Gambling Debate Hot Topic Across the Globe

The debate over gambling has become a hot topic across the globe. This article gives a brief overview of the current gambling issues in the U.S, Finland, the U.K and South Africa.

In the United States, Congressmen Steve Israel and Peter King criticized the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (IGREA) in a New York Post editorial on August 14th, arguing that federal enforcement agencies have “bigger fish to fry” than to crack down on “probably unenforceable” internet gambling. Congressmen Israel and King are among the 35 co-sponsors of the IGREA and believe that a better way to direct enforcement activites is to “create a regulatory framework that ensures operators are licensed and protects consumers against underage gambling, compulsive gambling, money-laundering, identity theft and fraud.” This is in essence what the IGREA intends to establish. The bill was introduced in April of this year by Congressman Barney Frank (D-CT), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services.

In Finland, the debate is centered on the legal age at which one should be allowed to gamble. The legal gambling age in Finland is currently 15, but the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health have proposed to raise it to 18 years of age, as well as improving its enforcement. According to two recent studies conducted by the Taloustutkimus market research company, over half of the Finnish 14-year-olds in the study sample reported that they had gambled. The research also suggested that only seven percent of fifteen year olds who look especially young for their age are asked to verify their age when gambling.

In the United Kingdom, the “white list” is scheduled to go into effect on September 1st. The “white list” is a list of UK jurisdictions that permit online gambling sites that are licensed in that jurisdiction to advertise their services in the UK.

In South Africa, The National Gambling Amendment Bill was put forward the National Assembly last week. Although some assembly members feel that the bill is a “social evil” (Congressman Ben Turok), and that gambling is an unacceptable activity, that if legal and regulated, will allow mainly white company owners to profit from predominantly black players, the bill is expected to see little opposition. South Africa’s Mail & Guardian has been busy reporting the status of the bill since it first was adopted as a draft amendment in December of last year.