Regulation No. 828/2015 Rules for Playing Online Gambling Machines

Transcription

1 Regulation No. 828/2015 Rules for Playing Online Gambling Machines The Legal Framework for Online Gambling and Betting (RJO), approved by Decree-Law no. 66/2015 of April 29th, states in article 5 (3) that the implementing rules of online gambling and betting shall be laid down by the monitoring, inspection and regulatory entity. Pursuant to article 48 of Decree-Law no. 66/2015 of April 29th, the monitoring, inspection and regulatory entity announced the start of the procedure on its Internet website, specifying the subject matter and how contributions could be made to the drafting of the regulation. In the scope of its regulatory consultation procedure, contributions were received from various interested parties. The rules that are adopted take into account the contributions that were made in the scope of the said consultation. Therefore, under the combined provisions in article 5 (3) and article 48 of the RJO with paragraph b) of article 7 (3) of Decree-Law no. 129/2012, of June 22nd, as amended by Decree-Law no. 66/2015 of April 29th, the Gambling Commission, at its meeting of July 17th, 2015, decided the following: 1. To approve in the form of a Regulation the implementing rules of online gambling machines, when engaged in remotely, by means of electronic, computer, telematic and interactive media, or by any other means, hereinafter referred to as "online", which constitutes the Annex to this deliberation and forms an integral part thereof. 2. The operator, in the compliance, development and use of the powers granted by the these rules, shall prepare in a clear, complete and detailed manner the game s implementation, the prize payment plan, as well as the players way of interacting and participating. 3. The establishing and amendment of the specific rules referred to in the previous number requires prior approval from the Gambling Regulation and Inspection Service 4. The rules contained in the annexed regulation and those referred to in paragraph 2 shall be published and made available permanently and free of charge by the operator on its website. 5. The Regulation shall enter into force on the day of entry into force of the Regulation laying down the technical requirements for the technical system for gambling. November 13th, The Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Maria Teresa Rodrigues Monteiro.

2 ANNEX 1 - Online gambling machines games are those in which, after placing a bet, the movement of three or more virtual reels with different symbols or graphical representations is activated and the reels, progressively and through an entirely random process, come to stop on a line or play lines, with the aim of forming combinations of symbols which, under the terms of a previously defined payment plan, confer the right to a prize. 2 - Without prejudice to the provisions of rule no. 9, online gambling machines cannot be operated to implement any other themes or games except those referred to in the previous rule. 3. For the purposes of the rules laid down in this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: a) «Maximum bet», maximum amount expressed in euros which a player can bet on each line in a play; b) «Minimum bet», minimum amount expressed in euros which a player can bet in a play; c) «Starting base for a progressive jackpot», initial amount borne by the operator as the minimum amount for a progressive jackpot; d) «Credit», measurement unit and amount used in betting operations and prize payments to replace and represent money; e) «Denomination», amount expressed in euros that defines the basic betting amount for the machine and is used to convert money into credits and vice versa; f) «Play», operations that start with the placing of a bet, after which the rotation of the reels is activated and they progressively come to a halt on the line or play lines and end with the payment of the prize to the player, or that proceed with the development of supplementary or additional games that are carried out in accordance with the specific gambling machine rules and end with payment of the eventual prizes; g) «Supplementary or additional games» are any played after a particular outcome or combination is obtained during the basic gambling machine game, giving the player the ability to win prizes or additional credits; h) «Multi-denomination», gambling machine with several amounts expressed in euros that can be used as a basic bet amount, the amount of which is selected by the player and will be used to convert money into credits and cash credits; i) «Progressive jackpots», special prizes the amount of which is set up and increased by automatically deducting a certain percentage of the amounts staked on a gambling machine or a set of gambling machines; j) «Game session», an uninterrupted period of time between the start and end of access to the gambling machines.

3 4 - Gambling machines shall be configured in such a way that the game is safe, proper and impartial, and is carried out in accordance with the specifications contained in this Regulation and the individual approved specifications. 5 - The rules for calculating and paying prizes for the online gambling machines must be configured so that, among all possible combinations, the theoretical rate of return in prizes to the player is a minimum of 80%. 6 - Symbols or any graphical representations used to implement the game theme shall be clearly differentiated from each other so that they cannot be confused. 7 - It is not permitted when developing the game to use symbols, images, sound or language that: a) Are contrary to law or public order values; b) Offend the dignity and moral integrity of individuals; c) Employ themes designed especially for children. 8 - The line or play lines that determine the outcome of the game shall be clearly marked, and the immobilised position of the rollers and that of the respective symbols on the line or lines must be unambiguous. 9 - Online gambling machines, as an addition to the basic game and after the result of a winning play, can present additional games, inclusive of the following characteristics: a) The option to double the amount of the prize or credits won during the play, with the risk of total or partial loss of the prize or credits won; b) The ability to win, without risk of losing the value of the prize or credits won during the play: i) A specific number of free plays; ii) Bonus games; iii) Credit multipliers In the case of complementary games with the risk of total or partial loss of the prize or credits won during the play, the player must always have the option not to play the additional game The results of each choice shall always be presented in the case of additional games offering more than one option Gambling machines may allocate special progressive jackpots with one or more prize levels Progressive jackpots linked to two or more machines shall not interfere, influence or affect the outcome of the game on these machines Special progressive jackpots are formed by automatic deduction of a percentage of the amounts staked on a machine or set of machines over which they are grouped.

