According to the Reuteur news agency, Bwin, an Austrian public online gaming company, has decided to halt, at least temporarily, its online gaming offers in Turkey.  The decision came shortly after the passage of new anti-online gambling laws in the country.
Bwin released a statement regarding the decision, noting that "although on one hand, the new law prohibits online games of chance, on the other it also provides for the possibility of acquiring a license at a later date,"
According to a Bwin spokesperson, about six percent of Bwin’s gross gaming revenues are generated by Turkey, which means that the move to withdraw from Turkey could diminish gross gaming revenues by Euros 15-20 million ($26.3 million) per year.
Bwin is hoping to solve the problem by acquiring a license, which all depends on whether Turkish authorities agree to issue licenses.  At this point, however, it is unclear whether Turkey will be issuing online gaming licenses.
 "We don't really have much information on this," said spokeswoman Karin Klein. "Our lawyers are investigating."
Like the United States, many European nations are implementing increasingly stringent regulation regarding online gaming, with governments severely limiting Internet gambling in order to protect customers and state-run lotteries.

Reuters also pointed out that, last year, Bwin had to write off most of the value of its US-based poker site.  Bwin had acquired the site for more than Euro 500 million in early 2006 after the US had managed to significantly limit Internet gambling activity with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.  The Act effectively prohibits financial transactions with online gambling companies.

Posted on: March 20, 2007

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