“The Web: New Rules for Online Gambling”

Contrary to what many might assume, government regulation of online gambling is a welcome intervention for most online casino operators. In fact, for the most part, online gaming businesses are expecting that the new rules and governing bodies for online gaming will actually assist online gambling’s already phenomenal growth.

With the recent World Trade Organization’s ruling, which permits the U.S. government to regulate Internet gambling, the WTO has basically stated that Internet gambling is legal under international law. This, in turn, will make more and more people view online gambling as a legitimate activity. The recent passage of the Gaming Law in the United Kingdom, which created a new commission to police the Internet gaming, will also add to the industry’s legitimacy.

The U.S. wants to be able to regulate online gambling because U.S. government officials fear that offshore betting sites may become a haven for money laundering activities or fraud, or could be overtaken by organized crime. The WTO ruling, which states that governments have a right to regulate online gambling to preserve the public order and to preserve public morals, will enable governments to prevent these types of developments as well as compel governments to implement more straightforward, clear-cut regulations of the industry. U.S. government regulation of gambling is not without precedent, as it has had a role in regulating gambling on riverboats and land-based casinos.

While the majority of online casino businesses will welcome new regulations, some online casino operators don’t like the changes they may affect. Dennis Rose, president of Casino Fortune, one of the top three online casinos in the world, is concerned that government will now start treating online gambling businesses as if they were the center of organized crime, instead of the relaxing, diversionary activity they really are.

Casino Fortune, already a major online casino operator, is looking to expand further still by getting into the skilled wagering business. In contrast to the gambling sites where players bet on games of chance, such as poker, craps, etc., skilled wagering sites allow players to bet on games of skill, like chess or solitaire. Skilled gaming is different from gambling in that it is regulated on a state-by-state basis and the player’s skill, not his luck, determines the outcome.

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