Possible Secondary License for Foreign Casino Operators in UK

December 30, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

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There is currently much dissatisfaction in the online gambling world in the United Kingdom. There have been many complaints regarding the uneven, and therefore unfair, competitive conditions under which the UK online gambling operators are operating at the moment.

Other issues in the online gambling world include the constant need to generate larger amounts of government revenue, as well as worries about corruption in sports. In order to try and solve these problems, a secondary system of licensing for online casinos wishing to operate in the United Kingdom may well be developed.

This information has come to the public’s attention because of leaks that have come from the UK Department for Culture, Media, and Sport. It seems that this spring, a review will be publicized, which will recommend that overseas online gambling operators that wish to operate in the United Kingdom will have to be licensed in the UK too.

Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, said that he considered as a top priority "getting a fairer deal for UK operators" when the review began. In order to do this, online casino, and other online gambling regulations would need to be reworked.

The Guardian reported that one of the suggestions for the new rules will include "securing fair contributions from overseas licensed operators towards the cost of regulation."

Amongst the online bookmakers that have chosen to take their business offshore, are William Hill and Ladbrokes. Other bookmakers and online casinos have also chosen to take their business offshore to other online gambling jurisdictions, such as Gibraltar.

Overseas online casinos, should the secondary licensing be implemented, will be forced to pay fees, and to share certain information about suspicious betting patterns, and any illegal activity that is either suspected, or has taken place. For those online gambling companies who choose not to be licensed in the UK, they will not be allowed to advertise there, in the United Kingdom.

Since online gambling companies already voluntarily share information with the UK Gambling Commission. Cliff Hawkswood, from the Remote Gambling Association, said that a fee to operate foreign online gambling companies could be negotiable.

Hawkswood said, "The reason our companies are offshore is not because of the Gambling Commission, but because of tax." He continued to explain that if the United Kingdom did choose to go through with the dual licensing approach, that they would have to work through details, not only on their own, but also with the online gambling companies themselves.