Online Gambling Needs Regulation

                 

       Prohibition and Department of Justice Actions Counterproductive

    BETonSPORTS plc National Public Policy Initiative Launches in New York

    NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- A panel of experts met today to launch
a national public policy initiative -- "Proposition 1: To Regulate or Prohibit
Online Gambling" -- designed to create a framework for lawmakers to regulate
the online gambling industry.  The meeting, the first in a series of "Summits"
to be held across the U.S. this month, was hosted by BETonSPORTS plc, the
world's largest online wagering service.
    Today's discussion examined the issue of regulation vs. prohibition of the
online gaming industry.  The consensus of the panel, which included four
experts from the fields of law, education and online gambling, was that online
gambling would exist whether it's legal or illegal: regulation is necessary to
protect consumers and bring the industry into the full light of government
oversight.  Regulation will therefore help eliminate illegal behaviors that
can result from relegating gaming to the margins of society.  The federal
government's current position of prohibition, and the actions of the
Department of Justice against media companies accepting advertising from the
online gambling industry, is counterproductive and based on archaic legal
thinking.
    Koleman Strumpf, an associate professor of economics at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has completed extensive research on the subject
and shared his theory on the connection between prohibition of gambling and
bad behavior: "Regardless of one's view of betting, the prohibition policy
that we are currently engaged in is a very bad policy because prohibitions
tend not to work and prohibition tends to lead to exacerbating the harms
associated with the activity, to bring out the worse in terms of encouraging
bad behavior."
    Linda Goldstein, a partner with the firm of Manatt, Phelps and Philips LLP
and a nationally-recognized expert in several distinct segments of the
advertising and marketing industry including promotions, the Internet, direct
response and telemarketing, called for legislators to "rethink" the current
approach when dealing with online gambling. "I hope what happens here today is
a catalyst for legislators and public policy makers to rethink some of the
approach to this issue," she said.  "The enforcement activities that have
occurred have been haphazard and not really effective.  The gambling laws and
the acts that were written 50 years ago did not contemplate the invention of
the Internet."
    The subject of regulation as a means of protecting the consumer was
covered by Frank Catania.  Mr. Catania is a former Director of the New Jersey
Division of Gaming Enforcement, the regulatory and enforcement agency
responsible for maintaining integrity and trust in all Atlantic City gaming
operations.  He spoke extensively about how regulation in the online gaming
industry can ensure that the rights of consumers and the rights of businesses
are protected, with a particular focus on the steps that could be taken to
meet this standard.  "What the Department of Justice is doing in the
intimidation of media companies is a blatant violation of their authority," he
said.  "In my view, this industry should be regulated at the state level where
the expertise about gaming exists.  Online gaming companies can submit to
probity checks, be required to conform to the regulations on payouts and
that's where player protections can be instituted."
    Legalizing and regulating online gambling will also benefit the economy,
members of the panel predicted.  Prohibiting online gambling would only allow
another country to take the lead on developing it as a legitimate and
profitable business.  Said David Carruthers, Chief Executive Officer of
BETonSPORTS: "It is shortsighted to imagine that this business stops at the
shores of the United States.  The US could be the home of online gaming for
the world and exploit markets way beyond its shores."
    The Summit tour continues in Washington on Thursday, September 16, at the
Occidental Grill from 12:30pm to 3:30pm.  Panelists will include Emily
Hancock, E-Commerce and Technology Law Attorney at Steptoe & Johnson LLP,
Robin Hanson, and Ph.D., Assistant Economics Professor at George Mason
University, and Keith Whyte, Executive Director, National Council on Problem
Gambling.  Next, the Summit moves to Chicago on September 22 and Los Angeles
on September 24.
    Also part of the initiative is a series of college campus debates and an
advertising campaign.

    College Debates
    BETonSPORTS will host a series of debates that tackle the issues
surrounding the growth and proliferation of online gambling on college
campuses -- from whether "responsible gambling" is a contradiction in terms,
to exploration of the ethical issues of student-athletes wagering on
collegiate games.
    Students make up a growing part of the online gambling market and yet they
have not been actively engaged on the issues, let alone discussion on what
constitutes responsible online gambling.  Moreover, according to the NCAA,
gambling by student-athletes is occurring at a "startling" rate. As students
continue to use the Internet for gambling, these debates will help them become
better informed on the issues, understand responsible gambling, and have an
impact on public policy-making.

    National Advertising Campaign
    As part of BETonSPORTS' "Right to Wager" campaign, television
advertisements making the case for online gambling enthusiasts' right to
decide whether to wager online or not have started airing in 20 cities across
the U.S. including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.  The
television ads are running in conjunction with an online campaign where
visitors are asked to sign a petition and/or send a letter to their
congressman.  Print advertising is set to run in newspapers nationwide as
well.

    For a complete list of Summit panel members, to obtain a copy of the
advertisements, or to participate in or attend either the Summit meetings or
the College Debates, please contact Kajal Jhaveri, Ruder Finn, at 212-593-5864
or mailto:%20jhaverik@ruderfinn.com.

    About BETonSPORTS plc
    BETonSPORTS, which operates the largest online wagering service in the
world, is committed to providing its clients with the most value for their
wagering dollar and quality customer service capabilities. Headquartered in
San Jose, Costa Rica, the company is licensed in the Caribbean, Central
America and Europe, and has obtained a bookmakers permit in the UK, where
gambling has been a legal and respected tradition for over forty years.  The
company trades under the symbol BSS.L on the London Stock Exchange's
Alterative Investment Market.  BETonSPORTS.com has been ranked the number one
sportsbook by a number of leading industry organizations, including the
Offshore Gaming Association (OSGA), the International Sports Book Council
(ISBC) and Insiders Football Guide. Visit http://www.betonsports.com/ for more
information.

     Contact: Montieth Illingworth
              Ruder Finn Corporate & Financial
              212.715.1679
              mailto:%20illingworthm@ruderfinn.com

              Kajal Jhaveri
              Ruder Finn Corporate & Financial
              212.593.5864
              mailto:%20jhaverik@ruderfinn.com