Planned changes in gambling laws to increase protection for British consumers

It is estimated that the internet gambling market in Europe will be worth 12.3 billion Euros by 2012 and the proposals will, for the first time, mean that remote gambling is regulated at the point of consumption not the point of supply, ensuring British consumers will always be protected, no matter which online gambling site they visit.

John Penrose said:”The current system for regulating remote gambling doesn’t work.  Overseas operators get an unfair advantage over UK based companies, and British consumers who gamble online may have little or no protection depending on where the operator they deal with happens to be based. So our new proposals are an important step to help address concerns about problem gambling and to plug a regulatory gap, ensuring a much more consistent and higher level of protection for those people in the UK who gamble online.”

“We will create a level playing field, so all overseas operators will be subject to the same standards and requirements as those based in Britain, as well as being required to inform the Gambling Commission about suspicious betting patterns to help fight illegal activity and corruption in betting,” he pointed.

At the moment, any gambling operator who wants to offer their services in Britain must be licensed or regulated in either an EEA state or one of the states approved by DCMS on the White List. The plans announced will replace this system, increasing protection for British consumers and establishing fairer competition for British-based online operators.