tamayo was receiving advice from his rail, including several other professional players using poker software to discuss strategy with Tamayo in between hands. There was also a grander conspiracy theory that said information was being relayed to Tamayo in real time. That theory was never proven.
That ignited a debate on Poker Twitter, and as is often the case on Poker Twitter, there was zero agreement. Considering the rule change, the against side seems to have prevailed, at least in the eyes of WSOP decision-makers.
The updated rule reads:
Players and spectators are not allowed to use charts, apps, or any other form of electronic assistance in the tournament room. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in a penalty up to disqualification for the player and removal from the tournament room for the spectator. Spectators are also prohibited from providing live assistance or coaching. Failure to adhere to this rule will result in a penalty for the player and removal from the rail for the spectator. Non-players on the rail must adhere to the **WSOP Terms & Conditions, including no viewing of live streams on an electronic device.
According to WSOP media czar Kevin Mathers, who spoke with Casino Reports, the incident was terrible PR and needed to be addressed:
“Having a team of notable pros get together to discuss strategy against a less experienced player can be a bad look for both those involved in poker and those casually watching,” Mathers said. “It gives the impression to the latter group that there’s ‘cheating’ going on.”
Mathers also said he expects the rule to be modified for clarity before the 2025 WSOP.
And as Casino Reports noted, a second rule change looks to curtail electronic usage in general:
“When a tournament reaches three (3) tables, all players’ electronic devices will be removed. Players will only be allowed to have their devices back during player breaks or after elimination. No devices will be allowed to be used on the tournament rail during these late stages of streamed events and no coaching from the rail will be allowed. This includes viewing of the tournament stream and usage of any electronic assistance. Failure to adhere to this rule will result in a penalty for the player and removal from the rail for the spectator.”
WHO Calls Gambling a Public Health Concern
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new gambling fact sheet that shines the proverbial spotlight on what the organization sees as a growing public health concern.
Per the WHO:
“Gambling can lead to serious harm to health. These include financial stress, relationship breakdown, family violence, mental illness, and suicide. The legacy of gambling harm can endure throughout one’s life and transmit intergenerationally.”
The WHO makes the case for population-wide interventions and strict regulation and enforcement following the “normalization” and “aggressive promotion” of gambling.
Among its policy recommendations are:
Ending advertising and promotions
Providing centralized account registration to require those who gamble to set binding loss limits
Restrictions relating to access and availability (opening hours, density)
Per the WHO Fact Sheet, 1.2% of the global adult population has a gambling disorder, with 5.5% of women and 11.9% of men globally experiencing some level of harm from gambling.
The WHO report comes on the heels of the Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling’s “inquiry and response to a neglected, understudied, and expanding public health threat.” As previously reported in STTP, the Lancet report and the newsletter also compiled some of the debate over the Lancet’s findings/recommendations, which you can find here.
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
The next big thing (big splash) is always just around the corner in this industry, but the industry’s dirty little secret is that most of them never materialize.
As Alun Bowden posted on LinkedIn, good on paper doesn’t always translate to success.
Or, as I recently opined in a Stray Thought entry about looking beyond the topline and getting into the nuance:
“One way to think about this in relation to gambling (this is a gambling industry newsletter after all) is that obvious answers like product and brand don’t tell the entire story about success and failure; they are the size and skill of the conversation. Sometimes we have to dig a little bit deeper.”
Stray Thoughts
A storm is brewing… A federal storm.
It may have felt like a boy who cried wolf situation, but with each industry excess, I’ve been sounding the “federal action is a real possibility” alarm for years:
In 2018, following the Hatch/Schumer bill + hearing, I wrote:
“The heavy-handed Hatch/Schumer bill is highly problematic on several levels. But that doesn’t mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.
“Despite its problems, it’s a good jumping-off point for a more measured federal approach.
I brought up federal oversight in 2021 and 2022, and in 2023, I revisited the topic following the introduction of Rep. Paul Tonko’s SAFE Bet sports betting advertising bill, writing:
“The more attention sports betting and online gambling receive (positive or negative), the more likely Congress will jump into the conversation. And that is not something anyone should take lightly.”
Federal action, which could be momentum for a bill (The SAFE Bet Act) or a Congressional hearing (the Congressional version of a dog and pony show) is something I’ve been closely following since starting the newsletter — both seem to be gaining traction.
“Most people dismiss the idea of federal action, but the stories above, the interest in election betting (here and here), and the GRIT Act indicate that it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
“We’ve had a few brushes with scandals (Alabama baseball, Iowa and Iowa St., and plenty of other examples), and it will only take one to capture the attention of Congress.
“If you’re still not convinced how quickly things can change, read up on the DOJ’s Wire Act opinions in 2002, 2011, and 2018.”
And even more recently, for Casino Reports, I said:
“Setting aside the possibility of a federal sports betting bill finding its way into unrelated legislation, consider the many federal efforts (both favorable and hostile toward the industry) already afoot, from the current situation around election betting to the GRIT Act to raising the slot reporting threshold to mandate insurance coverage for gambling disorders.
“Any of these could be an entry point to start the conversation on reining in the sports betting industry, be it the current version of the SAFE Bet Act or one or two policies borrowed from it.
“Still not worried? Nonlegislative options may be in play, too, such as the Department of Justice’s see-sawing Wire Act opinions in 2002, 2011, and 2018.”
And since writing those words, we have added election betting to Congress’s plate.