ANTIGUA SUN NEWSPAPER: Antigua reviews controls for gaming sector

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Antigua reviews controls for gaming sector

Wednesday February 28 2007
ANTIGUA SUN


by Patricia Campbell


Some gaming countries are likely to be caught in the fallout as the Department of Gaming in the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) prepares to overhaul its regulatory system.

Director of Gaming Kaye McDonald said the jurisdiction will be focusing on tightening control of the Internet gambling industry.

“For us in the Division of Gaming, it’s not about having a multitude of licencees in the jurisdiction. We’re looking for premium operators so, therefore, you may see that there might be a downward trend, because as we try to ensure that we have operators that will operate within our laws and regulations and best practices and good corporate governance, we certainly would take remedial action,” she said, raising the possibility that some operators may see their licences suspended

McDonald explained that the FSRC, at the end of the International Gaming Summit in England last October, had committed to upholding three core principles: ensuring that the systems of remote gaming companies are free of crime; that they protect children and the vulnerable, including “problem gamblers”; and that their games are fair.

Part of the motivation for the re-evaluation of the nation’s gaming regulations is linked to Antigua & Barbuda’s effort to bring itself into compliance with UK criteria so that it can make representation as a jurisdiction offering remote gaming, to be recognised as a European Economic Area.

This will make Antigua & Barbuda an approved jurisdiction, allowing its remote gambling licencees to advertise and build its brand in the UK without actually being licenced in the UK.

McDonald said this was important as operators seek to diversify into the European market, in light of the ongoing restrictions on Internet gambling in the United States.

“In looking at our Internet gaming and Internet wagering regulations, we are poised to ascend to that list. However, we recognise that there are some challenges; there are inefficiencies,” she said.

She explained that with the assistance of Antigua & Barbuda’s WTO Attorney Mark Mendel and other consultants, the Directorate of Gaming will be conducting an extensive review of the existing regulations.