Isle of Man welcomes US online punters

[R.A. Hettinga]

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/13/isle_man_gambling/print.html>

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 Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/13/isle_man_gambling/

Isle of Man welcomes US online punters
By Lester Haines (lester.haines at theregister.co.uk)
Published Thursday 13th January 2005 15:37 GMT

The Isle of Man now allows US punters to gamble in online casinos based on
the island, the NY Times reports. The announcement will rattle US
authorities opposed to American citizens having a flutter beyond the reach
of US legislation.

Indeed, US prosecutors have launched a series of actions against operations
doing business with foreign online casinos. Some credit cards, Amex
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/18/gambling_block/) included, do not
allow customers to gamble on the web at all. In response, the WTO recently
declared (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/11/us_gambling_wto_rumble/)
that this prohibition of cross-border trade breaks breached the 1994
general agreement on trade and services, and ruled in favour of Caribbean
nation Antigua and Barbuda in the matter.

The Isle of Man has operated online casinos since 2001, initially
attracting some big-bucks operators including MGM Mirage. However, after an
initial boom, a flattened market provoked many, MGM among them, to shut
down their Irish Sea operations.

The island's new policy came into force on 1 January, and is clearly an
attempt to revitalise the online gambling economy. Tim Craine, the head of
electronic business for the Isle of Man, said: "There's a lot of business
looking to relocate to a reputable, regulated jurisdiction. We're hoping to
capitalize on that business by changing our policy."

Craine confirmed that the Isle of Man is particularly looking to attract
representatives of the burgeoning online poker business
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/12/online_poker/), currently worth
between $2m and $2.5m per day worldwide. .

Related stories

Punters warm to online poker
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/12/online_poker/)
 Online roulette has Germans in a spin
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/15/spielbank_wiesbaden/)
WTO rules against US gambling laws
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/11/us_gambling_wto_rumble/)
UK Gov unwraps Gambling Bill
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/19/gambling_bill/)
Amex prevents punters gambling online
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/18/gambling_block/)
Online poker ace scores #4,500 - per week
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/15/online_poker_ace/)
Irish punters enjoy online betting
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/05/irish_online_betting/)

-- 
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'