Legal

With the UK government's threats to make responsible gambling contributions to the Responsibility in Gambling Trust (RIGT) compulsory making the headlines this week, the political blog at The Guardian made some pointed and valid comments on the slow voluntary payments of the past.

Imagine the scene: a young family man enduring tough times spends part of his New Year's Eve scratching off the numbers on an Ontario Lottery scratch card to see if benevolent fortune has smiled upon him. One card reveals a win of $75,000, but there's more to come and the excited punter finally has what appears to be a total win of $135,000 - it's a major boon to tight finances for the 27-year-old steelworker, his wife and their infant son.

And that's where the feel-good element of this story ends.

UK Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has published a consultation document that could be the first step in turning a voluntary contribution to problem gambling charity R.I.G.T. (Responsibility in Gambling Trust) into a mandatory donation.

The annual wrangle over "voluntary" contributions by major British gambling groups to the Responsibility in Gambling Trust entered a critical phase as the new year started, with Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham, reportedly losing patience with the gambling industry after the emergence of a £1.2 million shortfall in donations for 2008-09.

The $300 million settlement and Wire Act guilty plea by Party Gaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit earlier this (December) month was discussed in an interesting article in the The Times over the holiday weekend, which suggested that his unilateral and independent move to clean the slate with the US Department of Justice may not have gone down well with his fellow founders.

Concerned about possible federal deals on Internet gambling in World Trade Organisation negotiations, state legislators in Utah are pushing a resolution that urges Congress to ensure that states' rights to make their own gambling laws are respected, and that means that online gambling will definitely be a non-starter in the state, reports the Salt Lake City Tribune.

The incoming Obama Administration's announcement that Eric Holder is to be appointed Attorney General of the United States may moderate expectations that the new president might take a more liberated approach to Internet gambling.

After months of anticipation, it looks as if the new year will at last see legalised online gambling in the Czech Republic. Radio Praha reports that after years of lobbying, and promises to prevent minors from betting on their websites, the country’s five biggest bookies will soon receive permits from the Finance Ministry to introduce online gambling.

Mainly German reports over the weekend raise the alarming prospect that the Internet is under further assault - this time from German authorities. A major furore still rages over the recent attempt by the state of Kentucky in the United States to confiscate global online gambling domain names, and if the current reports from Germany are true, it would appear that another Net neutrality dispute is about to surface.

The long-running European Commission's challenge to the benevolent corporate tax regime in Gibraltar has been resolved by a European Union court in favour of the tiny Mediterranean nation. The many online gambling companies based in Gibraltar have been keeping an eye on the case, which originated in 2002, due to its potential influence on the economic viability of operating in the country.