As Congressional Hearing Approaches, Prime Table Games Gets its Two Cents In

Using a full page ad in the world edition of the well known Wall Street Journal, a land based casino supplier has come out heavily against the online industry. This was timid to go before the up and coming Congressional hearings scheduled for Wednesday, on Internet gambling and the affects of the thorny Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The ad was placed by the originator of Las Vegas-based Prime Table Games, Derek Webb, who has placed similar advertisements previously in his attack on online gambling.

The ad had the headline "Who Will Face the Issues," and outlines the apparent regulatory problems that are said to be associated with international Internet gaming. Cited as principle concerns are gaming fraud, the protection of consumers along with the protection of intellectual property rights.

Included is the statement that it is well known that there exist off-shore based Internet gaming operators who carry out deceptive practices directed toward the American consumers as well as international players, and that no adequate system is in place to provide some form of regulatory body. It stresses the need for Congress to immediately take action before these practices worsen.

The sponsor of the ad, Prime Table Games, implores Congress to bring into play, specific regulatory strategies directed toward online gambling consumer protection. These could include:

Placing limits on various forms of solicitations along with gambling incentives, examples being bonuses and cash back offers.
The prohibition of associate relationships.
Standard procedures for verifying players.
Providing players with the opportunity to exclude themselves and having this extend automatically to all online gambling sites.
Place responsibility on the site operators to verify player's identity.
Make it the responsibility of Internet gambling sites to verify that players have the ability to gamble at their selected level.
Internet gambling debts should not be recoverable legally, while players who renege on gambling debts would automatically be included in an exclusion list.

Webb says that by its nature, Internet gambling has the potential for abuse, in an accompanying press release. He stresses the necessity to force site operators to pay into a fund to provide treatment and research for problem gambling.

The much criticized UIGEA regulations which are being proposed, will be taken up on Wednesday by the House Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology.

Back to News Archive - April 2008
Back to News Archive
Back to Latest News