England Regulates Gaming Industry

Although the regulation of gambling for the U.K. has been both beneficial, and prosperous, the adjustment and encompassment of the industry has come with a significant price tag. For the fiscal year that ended in March of 2007, the cost was more than 14 million pounds. This was the first year the Gambling Commission was in operation and the information and details were released in their annual report this month.

The Gambling Commission employs 218 people, and they cover a range of gambling options. Their regulation covers casinos and bingo halls, state sponsored lotteries and gaming machines. The final tally came in at 14.4 million.
Some of the efforts undertaken by the commission have included drafting and consulting on policies that will take effect on Sept. 1st with the new Gambling Act. Prior to the implication of this act, the gambling laws had not been adjusted since 1968, thus there has been a lot of work to do, and update. As the workload increased with creation of this updated version the commission has had to recruit new employees and move it's offices from London to Birmingham, in the U.K.

This Gambling Act was first approached in 1999, when then commission chairman, Peter Dean, urged the government to develop a timeline for the reform of the previous legislation. "It is a cause of great satisfaction that the reform has now been carried out and the Gambling Act 2005 placed on the statute book, with the commission at the centre of the new regulatory system," he wrote in the July 11 report.

Dean has offered praise to the British Gambling Operators in the report, going so far as to say that the companies enjoyed a solid reputation for integrity worldwide. He, and the gambling operators have endured a massive influx of new proposals to be added to, or to amend the Gambling Act. Peter Dean praised the gaming industry for taking such an influx in stride. "Coping with this exceptional workload has at times strained the resources and patience of those involved," said Dean, "but the process has been invaluable and will lead to better regulation."

Online gambling operators have mixed thoughts regarding the Gambling Commission. Internet poker rooms and casinos outside the European Economic Arena will have to apply for permissions through the U.K. government to advertise within the country. In addition to this, updates enacted in 2005 required small stakes poker leagues often based in bars around the country to obtain a casino license in order to offer the card game. This created another hurdle for the small town bar owner who wanted to draw in a crowd surrounding the game.

The update for the Gambling Act to be enforced as of Sept. 1st, has outlined a series of codes and practices which online operators, and others must comply with by Jan. 1st 2008, and obtain the new license. The alternative to compliance will be prosecution of the business and the owner or the imposition of unlimited fines.

There will be beneficial applications that come with the enforcement of the Act, as well as frustration for some. It remains to be seen how this will impact the gaming industry in the United Kingdom, the European Union and beyond.