1 3 June 2002

News:

There was a record turnout for the Global Interactive Gaming Summit in Toronto last month with more than a thousand people attending. Online operators, regulators, suppliers, professional advisors, plus would-be new entrants into the market swelled the numbers to make this the most successful online gambling conference so far.

In an attempt to shore up the falling revenues of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, offshore and internet gambling have been targeted by legislation which came into effect on May 31 just in time for the World Cup.

Ladbrokes, the world’s largest gambling operation, has launched a German language betting site, in defiance of German regulations which tightly limit the kind of bets which can be placed online. William Hill and Sportingbet both have German language sites but John O’Reilly, managing director of Ladbroke’s e-gaming, claims that their site ‘will be the first to cater specifically for German punters with a heavy emphasis on German football and horse racing’.

The industry will watch carefully the response of the German authorities and competitors to Ladbrokes’ move.

Features:

Competition concentrates the mind like few other activities. But the drive to do something fast can lead to strange results. The recent Hong Kong legislation suggests a measure of desperation in their approach to dealing with online competition.

Online gambling operators are split on whether to accept bets from US citizens. Some UK operators are aggressively targeting the US, while others do their utmost to stop US citizens placing any kind of bet. This article examines the legal issues involved.

Independent systems testing and certification increasingly underpin successful online gambling operations. This article looks at the crucial role that such certification plays in the development of successful online brands.

With the current worldwide lull in flotations and corporate finance deals, it might appear that now was not the time to write about the issues which can arise in flotations. But e-gambling operations are in a fortunate position. In the first of a two-part feature on the capital markets, the risk factors which may influence a potential investor or sponsor are examined.

Alderney, an island situated in the Channel Islands just off the French coast of Normandy, was described as the leader in the field of regulating the electronic gambling industry at the recent Global Internet Gaming Conference held in Toronto. This article attempts to provide some insight into the approach followed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission in regulating a new form of gambling.

Much has been written about specific initiatives in the US to ban online and offline advertising of gambling products (as well as, of course, the underlying activity). There has also been a degree of focus on the UK position because the advertising restrictions on gambling products have had to reflect an increasingly deregulated industry.

It is difficult, however, to give a definitive view of the position in Europe and Asia and this is the focus of this article.

The coming into effect of the Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance on 31 May 2002 was meant to close the door on online gambling in Hong Kong.

Sure, a few high profile operators have now closed their Hong Kong offices and some offshore operators have promised not to target Hong Kong punters. But will the new law have any real impact on the Hong Kong online gambling market?