Italy has become the first country in Europe to test the European Union rules on free trade over online gambling. On 24 February it passed a law to ban unauthorised gambling operators and has now published a list of over 600 offshore sites for which Internet providers will be fined as much as €180,000 (US$216,000) if they continue to allow access. In January this year online gambling revenue in Italy is estimated to have reached €42.5 million (US$51.1 million).

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) is considering challenging the Italian decision through the EU courts. The online sites, increasingly part of mainstream entertainment, are accepted in countries such as the UK as being part of the gambling industry and therefore to be regulated. However, in the US there are continuing attempts to outlaw the Internet gambling sites and the country has yet to comply with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on a case brought by Antigua & Barbados over access to American markets. Online gambling is worth around US$120 billion annually around the world, and a high percentage of players are US citizens.

Last week online sites with any gambling content suddenly became unavailable on one US ISP provider, and it seems possible that the federal government is now pressurizing the ISPs just as it previously did advertising media and credit card issuers. The battle over censorship on the Internet is far from over. The US criticises China over blocking its citizens from some Internet access but, with the new Italian legislation and moves by US federal legislators, it seems that the wide world may be shrinking when it comes to the web. (E-03.06.06)

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