Congress Legalized Gambling Over the Internet
Webmasters, Web Developers and alike have always been in a tight spot whenever a client presents a project that involves online gaming or the promotion of online gaming. The tight spot is not knowing exactly what the law allows and what it does not. Even though it is not the job of the webmaster to know about the law it is almost always good to be knowledgeable on the subject.
On Wednesday, July 26, 2010, Congress took a step forward in approving the bill that would allow for legalized gambling over the Internet.
In accordance to an article written by Steve Tetreault of Stephens Washington Bureau titled “Place Your Bets: Online Gambling Clears Obstacle”, dated July 28, 2010 in the Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper, “The legislation was approved by the Financial Services Committee by a 41-22 vote. Onlookers included lobbyists for the gaming industry, Indian tribes, poker interests and companies that operate gaming sites outside the United States.” It was indicated that none of the Nevada lawmakers were not involved on the committee. Representative Shely Berkley, D-Nev. and Dina Titus, D-Nev endorses the bill and concludes that the future of gaming is online and that expansion of online gaming will create more jobs for the state.
At this time, Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines still do not allow any type of advertising that is related to gaming. Since Google is the dominant search engine, below is what they consider prohibitive:
Examples of products that Google AdWords prohibits:
-promotion of gambling, sports betting, or casino games regardless of whether money is exchanged
-gambling-related vouchers or promos such as bonus codes
-gambling-related tutoring and educational materials such as books and e-books
-gambling software
-poker odds calculators
-online Scratch games for money run by a private entity
-tips, odds, handicapping, and sports picks
-pages obviously driving traffic to online gambling sites such as through excessive third-party ads
-non-national or state lotteries
-national or state lottery affiliates or aggregators
There are exceptions, however, to the rules. Here are examples of acceptable products according to Google’s Content Guidelines:
-approved online gambling advertisers
-location-based or “bricks and mortar” gambling
-contests, sweepstakes, and raffles
-sale of physical scratch cards
-online scratch games run by state, national, or Indian reservations
-fantasy sports contests
-financial spread betting
-physical gambling equipment
-national or state lotteries
The most important thing to remember is that it is always the responsibility of the client to make sure that their website content are within the confines of the law – whether it is in the US or other countries.
Good luck!!
Tags: acceptable content, congress, las vegas, online gaming, website design
