‘E-gambling’ spans a wide and complex array of gambling types and opportunities and is defined as all forms of remote gambling taking place via the internet or other related forms of telecommunication. It includes lotteries ran through cellphones, virtual poker games and prize competitions, such as TV games like ‘Millionaire’. It also includes online fixed odds betting on sports, horse and reality TV shows. In fact, it includes almost every form of gambling, as everything that can be delivered on land can be delivered through cyberspace.

The popularity and the reason for its rapid global expansion are due to the wide range of channels in which the public can now access gambling opportunities, quickly and easily. They can use telephones, personal computers and interactive TV, meaning that gambling occasions that were once limited to casinos or publics events, can now be accessed virtually anywhere, anytime – at home ,work or while mobile, in addition to existing land based gambling outlets and purpose built gambling venues, such as sports cafes.

E-gambling therefore brings its own sets of problems in terms of encouraging or driving problem gambling. Its convenience means that gambling is available 24/7, permitting all forms of gambling for unlimited stakes and prizes, and therefore the most dangerous form from the point of view of impulse gambling and excessive gambling. This is driven even more by the extreme convenience of paying, especially through telephone or TV rental accounts. It is also extremely hard to enforce implementation of safeguards and so there are issues in terms of advertising control and identification of players, especially minors.

Online or e-gambling has long been a reality in South Africa, and yet this sector of the industry was not until recently regulated, although it is not yet legal. It is fair to say that online gambling in general is hard enough to regulate - the wide array of forms of gambling mean that it is difficult for authorities to develop fixed parameters for taxation and even harder to develop measures to ensure games are crime free and honest and that all providers ensure consent amongst consumers and limit excessive gambling.

The very nature of online gambling means that regulatory measures globally are even more shambolic. Despite the international nature of the internet, there is no consistency in regulations for e-gambling globally. In fact the opposite is often true, with many governments having state monopolies on some or all of the commercial gambling in their jurisdiction or lobbying actively for e-gambling suppliers to locate within it. Conversely, many governments respond to prohibitionist pressure, while land based industries form alliances with religious puritans.

However, it is not all bad news. With online gambling every transaction is recorded and so patterns of risky play are easily identified, meaning that loss limiting facilities are easily introduced and problem gambling education easily delivered. Access to Responsible Gambling sites are only a click away and counselling can also be delivered “remotely”.

The proposed amendment to the National Gambling Act in South Africa makes initial steps towards regulations though a number of measures that aim to protect players from dishonest and unfair practices and keep money from being spent outside of South Africa. All players will now need to register before playing, thus denying access to minors while enabling the monitoring of problem gamblers. Operators now need to comply with the provisions of the Finance Intelligence Centre Act and advertising of service providers will be limited.

There is no doubt that these are valuable developments. The question still lies, however, in how e-gambling can be regulated even more efficiently. There need to be international agreements in place and the industry needs to come together to agree on appropriate and effective ways in which to minimize the harm caused by problem gambling. In short, to offer online gamblers the same education and protection offered currently with casino gambling, horse racing and other forms of land-based gambling. Positive opportunities to use technology to tame technology need to be developed even further – player tracking, loss-limiting, e-consumer education and e-counselling. Most importantly, we need to be alert to the wider civil liberty issues and acknowledge the impact of vested interests from providers and governments alike.

This is an extract of a speech given at the Faculty of Law, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Prague, in the Czech Republic by Peter Collins, Professor of Public Policy Studies at The University of Salford and Director of the Centre for the Study of Gambling.

Collins is also executive director of the National Responsible Gambling Programme in South Africa, - a public/private sector initiative and the only one of its kind in Africa. It was founded in June 2000 and is acknowledged internationally to be among the most comprehensive in the world. The NRGP offers education and prevention, treatment and counselling, a Problem Gambling counselling helpline, research and training.