[PASSED] Reducing Problem Gambling

[Sedgistan]

Reducing Problem Gambling

Category: Education and Creativity: Educational.

Objective: Tackle under-age gambling and problem gambling through means of education and help, and restrict gambling operators from encouraging under-age and problem gambling.

Rationale for Consideration: A global framework for the reduction of Problem Gambling to keep the international gambling industry safe and fun.

This does not prohibit or legalise gambling! All it does is make the world gambling industry safer.

---

The General Assembly,

UNDERSTANDING that the gambling industry is an important part of the economies of many World Assembly members, creating employment and generating significant income for national governments;

CONCERNED that some individuals may put their livelihoods at risk by gambling excessively in a hope to get rich quick or win back losses;

OBSERVING that there are many causes behind problem gambling, such as advertising, financial problems or peer pressure;

ACCEPTING that in most cases gambling is fun and entertaining if it is done sensibly and responsibly;

DESIRING to tackle problem gambling and promote responsible gambling:

DEFINES the following for the purpose of this resolution:
• “Gambling” - the wagering of a stake (money or items of material value such as jewellery) on an event (such as lotteries or horse racing) with an uncertain outcome with the primary objective of winning additional money and/or material goods. The definition of "Gambling" does not extend to speculative investment or the financial markets for the purpose of this resolution;
• “Problem Gambling” - a situation where an individual may: feel the need to be secretive about their gambling, be compelled to gamble until their money runs out, gamble even when they have no money, be pushed to borrow, sell or steal things for gambling money, and/or their relatives are worried about the individual because of gambling;
• The “Operator” - all operators of gambling premises, lotteries or internet sites, which are based in member countries;

1. MANDATES member countries to:
a) Ensure the availability of an easily accessible help service which provides help or advice to individuals with gambling problems;
b) Ensure that treatment for gambling addiction is available for any individual who wishes to participate;
c) Establish an education programme which informs the general populace and other interested parties of local gambling laws, and gives practical advice about the risks of problem gambling;

2. MANDATES Operators which allow credit to be used as a form of payment to impose sensible deposit limits on customers’ accounts, where necessary;

3. FURTHER MANDATES member countries where gambling advertising is permitted to prohibit Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques to:
• Specifically target individuals on low income or with financial problems, such as debts;
• Present gambling as a solution to financial problems;
• Promote irresponsible gambling or misrepresent the rules of the game.

4. EMPHASISES that this resolution does not affect member countries’ choice of legalising or outlawing gambling.

Co-authored by Knootoss.

The General Assembly,

UNDERSTANDING that:
• Gambling may be a major industry in some member countries due to the income it generates;
• Some member countries may not agree with legalising gambling due to the risk of crime and financial problems;

CONCERNED that some individuals may put their livelihoods at risk by gambling excessively in a hope to get rich quick or win back losses;

OBSERVING that there are many causes behind problem gambling, such as gambling while under the age of majority or peer pressure;

ACCEPTING that in most cases gambling is fun and entertaining if it is done sensibly and responsibly;

DESIRING to tackle and problem gambling and promote responsible gambling:

In this resolution:
• “Gambling” means the wagering of a stake (money or items of material value such as jewellery) on an event (such as lotteries or horse racing) with an uncertain outcome with the primary objective of winning additional money and/or material goods. The definition of "Gambling" does not extend to speculative investment or the financial markets for the purpose of this resolution;
• “Problem Gambling” refers to a situation where an individual may: feel the need to be secretive about their gambling, be compelled to gamble until their money runs out, gamble even when they have no money, be pushed to borrow, sell or steal things for gambling money, and/or their relatives are worried about the individual because of gambling;
• The “Operator” means all gambling operators or internet sites, which operate in member countries;

The General Assembly hereby introduces the following measures:

Part 1: For all member countries, the General Assembly:-

1. DIRECTS member countries to establish an easily accessible help service which provides help or advice to individuals with gambling problems;

2. FURTHER DIRECTS member states to make problem gambling treatment available for any individual who wishes to participate;

3. MANDATES member countries to set up an education programme to educate the populace about the risks of gambling and problem gambling: however, such education does not necessarily have to shed either negative or positive light on gambling, provided that the risks of gambling and/or advice for avoiding problem gambling are made clear;

Part 2: For member countries where gambling is legalised, the General Assembly:-

1. REQUIRES Operators to provide customers information (such as telephone numbers or websites to gambling addiction helpline services) about seeking help and advice if they have gambling problems;

