Europe To Consider Online Gambling Regulation

Gambling News - July 7th, 2009 - Written by Glen

The UIGEA may have set a precedent for the remainder of the world, as Europe is potentially seeking regulations regarding cross-border gambling. The Union's push toward a localized sense of globalization has put forth a closer look on online gambling as it pertains to the nations under that umbrella.

As of now, there are no real restrictions or regulations are in place to control online gambling, but that may soon change. The Union is looking at licensing in order to place some control on the different online gambling venues available to European residents. Different European nations,

t necessarily those in the Union, have already made complaints to the World Trade Organization about the United States and its UIGEA, and there may be some issues if Europe decides to move forward with their plan.

The first step that would be taken, assuming Europe does put forth the effort, is individual licensing for online gambling sites. Should casinos not receive licensing, the blockage and stopping of payments to these different sites would be outlawed, according to reviewed-casinos.com's inspection of the issue.

Land based gambling sites are concerned with decreased revenues, money lost to online casinos. State run lotteries may also see a decline as people decide to take their money to the Internet. The idea of Internet gambling is a double edged sword. On one hand, new business opportunies exist in the form of online gambling. Conversely, established gambling businesses may be hurt by online gambling. The balance of new revenue versus old is an issue as the global economy weakens.

The USA's UIGEA has been a subject of heavy debate, and could be overturned before it is required to be concrete. Only time will tell how the European Union will react if the UIGEA becomes a thing of the past.