U.K. Seeks Global Rules for Online Gambling
British officials have called for international coordination to regulate online gambling as policy makers and investors scramble to salvage high-stakes bets on the industry in the wake of an effective U.S. ban on the business. The industry has been very hard hit by the U.S. ban,” Tessa Jowell, the British culture minister, said at a news conference. “They want to demonstrate that they are a clean industry. But the new law puts the United States sharply at odds with one of its closest allies. British officials say legalization, with careful regulation, is the best way to properly police online gambling, given the borderless nature of the Internet. “The Internet is a global marketplace, and that’s why we need action at the global level,” 
A draft communiqué sets out several principles for online gambling, stating that it should not be allowed to become a source of crime or be used to finance criminality, that it should be fair to consumers and that children and problem gamblers should be protected. The draft communiqué appears to be an effort to respond to concerns about gambling addiction and other social ills said to be associated with betting. The British government says there are one million online gamblers in Britain, a third of the European total, each wagering an average of £1,000 per year. British officials insisted that Britain’s move to take the lead in legalizing and regulating online gambling was motivated by a desire to protect consumers, rather than to lure operators, and their tax revenue, to their country’s shores. The conference Tuesday, to which the United States was invited but declined to attend, had been scheduled before the U.S. enactment of the ban on transactions with gambling services.