There has been much controversy regarding the white listing of online bingo sites in the UK since the promulgation of the new Gambling Act of 2005. Some online bingo operators have been applying to obtain licenses from areas that are white listed by the Gambling Commission, while others are staying put and hoping that the area that they operate out of will be white listed sometime in the near future.
Unfortunately the wait and see attitude adopted by the online bingo operators who are hoping that their areas will be added to the white listing has backfired for some.
Kahnawáke and Antigua are two of the larger jurisdictions that the Secretary of State for Culture has refused to allow onto the UK online bingo white list, both of these states provide a licensing base for online bingo sites such as Cyber Bingo and sites in the Playtech fold. Apparently the DCMS has refused the white listing because the licensing regime of the two jurisdictions does not meet the standards expected of them.
Being white listed is the channel that online bingo operators need in order to be able to advertise within the UK. It does not necessarily mean that UK residents cannot play on these sites. However, without a means to effectively market their products to their target market, could mean that the operators might lose a substantial amount of income that could have made a difference to their bottom line.
