Gambling News - August 2005 Edition

"Legally Speaking: Online Gambling"

Will the U.S. take a lesson in online gambling from the U.K.?

The government of Great Britain has taken an opposite view to that of the government of the United States, and has chosen to embrace the online gambling industry instead of fighting it. Not only are they allowing Internet gambling companies to list on the London Stock Exchange, but they have passed a bill which will help regulate online gambling.

The Gambling Bill, passed just this year, relates not only to gambling offences, but also helps regulate Internet gambling which is also known as ‘remote gambling’. In addition, the Gambling Bill addresses such issues as gambling and advertising, the intention of creating a new Gambling Commission, the legality of gambling contracts, operating premises, private betting and gambling and the protection of minors. Of course, regulations can only extend to those Internet gambling sites that are based in the United Kingdom and do not have jurisdiction over off-shore gambling sites.

By regulating and licensing online gambling sites, however, they are hoping that many of the British-owned off-shore operations, such as William Hill and Ladbrokes, may return to the United Kingdom where they may win back some of their customer base. Many online gambling customers were lost due to the fact that they were reluctant to give their credit card numbers out to companies located overseas. Once the new Gambling Bill is in place and licensing and regulations are possible, many of these companies can return to the UK and operate from there, even if only one piece of their remote gambling equipment is located in the country.

The bill also contains a number of important measures designed to protect children and vulnerable adults – that portion of the population that was previously open to abuse prior to the implementation of the bill. People involved with child protective services have applauded this aspect of the bill, pointing out that the gambling industry was not doing what it should to protect children and vulnerable adults from gambling risks. While it is too early to tell what the effects on the United Kingdom in economic, social and cultural terms will be, it is worth watching to see if those effects will be beneficial.

Many in the U.S. are hoping that perhaps the United States may come to understand that online gambling is here to stay and instead of fighting the industry, they should begin to deal with it too.

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