Tessa Jowell, secretary for the U.K. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), has openly criticized the U.S. government for its legislative assault the Internet gambling industry, likening it to a modern-day prohibition era.
Speaking out against the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, signed earlier this month by President George W. Bush, Jowell said on Thursday that the legislation could encourage the kind of fraud and exploitation experienced during the prohibition era, when the United States banned the production and sale of alcohol from 1920 to 1933.
"America should have learnt the lessons of prohibition," Jowell told Financial Times. "The Volstead Act (the legislation that led to prohibition) was meant to stop alcohol from causing harm, but in practice, it forced otherwise law-abiding customers into the hands of the bootleggers."
She went on to say that the new law could turn offshore sites based in poorly regulated countries into the modern-day equivalent of speakeasies, the illegal barrooms during the prohibition era.
Jowell's suggestion, like many others, is to follow England's lead and regulate online gambling instead of prohibit it.
Under the U.K. Gambling Act 2005, set to go into full effect in September 2007, the Gambling Commission will give official approval to sites with the best working practices. Furthermore, operators will not be allowed to target children and must keep customers informed of how much money they have spent.
"I firmly believe we have chosen the path that will do the most to keep out crime," she said.
The DCMS has organized the first ever international summit on remote gambling, which kicks off next Tuesday at Royal Ascot racecourse. Among the topics of discussion will be the development of an international industry-wide code of practice. Jowell said she was determined to kick-start a debate on the global regulation of gambling ahead of the event, at which the United States will be notably absent.