Earlier this week, in a relatively close vote of 299 to 223, France’s National Assembly passed a new bill which will pave the way for popular online gambling activities like cash poker and sports betting. The bill is now on its way to the European Commission where it is expected to be approved in April. From there the bill will move on to the French Minister who is likely to sign off on the new laws in May, allowing near-immediate implementation nationwide.

It would be nice to say that French legislators finally saw the light, but it’s more likely that what they saw was green. With one of the most popular sports betting events – the World Cup – fast approaching in June, the National Assembly seemed all too eager to push through the once-controversial legislation which should coincidentally be in place just in time to allow the country to profit from remote betting for the event.

In the past, France has only allowed online gambling through approved national operators. Though this new legislation will ideally open the market to more outside operators, finally giving French players their choice of online poker rooms and casinos, many private companies still fear that France will cling to its national interests by continuing to openly favor French-owned operations. These concerns aren’t entirely unfounded, especially since the French-based Mangas Gaming group was the first to profit from new advertising deals.

Reuters released a comprehensive French online gambling market overview on the heels of the National Assembly’s positive decision, and by all accounts the potential profit margin for operators based outside of France are grim, what with continuing restrictions on popular games like roulette and blackjack. Still, such operators remain optimistic about their prospects in France. Leading bookmaker bwin – which only four years ago faced legal action in France for illegal gambling charges – is only days of away from relaunching French access to their sites.

Potential Revenues

The foreign countries where many online casinos operate openly embrace the internet gambling industry.  Operators pay these governments thousands of dollars to obtain gaming licenses in addition to taxes and other expenses.  Antigua, Grenada, Gibraltar, Curacao and the Dominican Republic are just a few of many small countries whose economies have received a significant boost from the online gambling business.  While the UK government does not regulate these offshore casinos, not all are corrupt or looking to cheat players.  Conducting business in general over the internet is risky whether the government is involved or not.  However, the online gambling space is becoming much safer and as a result, more trusted by UK citizens.

Proceeding with Caution

Due to the fact that offshore casino operators are not subject to scrutiny by the UK government, players need to be more cautious than ever.  Even though the country is more open to the internet gambling industry, if someone happens defrauds you, it will be very difficult to prove your case to any type of authorities.  Therefore, the best approach for UK players to take is to “wager with caution.”   Also keep in mind that all online casinos exist to make money by attracting as many new players as they possibly can.  The only way this can be achieved is by offering an honest service and establishing a good reputation.   If it starts to become known that the casino is not paying out winnings or involved in other questionable practices, word will travel fast and damage any credibility they have established.  The good thing is that most casinos, with the exception of the fly-by-not operators, have proved to be safe and reliable.

If you are someone who is concerned about transmitting sensitive personal information such as your name, address and credit card numbers over the internet to an online casino, you must understand the same risks exist when doing business with  other companies whether they are licensed in the UK, involved in the gaming business or not.  The internet can be a haven for criminal activity and not even legislation and regulation from the government can stop it from occurring.  Fortunately, reputable online casino operators take every to ensure that the information you share with them remains private and secure.  This is made possible by the use of secure servers and encryption technologies that protect data and prevents hackers from intercepting and thieving confidential information.

Cindy Doright, spokesperson for the Church of God and Morals, remarked that gambling addicts would be better protected if online gambling was regulated, even though the organization believes strongly that the act of gambling is morally wrong.

The study was completed with the aid of a control group consisting of 25 Christian participants.  Each person was assumed to have been gambling addicts for more than ten years.  The participants were allowed to gamble on the internet with real money.  The catch was that all of their deposits and playing activity would be monitored by leaders of the church.  Their bookies, who are all loyal members of the Church of God and Morals, were also contacted to play a part in the process.  The bookies agreed not to accept any bets from the 25 Christians.  Finally after two years, the study concluded that none of the members from the control group developed any more gambling habits than they already had.  To top things off, 24 of the 25 participants quit gambling entirely.

One of the gamblers who was monitored reported that the increased monitoring actually kept him from being able to hide that fact that he was gambling.  In turn, this particular individual was far more conscious of his habits than in past times when dealing with the local bookie.  From there, the participant came out to admit that they didn’t want to be known as someone with a gambling problem.  Additionally, since he couldn’t deal with the neighborhood bookie, he just stopped gambling altogether.

While the study was conducted in a rather unusual manner and involved an insignificant number of the gambling population, the Church of God and Morals took upon themselves to send a letter to Congress to report the findings, which appears to believe it is more than a viable source to use as the basis for creating new legislation.

