Casino City's iGaming Pocket Directory - 2014 Edition

116 Sponsored by Casino City’s iGaming Pocket Directory JURISDICTIONS When an industry grows rapidly, and generates billions in revenue, governments look for ways to monetize that revenue stream. And part of it is the sheer nature of gambling policy throughout the world. And when lawmakers set their eyes on online gaming, the one-market dream evaporated. Traditionally, the regulation of gambling had been the purview of individual nations. And unlike the UK, the rest of Europe refused to cede their traditional oversight of gaming to others. They fought European Commission efforts to create a one-market system of online gaming, maintaining it was their right to regulate gambling as they saw fit for a variety of reasons, including preventing problem gambling and fighting crime. And there were never enough votes to pursue EU legislation that would harmonize gaming rules. A series of European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings reinforced the right of EU member states to regulate online gaming for the purposes of public policy, public security, and public health – though they had to be able to demonstrate that any restrictions met these criteria. And the one-market dream for online gaming began its death spiral, ultimately punctuated by the departure of its biggest advocate, Charles McCreevy, from the EC in 2010. In its place rose nation-by-nation regulation, thus changing the economics of online gaming. France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Belgium have all adopted forms of online gaming regulations. More nations are sure to join that group. And as the European nations asserted more control over the online gaming industry in their countries, so did the United States on the other side of the Atlantic. First, the US passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, making it a crime for financial institutions to process payments for unlawful Internet gaming. Several top online gaming companies left the US market as a result of that law. Then, in 2011, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) began criminal and civil proceedings against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and UB/Absolute Poker. The cases, most of which have been settled, forced the companies to stop operating in the US – or stop operating at all – and cleared the way for a new domestic market. At the end of 2011, the DOJ gave the approval for intrastate online gaming – gambling (except for sports betting) that’s contained by the borders of one state. IGAMING JURISDICTIONS OVERVIEW