Macedonia's state lottery market marked a new beginning at the end of 2009 with a tender process for a number of services still ongoing. In the meantime, the country is also set to revamp its anti-money laundering legislation.

The opening of Guyana's first casino during February 2010 has marked the arrival of this nascent industry in the country. This development has taken a number of years to come into fruition, with an independent regulator along with strengthened anti-money laundering legislation required.

While Lithuania's casino sector underperformed last year, the country's lotteries and betting sectors weathered the economic downturn much better. Meanwhile operators and civil society have been excluded from the latest working group on gambling reforms, which will likely delay any new legislative proposals.

Following a corruption scandal, new gambling legislation has come into effect this year. However, while the long-term validity of the legislation is being questioned, Poland's government is pushing ahead with reforms. A draft law addressing online gambling among other topics is currently receiving much public attention.

After a failed tender process to sell TOTE Tasmania, the white listed jurisdiction is facing a possible switch in the UK's policy from a regime based on mutual recognition to one based on local licensing.

While Estonia's first online gambling licence has been awarded this year, terrestrial developments have seen further guidance published on the registration of gaming machines.

It was hoped that online lottery terminals would combat underground lotteries, which along with illegal casinos, football betting and internet gambling form a large clandestine gambling market. However, at the beginning of this year Thailand's PM announced that the online lottery would be scrapped.

GamblingCompliance spoke to Linas Sesickas, legal counsel to the National Gambling and Gaming Business Association, about the Lithuanian gaming sector’s growing frustrations at the slow pace of regulatory reform in the country.

While presidential elections are taking place, Ukraine's cabinet this month approved and sent to parliament a draft law which effectively extends a temporary ban on gambling.

The European Court of Justice held further oral proceedings related to cross-border gambling last week, with preliminary opinions on three separate cases from both Austria and Sweden due to be published in late February.