Candy Corner

What is Candy Corner?

The same divide exists in Tunisia and Egypt. Governments there have focused on prohibition and enforcement rather than opening online markets to private operators.

Sports betting in Morocco, including online betting and virtual events, is reserved to state-owned Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS). The company is 90% held by the Treasury and chaired by the sports minister.

Its exclusivity reportedly runs to 2036 under an unpublished 2016 convention with the state. The commercial operation is run under a tendered management contract rather than a licence. Unauthorised gaming houses and lotteries are criminal offences under articles 282 to 285 of the penal code.

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Numbers have remained steady a year on, and in H1 this year, various markets were hailed as core growth drivers for the business, including Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the UK.

Meanwhile, cost-saving efforts have seen retail shops and operational roles cut this year. And the group has chosen to exit its CEE business and sell off a significant share.

In August newly appointed CFO Michael Snape said the move was expected to de-lever, unlock and return capital to shareholders.

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One concern for operators is “the short duration of licences and renewal of licences”, notes Leckert. For operators, the casino business licence is renewable every three years, while the IR development-plan authorisation runs for 10 years, in contrast to the 18-year IR licence term in the Philippines, for instance.

Limiting the duration of licence validity “puts the entire capital investment at risk”, says Klebanow. Further regulations, including limiting residents to 10 visits per month and requiring them to present a ‘My Number Card’ when gambling, further erodes project viability. “Ultimately, casino developers individually concluded that developing an IR was too risky, and they took their billions of dollars in potential capital investment and walked away,” observes Klebanow.

Online betting on sports in Japan is in general is not permitted, with the exception of four sports – horse racing, bicycle racing (keirin), motorboat racing and motorcycle racing – each rigidly controlled and regulated directly by the government or government-affiliated public corporations.