Several common themes arose through the four summits and together they’ll help create the basis for a public policy framework that BETonSPORTS hopes to build support for in the coming months. Panelists at the New York summit hoped that the Department of Justice would rethink enforcement activities that have been “haphazard and not really effective,” according to Linda Goldstein, an attorney with Manatt, Phelps and Philips LLP. A former New Jersey gaming official, Frank Catania, said that online gaming companies can be subject to the same probity checks as land-based operations, a practice well established in several states.
In Washington D.C., the panel members called for regulation to promote “responsible gaming” online and that this is an opportunity to “exceed current land-based responsible gaming practices” according to Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gaming. And in Chicago last week, the experts pointed to the windfall in tax revenues states will be able to realize with sensible regulation of the industry.
Concluded BETonSPORTS’ Carruthers: “Regulation of online gambling is right for the consumer, the operator and the government. Our hope is that by bringing attention to these issues we have advanced the national discourse on online gambling and helped resolve differences of opinion and approach. There’s a public policy vacuum at the center of this debate because the actions so far by the federal government have polarized people. We’ll fill that vacuum with industry leadership, public private partnerships and popular support.”
College Debates
BETonSPORTS will host a series of debates that tackle the issues surrounding the growth and proliferation of online gambling on college campuses — from whether “responsible gambling” is a contradiction in terms, to exploration of the ethical issues of student-athletes wagering on collegiate games.
Students make up a growing part of the online gambling market and yet they have not been actively engaged on the issues, let alone discussion on what constitutes responsible online gambling. Moreover, according to the NCAA, gambling by student-athletes is occurring at a “startling” rate. As students continue to use the Internet for gambling, these debates will help them become better informed on the issues, understand responsible gambling, and have an impact on public policy-making.
National Advertising Campaign
As part of BETonSPORTS’ “Right to Wager” campaign, television advertisements making the case for online gambling enthusiasts’ right to decide whether to wager online or not have started airing in 20 cities across the U.S. including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. The television ads are running in conjunction with an online campaign where visitors are asked to sign a petition and/or send a letter to their congressman. Print advertising is set to run in newspapers nationwide as well.
For a complete list of Summit panel members, to obtain a copy of the advertisements, or to participate in or attend either the Summit meetings or the College Debates, please contact Kajal Jhaveri, Ruder Finn, at 212-593-5864 or [email protected].
About BETonSPORTS plc
BETonSPORTS, which operates the largest online wagering service in the world, is committed to providing its clients with the most value for their wagering dollar and quality customer service capabilities. Headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica, the company is licensed in the Caribbean, Central America and Europe, and has obtained a bookmakers permit in the UK, where gambling has been a legal and respected tradition for over forty years. The company trades under the symbol BSS.L on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market. BETonSPORTS.com has been ranked the number one sportsbook by a number of leading industry organizations, including the Offshore Gaming Association (OSGA), the International Sports Book Council (ISBC) and Insiders Football Guide. Visit http://www.BETonSPORTS.com for more information.
Source: BETonSPORTS plc