3 12 December 2004

News:

Bricks and mortar casino operators raged against the government as their share prices slumped following further last minute amendments to the Gambling Bill, limiting the number of smaller casinos that will be allowed.

Remote operators are lobbying the government hard to come up with competitive tax rates for the remote gambling industry. Industry figures are making it clear that the Gambling Bill could lead to an exodus from the UK rather than a flood of inward traffic.

The United States Justice Department (DOJ) filed a further brief on December 3 to dismiss the Casino City case over free speech advertising for online casinos on the grounds either of lack of jurisdiction or for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

Features:

As an operator who has been involved in the online gambling and betting industry since its early days in the late 1990s, we have seen many changes and developments - some good, and some less favourable to the industry’s growth and stability.

Sportingbet’s acquisition of Paradise Poker, with substantial financing from Barclays Bank and with Dresdner Klienwort Wassestein placing the required equity, could mark a turning point in the remote gambling market as the City wakes up to the market’s potential. Nigel Payne, Sportingbet Chief Executive Officer explains the rationale behind the deal.

The Gambling Bill currently under debate, if brought into legislative effect, will clarify and develop key areas relating to online betting and gaming law.

As reported last month, the WTO Panel handed down on 10 November 2004 a ruling in favour of Antigua in the WTO gambling dispute against the United States. The WTO Panel held that the United States had breached its commitments under GATS by not providing market access to Internet gambling services provided by operators licensed by Antigua.

This article provides further guidance on some of the most controversial issues of the Panel’s verdict: the alleged US commitments on gambling and betting services and the Panel’s assessment of the Article XIV GATS escape clause.

2004 will surely go down as a potential watershed in the remote gambling sector. Over the last year we have seen some incredible policy and commercial developments which have shaped the remote gambling landscape that we see today. What should one take away from the year in review and how should this shape a firm’s plans for the future?

Four years ago, the four mobile operators and the new entrant, Hutchison (otherwise known as ‘3’) paid many millions of pounds to secure the licences to use frequency ranges in order to deliver 3G services. The mobile operators are now set to roll out 3G services to customers and this gives rise to a number of legal considerations. This article gives an overview of some of these legal considerations.

Gewinnidee eSolutions GmbH v Sedo GmbH. In this recent case the High Court of Appeals of Hamburg found incorporating hyperlinks on websites offering gambling in Germany, without the necessary licence, constitutes an unfair trade practice.