Belize Looks for Other Illegal Gaming Operators

Belize is a relatively small country with an approximate population of 320,000 people. It gained it's independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. Formerly known as British Honduras this Central American country still retains it's ties with other Caribbean nations. The area covered by the country is 8,867 square miles of (2008 est.), with the population density being the lowest in the Central American region and one of the least populated places in the world.

The people of Belize speak a variety of languages, most however speak English, the official language, or Spanish. It is a rich and culturally diverse place that is a bordered by Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean. Recently from the capital city of Belmopan a report has surfaced that the government of Belize has discovered several online gaming websites operating in the country without any licences. Fulton Data Processing Limited and Sports Offshore Limited it was reported to internet users are the only legally licensed operators of online gambling in the country.

 Lincoln Blake from the Ministry of Economic Development told local television station Channel 5 Belize, in a recent interview, "Any other company that claims to have such a licence from Belize is clandestine. We ask all Internet users to refrain from doing business with these," All online gaming businesses in Belize are required under the Gaming Control Act and its online gaming regulations, to apply for a licence. Mr. Blake went on to say, "They must follow strict requirements and they must have a proven track record in gaming. The other companies that from time to time, operating online and claiming to have a licence, sometimes it's hard to find out who are the persons behind these operations," When an international web based gambling operation was curtailed recently the Belize government became aware of the illegal activity. Two brothers from Israel apparently ran the operation out of a top notch villa in Belize while the actual servers were located elsewhere supposedly in Europe. Officials in Belize are currently conducting an investigation in the country to determine if other online gambling operations are operating from there without detection.