One Congressman the church contacted replied that since the religious group put the results in writing, he believes the findings to be true.  The fact that internet gambling regulation showed notable benefits yet was still opposed by the church from a moral aspect, seemed to be weigh heavy on the Congressman.  Upon being asked if he would look further into the subject by possibly viewing more scientific studies, the Congressman expressed that he wouldn’t.  According to Cindy Doright, he said the findings corresponded to his personal beliefs and therefore, it would be no need to look at any more factual documents.

Could a simple church study be the break online gambling proponents have been looking for?  Only time will tell.

Why the Ban?

Right about now, online gambling is at the height of its popularity. However, like many other areas, times are not so exciting for players in Norway.  The country’s lawmakers are fearful of internet gambling for some of the same reasons stressed by gambling opponents in the U.S.  One of the biggest gripes shared by both nations is the concern that some players will develop compulsive personalities and be forced to deal with addiction.  Another concern is getting a handle on fraudulent casinos and enforcing age restrictions to prevent the youth from getting involved.  While these are certainly matters that need to be addressed, Norwegian proponents are making the argument that it simply isn’t enough to completely prohibit online gambling.  Similar to players in the U.S., many Norwegian citizens feel as if they are being unfairly penalized because of a few bad apples who will just find other ways to fuel their addiction.  Players in Norway are fighting for a change in hopes of the ban on internet gambling being lifted for good.

A New Hope?

As of now, Norway is teetering on the idea of implementing laws similar to legislation in the United States.  The UIGEA is very sketchy but legislation is certainly not in the favor of U.S. players looking to gamble online.  In fact, there are a number of states that completely forbid online gambling, Michigan, New Jersey and the gambling capital of Nevada included.  It is also illegal for financial institutions that service internet casinos to do business with American players.  This makes it equally difficult and often impossible for both U.S. and Norwegian citizens to get online and try their luck at the plethora of online casino games available to other players.  Unfortunately, these restrictions have led several players to find illegal ways to obtain the thrills they seek.  It would probably be much easier to simply allow citizens to play at their leisure and regulate online casino games in the manner that some many other countries have.

While Norway lawmakers are busy trying to enforce the rules, its citizens are off trying to find ways to gamble any way they can.  It is a very fine line because players who are caught could be charged with a serious offense.  The country seems to be looking out for the safety of its citizen on one hand, yet terribly frustrating several more on the other.  The tension in Norway will likely carry on for sometime until the country reaches a viable compromise regarding the issue of internet gambling.

Enter the Wire Act

Enacted in 1961, the Wire Act was passed to prevent bookmakers from taking sports wagers via telephone.  At one time, accusations of violations were typically accompanied by a range of other charges such as conspiracy, money laundering and violations of the Illegal Gambling Business Act.  The one key point stressed by gambling proponents is that the Wire Act is enforced towards the gambling operator.  There is no language within the law that says it is illegal for the consumer to place a wager.

Because there was simply no way to have predicted online gaming in the early 1960s, from a practical aspect, there is no way the Wire Act could apply to casino gaming over the internet.  In recent times, the DOJ has been quite busy tangled up in legal disputes in pursuit of conviction for gambling operators, years before Congress even got involved.  In 2000, the DOJ garnered a successful conviction of Jay Cohen, World Sports Exchange president, for violating the Wire Act.

The So-Called Internet Gambling Ban

The UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was enacted in the fall of 2006, a law which states that it is illegal for any financial institution to facilitate monetary transactions between offshore gambling operators and U.S. consumers.  However, this legislation has been controversial from the start as it does not state that it is illegal for those consumers to gamble on internet sites.  The introduction of the UIGEA has led the online gambling industry’s biggest players away from the U.S. market, even though many private entities continue to service it.  These companies are banking that the UIGEA will not be able to block payments, giving them the ammunition to continue operating in jurisdictions in which U.S. authorities have no power.

No-Online Gambling States

Several states, including Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington have passed laws that prohibit all unauthorized forms of online gambling.  Both Hawaii and Utah have also passed similar legislation.  Lawmakers in Nevada passed a law that permits intrastate internet gambling but have taken very few steps to introduce a viable system.  The argument has always been that implementing such a system would require advanced technologies that have the ability to accurately verify a player’s age and location, a system the DOJ claims would violate federal legislation.

In April of 2008, federal regulators and representatives from the financial industry went before Congress and testified that attempts to enforce the UIGEA would lead to substantial regulatory problems.  Resulting from this testimony was a new legislation introduced by representatives Barney Frank and Ron Paul, supporters of the legalization and regulation of online gambling.  This proposed legislation would prohibit the DOJ, Federal Treasury and Reserve from enforcing any regulations associated with the UIGEA.  To the current day, no official regulations for UIGEA enforcement have been adopted, leaving many still to wonder: what does this law really mean?

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