BALTIC IS BEST
15 January 2010
Russian and Ukrainian gambling bans may have
triggered the arrival of a promising new online gambling
market
Betfair's Right2Bet campaign, which is keeping
interested parties informed on legal developments in the
online gambling world, focused on the Baltic States this
week.
In an interesting article that complements
InfoPowa coverage of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in
the region, Right2Bet discussed developments in Latvia
and Estonia, which have capitalised on the ban the
Russian and Ukrainian governments introduced on gambling
last year.
Despite its citizens' pronounced yen
for the pastime, Russia now permits gambling in only a
few remote and as yet undeveloped corners of the
country, whilst the indications are that only a change
in government is likely to improve the situation in the
Ukraine.
"The tiny countries, with a combined
population of around 2.5 million, were once part of the
Soviet Union, and still count a significant number of
Russians and Russian speakers amongst their population,
making it an ideal location to take advantage of tourist
trade from the wealthy Western cities of Russia,"
Right2Bet notes.
"Gambling has long been a
favoured, legal pastime in Latvia, with the gaming
industry there reportedly accounting for $125 million
worth of revenue in 2005. However, it is only in the
past few weeks that Estonia has relaxed its stance.
The article goes on to discuss the financial
travails of Estonia and surmises that the revenue
streams enjoyed by its Baltic neighbour Latvia, and the
prospect of a possible influx of Russian gambling
tourists, has launched a review into the laws
surrounding the activity.
The country's gambling
regulations will go through gradual change, Right2Bet
reports, unlike many other nations which have quickly
introduced or withdrawn legislation almost overnight,
with 2010 seeing Estonians citizens and tourists
permitted to gamble online or off for the first time...
but only with Estonian-registered sports books and
casinos.
"Estonia is going from a near total ban
on gambling to a very liberal system; it's only natural
that the government and customers should favour a small
'learning curve' before they hit 2011, from which point
foreign companies will be allowed to enter the market,"
Right2Bet advises.
The Right2bet petition for
the liberalisation of online gambling in Europe is still
available for all to sign at
www.right2bet.net.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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