Online Gambling Needs Regulation

Online Gambling Needs Regulation

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040915/nyw040_1.html

Press Release Source: BETonSPORTS plc

Online Gambling Needs Regulation
Wednesday September 15, 10:03 am ET
Prohibition and Department of Justice Actions Counterproductive
BETonSPORTS plc National Public Policy Initiative Launches in New York

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ — A panel of experts met today to launch a national public policy initiative — “Proposition 1: To Regulate or Prohibit Online Gambling” — designed to create a framework for lawmakers to regulate the online gambling industry. The meeting, the first in a series of “Summits” to be held across the U.S. this month, was hosted by BETonSPORTS plc, the world’s largest online wagering service.

Today’s discussion examined the issue of regulation vs. prohibition of the online gaming industry. The consensus of the panel, which included four experts from the fields of law, education and online gambling, was that online gambling would exist whether it’s legal or illegal: regulation is necessary to protect consumers and bring the industry into the full light of government oversight. Regulation will therefore help eliminate illegal behaviors that can result from relegating gaming to the margins of society. The federal government’s current position of prohibition, and the actions of the Department of Justice against media companies accepting advertising from the online gambling industry, is counterproductive and based on archaic legal thinking.

Koleman Strumpf, an associate professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has completed extensive research on the subject and shared his theory on the connection between prohibition of gambling and bad behavior: “Regardless of one’s view of betting, the prohibition policy that we are currently engaged in is a very bad policy because prohibitions tend not to work and prohibition tends to lead to exacerbating the harms associated with the activity, to bring out the worse in terms of encouraging bad behavior.”

Linda Goldstein, a partner with the firm of Manatt, Phelps and Philips LLP and a nationally-recognized expert in several distinct segments of the advertising and marketing industry including promotions, the Internet, direct response and telemarketing, called for legislators to “rethink” the current approach when dealing with online gambling. “I hope what happens here today is a catalyst for legislators and public policy makers to rethink some of the approach to this issue,” she said. “The enforcement activities that have occurred have been haphazard and not really effective. The gambling laws and the acts that were written 50 years ago did not contemplate the invention of the Internet.”

The subject of regulation as a means of protecting the consumer was covered by Frank Catania. Mr. Catania is a former Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the regulatory and enforcement agency responsible for maintaining integrity and trust in all Atlantic City gaming operations. He spoke extensively about how regulation in the online gaming industry can ensure that the rights of consumers and the rights of businesses are protected, with a particular focus on the steps that could be taken to meet this standard. “What the Department of Justice is doing in the intimidation of media companies is a blatant violation of their authority,” he said. “In my view, this industry should be regulated at the state level where the expertise about gaming exists. Online gaming companies can submit to probity checks, be required to conform to the regulations on payouts and that’s where player protections can be instituted.”

Legalizing and regulating online gambling will also benefit the economy, members of the panel predicted. Prohibiting online gambling would only allow another country to take the lead on developing it as a legitimate and profitable business. Said David Carruthers, Chief Executive Officer of BETonSPORTS: “It is shortsighted to imagine that this business stops at the shores of the United States. The US could be the home of online gaming for the world and exploit markets way beyond its shores.”

The Summit tour continues in Washington on Thursday, September 16, at the Occidental Grill from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Panelists will include Emily Hancock, E-Commerce and Technology Law Attorney at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Robin Hanson, and Ph.D., Assistant Economics Professor at George Mason University, and Keith Whyte, Executive Director, National Council on Problem Gambling. Next, the Summit moves to Chicago on September 22 and Los Angeles on September 24.

Also part of the initiative is a series of college campus debates and an advertising campaign.

College Debates

BETonSPORTS will host a series of debates that tackle the issues surrounding the growth and proliferation of online gambling on college campuses — from whether “responsible gambling” is a contradiction in terms, to exploration of the ethical issues of student-athletes wagering on collegiate games.

Students make up a growing part of the online gambling market and yet they have not been actively engaged on the issues, let alone discussion on what constitutes responsible online gambling. Moreover, according to the NCAA, gambling by student-athletes is occurring at a “startling” rate. As students continue to use the Internet for gambling, these debates will help them become better informed on the issues, understand responsible gambling, and have an impact on public policy-making.

National Advertising Campaign

As part of BETonSPORTS’ “Right to Wager” campaign, television advertisements making the case for online gambling enthusiasts’ right to decide whether to wager online or not have started airing in 20 cities across the U.S. including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. The television ads are running in conjunction with an online campaign where visitors are asked to sign a petition and/or send a letter to their congressman. Print advertising is set to run in newspapers nationwide as well.

For a complete list of Summit panel members, to obtain a copy of the advertisements, or to participate in or attend either the Summit meetings or the College Debates, please contact Kajal Jhaveri, Ruder Finn, at 212-593-5864 or [email protected].

About BETonSPORTS plc

BETonSPORTS, which operates the largest online wagering service in the world, is committed to providing its clients with the most value for their wagering dollar and quality customer service capabilities. Headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica, the company is licensed in the Caribbean, Central America and Europe, and has obtained a bookmakers permit in the UK, where gambling has been a legal and respected tradition for over forty years. The company trades under the symbol BSS.L on the London Stock Exchange’s Alterative Investment Market. BETonSPORTS.com has been ranked the number one sportsbook by a number of leading industry organizations, including the Offshore Gaming Association (OSGA), the International Sports Book Council (ISBC) and Insiders Football Guide. Visit http://www.BETonSPORTS.com for more information.

Contact: Montieth Illingworth
Ruder Finn Corporate & Financial
212.715.1679
[email protected]

Kajal Jhaveri
Ruder Finn Corporate & Financial
212.593.5864
[email protected]