Online gambling ads face crackdown

Posted on 11 Nov 2005 at 10:42

The Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell warned online gambling companies to clean up their act when it came to advertising. Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the British Casino Association she said that she was concerned by the increase in potentially illegal advertising for the online gambling operators and warned that any company caught flouting the laws would be prosecuted.

Under the Gaming Act of 1968 it is illegal for an advert to offer any incentive, inducement or encouragement to gamble. The Gaming Act does not presently cover many online gambling operators who operate from overseas. However the new Gambling Act will cover these companies. Any of those who are found to be overstepping the mark could face £5,000 fines and up to two years in prison.

Although she accepts that many current operators are acting in good faith, others are knowingly exceeding the boundaries. Tessa Jowell said, 'It's clear that some adverts have been breaking the existing law. I am not willing to turn a blind eye to this and have agreed with the Gambling Commission that we should crack down on advertisers and publishers who knowingly break the law.'

She also said that the Gaming Board would be offering further guidance about what is acceptable in advance of the new Act that comes into effect in 2007.

Over the past year, online gambling has taken off worldwide and is a huge business that is often largely unregulated by national legislation, as the operators are often based in friendly offshore havens.

Research analysts Datamonitor has predicted online gaming will be worth a staggering $125 billion by 2015. In another study the Angus Reid Group discovered that online casinos kept up to 75 per cent of the money wagered.

Author: Steve Malone

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