Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

UK culture secretary Tessa Jowell will this week urge 32 nations to back a code of principles on internet gambling, the first major international measure to regulate the industry as the US imposes a ban. Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Africa and other nations will tomorrow meet outside London for talks hosted by Jowell to agree on a code of conduct for companies that offer gambling over the Web.Delegates will discuss age and identification verification systems, including the role of government in smoothing access to high quality data for gambling operators to identify customers. They will also look at social responsibility associated with remote gambling, including the role of government and whether operators should be required to fund awareness campaigns on problem gambling or offer website links to counselling. Delegates from each nation will be asked to examine whether there are any legal or ethical considerations around cross- jurisdiction treatment of problem gambling. A draft of the agreement proposed that nations should agree to "co-operate in development of and share best practice in protecting children and vulnerable people" and to "share findings of research into the remote gambling market". The measures are Britain's attempt to regulate internet gambling instead of criminalising it as US President George W Bush favours. Bush this month signed a law banning credit card companies from collecting payments for online bets. Jowell last week criticised the US for attempting to impose a "new prohibition" against online gaming, saying Bush's measures would prompt fraud and crime by forcing the industry to work illegally from nations that do not regulate the Web.

"America should have learned the lessons of prohibition," Jowell told the Financial Times, adding that the US might "create modern day speakeasies" in the internet gambling industry.

The world's biggest internet gambling companies lost $7 billion (R52 billion) of market value in a day after the US congress passed legislation on September 30.

PartyGaming shares have lost three quarters of their value since then.

The EU is pushing countries to scrap measures that protect domestic companies in gaming.

On October 12, regulators told members such as France and Austria to stop discriminating against international bookmakers and casinos.