Great Britain easing restrictions on cc's for online gambling??

[JC]

"Great Britain easing restrictions on credit cards for online gambling"

I saw the headline above scroll across the bottom of my CNN screen twice last night. I have not been able to track down the details. Anyone have any info?

Thanks

[Tom0Co]

World: Britain unveils plans to liven up gambling business
By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press


LONDON (March 26, 2002 10:22 p.m. EST) - The government unveiled plans Tuesday to free gambling from a web of decades-old regulations, a change backers hope - and detractors fear - will bring glitzy, Las Vegas-style casinos to a dowdy British seaside resort.

In Blackpool, a brash but battered holiday town 200 miles northwest of London, developers hope "resort casinos" offering 24-hour gambling will lure British and European tourists now tempted by Mediterranean sun or American glamor.

Plans have been drawn up for one hotel, given the working title of Pharaoh's Palace, which would have 500 bedrooms, a 3,000-seat theater, a range of luxury shops, along with space to hold 2,500 slot machines and 70 gaming tables.

"There's no doubt this town's economy needs revitalizing," Marc Etches, a real estate developer in Blackpool, said. "Our proposal is about bringing the economic prosperity back to Blackpool."

But not all residents of the town are convinced.

"There's already enough drugs and problems without bringing that in," said David Simmons, who runs a business on Blackpool's promenade.

Under Britain's 1968 Gaming Act, casinos operate as private members' clubs and cannot provide live entertainment or serve alcohol at gambling tables.

Jackpots are limited, and gamblers must apply for membership 24 hours before they enter a casino. However, those provisions would be scrapped under the new proposals - which require the approval of Parliament - as would rules banning most casino advertising.

For the first time, gamblers would be able to buy casino chips with a credit card, and online gambling would be permitted.

Children would be able to use "amusement machines" that offer a top prize of $7 or less but would be barred from slot machines with higher jackpots.

Britons have long been enthusiastic gamblers, placing bets with thousands of legal bookies, at horse racing tracks and in slot machines in pubs across the country.

"The modernization of our gambling laws is long overdue," Tessa Jowell, the government's culture secretary, said. "We want gambling to be safe, not only for those who take part in it, but also in the way that it impacts on wider society."

The industry would be overseen by a Gambling Commission, which would license and regulate casinos, she said.

Jowell, whose Labor Party has a large majority in Parliament, said the government intended to put the proposals to lawmakers for a vote "as soon as time permits."

Developers hope the new rules would transform fading resorts, whose mixture of bracing sea air, fun rides and amusement arcades has declined in popularity with British families.

"Our plans are about bringing gaming into the mainstream of entertainment. ... It's about finding a catalyst for regeneration," said Etches, managing director of developer Leisure Parcs.

But anti-gambling organizations, including Gamblers Anonymous, and religious groups, warned the changes could lead to an increase in problem gambling. And visitors to Blackpool - which already attracts 16 million mostly British tourists a year - were divided about the proposals Tuesday.

"It is a family place. I don't want to spoil anybody else's fun, but Blackpool is nice as it is," said Kathleen Scott from Skipton in northeastern England.

Paul Fitzsimmons, from Cheltenham in western England, said Blackpool "needs to wake up and get into the 21st century."

[Tom0Co]

UNITED KINGDOM – As reported by the U.K. Guardian: “Internet bookmakers may be awarded quality guarantee Kitemarks under government proposals to stimulate and liberalise gambling, it was announced today.

”…The proposals also allow UK-based websites for the first time to offer online gaming products with fixed odds - similar to a casino - in addition to sports betting via the internet, interactive television or other media.

”A government reply to an independent review of Britain's restrictive gambling laws by Sir Alan Budd, a former chief economic adviser to the Treasury, today said that the prohibition of online gambling to British consumers would be an entirely unrealistic objective, even if it were thought to be desirable.

”…Online gambling currently operates in a grey area of the law with no single piece of legislation covering it. While it is legal for a registered bookmaker to accept bets via the internet from a customer with a credit account - just as telephone betting is allowed - casino and machine gaming is only permitted in licensed premises where the person placing the bet is present.

”This means that no one could legally operate an online gaming business from the UK, though there is nothing to stop a British resident gambling on a site based elsewhere in the world.

”…A spokesman for the [Department of Culture, Media and Sport] said an independent Gambling Commission would lay down a `dynamic code of practice’ to take account of technological changes as it licenses and monitors online gaming sites…”

[Tom0Co]

Of course, it matters little if any casino/sportsbook accepts credit cards, if the banks and credit card companies don't allow cc transcations with casinos/sportsbooks.

[Minnow]

In case anyone is interested, this is the new UK proposal. Be forewarned: It's a pdf file and 40 some odd pages..

"A Safe Bet For Success"