2. RECOMMENDS member countries to take measures to prevent individuals under the age of majority from, or mandate the supervision of such individuals by their legal guardian when, entering or using certain types of gambling facilities (such as Course Betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites): such measures may include staff training, age checks or forced ejection from such premises;

4. REQUIRES Operators which allow credit to be used as a form of payment to carry out regular credit rating checks and impose sensible deposit limits on customers’ accounts, where necessary;

5. MANDATES member countries, where gambling advertising is permitted, to prohibit Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques to:
• Specifically target individuals under the legal age required to gamble, where legislated;
• Specifically target individuals on low income or with financial problems, such as large debts;
• Present gambling as a solution to financial problems;
• Promote irresponsible gambling or misrepresent the rules of the game.

6. RECOMMENDS member countries without a legal age required to gamble to restrict Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques to specifically target individuals under the age of majority;

Part 3: Savings:-

This resolution will not affect member countries’ choice of legalising or outlawing gambling.

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Stances made:
This is not a resolution to ban nor legalise gambling across the board.

Ms. Harper is also not sure whether it is possible in practice for gambling internet sites to understand rules and regulations of ALL member states in the WA. With 11,567 member nations as of 2:27 am, the only realistic solution would be to establish a committee to compile a list for international operators to feed through their database, a bit like updates to anti-virus software. At the moment, establishing a committee just to accomplish this is far too inefficient for the cause, so she is forced to admit that member states will simply have to keep track of new sites that pop up, or collaborate with others to form a non-canon list for which the WA cannot legally oversee.

Children are vulnerable to problem gambling, and there are gambling centres which are intended for adults only, so therefore there is a need for some form of restrictions in regards to under-age gambling.

The title of "Reducing Problem Gambling" is fixed as the aim is clearly to reduce problem gambling. "Promoting Responsible Gambling" was rejected because it did not reflect the opinion of member states which banned gambling.

[Embolalia]

This looks good. I support.
I might ask for a requirement that internet sites abide by prohibitions in other nations; that is, a site can't allow users in a nation which bans gambling.

[Monikian WA Mission]

Talik' Murzhan addresses the drafting committee.

The Monikian WA Mission supports this proposal on the grounds that we feel that it clearly allows nations their discretion on how to tackle this problem.

[Eireann Fae]

This looks good. I support.
I might ask for a requirement that internet sites abide by prohibitions in other nations; that is, a site can't allow users in a nation which bans gambling.

"Have you any idea how much of a burden it would be on such sites to code their sites to comply with every relevant locality? It should be left up to the users of the sites to comply with their own local laws."

Episky and Rowan turn their attention to the Ambassador making the proposal.

"Why is underage gambling inherently bad? Why does peer pressure have to be legislated against at all, nevermind in such a body as this? We understand the nobility of your intentions, but do not agree with it. We agree with the parts of this legislation that seek to help or rehabilitate so-called 'problem' gamblers, but do not feel that placing such restrictions against children is required. After all, arcades that allow exchanges of earned tickets for goods can be called a form of gambling, and it is not our belief that you are trying to outlaw such actions as this. How is a child playing skee-ball and exchanging tickets for candy inherently worse than a child playing blackjack and exchanging tokens for cash?"

"To reiterate," continues the girl, now without the direction of the Faerie Emissary, "leave children alone, and address only the truly problematic issues related to gambling. Offer help and support, fine, and even making sure the gamblers aren't spending themselves onto the streets. But don't stop kids from spending their allowance or earnings as they please - particularly if nobody is hurt by it. If the child is an orphan and gambling their life away, helping them stop and spend their earnings more productively is reasonable. But telling a child what they can or cannot do with their disposable currency is not something we can support."

[Charlotte Ryberg]

Ms. Harper is currently short of time for this session block, but she is clearly aware that Charlotte Ryberg has regulations regarding under-age gambling. Basically, we are aware of Family Entertainment complexes which have light gambling facilities but there are areas where adults are only permitted. These include Casinos, Off-course betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites. Generally, children are allowed into Bingo halls and venues, On-course betting and Family Entertainment Centres. An arbitrary age may be set for lottery and scratch card tickets.

