Italian govt. bans online betting

[oblomov]

I saw this link on the betfair forum.

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Apparently the Italian government is to block internet access to online gaming sites shortly.
Commiserations to Italian based punters. Perhaps the techies know a way around . Lets hope other states dont follow.
Incidentally, why doesnt the US do this,given their position on the subject?

List of banned sites:Link Removed ( Old/Invalid)

 

[Casinomeister]

Incidentally, why doesnt the US do this,given their position on the subject?...

Several reasons. One is that each state is guaranteed (US Constitution Amendment XIV??) that the federal government won't encroach on state laws. So it's more or less up to the states to handle this. On the other hand, if the Federal Government is going to impose a law on the general population, it has to go through the Congress, Senate, and then signed by the President. It hasn't gotten this far yet.

Also, citizens of the US are protected by first amendment rights - this covers "freedom of expression". To block websites would probably be deemed unconstitutional. Sorry Italy doesn't treat its citizens the same.

 

[GrandMaster]

The 14th Amendment is the one about citizenship, you are probably thinking of the 10th, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The US government could prohibit or regulate online gambling under Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution, "The Congress shall have Power To .... regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes".

 

[Simmo!]

So where does that leave Italian language casinos like Colosseum and Roxy? Aimed at Italian ex-Pats?

 

[Casinomeister]

The 14th Amendment is the one about citizenship, you are probably thinking of the 10th, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The US government could prohibit or regulate online gambling under Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution, "The Congress shall have Power To .... regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes".

Thanks for the info. I should bone up on the US Constitution once again

 

[Casinomeister]

So where does that leave Italian language casinos like Colosseum and Roxy? Aimed at Italian ex-Pats?

Well - when there is a will, there is a way.

But this should prove interesting since if they take players from Italy, they will probably be breaking Italian law.

This is really a very short sighted and uninformed response from the Italian lawmakers.

 

[GrandMaster]

Gambling is specifically exempted from the scope of the recently accepted EU services directive, so there will be no change to the current unclear situation.

Hungary is another EU member state that has been trying to crack down on online gambling (

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), and I seem to remember that Betandwin also had problems with its Hungarian operations.

 

[Simmo!]

Weird how some countries lik ethe UK are relaxing gambling laws even further and others take the opposite approach. I thought part of the appeal of a democracy was to be...whats the word..ah yes...democratic!

 

[paul02085]

The US is pushing its anti internet gaming bill again. Many here believe it will pass and become law this time around. What i read is that if passes U.S. ISP'ers will ban gambling sites and banks as well as neteller will be blocked from handling gambling transactions. I am very worried about this.

 

[Casinomeister]

UK gambling firms say no to Italian ban
UK gaming companies are threatening to take legal action against Italian regulators unless they reverse recent changes which outlaw access to gaming sites outside Italy.

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Looks like some people in the UK aren't happy with what the Italian gov't is trying to do.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Worried?

The US is pushing its anti internet gaming bill again. Many here believe it will pass and become law this time around. What i read is that if passes U.S. ISP'ers will ban gambling sites and banks as well as neteller will be blocked from handling gambling transactions. I am very worried about this.

You are worried! The casinos will be in a panic if there is any chance of this happening. They will lose over 90% of their market overnight (almost). Given the recent debate about the rise of Christian Fundamentalist views in the US, there is probably a fair chance this bill will make it, even if not this time around.

 

[vinylweatherman]

ISP based Blocking.

Well - when there is a will, there is a way.

But this should prove interesting since if they take players from Italy, they will probably be breaking Italian law.

This is really a very short sighted and uninformed response from the Italian lawmakers.

Direct Satellite internet link (Gadget Show, TV, UK). Non Italian owned satellites would not be blocking the sites, and all that is needed is a satellite dish and a PC card (with software). Should be pretty much like a normal mobile internet link, although the kit is more expensive.

 

[Casinomeister]

Direct Satellite internet link (Gadget Show, TV, UK). Non Italian owned satellites would not be blocking the sites, and all that is needed is a satellite dish and a PC card (with software). Should be pretty much like a normal mobile internet link, although the kit is more expensive.

This MAY be a solution, but satellite TV in Europe is messed up. I live in Northern Bavaria and I can barely reach one of the satellites for the UK. I get very few Brit stations, only BBC news and a few "sell me your garbage jewelry" stations - but I get a shitload of programs from the Middle East. Go figure.

 

[Casinomeister]

RGA to sue Italian government from ATEONLINE.CO.UK

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) will begin legal proceedings against the Italian government this week over the country's blacklisting of gambling websites. Clive Hawkswood, chief of the RGA, is arguing that the legislation breaches the treaty rights of its EU licensed operators, which include bookies Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral Eurobet.

Britain's leading bookmakers will this week sue the Italian government for millions of pounds in a row over access to their gambling websites.

Ladbrokes, William Hill, Betfair and Coral Eurobet are among several bookies that have been blacklisted by the Italians.

Under new laws, the government in Rome allows only approved gambling sites to be available and attempts to access UK sites are blocked. The legislation from the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance was passed in November and came into force on February 1.

It is now a criminal offence for internet service providers to allow access to blacklisted sites and they face a 120,000 fine if they break the law. Since last month, anyone trying to access gaming sites such as ladbrokes.com have been directed to a page from the Independent Administration of Legal Monopolies, which says the site has not been approved.

The Remote Gambling Association, the UK industry trade body, will launch legal action against the legislation through its lawyer SG Berwin in the administrative court of Lazio, the department for Rome.

Source: This is Money

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[Rakesh]

A webmaster with a substantial multi-lingual network of internet sites and traffic sent tihs list of internet sites apparently banned by the Italian government. Meaning that access to these sites by ISPs have been restricted and are unreachable.

The only way to view these sites in Italy is apparently via a proxy, I'm unsure about satellite.

He felt it would be better if I listed it on behalf of him...

 

[Casinomeister]

What a strange list. How did they come up with that? Only a few casinos that are listed at Casinomeister are listed, and a crapload of dodgy looking sites. What's up with that?

You'd think that if they are going to block sites, they would be blocking them all. If these are the only casino sites that are being blocked, Italian players have nothing to worry about (except being dictated to on what they can or can't do online). Many of the outstanding MG casinos aren't included - same goes for RTG - except for iNetBet, damn! Main Street group Playtechs and Kiwi aren't listed. Intercasino as well.