A New Age of Internet Gambling
It was bound to happen, in times of plenty people are happy to make decisions based on very strict morality rather than economics. But in leaner times you’ll normally find people will be just a little more flexible. Internet gambling now seems likely to become a beneficiary of this more flexible approach because the US State Department of Justice has just reversed it’s long standing ban on gambling over the web.
It’s of course always been rather confused the US position on gambling online, perhaps best illustrated that billions are actually already wagered illegally by US citizens . The choices are limited though and if a US citizen visits any of the major internet betting sites they’ll be politely declined based on their location. Of course one of the big problems is that all of the money that is actually wagered online by US citizens simply flows out of the country to European and Asian based sites mostly – especially for the games of luck like internet roulette.
But this could be about to change in a development that may revolutionize the online gambling market. The US Justice Department was asked by New York and Illinois to clarify the rules for selling lottery tickets online. They wanted to be able to sell these tickets over the internet, however the response went much, much further. They stipulated that there was actually only one thing illegal under federal law and that was Sports betting across State and federal lines. Which ultimately means that the position has reversed from all online gambling is illegal to pretty much all gambling is legal online.
There is of course some concern – ruling what is not legal is still not really that clear. Bigger firms will probably be unwilling to invest greatly until there is something a little more clearer. In fact the American Gaming association stated -
validates the urgent need for federal legislation to curb what will now be a proliferation of domestic and foreign, unlicensed and unregulated gaming websites without consistent regulatory standards and safeguards against fraud, underage gambling and money laundering.
The remaining uncertainty probably won’t stop the smaller operators and experts predict that the online poker industry is probably going to be the first to benefit. Simply because it is more a game of skill than chance and is likely going to be safer until clarification is made from a federal level.
If this clarification is received expect to see a flurry of activity in the sector.
Hopefully this will lead to a much better experience for all gamblers and the eradication of the many sites that seek to operate in the shady confusion of the previous federal stance on gambling across the web.
Another positive note is that of development of the market. With this potential unleashed, expect there to be significant investment in new technology and ways of gambling – I’m sure there’s going to be some wonderful applications available to smart phone and tablet users .
There are already lots of applications available in Europe for placing a bet on a smart phone and I would expect that the US entering the market things will change rapidly.
But many are of course not happy – there are people deeply opposed to online gambling like the Reverend James Butler. He has been campaigning against the sorts of changes that look inevitable now for many years. In some senses he is ready to accept defeat as you can see from some of his tactics which aim to implement increasing regulations rather than maintaining the ban on gambling online.
Here’s some of his suggested regulations -
• People who receive public assistance – welfare, unemployment, food stamps, subsidized housing or medical care – or are behind in child support payments should not be permitted to gamble online.
• People should have to get permission from their spouse, who is legally responsible for any debt incurred, before being allowed to gamble online.
• Internet gamblers should not be able to file for personal bankruptcy.
It’s rather unclear how some of those regulations would be implemented however.
But for those of us who enjoy a flutter online and believe grown ups should be allowed access to this sort of entertainment if they so wish – then it’s great news. If you’ve never tried playing – you can try here and play the real game of roulette for fun. But remember it’s not real money and you can’t cash in your winning at the end (but also nobody will ask you for anything if you lose!)
European Online Gambling Legislation
Changes Adopted by EU Members
European online gambling legislation changes have been adopted by several more EU countries. In response to a European Commission (EC) Igaming Green Paper released in March, 2011, and a public comment period that closed in July, the European Parliament and European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) convened in early September to consider the Green Paper and citizen comments.
They concluded that the present state of online gambling is not acceptable and that legislation outlining minimum standards and regulations are required EU-wide.
Within the EU membership there is a disparity of approaches to online gambling, ranging from banning the function altogether to allowing liberal markets. This disparity is creating a headache for the European Court of Justice.
Countries are uncertain exactly how Article 49 of the EU Treaty applies to online gambling legislation, thereby resulting in twenty-seven separate systems and continual infringement of the law.
The solution appears to be in establishing a minimum operating requirement that would regulate online gambling across the entire EU. Ideally, the regulations would apply EU-wide and at the minimum would protect consumers while allowing member states to proceed as far as they so desire.
The deadline for the European Parliament and EESC response to the Green Paper is October, 2011, at which time the EC can propose legislation to police online gambling EC-wide, which will not be considered before 2012.
The Green Paper highlighted the need for European online gambling legislation changes. For instance,
More than 85% of 14,823 viable internet gambling sites in Europe are being operated without any kind of license.
Although online gambling makes up less than 10% of the gaming market, this sector is expected to double by 2013. The UK is the biggest online gambling market and includes all forms of internet gambling, encompassing legal, “black” market and “grey” activities.
The fastest growing sector of online gambling is expected to occur on the mobile betting channel.
Although the European Union approved of online gambling, not all twenty-seven member nations readily embraced it. While England was the first to make it legal to play games like roulette online, a few other countries resisted, like Italy, Germany, Greece, Estonia, Sweden, Hungary, and the Netherlands.
Most of these countries claim they banned or restricted online gambling in order to protect consumers. Nonetheless, online gambling is a real threat to the money that governments collect from local betting monopolies.
Several of these countries have recently agreed or intend to agree to the recent European online gambling legislation changes.
Greece currently finds itself in dire economic circumstances with the IMF requiring the nearly defunct country adopt certain measures to generate revenue. One of these measures mandates Greece to legalize online gambling. The Greek government is only legalizing online gambling under pressure from international forces. As a result, OPAP, the Greek betting monopoly, must acquire government-issued licenses.
Netherlands is another country that has succumbed to European online gambling legislation changes. However, not all of its Parliament members concur, stating that the legislation still does not sufficiently protect players from addiction and corrupt operators.
Germany, a holdout for some time, recently drafted an online gambling law that is in violation of the European online gambling legislation changes.
