New E-commerce Regulations In Effect in UK
The E-Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 came into effect in the United Kingdom on Aug. 21.
The regulations apply to paid services that are provided by electronic means to consumers--services that are sold by Internet or e-mail--including advertising, stored electronic content or access to a communication network.
The changes to U.K. rules include: service providers will need to comply with laws of their country of origin in addition to the laws of the country they are selling into; service providers will be required to provide their name, address, e-mail and other contact information plus their VAT registration number to their customers; and that commercial communications must clearly be identified as such and must identify the company they come from.
Mexico Closer to Allowing Gambling Establishments
The Mexican government is contemplating a bill that would permit casinos in the country.
On Aug. 23, the Government Commission of the Chamber of Deputies received a draft of a bill that legalize casinos in Mexico as well as the legalization of betting and lotteries. The draft contains regulations for setting up roulette, dice and gar games as well as regulations for running slot machines, numbers games, horse and greyhound racing and cockfighting.
Armando Salinas Torre, chairman of the Government Commission, said some legislators were invited to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New York and Indian reservations to get a taste of the benefits of gambling in the United States.
It is estimated that there are about 1,500 illegal casinos in Mexico.
Thailand Police Chief Supports Legalized Casinos
The national police chief of Thailand is saying casinos should be made legal in the country.
Pol Gen Sant, the police chief, said it is too difficult to put a stop to all of Thailand's illegal gambling establishments and that the practice should be operated in the open and regulated by the government, the Bangkok Post reported Aug. 27.
"We cannot tell Thai people to stop gambling," he said. "Even when they are at the barbers' having their hair cut, they bet on license plates and banknote numbers. Most Asians like gambling. There are underground and mobile gambling dens. As we cannot stop them, we should legalize them."
Regardless of whether the government decides to make gambling legal, he said the nation's police would enforce the law. If gambling is indeed made permissible, only wealthy people could be allowed in casinos to prevent poor people from squandering what little money they have.
"If the government agrees to open casinos, the police will keep them in order and make them benefit society as much as possible," he said. "If the government decides against it, police will try to wipe out underground gambling dens."
Japan Too?
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a business publication in Japan, reported on Aug. 24 that several local governments in Japan are looking at opening casinos as a means of replacing jobs and building government budgets in the wake of the worldwide economic downturn. Eight Japanese localities are considering building casinos.
Americans To Help Train Russians in Gambling Addiction Treatment
As the gambling industry matures in Russia, so is the new--or, in a sense, age-old, problem of problem gambling.
However, Americans trained in treating and preventing the disease are helping Russian doctors recognize and help deal with it. Thomas Tucker, the executive director of the California Council of Problem Gambling, recently traveled to Russia, the BBC reported on Aug. 20.
Tucker said he is holding a training course in Moscow and that his audience is mostly doctors from drug-abuse clinics since people with alcohol addiction sometimes exhibit gambling addiction as well.
Russia's Goskomsport--the State Committee for Physical Training and Sports--was recently given the authority to license gambling establishments, which had been done in the past by local governments.