4 5 May 2005

News:

Online merchants will have to comply with the New Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard or risk fines of up to $500,000. The deadline for compliance with the Standard, which is designed to protect credit card information held online, is June 30 2005.

The German Constitutional Court, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) has asked the European Court of Justice to rule on the proportionality of measures taken to restrict online gambling in Germany. The Court’s 27 April judgment considered the legality of intermediary activities for a Gibraltar licensed gaming operator.

The growth of legal interstate online horse race betting in the United States was given a further boost last week when the Washington State Horse Racing Commission approved an internet gambling licence for California based Youbet.com.

Features:

Although I am still fighting an impulse to call it the Gambling Bill, the British Gambling Act has now been in place long enough for us to tear our minds away from the past trauma of Daily Mail campaigns and Parliamentary debate and to focus on how the new regulatory regime will be implemented.

The Gambling Commission will wield considerable powers as the super-regulator in the gambling field. But where there is a powerful regulator, disgruntled industry participants and its decisions are not usually far behind. Dan Tench, Head of Public Law at Olswang, scrutinises the appeals procedure.

Despite US punters contributing to half of all online gambling global revenues, US authorities are adopting a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to advertising online gambling. This is in marked contrast to a more permissive UK environment. Mark Prinsley, partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP examines the regulatory approaches in both countries.

Scandinavia has one of the most developed internet and mobile marketplaces in the world. John Ekman, VP Marketing for Stockholm based Net Entertainment, traces the development of the remote gambling market and the lessons it might hold for the rest of Europe.

The emergence of the Gambling Commission as a super-regulator alongside the FSA and OFCOM creates opportunities and challenges for the remote gambling industry. Developing mutual understanding is going to be key to the development of an effective regulatory regime. Wes Himes, Director of iGGBA, the interactive Gaming Gambling and Betting Association, sets out the key issues facing the Gambling Commission.

The recent legal actions launched by Real Madrid against online bookmakers promises to be the first battle in a war over control of the online gambling business. Thibault Verbiest, partner of ULYS law firm, argues that a ruling in favour of Real Madrid could set a dangerous precedent for sports information.