Costa Rican Online
Gaming Face UK
Advertising Ban
The UK government will
today lay down new
powers in Parliament
under the Gambling Act
2005, to ban gambling
advertisingfrom
companies operating
outside of the European
Economic Area (EEA).
The move is set to
exclude up to 1,000
online gaming websites
which will include some
of the industry’s most
recognizable brands,
when the Act comes into
force on September 1.
Independent research has
suggested that
approximately 2,300
gambling websites are in
operation worldwide,
with Antigua considered
to have the largest
number with around 537,
followed by Costa
Rica (474),
Kahnawake (Canadian
Reservation) (401) and
the Netherlands Antilles
(343).
For jurisdictions who
fall outside of the EEA,
the route to exemption
from the ad ban involved
a rigorous assessment of
their regulatory
standards, with sites
such as William Hill
Casino, Betfred Casino
and Poker,
Interpoker.com and
Littlewoodscasino.com
are all currently based
in non-white listed
jurisdictions.
The Secretary of State
for Culture, Media and
Sport, James Purnell,
has already rejected
applications from
Alexander (Canadian
Reservation),
Netherlands Antilles and
Tasmania, with
applications from
Kahnawake and Antigua
still being considered.
Operators in online
gambling regions such as
Costa Rica and Belize
who have not applied to
be white listed will
automatically be banned
from advertising in the
UK from September 1.
Only Alderney and the
Isle of Man were able to
demonstrate adequate
provisions for the
protection of children,
vulnerable people, and
those for keeping games
fair and the prevention
of crime. |
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