In light of this section 2 would be relaxed to read:

2a. Operators of Casinos, Off-course betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites shall take measures to prevent individuals under the age of majority from entering or using gambling facilities;
2b. Operators of Bingo halls and venues, On-course betting and Family Entertainment Centres shall take measures to prevent individuals under the age of majority from entering or using gambling facilities which are intended for adults only;
2c. Operators of Lotteries shall take measures to prevent retailers from selling lottery or scratchcard tickets to individuals under the age of which they are eligible to play;

2d. In respect of Sections 2a-c, such measures to verify the age may include staff training or mandatory age checks;

Ms. Harper is also not sure whether it is possible in practice for gambling internet sites to understand rules and regulations of ALL member states in the WA. With 11,567 member nations as of 2:27 am, the only realistic solution would be to establish a committee to compile a list for international operators to feed through their database, a bit like updates to anti-virus software. At the moment, establishing a committee just to accomplish this may be far to inefficient for the cause, so she is forced to admit that member states will simply have to keep track of new sites that pop up, or collaborate with others to form a non-canon list for which the WA cannot legally oversee.

[Eireann Fae]

Ms. Harper is currently short of time for this session block, but she is clearly aware that Charlotte Ryberg has regulations regarding under-age gambling. Basically, we are aware of Family Entertainment complexes which have light gambling facilities but there are areas where adults are only permitted. These include Casinos, Off-course betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites. Generally, children are allowed into Bingo halls and venues, On-course betting and Family Entertainment Centres. An arbitrary age may be set for lottery and scratch card tickets.

"Regulations in Charlotte Ryberg have no bearing on the lives of Eireann Fae citizens," responds Rowan, speaking for Episky. "Children in Eireann Fae are free to spend their spare money as they like, and are often seen at blackjack tables. We will not support any legislation that restricts their right to enter and gamble at bingo halls, casinos, 'off-course betting', or participate in lotteries. We agree with trying to treat problematic gambling, but do not believe that all gambling by children is problematic, and that it is not the WA's place to tell us otherwise."

[Embolalia]

I meant more along the lines of simply not allowing users not from the same nation as a given site, or a select few other nations. A whitelist rather than a blacklist, in effect. (OOC: See BBC's iPlayer, for RL example) It's not particularly important to my delegation, but I figured I'd throw it out there.

[Charlotte Ryberg]

Ms. Harper is currently short of time for this session block, but she is clearly aware that Charlotte Ryberg has regulations regarding under-age gambling. Basically, we are aware of Family Entertainment complexes which have light gambling facilities but there are areas where adults are only permitted. These include Casinos, Off-course betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites. Generally, children are allowed into Bingo halls and venues, On-course betting and Family Entertainment Centres. An arbitrary age may be set for lottery and scratch card tickets.

"Regulations in Charlotte Ryberg have no bearing on the lives of Eireann Fae citizens," responds Rowan, speaking for Episky. "Children in Eireann Fae are free to spend their spare money as they like, and are often seen at blackjack tables. We will not support any legislation that restricts their right to enter and gamble at bingo halls, casinos, 'off-course betting', or participate in lotteries. We agree with trying to treat problematic gambling, but do not believe that all gambling by children is problematic, and that it is not the WA's place to tell us otherwise."

Ms. Harper wishes to defend the inclusion of under-age gambling in this development draft. The main reason why it is being considered for inclusion is that children are still developing their mental state of mind, and therefore they are vulnerable to taking up the habit, just like those on low income. Charlotte Ryberg's approach to tackle this has been to restrict admission but I observe that the honoured ambassador from Eireann Fae doesn't agree, but the common sense in gambling is to ensure that children are not encouraged to take up the habit, therefore regulations must exist to stop children from taking up the habit.

I understand that it is a very tense area here, but Ms. Harper hopes a consensus in regards to under-age gambling can be sought. She should be open to allow member states to mix and match measures suggested over thereas well as adding mandatory supervision, but she cannot agree in letting minors gamble alone, or letting younger minors gamble at all, in the interest of moral decency as well.

[Glen-Rhodes]

• “Gambling” means the wagering of a stake (money or items of material value such as jewellery) on an event (such as lotteries or horse racing) with an uncertain outcome with the primary objective of winning additional money and/or material goods;

This definition is just as fatally flawed as the other proposal's definition. It must exclude financial markets.

Also, with this 'threshold' of majority nonsense...

- Dr. B. Castro

[Charlotte Ryberg]

This definition is just as fatally flawed as the other proposal's definition. It must exclude financial markets...

I had no intention of including speculative investment in this resolution but I have made an attempt on tightening it up. Also, with this 'threshold' of majority nonsense, I have taken the liberty of returning back to age of majority for the purpose of this draft.

