While the US has now approved final regulations to ban financial transactions connected to internet gambling, European jurisdictions remain split on whether blocking payments or IP addresses remains the most appropriate enforcement mechanism to restrict online gambling operations. Participants at a recent high-end gaming law conference underlined that both face legal uncertainty, however.

Finland is currently in the second phase of its gambling law reform project, with an interim report having been submitted to Parliament over the summer. The current phase will be considering the type of licensing system to adopt, the approach to be taken regarding online gambling and player identification issues, alongside other topics up for discussion. This peer reviewed report provides a background to a monopolisitic gaming market on the cusp of change.   

As dust begins to gather on the report of the Irish Government’s casino review committee, international experts have warned that Ireland should not dither in implementing the committee’s recommendations via concrete legislative reform. However, weighing hard on politicians are concerns about how regulatory change will affect the Irish racing industry.

One cannot look at the future of gaming in Singapore without consideration of the two multi billion dollar integrated resorts that are due to commence operation at the end of this decade. Despite a history of strict control, gambling in Singapore also consists of a healthy racing industry along with lottery, sports betting and fruit machines in private clubs.

The Philippines is uniquely situated to access the Asian market as an online gaming jurisdiction, despite a prohibition on serving Philippine residents. Alongside growth in the online sector, land-based gaming overseen by government-owned PAGCOR is also growing in various free ports in the country. In particular, PAGCOR is planning a US$15bn gaming and entertainment city known as Bagong Nayong Pilipino.

Casino gaming for foreign tourists has expanded in South Korea since the amendment of casino rules in 2006, and further new rules on investment in Free Economic Zones are further aiding this expansion. Of the 17 casinos there is still only one that locals can legally attend, however the new government has recently announced that tax rates will be doubled from 10 to 20 percent, a move that has dampened the outlook for the for the industry going forward.

As debate at the Australasian Gaming Expo in Sydney turns to more onerous regulation of gaming machines in Australia, GamblingCompliance spoke to Leonard Ainsworth, the founder of machine manufacturing giants Aristocrat and Ainsworth, about the need for more informed political debate Down Under and local regulation of server-based gaming technologies.

Outspoken gambling opponent Nick Xenophon will take his seat in the newly formed Senate this week following a speech to the Australasian Gaming Expo where he launched a blistering attack on the industry. His campaign sets out to remove poker machines from the Australian gaming landscape and crush an industry, which he sees as ‘inherently unsafe’.

At present, authorized gambling in Hong Kong consists of horse racing, the Mark Six Lottery, football betting, which is organized by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and gaming activities authorized by the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing (CTEL) such as mah-jong parlours. With Macau's thriving casino sector close by, there has been recent speculation of allowing casinos to open, although this prospect has been rejected by Hong Kong's Chief Executive.

The Gaming Act of 1995 was introduced four years after Slovenia gained its independence. There are currently 13 casinos, 41 gaming halls and two lotteries. Recently Slovenia placed new regulations on technical standards for gaming devices before the European Commission - these have now come into operation.

Germany, having the largest population and economy in the EU, should be an attractive market for gaming operators and an area of great potential – however, the regulatory environment is turbulent. A new Interstate Gambling Treaty came into effect on January 1, 2008, against which the European Commission launched formal infringement proceedings just four weeks later.

The Vietnamese gaming industry is evolving at a rapid pace. Gambling has recently been legalized and a small number of casinos cater to foreign tourists and expats. A deregulation effort has commenced with amendments to strict regulations on businesses which operate slot machines. At least two large gambling resorts are expected to be completed in the next decade.

Victory for Tasmania-licensed Betfair in Australia's High Court and the state's recent inclusion on the UK white list have raised Tasmania's standing as a licensing jurisdiction. GamblingCompliance spoke exclusively with Racing Minister Michael Aird about how the developments will influence Tasmania's regulatory approach.

The Isle of Man is a highly regulated gaming jurisdiction with a world class online gaming sector, a casino, betting offices, controlled machines, and lotteries. In line with its recent inclusion on the UK’s ‘white list’, the government has recently proposed new controls on gambling duty which is currently up for consultation until June 20, 2008.

Gambling is illegal for Nepali nationals, however the government allows tourists over the age of 21 to gamble within Nepal's casinos. The casinos cater mostly to Indian nationals who can travel across the border to Kathmandu to escape strict gambling restrictions in their home country. Horse racing and lotteries are also in operation. The first casino in Asia was opened in Kathmandu in 1968 by Richard Tuttle, a man who has recently won a long winded legal battle over casino gaming in Nepal.

