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THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT District Judge McGarva said: “The aggravating


features of these offences are they were committed over a relatively long period of about six months. Children were gambling on your site. It’s impossible for me to know how many or the effect on them. “In my opinion, both of you were aware of the use of the site by children and the attractiveness of it to children. At the very least, you both turned a blind eye to it.” FutGalaxy took bets on matches played in the UK,


Sarah Harrison, Gambling Commission CEO, said:


“This was one of the most serious cases that has been investigated and prosecuted by the Commission. Its gravity is reflected in the significant financial penalties imposed by the Judge. The defendants knew that the site was used by children and that their conduct was illegal but they turned a blind eye in order to achieve substantial profits. The effect on children of online gambling was rightly described by the Court as ‘horrific’ and ‘serious’. “All websites offering gambling facilities in Britain


must be licensed; it is the only way in which children and vulnerable people can be protected. This case demonstrates that we will use the full range of our statutory powers to investigate and prosecute individuals and companies who try to operate illegally.”


Richard Williams Licensing and Gaming Partner, Joleson


Casino International Online: How much


harder is it to police ‘gambling’ activities within games when so many use a virtual currency? Richard Williams: With so much publicity on social media, such as Youtube, it doesn’t take much for gambling using virtual currencies to come to the attention of the authorities. Where there is a value to virtual game items (skins) and virtual currencies, there is always a risk that gambling to “win” rather than trade those items will be the next step. Having said that, it’s going to be a very big regulatory task to monitor what’s going on the internet all over the world.


CIO: Who do you think shoulders the


responsibility to monitor gambling activities outside of the games where the ‘currency’ originates? RW: The virtual currency/item game suppliers can try to restrict use of their


50 JUNE 2017 CIO: Do you believe there to be lots of


games suppliers walking a tightrope between offering in-game purchases and leading young players down a dangerous path?


France, Germany and Italy. Fifa players can earn the virtual currency by winning matches and competitions in the game’s ultimate team mode. The court heard that sites such as FutGalaxy were “parasitic” for games including Fifa, which forbids players from buying or selling virtual coins on black market websites.


Its


publisher, Electronic Arts, has banned tens of thousands of accounts for buying and selling coins outside the game. Gambling involving video game currencies and


virtual items has become a major enterprise. Last year it was reported that the practice of gambling on in- game items in titles such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive could be worth more than $7bn (£5.6bn). Philip Kolvin QC, prosecuting on behalf of the Gambling Commission, said gaming, betting and lottery features were offered by FutGalaxy, which evaded gambling regulations over a long period and had 1.4 million followers on Twitter. Stephen Walsh, defending, said Douglas “earned a good living” as a YouTuber, lawfully promoting a wide range of other products.


RW: In-game purchases are legitimate and this is not the problem. Selling a virtual item is not gambling. It’s betting or gaming with these items which crosses the line. Just because youngsters buy virtual items (just like real world items) it doesn’t mean that they are going to be harmed by gambling. Often the only harm is to the parent’s bank account!


CIO: It’s been said that there are likely


currency in gambling transactions by terms and conditions, but in reality, these will have very little impact. The games suppliers cannot simply wash their hands of it and ignore gambling utilising their currency/items. They should be responsible for monitoring activity, blocking accounts, restricting cash outs and trading etc. although the national regulators will also have a role to play.


to be more cases in the future. Is this because you think there are similar set-ups already running, or just that it is inevitable? RW: Tech savvy start-ups/apps often don’t consider that what they are offering falls within the definition of betting, gaming or lotteries under UK legislation. Ultimately. if the currency/item being used has a real-world value then crossing the line into gambling is very easy. Having said that I would expect the Commission to warn operators to stop before going to prosecution – some of this activity could be genuinely innocent yet unlawful (and damaging)


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