2 7 July 2003

News:

The UK offshore island of Alderney has been the beneficiary of the move by Rank Organisation’s Hard Rock Casino from the Isle of Man. Hard Rock Casino completed its switch on 1 July.

The Antigua and Barbuda government requested on 12 June the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation to establish a panel to examine its dispute with the US over the provision of cross-border gambling services.

Regulators, legislators, government officials, operators, software suppliers, analysts and advisors will meet in Long Beach, Southern California on Thursday 23 October and in Washington DC on Monday 27 October at Special Briefings organised by World Online Gambling Law Report to discuss the regulation and taxation of online gambling.

Features:

On 1 July 2003, the Dutch Court of Arnhem ordered 21 online gambling companies to filter their visitors and block their services to people from The Netherlands. With more than 1.400 accessible websites, online casinos represent an explosively growing international market, with a turnover rising from 6,6 billion dollars in 2001 to more than 20 billion in 2005.

On 20 June, Sky, the interactive TV station, after consultation with the Gaming Board of Great Britain and the Independent Television Commission (“ITC”) announced a policy change with regard to some fixed odds games. ‘Fixed odds games’ will not be permitted to the extent that they are based on traditional casino games or if they are promoted in such a way that viewers may believe that they are participating in such a game or if they are identifiable as a derivative of such a game. This article looks at the reasoning behind this decision and its implications.

While most of the news on the legal front emanating from the United States has been bad of late, the prospects for advertising online gambling may be brighter than expected. The reason for this is the too-often ignored First Amendment protections afforded commercial speech advertising, for purposes of this discussion, under the United States Constitution. In most countries, if an activity is illegal, all promotion and advertising relating to that conduct is consequently illegal since no legal distinction is made between speech and conduct. However, in the United States, an important distinction exists between conduct, and commercial speech relating to that conduct. The former can be heavily regulated or even banned by the government, but the latter enjoys significant constitutional protection. This article looks at the issues.

The global nature of the online betting industry means that it may not be easy to determine precisely where an online bet is struck. Online commercial transactions do not merely cross international frontiers - they ignore them. The issue is clearly of significance to the parties to the bet since in the absence of some specific agreement stipulating which system of law is to govern their legal relationship, the law of the place where the agreement is formed may be deemed to be that with which the transaction has its closest connection. It may also have public law significance, affecting both the regulatory and fiscal treatment of the transaction.

At the close of the 2003 Legislative Session, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill aimed at revitalizing Nevada’s race book industry, but, which, in reality, just places Nevada casinos on a level playing field with other states. The bill, which became effective on July 1, 2003, allows for licensed gaming establishments that have been approved to conduct off-track pari-mutuel wagering to accept wagers made by wire communication (i.e., phone and closed loop computer-networks) from patrons anywhere within the United States or outside of the United States in which pari-mutuel wagering is legal.

International data transfer of personal data outside the EU has been a major concern for global corporations. An EU Working Party has recently produced a discussion document on revising the rules which permit data transfers outside the EU.

Hong Kong has further revamped its betting laws, with the passage of the Betting Duty (Amendment) Bill 2003. The law gives the Secretary for Home Affairs the power to issue licences authorising the conduct of fixed odds and pari-mutuel betting on the results of, or contingencies relating to, football matches1. The government has publicly committed to appointing a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a sole licensee for an initial period of 5 years. This article examines the changes and their potential impact on the Hong Kong sports betting market.