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim nation and it is illegal for Muslims to gamble under Syariah law. Yet, one of the most successful pioneering examples of an integrated resort exists in the Genting Highlands, with its casino attended mainly by Malaysia's ethnically Chinese population. In addition, there are also numbers games, lotteries, slot machines in private clubs and three racing clubs.

The Isle of Man has published a consultation document which proposes a Gambling Duties Bill that will harmonise the control structure for excise duty for on and off-course betting operators, pools promoters and online gaming operators. Importantly, there is no mention in the document of a change in the rate of duty, with the majority of changes affecting operators being procedural and administrative.

The traditional Hindu festival of Diwali, which encourages gambling, epitomises how ingrained the activity is in Indian culture, however at this stage much of the gambling falls within the illegal domain. India has the largest middle-class in the world, and an economy that has grown at rate of more than 7 percent over the last 10 years. It is little wonder that the gambling industry has been and will be looking carefully for opportunities to enter the Indian market. Casino gambling expansion, or the discussion of expansion has recently been a common theme across India, from Goa and Daman in the west, to Haryana in northern India and to Sikkim further north in the Himalaya.

When the Western Australian Government introduced amendments to its Betting Control Act it sought to establish once and for all a regime which would ensure the future of the Western Australian Racing Industry. The High Court confirmed that these amendments were unconstitutional and issued a costs order against the Western Australian Government, the combined effect being a disasterous result for the state and, in some respects, for the racing industries of other Australian states bar Tasmania.

Pachinko, which tenuously circumvents the general prohibition on gambling in Japan has grown to become the largest industry in the world's second largest economy. With regulatory change dictating that all old machines needing to be replaced by September 2007, revenues for both pachinko and pachislot operators will be watched carefully, to determine the public acceptance of the new machines.

At the recent GamblingCompliance Executive Briefing a question was asked as to why an online casino cannot advertise prizes offering UK customers a seat at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament in Las Vegas. Whilst the Gambling Commission holds the position that this would constitute foreign gambling, illegal under section 331 of the 2005 Gambling Act, other bodies such as the Remote Gambling Association question this interpretation and are currently awaiting formal clarification from the Commission.

Australia’s first TV wagering service has received regulatory approval from the Victorian government with Two Way Ltd to launch its subscription service in the state in association with partners Tabcorp Ltd and Foxtel. Meanwhile the government in New South Wales, which recently decided not to approve television betting, has announced fresh reforms affecting TAB takeout rates and interim measures affecting gaming machine licencees ahead of the new Gaming Machines Act which will come into effect later in the year.

Observers of Russia’s gambling industry have expressed some hope that the Government will come to revise legislation imposing an outright ban on casinos and slot machines in all major Russian cities by mid-2009. However, any prospective change will likely depend on the attitude adopted by the new man set to take up residence in the Kremlin after next Sunday’s elections.

Tasmania recently became the third jurisdiction to be 'whitelisted' in the UK. The state allows for 3,680 slot machines, all controlled by one operator - Federal Hotels. Tasmania is the only jurisdiction in Australia to expressly regulate betting exchanges. The sections of the Gaming Control Act 1993 are of significant interest in considering how betting exchanges should be regulated. Betfair operates the betting exchange in Tasmania.

Gamblingcompliance looks at the comparative advantages and disadvantages of a number of remote gaming jurisdictions, with a view to providing assistance to prospective mobile gaming licensees. The paper was presented to the 4th Annual Mobile gaming Summit in London on Monday 21 January 2007.

According to the Australian Gaming Council's Database on the Gambling Industry (2006/2007), total gambling expenditure in Queensland in 2004-2005 was $2.969bn, or 17.56% of total gambling expenditure in Australia. Gaming machines in clubs and hotels ($1.677bn) accounted for the largest proportion of expenditure in the Queensland gambling market.

The Northern Territory gaming sector is characterised by its embracing of online gaming and licensing of corporate bookmakers. Such a move has meant that higher than average revenues have been received by the government, with gambling tax accounting for 15.1 percent of total tax received by the territory.

The South Australian Government recently announced that it will be delivering tax relief to the racing industry, an industry which has suffered through the Australia-wide equine influenza outbreak last year. Recent figures released from the Office of Liquor and Gambling Commissioner suggest that South Australians bet more than $8bn on poker machines in 2006/07.

The Iemma government has taken steps to liberalise the gaming market in the state of late, however in a reaction to public criticism the government has recently decided to lower the cap on pokies from 104,000 to 99,000. In addition a new regulatory authority will soon replace the Casino Control Authority, the Liquor and Licensing Court and the Liquor Adminstration Board.

The NSW Parliament has passed legislation to create a new, centralised gaming and liquor licensing and regulatory authority. The legislative change is also set to be followed by a reduction in the number of gaming machines permissible in Australia’s most populous state.