Tuesday, October 31, 2006

UK culture secretary Tessa Jowell will this week urge 32 nations to back a
code of principles on internet gambling, the first major international
measure to regulate the industry as the US imposes a ban. Britain, France,
Germany, Spain, Italy, South Africa and other nations will tomorrow meet
outside London for talks hosted by Jowell to agree on a code of conduct for
companies that offer gambling over the Web.Delegates will discuss age and
identification verification systems, including the role of government in
smoothing access to high quality data for gambling operators to identify
customers. They will also look at social responsibility associated with
remote gambling, including the role of government and whether operators
should be required to fund awareness campaigns on problem gambling or offer
website links to counselling. Delegates from each nation will be asked to
examine whether there are any legal or ethical considerations around cross-
jurisdiction treatment of problem gambling. A draft of the agreement
proposed that nations should agree to "co-operate in development of and
share best practice in protecting children and vulnerable people" and to
"share findings of research into the remote gambling market". The measures
are Britain's attempt to regulate internet gambling instead of criminalising
it as US President George W Bush favours. Bush this month signed a law
banning credit card companies from collecting payments for online bets.
Jowell last week criticised the US for attempting to impose a "new
prohibition" against online gaming, saying Bush's measures would prompt
fraud and crime by forcing the industry to work illegally from nations that
do not regulate the Web.

"America should have learned the lessons of prohibition," Jowell told the
Financial Times, adding that the US might "create modern day speakeasies" in
the internet gambling industry.

The world's biggest internet gambling companies lost $7 billion (R52
billion) of market value in a day after the US congress passed legislation
on September 30.

PartyGaming shares have lost three quarters of their value since then.

The EU is pushing countries to scrap measures that protect domestic
companies in gaming.

On October 12, regulators told members such as France and Austria to stop
discriminating against international bookmakers and casinos.