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New Online Gaming Laws in England
 July 26, 2007, 12:22 am (9 years ago)MMO's, or Massive Multiplayer Online Games, like the famous World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings may soon be renamed and sorted as official gambling websites under the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005. These new laws are ment to offer a single new definition for gambling, as any other games which require the use of chance and skill for the goal of winning a prize.
Like the revised Gambling Act puts it, "prize" may include either cash, products or virtual prizes with monetary worth. They also redefine "games of chance" to any game involving the requirement of both skill and chance, or where chance can be eliminated by excessive skill. This new law will affect all MMO's running competitions for prizes, as well as online poker websites, or any other gambling site. According to it, these games will be subjects to the laws and penalties, regardless of their type.
The act was released in order to regulate the growing industry of online gaming, making companies able to operate in the UK for the first time. Alex Chapman of LAw firm Campbell Hooper affirms that the main purpose of the act is to update present gambling laws, some more than 50 years old and thus invalid for the modern times. Nevertheless, various MMOs may be found illegal as soon as the law is applied in September.
For satisfying the new conditions imposed by the act, many MMo operators will have to obtain an official licence for from the Gambling Comission. This may be difficult to obtain, but it will not lead prosecutions on them. Chapman added that this procedure is not simple, but is neither overwhelmingly complex. The goal is that of satisfying the Comission that the operation one runs goes according to the requirements and objectives of the new act.
This new revision will ensure open and fair gambling, as well as the protection of minors or vulnerable persons, and prevention of bonds between crime and gambling. Chapman advises all MMO leaders to consider applying for a gaming license. The company is working associated with various clients of MMO games, and talks over the license issue are under way with the Gambling Comission.
For all those who play MMOs , this means verifying a game before playing it, as playing on illegal gambling webpages could have legal consequences.
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