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30 Mar 2006
The Italian government has outlawed online casino gambling sites and, in effect, prevented its citizens from playing online casino games on the internet. This makes Italy the first European government to take such a drastic step. The Remote Gambling Association (RGA), which represents online casino gambling operators and sites, has threatened to take the Italian government to court. This is in the wake of Italy's decision to outlaw online casino gambling sites through a new law that came into effect in February.
The RGA argues that by preventing online casino operators to provide their services to Italian citizens, the government is in fact violating the European Union rules on free trade.The Italian government published a list of some 600 online casino gambling sites, and moves are been made to prevent Italian internet providers from connecting to these banned online casino sites. If found guilty of allowing access to these online casinos, internet providers will be fined up to 180,000 Euros.
The list of banned casinos includes offshore sites that operate out of countries where online gambling is legal, such as Antigua and other Caribbean locations. Italy has become the first European government to ban online casino gambling; a seemingly ironic move as the UK Gambling Act comes into effect next year and legalizes online casino wagering in that country. Online gambling sites in Italy earned over 42 million Euros in January this year alone and the industry continues to grow. It is interesting to see which path the rest of Europe will take in this highly controversial issue.
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