[Eireann Fae]

I understand that it is a very tense area here, but Ms. Harper hopes a consensus in regards to under-age gambling can be sought. She should be open to allow member states to mix and match measures suggested over thereas well as adding mandatory supervision, but she cannot agree in letting minors gamble alone, or letting younger minors gamble at all, in the interest of moral decency as well.

"Then I am afraid we can not agree to support this resolution in any form you are apparently willing to put forth."

[Charlotte Ryberg]

I understand that it is a very tense area here, but Ms. Harper hopes a consensus in regards to under-age gambling can be sought. She should be open to allow member states to mix and match measures suggested over thereas well as adding mandatory supervision, but she cannot agree in letting minors gamble alone, or letting younger minors gamble at all, in the interest of moral decency as well.

"Then I am afraid we can not agree to support this resolution in any form you are apparently willing to put forth."

Honoured ambassador, my stance is that children are vulnerable to problem gambling, and there are gambling centres which are intended for adults only, so therefore there is a need for some form of restrictions in regards to under-age gambling. We will not hesitate to attempt at our first offer:

2. RECOMMENDS member states to take measures to prevent individuals under the age of majority from, or mandate the supervision of such individuals by their legal guardian when, entering or using certain types of gambling facilities (such as Course Betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites): such measures may include staff training, mandatory age checks or forced ejection from such premises;

5. PROHIBITS Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques to target individuals either under the age of majority or on low income, present gambling as a solution to financial problems or misrepresent the rules of the game.

[Krioval]

We are forced to request that the delegation from Charlotte Ryberg please stop overreaching with proposal strengths. This is not "significant", as it seeks to regulate a small part of a small part of national economies. We also think that this is potentially a category violation as well, as gambling proposals almost always have to use the gambling category - though we defer to the Secretariat to make any final determination to that effect.

Henrik Søgård
Imperial Chiefdom of Krioval

[Charlotte Ryberg]

We are forced to request that the delegation from Charlotte Ryberg please stop overreaching with proposal strengths. This is not "significant", as it seeks to regulate a small part of a small part of national economies. We also think that this is potentially a category violation as well, as gambling proposals almost always have to use the gambling category - though we defer to the Secretariat to make any final determination to that effect.

Henrik Søgård
Imperial Chiefdom of Krioval

Category strength dropped by one notch as requested. We felt at once that all individuals are at risk, but we now see the fact that the effect on the economy is small.

[Eireann Fae]

Honoured ambassador, my stance is that children are vulnerable to problem gambling, and there are gambling centres which are intended for adults only, so therefore there is a need for some form of restrictions in regards to under-age gambling. We will not hesitate to attempt at our first offer:

2. RECOMMENDS member states to take measures to prevent individuals under the age of majority from, or mandate the supervision of such individuals by their legal guardian when, entering or using certain types of gambling facilities (such as Course Betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites): such measures may include staff training, mandatory age checks or forced ejection from such premises;

5. PROHIBITS Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques to target individuals either under the age of majority or on low income, present gambling as a solution to financial problems or misrepresent the rules of the game.

Episky ponders the text for a few moments. "How binding, exactly, is that 'recommends' statement? The first word implies that it is merely a 'recommendation', and so not very binding, but then you speak of 'mandatory age checks' in the same passage? Regarding your fifth clause, we have no fundamental problem with prohibitive, honest advertising."

Rowan pauses as the Faerie Emissary whispers further instructions into her ear. "Though we must again bring up the difficulty in enforcing the third clause under part 2, regarding gambling Internet sites. We still believe it should not fall onto the individual sites to have to install and manage the appropriate filters themselves. There are over ten thousand nations that would be affected by this resolution alone, not to mention forcing them to comply with existing national, regional, provincial, territorial, and municipal law. We believe you ask too much of online gambling establishments. Let the nations enforce the relevant laws on their own citizens."

[Charlotte Ryberg]

The Minoan Emissary whispers further instructions into her ear. "I'm not sure if Episky was referring to the part that is greyed out for technical reasons. The clause concerned (Pt. 2, Section 3) was referring to the use of methods to prevent filtering software from blocking their sites for reasons such as domain switching."

The Minoan Emissary whispers further suggestions into her ear in respect of Pt. 2, Section 2. "I've been informed that mandatory age checks refers to the verification of age when entering the premises, in member countries which implement mandatory age checks. Would the removal of the word "mandatory" settle the issue?"

