6 3 March 2007

News:

Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services (HCFS), told journalists in Brussels that he plans to introduce a bill designed to revise the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which targets payments made by US citizens for online gambling.

World Online Gambling Law Report is hosting a Regulatory Intensive: Building Compliant Businesses on 3 May at the Grange City Hotel, London, to give operators, regulators and legal practitioners an opportunity to examine compliance with remote gambling regulations globally.

Football club AC Milan has been fined €100,000 by the City of Munich for displaying the logo of its sponsor, Bwin, on its shirts during a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich on 11 April.

Features:

Moral or protectionist issues can often distract nation states from their requirements under international law, as recent events in the online gambling industry have illustrated.

Although still a marginal industry, mobile TV gambling has the potential to become a significant channel for providing EU gambling services. However, operators will have to comply with a wide array of legislation to set up these services, including gambling specific legislation, TV and mobile phone legislation. Amit Rainhartz, a senior associate at Preiskel & Co LLP, examines the issues.

In the March 2007 Budget, the Treasury, against industry expectation, announced a remote gaming duty rate of 15 percent on gross gaming profits, dashing hopes that the UK would be the world leader in regulated remote gaming. Paul Eagland and Martin Dane of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP speculate on the tax options now available to the UK Government.

The provincial governments, rather than the Federal Government regulate internet gambling and games of chance in Argentina, resulting in difficulties for operators. Ramón I. Moyano and Germán G. Pennimpede of Estudio Beccar Varela track how Argentine gambling regulations compare to the regulation of gambling in Europe and the USA, and explain issues of which online operators need to be aware.

As US authorities continue their clampdown on internet gambling, 'virtual gambling' in artificially created 'virtual words' presents new enforcement challenges to authorities. Kenneth Rijock, a financial crime consultant with WorldCheck, looks at these challenges.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, appended to the SAFE Port Act in October last year, is designed to identify and block payments between US residents and internet casinos. Linda J. Shorey, Holly K. Towle and Sean P. Mahoney, of K&L Gates, highlight the unintentional consequences that the UIGEA could have on the e-payments industry.

Operators pulled out of the US market after the arrests of executives last year, leading many to consider opportunities in overseas markets. Simon Halberstam, head of gaming law with Sprecher Grier Halberstam LLP, examines the issues that operators need to consider when establishing themselves in an overseas market, or agreeing a partnership with a local operator.