communication by which one person offers another a lottery ticket and that second person agrees to buy. Two such proposals have been approved.
There is nothing in the legislation which makes it illegal, or seeks to prevent, British residents gambling on the Internet from their own homes. The position in respect of public places such as Internet cafes is less clear and more difficult.
Overseas gambling operations are subject to restrictions on the extent to which they can advertise here. In the case of casino and similar gaming, this does not amount to a total ban but prevents advertisements which, to paraphrase, invite the public to subscribe money or to apply for information about facilities for subscribing money. Some Internet casino operators have begun to advertise within these constraints. Added complications arise because the whole question of what constitutes an advertisement on the Internet, and then what can or cannot be done if it is, remains far from clear.

Such complexities and inconsistencies in legislation are unsatisfactory, raise difficulties for regulation and regulators and puzzle and perplex the licensed British gambling industry. It is not surprising that, with the ban on sites here, British operators are considering legitimate opportunities abroad to establish Internet casinos which would then take bets from anywhere including Great Britain. Stanley's, one of the country's leading casino and bookmaking companies, and William Hill, another leading bookmaker, already have such operations and others are actively pursuing their own plans. Following an approach from the British Casino Association, the Board has indicated that it is prepared to discuss a Code of Practice with such operators which aims to provide assurance that nothing is done which breaches British law and which will provide adequate protection to those British residents who choose to play on those sites.

In the light of all this, the Board has been considering what are the policy options for dealing with Internet gambling in the future. It analyses these below. Much of what is said relates mainly to casino style gaming in particular, and to a lesser extent bingo, gaming machines and lotteries, as these are the areas for which the Board has direct responsibility and knowledge.