Chinese Internet Cafe Users Monitored With Access Cards
The Chinese province of Jiangxi is requiring Internet cafe users to purchase access cards that will help police keep tabs on who is doing what online, including Internet gambling.
The Associated Press reported Nov. 4 that a system used in conjunction with the access cards was installed in all 3,200 Internet cafes in the province last month. A police spokesman who wished to remain anonymous said the system will help police monitor illegal activity online.
"This system gives us more power to prevent crimes and identify criminals on the Internet," he said.
China has 45 million Internet users, and the country's communist government blocks access to sites associated with gambling, pornography and political extremism as well as sites operated by foreign media and religious and human rights groups.
The monitoring system in Jiangxi requires Internet cafe users to register their name, age and address with police, who enter the information into a database. Users then get an access card, which they swipe on a machine before being allowed to go online at a cafe. Police can block access to restricted individuals. So far, more than 200,000 people have obtained the cards.
EU May Take Greece to Court over Gaming Law
Greece's ban on electronic games has caught the European Union's eye and therefore could land the island country in European court.
The BBC reported on Oct. 24 that the European Commission sent the Greek Foreign Ministry a letter saying that the controversial law may be in violation of EU legislation. Such a letter is the first step the EU would take in contesting the law in European court.
According to the letter, the law, which bans electronic games in both public and private places, contradicts Article 28 of the European Community Treaty because it potentially affects imports from other European countries.
The law came into effect in August and was meant to end Internet gambling only. It has been widely criticized as being overzealous. Police have said they will only enforce it in public places.
The European Commission requires the Greek government to respond to its letter within two months.
FATF Takes Four Countries off Blacklist
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Dominica, Niue, the Marshall Islands and Russia from its blacklist of countries that it believes do not cooperate with its fight against money laundering.
The group stated that the Ukraine and Nigeria have been told by FATF members that they need to tighten their controls on money laundering. Nauru is also facing counter-measures if it does not attempt to better control money laundering.
The Cook Islands, Egypt, Grenada, Guatemala, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines also still remain on the blacklist.
The FATF will next review the jurisdictions on its blacklist during meetings to be held Feb. 12-14. The group said it is also asking its members to pay extra attention on suspected money laundering activities.
"The FATF calls on its members to update their advisories requesting that their financial institutions give special attention to business and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, in listed countries or territories to take into account the changes in the list," the group said Oct. 11.
Pokie Moratorium in Australia?
The Australian moratorium on Internet gambling, which eventually turned into a flat-out ban, could extend to gaming machines.
Green Party MP Sue Bradford called in early October for a moratorium on the ubiquitous poker machines, better known as pokies.
Bradford said more than 2,500 gaming machines were in put in operation last year. About 75 percent of problem gamblers in Australia cite pokies as their main gambling outlet.
Bradford said the Green Party would try to get the proposed moratorium heard before a parliamentary select committee.
"If Green provisions to achieve these changes do not make the Responsible Gambling Bill, then I will be moving them as amendments," she said.
In 2000, Consumer Affairs Minister Phillida Bunkle called for a moratorium on importing the machines.