Inside Asian Gaming

44 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | April 2014 INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS New Location for Australia’s Big Show With more than 90% of exhibit space already booked, the Australasian Gaming Expo is looking forward to another sellout when the show opens at its new venue, the Sydney Exhibition Centre, on 12th August. The producers, Gaming Technologies Association, a Sydney- based trade group representing the continent’s slot manufacturers and suppliers, say more than 144 stands have been reserved for the three-day event, which ends 14th August. The association also says the move to the Sydney Exhibition Centre, which is close to the iconic Glebe Island Bridge, will be an additional draw this year, providing more natural lighting across the 15,600 square meters of exhibit space and offering expanded views of Darling Harbour. The show will feature outdoor cafes and other attractions to highlight the new location. Modest Growth for Global Lottery Sales Strong sales in Asia and Latin America drove world lottery revenues to a 4.9% increase in 2013. The total was off the 7.7% pace set in 2012 and 2011’s +13%, and World Lottery Association Executive Director Jean Jørgensen, noting that growth has now slowed for two consecutive years, urged the industry to adopt a “cautious” outlook. Still, almost all regions performed better year on year in 2013. Asia-Pacific sales were up 13.1%, driven by a robust China market in which the country’s state-sponsored Welfare Lottery saw revenues surge more than 20%. Latin America was the hottest region on a percentage basis, with a 31.4% spike in sales by Argentina’s national lottery boosting revenues across all markets to an increase of 21.4%. North America saw a slight improvement, up 2.1% on 2012. The California Lottery was the standout at +8.8%. Europe’s markets mostly were disappointing, down 2.1% overall. Greek’s OPAP state monopoly recorded the sharpest drop, 15.1%. The Czech Republic’s SAZKA monopoly was a happy exception, enjoying year-on-year growth of 25.6%. Africa at +0.3% was relatively flat with 2012. Britain Gets Tough on Web Gambling The UK is intent on recovering revenue from online gambling operators marketing to British players from tax havens in Gibraltar, Malta and the Caribbean with a 15% point-of-consumption tax that is expected to come into force in December. Last month, a key piece required to make the plan stick fell into place with Parliament’s approval of a bill making British licensing mandatory for all remote operators. The Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill has passed in the House of Lords and is headed to the queen for her signature to become law. The measure has already been approved by the House of Commons. An amendment added to the bill in the Lords also will require online operators to pay the existing levy charged to all bookmakers in the country who offer bets on racing. Under current regulations embodied in the 2005 Gambling Act, remote operators that locate their servers overseas do not need a license from the UK Gambling Commission, whereas home-based operators are required to have one. The act was passed in the aftermath of an exodus of major operators to tax havens such as Gibraltar and Caribbean islands like Antigua where effective tax rates can be zero. The commission had sought more enforcement power on the licensing issue by blocking financial transactions between Britons and unlicensed sites, but the Lords rejected the request. Several major credit card banks have since said they would comply voluntarily. Joining the new licensing bill are tax changes aimed at cracking down on the proliferation of electronic table games in betting shops and bolstering the country’s flagging bingo industry. The office of Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced an increase from 20% to 25% in the duty on the controversial casino-style e-tables. Known as fixed odds betting terminals, the games have emerged in recent years as the biggest source of bookmakers’ earnings, and their popularity has sparkedanexplosion in thenumbersof highstreet bettingshops.The machines took in more than £11 billion in bets last year, according to news reports, generating £422 million for operators, or more than half their revenues. Critics consider them a leading cause of problem gambling and other social ills, and local governments have asked Parliament for stronger zoning powers to deny applications for new shop licenses. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which oversees the industry, is considering mandatory limits on bet sizes and other restrictions. Bingo, meanwhile, will benefit from the halving of its tax obligation from 20% to 10%. The Bingo Association, a trade group representing the sector, blamed the old tax for hundreds of closures and the loss of thousands of jobs in recent years. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne