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UK ponders licensing foreign gaming sites
Online gaming firms based outside the UK may have to apply for a British licence if they want to serve customers in that country.
British Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe is proposing that licensing by the country’s Gambling Commission should be a requirement for companies wanting to advertise or provide online gaming services in Britain.
They would have to share data about suspicious betting activities with sports governing bodies as well as the Gambling Commission. Sutcliffe added: “This is also about making sure overseas firms contribute their fair share towards regulatory costs and vital services like problem-gambling treatment.”
The plan is currently in a consultation phase. But it may face stiff opposition from the likes of the industrybacked campaign Right2Bet, which is pushing for crossborder gaming to be permitted throughout the EU – just as trade in most other industries is free among the member nations.
Right2Bet is particularly opposed to national monopolies, which it says run against EU principles of free trade. A tool on its Website allows voters to petition Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), saying “I want the right to use the Internet to bet online across borders of all EU member states” and “I want you to take firm action against governments of EU member states that will still not allow me to exercise this freedom”.
The campaign aims to gain a million signatures.
