Quote:
Originally Posted by Nifty29
I would love to see the US (and Australia for that matter) legalize and regulate online gaming, if for no other reason than to see this kind of crap stamped out and these businesses being held to the same standards as any other land-based operator.
Could you imagine McDonalds having a 'bonus abuser' database of people who have claimed too many free burgers????
I think not.
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Even if they did, it had DAMN well better be accurate, since I would have the RIGHT to see the data held about me, and the RIGHT to have inaccurate data corrected or deleted. WHO checks that these "bonus abuser" databases are accurate, let alone fair.
The fiasco at Rome casino illustrates the point. The "database" confirmed that the player had "made a number of chargebacks at casinos". It turned out to be VERY wrong, but had this player not raised such a stink, this grossly LIBELLOUS data held supposedly about him would never have come to light, but may have created further instances of unfair treatment. If this were held in the databases of a credit reference agency, there would be the right to inspect & correct it. Casinos, however, say that we CANNOT have these rights, because it might help fraud.
The UK government HAS opened up for regulation, but ALMOST NO CASINO has approached the UK Gambling Commission to apply, preferring instead to flock to places like Malta, where an accident of geography, rather than any degree of competence, have put them on the UK whitelist.
If the US or Australia decide to go the same way, I bet there will STILL be relatively few takers, with most preferring to stick with more lightly regulated jurisdictions.
It would take more than mere regulation by the US and Australia, it would need the big operators to decide to be regulated there, and in enough numbers to ensure that players had plenty of choice without having to look to operations regulated elsewhere.
We DID get an indication of this effect with the mass migration from Kahnawake to Malta of many reputable casinos who wanted to target the EU because of the falling player base in their main US market. It was unfortunate that Malta failed to live up to the expectations of a UK whitelisted jurisdiction, since a great opportunity has been missed (or cocked up).