2 11 November 2003

News:

Leading betting exchanges Betfair and Betdaq are taking different approaches to the controversial issue of providing sporting organisations with information about their clients and unusual betting on sporting events.

The online gambling industry is going through turbulent times.
In the United States, Raymond W. Gruender, Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Eastern District of Missouri, launched an investigation in October into media outlets who accepted online gambling advertisements. Gruender issued subpoenas to media outlets following an earlier letter to the National Association of Broadcasters, and others, warning that the practice of accepting gambling advertising may constitute aiding and abetting illegal conduct under federal law. The impact of this action has already been felt with the high profile Howard Stern radio show refusing further sponsorship from internet gambling operators.

The UK government is pressing ahead with its plans to regulate and tax online gambling. As World Online Gambling Law Report went to press further draft legislation was expected to be published.

Features:

The significance of the Gambelli case is a matter of some dispute. The case which began in Italy and has worked its way to the European Court of Justice before being returned back to Italy, has been seen by some observers as being a test case for restrictions on cross border gambling. Others have argued that the case, no matter what its ultimate outcome, will leave the law in Europe much as it was. This article argues the latter case, while an article following argues that Gambelli has made cross border restrictions harder to retain.

The second of our articles analysing the Gambelli case takes a bullish view of its significance for online gambling. While not obliging member states to open up their borders, the belief is that the Gambelli judgement makes it harder for national jurisdictions to maintain barriers purely to protect their home market from competition.

In October 2003 the Howard Stern show, one of the most popular radio shows in the US, pulled advertisements from online casinos and sports books. This action was the result of a wave of aggressive action by some US authorities. This article examines the challenge such action poses to the industry.

The definition and scope of what should properly be considered a lottery has for many years been an enigma. The UK White Paper and Draft Gambling Bill offered the chance of some much needed clarification. But, this article argues, the opportunity was missed, leaving operators both the risk, and the temptation to devise new products which will test the boundaries of the law as pat of their on-line strategy.

Betting exchanges and other gambling operators have a delicate path to tread between protecting the privacy of their customers and protecting the integrity of the sports upon which their customers bet. This article looks at the impact of betting exchanges on sport and whether there is a need for statutory powers to obtain information on unusual betting patters.