The Minoan Emissary whispers further suggestions into her ear in respect of Pt. 2, Section 5. "Section 5 does is not a blanket ban gambling advertising. It only bans operators (in member countries, as already defined) from using advertising or marketing techniques to target individuals who are under the age of majority or on low income, or to present gambling as a solution to financial problems, or to misrepresent the real rules of the game. Also, although not mentioned here, it does not prevent member countries from imposing a total ban on gambling marketing."

The Minoan Emissary: "use the magic bullet, Harper!"

[Eireann Fae]

The Minoan Emissary whispers further instructions into her ear. "I'm not sure if Episky was referring to the part that is greyed out for technical reasons. The clause concerned (Pt. 2, Section 3) was referring to the use of methods to prevent filtering software from blocking their sites for reasons such as domain switching."

"Thank you for clearing up the text of the resolution, if not what exactly is meant by this clause. We do not understand the need for this, because as we understand it (and our understanding of such technology is rather limited), such filtering is done on the client computer, or perhaps on a network firewall on the local or national level. We do not see why the sites themselves would have to do anything at all."

(OOC: If I put live.com in /etc/hosts.deny, there's no way Microsoft can force their nasty, nasty packets on me. They have no say in it, and there is no way to "prevent" this "filtering software" from blocking their site. Maybe I should look up that 'domain switching' thing you're on about, though...)

The Minoan Emissary whispers further suggestions into her ear in respect of Pt. 2, Section 2. "I've been informed that mandatory age checks refers to the verification of age when entering the premises, in member countries which implement mandatory age checks. Would the removal of the word "mandatory" settle the issue?"

"That is acceptable."

The Minoan Emissary whispers further suggestions into her ear in respect of Pt. 2, Section 5. "Section 5 does is not a blanket ban gambling advertising. It only bans operators (in member countries, as already defined) from using advertising or marketing techniques to target individuals who are under the age of majority or on low income, or to present gambling as a solution to financial problems, or to misrepresent the real rules of the game. Also, although not mentioned here, it does not prevent member countries from imposing a total ban on gambling marketing."

"Yes, perhaps we were not clear, but we were fine with this clause."

The Minoan Emissary: "use the magic bullet, Harper!"

The Faerie Emissary settles down on the table, hiding behind a dark glass of water. Rowan takes a seat, smiling nervously and appearing to be ready to dive under the table at a moment's notice...

[Charlotte Ryberg]

The Minoan Emissary: "use the magic bullet, Harper!"

The Faerie Emissary settles down on the table, hiding behind a dark glass of water. Rowan takes a seat, smiling nervously and appearing to be ready to dive under the table at a moment's notice...

The Minoan Emissary assures Episky : "She meant the use of the renderable bullet symbol in following revision:"

5. PROHIBITS Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques, in member countries where gambling advertising is permitted, to:
• Target individuals either under the age of majority or on low income;
• Present gambling as a solution to financial problems;
• Misrepresent the rules of the game.

[Eireann Fae]

The Minoan Emissary assures Episky : "She meant the use of the renderable bullet symbol in following revision:"

The Eireann Fae delegation are noticably relaxed upon hearing this, Rowan sitting up straight and Episky returning to her usual place on the girl's shoulder. "Thank you for the clarification," says the Human, her nervous smile still in place. "What with the recent events in the chamber where the Wise Woodland Management resolution is being debated, one cannot be too sure..."

[Quelesh]

2. RECOMMENDS member countries to take measures to prevent individuals under the age of majority from, or mandate the supervision of such individuals by their legal guardian when, entering or using certain types of gambling facilities (such as Course Betting, Adult Gaming Centres and Gambling Internet Sites): such measures may include staff training, age checks or forced ejection from such premises;

We appreciate that this is a recommends clause and not a required clause.

3. Gambling internet sites operational in member countries must also allow for parental or educational filtering software to be used;

What exactly does this require the operators of these websites to do? Website operators generally do not need to cooperate with the manufacturers of filtering software. If a person's local machine or network has filtering software that blocks the domain, then the domain is blocked. The user can bypass the filtering software by various methods, of course, but there's nothing that the site operator could do to prevent this.

5. PROHIBITS Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques, in member countries where gambling advertising is permitted, to:
• Target individuals either under the age of majority or on low income;

If a nation allows people under their age of majority to gamble, why should that nation have to prohibit gambling operators from advertising to them? Also, are people on low income more psychologically vulnerable to "problem gambling" than people on higher incomes?

