Now it is the turn of the UK to challenge legislation of online bookmakers.

UK Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has produced a written statement for Parliament in which he proposes that all bookmakers operating in the UK market (meaning those that have UK customers regardless of their actual country of origin) will have to be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with other UK laws. This is obviously an attempt to bring more regulation to offshore operators but he went on to single out the Horserace Betting Levy which is currently only paid by those companies located in the UK by saying that his intention was that all operators that take bets on British races should pay into the fund that supports the sport. The proposals which are being consulted on include a requirement to report on suspicious betting activity as well as how they support the protection of children and how they will contribute to the research and treatment of problem gambling.

Mr. Sutcliffe said ”For many reasons increasingly few companies active in the British market are now regulated by the commission”. (In our opinion a direct dig at Ladbrokes and William Hill who have recently moved operations offshore to avoid the UK tax regime).

“Though British consumers are not unprotected, most overseas jurisdictions have regulatory systems, standards vary and requirements differ from our own”

“Therefore I feel that change is necessary to ensure the protections in the Gambling Act, to keep gambling crime free, to ensure gambling is fair and open and to ensure that children and vulnerable people are protected from harm, continue to be afforded to British consumers”

Ladbrokes, William Hill and 888 Holdings amongst others are being consulted.