The gambling industry is constantly in a state of change. While regulatory liberalisation is creating new opportunities in some jurisdictions, tightening legislation is closing down avenues in others. Olswang's vast knowledge of the sector allows us to advise our clients on how to recognise, protect and optimise their opportunities within this shifting landscape.

At Olswang, we've been working with some of the industry's leading names for the past decade. Olswang understand not only the law associated with gambling, but the business behind it. The foundation of our practice is authoritative guidance on the complex regulatory regime governing gambling combined with expert advice on new media issues; this has made us a leading adviser to both remote and non-remote gambling clients.

Olswang's Gambling Group comprises lawyers drawn from our Commercial & Regulatory, Corporate, Tax, Dispute Resolution, EU & Competition and Intellectual Property practices.  A full service legal offering combined with our industry expertise ensures that our gambling industry clients (and clients from other industries who are involved with gambling products and services) receive comprehensive and consistent advice in all areas. Furthermore, our expertise in other areas which are relevant to gambling businesses, such as technology, social media, e-commerce, broadcasting, ISPs, advertising, sponsorship and data protection, enables us to provide added value to any deal in which our clients participate.

With a wide network of industry connections and members of the gambling team located in Brussels, Berlin and Madrid, we can advise on the optimal jurisdiction for a client from both a regulatory and tax perspective. Whether a client wants to establish a new company, obtain a licence in an EU member state or needs market-leading gambling tax advice, we provide a one-stop service. 

Following the US Department of Justice's opinion in December 2011 (which stated that the Wire Act 1961 should only be applied to sports betting) and the consequent increased likelihood of some forms of online gaming being licensed in several US states, we have been involved in a number of the discussions and arrangements between US and European companies.   

Like our clients, Olswang is proud to support The GREaT Foundation, which raises funds for gambling research, education and treatment of problem gambling.

To help stimulate an exchange of views and news, we have set up a group on LinkedIn called European Gaming and we encourage you to join the group and contribute to the discussions. Click here to join/visit the group.

Major Clients

AtTheRaces
Olswang have advised AtTheRaces since its inception, advising on the establishment of the original joint venture in 2001, its acquisition of media rights from 49 British racecourses and the termination of those arrangements (and resultant litigation) and on its re-acquisition of media rights from 30 British racecourses. Olswang also advised At The Races, Victor Chandler and Stan James in separate disputes regarding the claim of the British Horseracing Board to database rights. More recently, we advised At The Races on its joint venture with Racing UK to establish GBI Racing, which will distribute British and Irish horseracing internationally via a new, unified service aimed at retail-based wagering operators around the world.

Gamesys
We act for Gamesys, which operates Jackpotjoy along with a number of branded bingo websites, on a range of commercial, regulatory and corporate matters including advising on its deal with Harrah's Interactive Entertainment (a subsidiary of US casino giant Caesars Entertainment) to launch CAESARS Bingo Online.  We recently advised Gamesys on its acquisition of Virgin Games and entry into a long term exclusive right to use the Virgin brand in connection with online gaming and the social gaming market.

Global Betting Exchange ("GBE")
Olswang act for GBE (which operates the Betdaq betting exchange), providing the Irish-based company with a wide range of commercial, tax and regulatory advice. Highlights include advising GBE on its commercial agreements with PKR, AsianLogic, Samvo and 32Red plc.

Intralot
Olswang have advised Intralot, the Greece-based operator, on a wide range of commercial matters, including its agreements with PartyGaming in Italy for poker and sports betting services. Olswang also advised Intralot on its agreement with Satellite Information Services for the provision of betting data.

ITV
Olswang have advised ITV on a wide range of gambling related matters, including the launch of the Bingo Night Live programme and its agreement with Cashcade for the ITV Bingo service.

Ladbrokes plc
Ladbrokes is a long-standing client of the Firm and we have advised the company on many aspects of its UK and international internet, interactive TV and mobile businesses (covering sports betting, casino, poker and games content, affiliate deals, IP issues, litigation and general betting duty issues). In 2010, we advised Ladbrokes on its establishment of a joint venture with KaiRo International Group to target the South African betting market through the launch of an online sportsbook.

Paddy Power
Olswang have advised the Irish bookmaker on a number of advertising campaigns, most notably its response to over 1,000 complaints made to the Advertising Standards Authority ("ASA") in relation to the "Blind Football" advertisement. The ASA did not uphold the complaints.

PartyGaming
PartyGaming is a long-standing client of Olswang. Olswang advised the company on two separate acquisitions of assets (including empirepoker.com and aceclub.com) from Empire Online Limited and Intercontinental Online Gaming Limited. Empire's withdrawal of all of its legal claims against PartyGaming also formed part of the first of these deals. Olswang also advised PartyGaming on its 2009 acquisition of Cashcade Limited, a leading online bingo and casino marketing business (and in 2006, we had advised Independent Digital Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Independent News and Media plc, on its 20.8 per cent investment in Cashcade).

Satellite Information Services ("SIS")
Olswang advised SIS in successfully defending its exclusive media rights agreements for betting shops in a major competition law case in the English courts involving all the major UK bookmakers and most of the UK's racecourses.

