Home / Poker News September 2014 / UK Gambling Act Postponed
UK Gambling Act Postponed
Posted by: James Carter. - Sun, 2014-09-28 12:03
The United Kingdom’s Gambling, Licensing and Advertising Act of 2014, the law aimed at
governing online poker and gambling, that was supposed to go into effect on October 1, has been postponed till November 1.
The news is indeed quite official, given that it essentially comes from a statement of the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sports, according to which, the DCMS continues to be committed to the bill, being fully confident of the customer benefits that it will eventually bring.
Despite that though, the DCMS saw it fit to allow the judge to reach his conclusion without any time-related pressure and for that, it fully supported the postponement of the bill’s coming into effect for one month.
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The reason why the deliberation on the part of Lord Justice Green of the High Court takes so much could be a claim from the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association, according to which, the Gambling Act is unlawful, discriminatory and illegitimate as it completely disregards the right to the free movement of services.
According to the stipulation of the Gambling Act, providers of online gambling and poker services not based in the UK will have to apply for a license, which will imply significant costs. So significant are these potential costs, that some of the smaller operators have already withdrawn from the UK market. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker will obviously jump through the licensing hoops, but no other companies are currently known to ponder staying.
While the UK market will not be “walled in” like the markets of France and Italy are, the new regulations will mean loss of features, and some reduced VIP benefits for PokerStars players, as well as a serious reduction of the competition for the big operators.
Ladbrokes are the UK’s biggest sports exchange. The online poker side of the operation is smaller, but it’s certainly worth checking out. Register an account now!
