UK government does surprise about-turn with gambling bill
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Non-EEA egaming operators could potentially commit a criminal offence if they advertise in Britain but UK licensed operators will be allowed to accept US customers, according to the long-awaited Gambling Bill published today by the UK government.
Inciting or allowing a child to gamble online and the manufacture and supply of unlicensed software are also made criminal offences for the first time.
And Operators breaking any of these laws could potential stand to server a year in jail.
"This is a Bill about new protections, not new casinos,” Tessa Jowell, the UK’s secretary of state for culture, said.
“The current law leaves people vulnerable and only new legislation will fix this.”
The decision to allow US gamers was exclusively revealed by eGaming Review earlier this year, but this is the first time it has been submitted in written form by the government.
However, the decision to bar non EEA members from advertising in the UK is an abrupt about-face from a government who previously planned an open door advertising policy.
The bill explicitly rules out advertising on any media, including online, for operators who are subject to the regulations of an EEA state.
And many in the industry are surprised at the wording of the bill, which runs contrary to all previous suggestions from the government.
“We are currently trying to seek clarification on that point, and I hope it’s just been poorly defined,” Nigel Payne, CEO of Sportingbet, said.
One industry lawyer eGR spoke to said it would still be feasible for the UK government to designate jurisdictions such as Curacao, Costa Rica and Antigua as bound by EEA regulations.