Tag Archives: commission
Offshore Online Casinos In Great Britain To Be Licensed Again
It’s been all quite in the UK gambling industry until the FullTilt bombshell exploded. Remember the scandal with the British players being unable to get their money from this poker website? Well, the Department of Culture, Media and Sports is now determined to protect all UK players against the evils of offshore online casinos.
It is really nice that the British government is so much concerned about the safety of its citizens’ hard earned money, but the question is: will British gamblers really benefit from a crackdown on non-UK based online casinos?
Supposedly, according to the new rules, all casino operators hoping to run a gambling business in the UK will have to submit applications to the Gambling Commission and obtain another licence. Although the Treasury is avoiding straightforward announcements, you will hardly find anyone who doesn’t understand the real reasons for this interference. It’s just the first step towards reclaiming taxes that had been lost when many of the UK online casinos went offshore.
Even some industry giants have moved to smaller jurisdictions in order to avoid really high UK taxation. They wanted to be able to effectively compete with offshore online casinos and now it looks like they will have to consider moving back.
In addition, the new licensing scheme may lead to the annulment of the so-called “white list”, which used to put online casino operators licensed in one of the named jurisdictions in a favourable position. With the introduction of the new law they will not be able to operate and/or advertise in the UK, unless they get a licence from the British Gambling Commission. For UK gamblers this may mean that the number of available online casinos will be significantly reduced.
Michael Caselli, one of the worlds leading experts on online gaming and an editor of iGaming Business magazine, said: “The tax rate pretty much relates to how much less value the punter gets. A 10% tax rate is 10% less value for punters.” Indeed, British players will only lose if online casinos will want to compensate for their extra spending on taxes.
At the same time offshore gaming jurisdictions, such as Isle of Man seem to be unworried about the possible licensing changes. They believe they already adhere to high regulatory standards which are comparable to those in Britain and, as Allan Bell MHK, Isle of Man Economic Development Minister, noticed, “the UK Gambling Commission has no wish to duplicate the work that our Gambling Commission does in regulating our operators”.
Lotto Vending Machines Spark Fierce Opposition in Arkansas
Lotto Vending Machines Spark Fierce Opposition in Arkansas
In 2008 Arkansas voters overwhelmingly voted to implement a state lottery. In 2009 Arkansas joined the Multi State Lottery Association which provides the popular Powerball lottery. The Arkansas lottery uses a random number generator to draw numbers making it the first US lottery to begin with computerized lottery draws. The Arkansas lottery provides college scholarships to Arkansas residents and is responsible for sending thousands of economically disadvantages students to institutions of higher learning. The lottery has not been without critics and the usual suspects raised the usual nonsensical arguments against the establishment of a lottery.
Recently the Arkansas lottery announced plans to put lotto vending machines in retail outlets which prompted a hissy fit from the ‘religious’ right. The Arkansas ‘Family’ Council voiced its objections and is asking the Arkansas Lottery Commission to stop the plan which is already underway. The ‘Family’ Council claims it has a stack of emails that represent public opinion against the lottery vending machines. The Arkansas ‘Family’ Council is associated with the far right Focus on the Family led by James Dobson who has been a gambling opponent for years. The Arkansas ‘Family’ Council claims that although voters approved the state lottery they did not approve the vending machines.
Thirty other states with lotteries have used vending machines without any problems but opponents claim the machines would promote ‘underage gambling’ and the old saw of ‘gambling addiction.’ The lottery commission is currently seeking public input and comments regarding the proposed vending machines. Arkansas lottery officials say the machines are needed to increase sales and that the lottery may lose revenue without them. The Arkansas Lottery Commission plans to hold a public hearing on August 19th and in all likelihood the Arkansas ‘Family’ Council will try to pack the hearing with supporters. Lottery supporters and those who believe in the freedom of choice can send comments by email to the Lottery Commission and attend the public comment session. Most states that implemented lottery ticket sales by vending machines did so without organized opposition which makes it even harder to understand the fierce opposition to a relatively innocuous proposal.