should be denied access to it. However, the Board does believe that such sites should not take bets from those jurisdictions which have clear bans on gambling generally or indeed clear limits or controls on Internet gambling which restrict access.

Because of concerns about under age and problem gambling and the need for audit trails, players should be required to be registered before gambling and should be subject to similar controls on credit as those which apply to traditional, land-based casinos. In Britain, players can use debit, but not credit, cards for gaming. The Board believes this is a sensible distinction. But if credit cards were to be permitted on the grounds that they are used commonly for Internet gambling throughout the world, then the Board believes operators should be required to impose relatively modest, daily spending limits on their customers who use them. Sites should also have effective means of denying access to children and young persons.

Sites should contain warnings about the dangers of excessive gambling and provide advice and guidance for those who may have a problem, including details of where to get help and support. This is particularly important as it has been suggested that those with addictive tendencies may be particularly vulnerable as a result of the opportunities to gamble on the Internet privately at home.

Any controls which apply to land-based gaming, in terms of such things as the way the games are played and stake and prize limits, should as far as possible be applied similarly to Internet gaming. Likewise controls on advertising should also be similar for the two types of gaming. Hence, whilst it would be possible for players to access their registered accounts at, say, an Internet cafˆm, that cafˆm would not be able actively to promote gambling sites to non-players as that would breach the advertising controls.

Taxation is a matter for the Treasury but it would be counter-productive if the regime was such that it encouraged operators and players to resort to off-shore alternatives in preference to setting up operations in this country.

The Board, and many in the industry, believe that if domestically run and regulated Internet gambling sites were available, they would be very attractive to British gamblers, who would then have no wish or need to resort to off-shore alternatives.