Online Gambling Law Reform in the U.K. Getting MP's Attention

It was reported recently that a U.K. Tory MP, Matthew Hancock will be allowed to make a motion that will require online gambling operators who want to offer services to UK punters to hold a UK Gambling Commission-issued license.
 
Despite this amount of time highlighting the issue, the bill will be lodged behind a long line up of bills waiting to be carefully measured during the next Parliamentary session.
 
As a result of European Union (EU) directives and internal market pressures for standardization across the European Union, the UK government’s gambling laws were overhauled in recent years. This was also in light of the political response to the prohibition of online gambling by the United States. As well there were increased pressures because of the boom in online gambling that has taken hold all over the world and invariably the UK. The law in the UK was old and out of touch with the reality of modern gambling practices.
 
Until 2003, and the introduction of the gambling bill, there had been a need for some updating especially the need to address Internet gambling with the new technologies. Specifically the new legislation introduced the concept of "remote gambling" which covers not just internet gambling but also the use of other devices such as television, radio, mobile telephones, landlines, and other kinds of electronics.

The UK government has a great interest in changes to their remote gambling rules, John Penrose, the Tory minister for Tourism and Heritage cautioned that he wasn’t counting his chickens that Parliament deal with the online gambling  issue, this due to a packed legislative session. This next session of parliament begins in May of 2012 and will end in May of 2013.
 
A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson told Gambling Compliance that while it supported Hancock’s intentions, “we believe that there may be more effective ways to achieve the broad aims behind this Private Members Bill.”