The new UK gaming laws: trouble brewing
The UK government's prososed new gambling rules are poorly thought out and will see the UK joining the countries that have tried and failed to regulate the web, says Peter Wilson, a gambling specialist at law firm Memery Crystal...
BY ANNOUNCING PROPOSALS yesterday that “all operators who want to target British consumers must be licensed by the Commission“, the Government wants to plug a gaping hole in gambling regulation – one that was opened up by the Gambling Act itself, which legalised the advertising of remote gaming and betting by websites based in the EEA and white listed territories regardless of whether they had British licences or not.
Under the old legislation, foreign online bookmakers could not advertise here, and apart from bingo, all gaming advertising was almost totally prohibited; even by casino premises licensed in Britain.
However, that did not stop websites marketing widely and, ironically, such unrestricted advertising of uncontrolled internet gambling was a driver for the new Act.
Back then, when asked why they were not doing anything about casino and poker advertising by foreign operators, the Gaming Board would bemoan a lack of powers and resources. That has since changed, and the Commission has both prosecution powers and considerably greater resources than the old Board “ it is just that it is no longer illegal for many of the offshore operators to advertise in Britain.
Assuming that these proposals do come to fruition and, for example, a website with a new French remote gambling licence advertises to British consumers, what will the Gambling Commission do?
If the advertising is in print, e.g. in a newspaper, then the Commission could probably prosecute the editor, but can it get to the French company if it does not have any part of its business or any staff in Britain? The answer, at least in theory, is that it could; if the law is drawn widely enough. We already have criminal laws with extra jurisdictional effect, such as money laundering and corruption laws.
Problems are likely to arise with website advertising, however.
Seemingly, Mr Sutcliffe wants to require those offshore operators who “target” British consumers or who are “active” in the British market to obtain licences here. But unless it’s an obvious case, such as a website called, say, “Bingo for Brits!”, how can one prove that advertising is intended to target British consumers rather than the world at large?
That is a key characterisitc of the internet: unless a country resorts to desperate IP blocking measures, the fact is that its residents can access any website, anywhere in the world.
Even if the proposals see the light of day, the Government may be joining the company of US and many European Member States that have already tried, and failed, to control internet activity.
Even Mr Sutcliffe admits that “”¦there remain many complex issues to be considered.” I couldn’t agree more.
Peter Wilson is a regulatory lawyer specialising in gambling at law firm Memery Crystal.
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