Sportech plc
Olswang are principal legal advisers to Sportech plc, owners of Littlewoods Pools and a variety of websites, and provide a full range of commercial and regulatory, tax, corporate and dispute resolution services. Highlights include advising Sportech on its distribution and marketing agreements with Playtech, 888 Holdings plc, Ladbrokes and Phumelela Gold International. Olswang also advised Sportech on its commercial arrangements with the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mirror and Four-Four-Two magazine and the acquisition of football content website 4 The Game. Olswang also provide Sportech with pool betting duty and VAT advice in connection with various elements of its business, including its claim to HMRC in March 2009 for repayment of VAT overpaid in respect of the "Spot The Ball" game which was offered between 1979 and 1996.

Sportingbet
Olswang advised Sportingbet on its acquisition of two online bookmakers targeting the Danish market, Danbook and Scandic.

Tipico
Olswang advised Tipico in its successful application for one of the few online gaming licences to be issued in Belgium.

The Tote
Olswang advised the Horserace Totalisator Board (prior to its sale to BetFred) on an international restructuring of its business to relocate part of its remote B2B business to Alderney.

Other gambling clients and non-gambling clients
Other clients Olswang have advised on gambling matters include: AsianLogic, Boylesports, Channel 4, Coral Racing, Cryptologic, Endemol, Eurosport, Fulham FC, FXPro, Geocomply, Globet, the Guardian, ITV, Jaxx, King.com, Manchester City FC, Microsoft, MTV, Northern Racing, One Works, Racing Enterprises, Rank, the RFU, Samvo, Skybet, Stan James, Sporting Index, Starting Price Regulatory Commission, Tipico, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Victor Chandler and Winamax.

Tax advice to the gambling sector
Olswang is unique in the UK legal market place in that it is has a gambling-taxes group (whose members are part of the wider Olswang Gambling Group), made up of tax advisers who have a specific focus on the UK gambling industry. In addition to those corporate taxes that apply to all UK businesses, most UK gambling businesses have to account for one or more of seven different UK gambling duties. On top of this, since the majority of gambling activities are exempt for VAT purposes (which restricts the recovery of input VAT on supplies made to UK gambling businesses), maximising input VAT recovery is always a material concern for gambling businesses. As a consequence of so many UK taxes having a material impact on cost, appropriate structuring of corporate and commercial gambling transactions (including migrating to other jurisdictions) is vital for such arrangements to be tax efficient and so commercially viable.

Tax partners Stephen Hignett and Graham Chase wrote the gambling duties and tax chapters of the leading text on gambling law; Smith and Monkcom's "The Law of Gambling", the third edition of which was published in February 2009.

William Hill
Olswang are acting for William Hill in a claim for judicial review of the Horserace Betting Levy Board's decision that betting exchange users are not subject to the Levy.  This follows on from David Zeffman's work as a member of the panel of four people charged with making recommendations to government on the future funding of British horseracing following the ECJ decision in the BHB v William Hill case.

Other Experience

Football DataCo litigation
Olswang are advising the defendants (Yahoo!, Stan James and Brittens Pools) in an action brought by the English and Scottish Football leagues concerning whether the companies are free to use the professional football fixture list without the Leagues' permission.  The courts ruled in favour of our clients in the first action (against Yahoo!) in 2012.

Interactive television
Olswang advise a number of major broadcasting and technology clients on all aspects surrounding the provision of betting, gaming and lotteries services via interactive television. Our work includes advising on betting and gaming regulation, including advising on whether any licences are necessary, as well as on all aspects of the relevant broadcasting and advertising and gambling regulations.

Levy Review
Head of the Gambling Group, David Zeffman, was a member of the independent review group that was established to make recommendations to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on arrangements for the future funding of British horseracing and David continues to advise on a number of related matters.

Lotteries and competitions
Olswang continue to advise numerous broadcasting and publishing clients as well as retailers and manufacturers on the regulatory and contractual issues involved in running television game shows, competitions and sales promotions.

Online and mobile services
Olswang advise various clients in the online and mobile sectors on their proposals for providing betting and gaming content via the internet and to mobile phones, in particular in relation to white-labelled services which raise regulatory as well as branding and technology issues.

Payment processors
We have advised a number of payment processors in relation to their gambling merchants and applicable policies.

Sponsorship
Olswang have advised on several sponsorship arrangements between sports rights holders / teams and gambling companies, particularly due to the very specific regulatory issues involved in such agreements. For example, we advised Boylesports, the online gambling operator and Ireland's largest independent bookmaker, on its high profile shirt sponsorship and partnership agreement with Sunderland Association Football Club. Olswang also advised Fulham FC on its 2009 sponsorship arrangement with Bodog and Tottenham Hotspur plc in relation to its club record shirt sponsorship and partnership deal with MANSION, the international gaming and entertainment group; Manchester City FC on its gambling sponsorship agreements with Betsson and Paddy Power; and Arsenal FC on its gambling sponsorship agreements with Betsson and MyLotto24.

Spread betting
Olswang work for a number of spread betting companies, including Sporting Index, providing tax, corporate, commercial and financial services regulatory advice.