The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed that from the 1st of September, any gambling companies that do not meet the strict requirements of the British Government will not be allowed to advertise within the UK. Any organisations breaking this law can expect hefty fines and even a jail sentence.
There will still be a large number of poker rooms that will be allowed to advertise within the British media, but a few rooms like Littlewoods Poker and Betfred will no longer be able to. This ban is meant to help prevent any shady rooms attracting UK customers that could potentially lose money unfairly to such rooms. Despite the fact that the above rooms mentioned are of a very high standard and are well respected in the industry. Numerous ‘white list’ rooms will continue to be able to advertise in the UK, but this is only because they meet the requirements set by the British Government. For a room to be able to advertise, they must take measures into stopping children gambling, protecting vulnerable people, ensuring games are fair and keeping out organised crime.
Mr Purnell said: “I make no apology for banning adverts for websites operating from places that don’t meet our strict standards. Protection is my number one priority.”
The rooms that are going to be prevented from advertising are mainly based in Caribbean Islands, whereas poker rooms on the ‘white list’ are based in European regions such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man and Alderney. So therefore any rooms based in these areas should have no problems.
InterPoker, a room currently based on a Caribbean Island is taking measures to avoid the advertising restrictions being enforced. The room will soon receive a Maltese licence, which is on the ‘white list’ and part of the EU. Therefore the room will never have any problems with being able to advertise within the UK, as the law will only start to be enforced in September.
Although this news looks a little bleak for online poker in the UK, it is merely a precaution to help protect UK punters from shady organisations that could potentially do more harm than good. The number of British people placing online bets has increased from last year, which indicates that the online gambling market is continuing to grow. Although Gordon Brown has slowed down plans to build a number of super casinos in the UK, the online gambling industry remains strong. It is doubtful that any laws will be put into place any time soon that will be similar to the UIGEA in America.
