open and closed case
Such is the competition in the UK online gaming market that new entrants face a massive task in gaining any sort of beach-head. The rewards, however, can be equally as impressive in this well established market.
The UK has one of the most competitive gambling markets in the world and gambling regulation here is also generally accepted as being of a high standard.
The country has a broad range of gambling activities which co-exist in competition with each other. It is also relatively crime free and problem gambling is regarding as being reasonably low compared to other jurisdictions.
In 2007 the new Gambling Act 2005 came into force and at the time was hailed as a model for the rest of the world in terms of liberalising the UK market, particularly in the field of remote gambling. However four years down the line and not only is it now seen as perhaps too tolerant but it has also failed to attract online operators to apply for a UK gambling licence.
In creating such a law in a bid to open up the online gambling market the UK has instead witnessed a mass exodus of online gambling operators. It seems that the ability to operate in a legal environment can come at a high price.
The UK’s previous gambling laws date back to 1963 (betting) and 1968 (gaming) and up until now have served the country well. However due to the advance of technology the government was forced to review its regime
the GamBlinG act was dRafted with the aim of makinG it futuRe-pRoof, enaBlinG the GaminG
commission to React quickly.
some years ago which resulted in the Gambling Bill 2005.
There was less opposition in the UK regarding an online gaming legislation because it was already established via telephone betting and more recently online betting. As far back as 2001 the British Channel Islands had passed a bill that would legalise online betting, thereby putting a protocol of standard licensing applications in place.
The government was left with two options at this time – to legalise it or prohibit it. It chose to regulate primarily for two reasons - firstly because all the other sectors of the UK gambling industry were regulated and secondly evidence had indicated that to prohibit it would merely drive operators and their
customers towards less well regulated jurisdictions.
And so the Gambling Review Report was published which strongly recommended legalisation which in turn led to the drafting of the UK Gambling Bill. The approval of the UK Gambling Act in 2005 was a monumental occasion for the internet gambling industry and the law became enforceable in September 2007.
This meant operators of remote gambling (via internet, digital TV and mobile phones) offering casino, bingo and machine style gaming could apply for licences for the first time and as such lawfully establish their operations in Britain.
The only exception was spread betting and lotteries, which cannot be conducted online but the purchase of traditional lottery tickets may be aided by the internet and email technologies, provided there is some human operator interaction. The National Lottery has responded well to this and continues to be successful and now offers customers a wider range of lottery products in order to compete.
The Gambling Act was drafted with the aim of making it ‘future proof’ so that there was a capacity for the Gambling Commission, as regulator, to react quickly and effectively to new technologies. Meanwhile the Commission
62
united kinGdom
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68