4 15 - In addition to the percentage increase referred to in the previous rules the operator can add a basic starting amount to progressive jackpots, upon which the increment referred to in the previous rules is based The starting amount of the progressive prizes, as well as the percentage of their constitution and increment are fully borne by the operator The total amount of existing progressive jackpots on the date of expiry or licence revocation will be donated to charities Progressive jackpots operate over allocation cycles and until they are allocated, no configuration or setting in the respective gambling machines can be changed The value of progressive jackpots shall be permanently visible on the gambling machines with which they are associated and shall be automatically updated with increments from bets when these are placed Progressive jackpots are awarded to players who form the respective combination of symbols Whenever a progressive jackpot is awarded, the machine it was associated with must be announced immediately on all machines Gambling machines may operate with a single denomination or on a multidenomination basis Betting stakes and prizes may be made in euros or credits The graphical environment in which the game is played shall, at all times, present the player with an informative set of windows which include the following information: a) The amounts in euros or number of credits to be played; b) The denomination in which the player is playing; c) The number of lines in which the player is betting; d) The amount in euros or numbers of credits staked in the play; e) The amount in euros or credits won in the play; f) The updated value of the progressive jackpots associated with the machine Gambling machines can offer the option of automatic play activation The automatic play activation mode shall enable a maximum number of allowed plays, to be defined by the operator, Diário da República, 2nd series - N.º December 2, , and the player shall always be given the option to cancel the automatic play mode at any time A player wins his/her bet if the combination of symbols that are formed on the play lines on which he/she has bet, match one of the combinations of the prize payment plan for the respective machine When more than one winning combination is formed on the same play line, only the highest value prize is paid.

5 29 - When winning combinations are formed in different play lines, the prizes are added together and the total is paid The amount of prizes in the prize payment plan is determined according to the amount the player has bet The final outcome of each play shall be displayed for a sufficient period of time to allow the player to check the result of the play Prizes are paid immediately after the result of the play, in one of the following ways: a) Directly on the machine by addition to the existent credits in the credit window that the player has available to play; b) By transfer to the player s account In the case of winning plays, the value of the prize for the play shall be displayed in its own prize window, and only after that added to the credit window that the player has available to play, or transferred to the player's account The operator shall have clear, complete and accurate information permanently available in Portuguese, including: a) The operation and playing of the game; b) Machine denominations; c) Minimum and maximum bet amounts, d) Play lines; e) Prize payment plan, with respective combinations and payments; f) Access to and the playing of complementary games, respective winnings and risk of loss prizes or credits; g) Conditions for attributing the progressive jackpots; h) Complaints procedure The information referred to in the previous rule may be made available in other languages to be selected by the player The operator shall provide players with an option to display the outcome of the previous game and the amounts bet At the end of each game session, the operator shall provide players with information about the amounts bet and the respective profits or losses The beginning, duration and end of each session will be defined by the player.

6 39 - A game session in a machine ends: a) When the player terminates the session; b) Due to loss of communication between the devices used by the player and the gambling platform, if not restored within 3 minutes; c) On the initiative of the operator. 40. The operator can end a game session on a machine whenever: a) The player runs out of money in his/her player account; b) The player does not make a play over a period of time longer than three minutes In the situations provided for in the previous rule, if the player does not voluntarily end the game session, the operator must warn him/her that the session will be terminated if no funds are transferred to his/her account or if no play is made during the next minute If communications are interrupted, due to a breakdown or any other failure originating in the game's technical system, which prevents completion of a play, the play is considered cancelled and the value of the stake is returned to the player Plays are not considered void if, after recovery of the communications, it is possible for a player to resume the play in the state it was in immediately before the interruption For the purposes of rule no. 42, plays are not regarded as being cancelled when the communications breakdown occurs due to malfunction or any other failure of the equipment used by the player. 45. The operator may provide gambling machines demo applications on its website with the same characteristics as used in the operation, but without the use of money Demo applications can only attribute a free extension to the game according to the score obtained, which cannot be substituted or converted into money, game vouchers, goods or services of any nature or kind.