UK Online Gambling Advertising

In September 1, 2007, the United Kingdom passed the U.K. Gambling Act of 2005, which meant that only online gambling companies who are licensed in the United Kingdom or countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) would be able to advertise in the UK. This limited what was previously a "free for all" to only the UK and EEA, which consists of the 27 countries that make up the European Union plus Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The law made provision for countries outside of these "White listed" ones to make an application to join the list.

In this Editorial we look at the implications of this law, and how it has evolved over the last year.

Immediate Effect of the Law

The immediate effect of this new law was that it banned any online gambling company not licensed in a white listed country from engaging in any form of advertising in the UK, and analysts estimated immediate exclusion to amount to over 1000 websites.

The proposal was presented to the Parlaiment by the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) James Purnell with the aim of cracking down on so-called "rogue" online gambling sites. The immediate ban however resulted in some household names such as William Hill Casino, Betfred Casino, and Littlewoodscasino.com, being excluded (these have subsequently either moved their licensing locale or have been let back in the door through subsequent white listing of their licensing jurisdiction - see below.)

When asked about the strictness of the new law, Purnell was quoted as saying: "I make no apology for banning adverts for websites operating from places that don't meet our strict standards...Protection is my number one priority."

The ban is very clear in terms of what can and can not be done and basically applies will apply to all forms of gambling advertising. This includes television, radio, newspapers, magazines, taxis, buses, the tube, and specifically names websites. Contravention of the laws could result in fines and even imprisonment.

The DCMS at the time also made it clear that it would consider applications from other territories to be added to the white list, and the first two jurisdictions added to the white list were Alderney and the Isle of Man, who were able to comply wit the strict guidelines expected by the DCMS.

At that time, the DCMS said that it had received numerous applications, but "only Alderney and the Isle of Man were able to demonstrate that they had in place a rigorous licensing regime designed to stop children gambling, protect vulnerable people, keep games fair and keep out crime."

The Isla of Man was reported to have made significant changes to its regulatory regime in order to be accepted on the list.

Some of the largest licensing jurisdictions including Antigua, Costa Rica, the Canadian reservation Kanawake, and The Netherlands Antilles were not on the initial list.

Antigua and Kahnawake Object

Needless to say, countries and territories such as Belize, Costa Rica, Kanawake and Antigua were disappointed not to be included on the UK white list. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake expressed their disappointment and vowed to pursue the matter under article 20 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Antigua in turn went back to the drawing board and worked on a new submission to the DCMS.

Tasmania Complies

The first new territory to be added to the list was Tasmania, an Island state of Australia. As of January 31, 2008, all online gambling operations licensed in Tasmania, including online poker rooms, online casinos, online sportsbook operators, online bingo and other legal forms of gambling in the UK, were allowed to resume advertising in the UK.

At this time, the UK regulator again turned down submissions made by Kahnawake and Antigua.

Antigua Complies

On November 11, 2008, this all changed for Antigua, who had made significant improvements to its licensing regime in order to comply with the strict UK standards. This was a huge boost for the country that benefits significantly from licensing gambling sites, and proved that they could legislate and protect player interest.

A spokes person for the DCMS said that "... Antigua and Barbuda has the legal authority to regulate gambling and that its current system of regulation and licensing provides a robust and adequately resourced framework to uphold our shared objectives: to prevent gambling from becoming a source of crime; and to keep gambling fair and open and to protect children and vulnerable people."

Antigua took a huge hit after the US passed the UIGEA and lost millions of dollars in revenue as a result.

License Conditions and Code of Practice

The UK License Conditions and Codes of Practice for gambling sites prescribe the rules to which advertising has to adhere, and there are three main parts to this:

• The Committee of Advertising Practice ("CAP") issues the non-broadcast Advertising Code
• The Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice ("BCAP") issues the broadcast Advertising Code
• Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising

The code sets out the following rules:

Ads should be socially responsible and comply with the CAP and BCAP rules;

They must be legal and not misleading;
Care must be taken not to exploit children and other vulnerable persons in relation to gambling activity; and

Advertisements should not be specifically and intentionally targeted towards people under the age of 18 through the selection of media, style of presentation, content or context in which they appear.
Websites are required to contain a home page link to www.gambleaware.co.uk. No ads, except for bingo, may be broadcast before 9pm, with the exception of sporting events before 9pm.

No logos are allowed on promotions material intended for children.

The Current UK Online Gambling White List

The current whitelist: Alderney, Antigua, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Tasmania, all countries that make up the EU (European Union) and EEA (European Economic Area).

 Posted by Anonymous at 06:12 on 19 December 2008