Paul's Blog June 4, 2018 -Greetings from Prague
Greetings from Prague, the site of EL (Association of European Lotteries) Industry Days 2018 conference. Held once every two years, Industry Days has acquired its own unique brand of high-level presentations and is itself a great example of collaboration between government lotteries and their commercial partners. This year Industry Days is hosted by Robert Chvatal and Team SAZKA, operator of the Lottery in Czech Republic, the EL, and the commercial partners to the EL. The industry associations (EL, WLA World, NASPL North America, Asia-Pacific Lotteries, Cibelae South America, and African Lotteries) all produce fabulous educational seminars and one big annual or bi-annual event. Visit their websites to see the schedule of events, all of which are great opportunities to learn and visit with colleagues. Too, I hope you can come to PGRI Lottery Expo NYC on October 23 to 25.
NBA (U.S. National Basketball Association) Commissioner Adam Silver commented on sports betting in an address delivered prior to the first game of the NBA finals championship, pointing out that there will be wagering on Game 3 of the NBA finals, at least in Delaware casinos. State officials announced that full-scale sports betting will begin there at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Delaware is the first state to take advantage of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permits states to allow sports wagering. Other states are trying to follow suit quickly. Five states, plus Nevada, have already passed sports wagering legislation, and legislatures in 14 additional states are working to get bills passed before the year’s legislative session ends in June. The policy-making lobbying action is intense, with tens of billions of dollars in potential revenue, and hundreds of millions in net tax revenues, at stake. The NBA has told states it is seeking a 1 percent cut of betting, which it is calling an “integrity fee” to help offset the costs of enforcement incurred by the league office and also to serve as a royalty. But Silver also said the NBA game is the league’s “intellectual property, and we think we should be compensated for it.”
An example of the problem with enforcing laws protecting the intellectual property of Lotteries and regulatory integrity: There is a store in Bermuda that contracts with agents to buy lottery tickets in the U.S. for re-selling in Bermuda. The owner of the store was advised that his business is in violation of various U.S. state and federal laws. He responded: “If the authorities — the law — tell us it is illegal, we will cease and desist. No one ever has. An opinion coming from someone in the United States doesn’t apply to us in Bermuda. The proper opinion to seek is from the United Kingdom Gambling Authority. We come under UK law and we are ultimately answerable to the Privy Council, not the U.S.”
There are hopeful expectations that the Swiss people will vote to support an update to laws and regulations such that Swiss laws will apply to any entity offering gambling to Swiss residents, and block unauthorized “black-listed” websites. The popular vote will take place on June 10.