[Charlotte Ryberg]

3. Gambling internet sites operational in member countries must also allow for parental or educational filtering software to be used;

What exactly does this require the operators of these websites to do? Website operators generally do not need to cooperate with the manufacturers of filtering software. If a person's local machine or network has filtering software that blocks the domain, then the domain is blocked. The user can bypass the filtering software by various methods, of course, but there's nothing that the site operator could do to prevent this.

Ms. Harper basically believes that gambling websites should not be operating over hundreds of domains so as to make software filtering impossible. It would make it hard for member states who outlawed gambling to make their filters effective, but we are thinking of trading this clause for one which: mandates a licensing scheme operated by member states or a union of member states, and in which gambling sites are not permitted to operate beyond the jurisdiction or customs union in which they are licensed to operate.

5. PROHIBITS Operators from using advertising or marketing techniques, in member countries where gambling advertising is permitted, to:
• Target individuals either under the age of majority or on low income;

If a nation allows people under their age of majority to gamble, why should that nation have to prohibit gambling operators from advertising to them? Also, are people on low income more psychologically vulnerable to "problem gambling" than people on higher incomes?

Although we know that everyone is vulnerable, in a typical scenario, people on low income are sometimes desperate for more money and may be forced into extreme measures to raise money for their livelihoods. The concern here is that gambling is more attractive to those on low income because of the myth that gambling makes you rich, and we cannot see that as true. The fact is that the more that those people chase on their losses the deeper they will get into debt, because gambling is a game of chance and not a get-rich-quick scheme. In respect of children, we are aware of the psychological differences between a child and a adult: if we allowed operators to advertise to children then they are likely to pester power their parents into debt. This section doesn't say "children cannot play on a fruit machine just for fun" but it doesn't allow operators to advertise, saying "Kids, forget about education, switch to gambling", because with adverts like this they are likely to take up the habit at the peril of their development.

[Charlotte Ryberg]

I have decided that the filtering clause is now considered unnecessary on the grounds of the complexity it could pose to gambling operators. It also had the potential to conflict with the idea of internet neutrality in member states even where gambling is legalised. In exchange I am considering mandating gambling operators (physical locations) to be licensed within a member state to operate. The reasons for such is that a complaints procedure would be possible and member states can keep operators in check in case they try and entice problem gambling.

[Eireann Fae]

I have decided that the filtering clause is now considered unnecessary on the grounds of the complexity it could pose to gambling operators. It also had the potential to conflict with the idea of internet neutrality in member states even where gambling is legalised. In exchange I am considering mandating gambling operators to be licensed within a member state to operate. The reasons for such is that a complaints procedure would be possible and member states can keep operators in check in case they try and entice problem gambling.

"A license for physical locations, surely. Acquiring a license for every location a website could reach would be even more cumbersome than filtering..."

[Charlotte Ryberg]

I have decided that the filtering clause is now considered unnecessary on the grounds of the complexity it could pose to gambling operators. It also had the potential to conflict with the idea of internet neutrality in member states even where gambling is legalised. In exchange I am considering mandating gambling operators to be licensed within a member state to operate. The reasons for such is that a complaints procedure would be possible and member states can keep operators in check in case they try and entice problem gambling.

"A license for physical locations, surely. Acquiring a license for every location a website could reach would be even more cumbersome than filtering..."

Let me clarify on the suggestion: based on the UK Gambling Act 2005*, I am suggesting that a member country must set up a licensing scheme, where operators based within their jurisdiction (including remote operators where all their equipment is based there) must be licensed in that member country to operate. In respect of remote gambling, member countries may opt-in to only allow operators from certain countries to advertise their gambling services. This option does not require gambling operators to download a blacklist, whitelist or whatever, unlike the now abandoned internet filtering suggestion.

*Citation: Do I need a licence? - remote (Gambling Commission, UK)

[Eireann Fae]

Let me clarify on the suggestion: based on the UK Gambling Act 2005*, I am suggesting that a member country must set up a licensing scheme, where operators based within their jurisdiction (including remote operators where all their equipment is based there) must be licensed in that member country to operate. In respect of remote gambling, member countries may opt-in to only allow operators from certain countries to advertise their gambling services. This option does not require gambling operators to download a blacklist, whitelist or whatever, unlike the now abandoned internet filtering suggestion.

*Citation: Do I need a licence? - remote (Gambling Commission, UK)

"It is as we thought it was. Carry on, Ambassador."