In the final part of a review of the 3rd Annual Legal and Business Guide to Gaming in Canada Conference, held in Toronto at the end of February, Christine Mingie, barrister and solicitor with Vancouver law firm Lang Michener, analyses debate surrounding self-exclusion programmes and the duty of care owed by Canadian casinos to their customers.

Efforts by three of Canada's provincial lotteries to expand the scope of internet gambling are currently under way in order to offer a new pan-Canadian online product that would include poker and casino-style games.

A congressional motion passed last December obliges the Spanish Government to draw up new national regulations covering online gambling, but in line with existing Spanish laws in a range of key areas. Xavier Muñoz of Legal Link looks at how Spain’s rigorous data protection legislation may be applied to internet gambling operators hoping to legitimize their presence in the Spanish market.

Online gaming firms who verify the location of their customers through the use of IP address identification are in danger of breaking data protection laws, a senior telecommunications and gaming lawyer has warned.

Kahnawake’s future as a leading remote gambling licensing jurisdiction has been subject to much debate over the last year due to allegations of cheating at two of its main licensees and a rejection of its application to be included on the UK "white list" of approved jurisdictions.

Breaches of data protection policy are usually caused by human error or mistakes, but often because staff do not appreciate the importance of protecting the information, a senior audit specialist has warned gaming firms.

Gambling in Canada falls mainly under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial governments. However, these governments have to regulate and conduct licensing within a set of limitations contained in the Canadian Criminal Code. In this article, Ian Kyer examines the gambling sections of the Criminal Code and discusses their application to online gambling, along with relevant case law.

Despite a decrease in revenues in recent years, the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation has implemented a number of strong responsible gaming initiatives, which include a smart card system on VLTs and distributing blocking software that prevents minors from gambling online.

The Alberta Gaming & Liquor Commission will take action to tighten up on-site player identification – as well as introduce lifetime exclusions for problem gamblers – after a recent study showed over 50 percent of self-excluded gamblers had violated their agreements, with four in five of them finding it ‘very easy’ to do so.

Gambling firms risk falling foul of the Data Protection Act because they radically underestimate their responsibilities when they use CCTV security systems, according to a leading UK technology law expert.