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Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. |
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Britain's new
gambling law comes into force at midnight,
legalizing U.K. advertising campaigns for
the first time and licensing online
casinos that can accept bets from gamblers
worldwide including the U.S.
William Hill Plc, Gala Group Ltd., and
13 other companies find out tonight if
their virtual casino licenses have been
approved to start accepting bets
immediately, a spokesman for the Gambling
Commission, the U.K.'s new regulator, said
today. More than 300 others applied to
operate licensed online sites including
sports betting under the Gambling Act
2005.
The U.K. law highlights a potential
conflict with the U.S.'s Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act, adopted in 2006,
which prevents credit-card companies from
collecting payments for online bets. The
legislation has prompted gaming companies
to shut down U.S. operations to focus on
Europe and Asia.
``We aren't banning people from using
Web sites based in the U.K.,'' Julia
Smith, a spokeswoman on gambling for the
U.K.'s Department for Culture, Media and
Sport, said in a telephone interview. ``It
is up to the consumer what they do.''
The U.K. law also allows gaming
operators in other European Union
countries to advertise in Britain for the
first time, prompting some companies to
apply for licenses in low-cost countries
such as Malta, which has a 5 percent
corporate tax and no extradition treaty
with the U.S.
Maltese Casinos
Malta has so far approved 152 of 180
applications for virtual gaming licenses,
Kristy Spiteri, a spokeswoman for Malta's
Lotteries and Gaming Authority, said in an
interview yesterday.
``Usually the Lotteries and Gaming
Authority receives around two applications
per week, however, in the past weeks it
has received more than usual,'' Spiteri
said in an e-mailed statement.
A William Hill spokeswoman declined to
comment today on plans for the U.K. other
than to say they would have no impact on
customers who already use its existing
online sites regulated in other European
jurisdictions.
Britain's plans to open 17 new
bricks-and-mortar casinos, including a
U.S.-style supercasino, have been delayed
by court challenges and are not yet
confirmed, a spokesman for the Gambling
Commission said.
A British gambling trade group failed
in a legal bid in June to block the
casinos from opening under the new
gambling law.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Caroline Byrne in London at
cbyrne12@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: August
31, 2007 07:37 EDT
