As of September 1st, the UK online casino industry has entered a new era, as from now on, the sole responsible for the control of online gambling will be the Gambling Commission, which appears to be right now one of the most powerful gambling regulators in the world. Many people in the UK have waited a very long time for this to happen and it finally did. The Gambling Act of 2005, which has been talked about so much lately, will replace a legislation dating as far back as 1845 and it will control several kinds of gambling activities, including bingo, lotteries, casinos and online casinos.

In addition, this new act gives more authority to the local authorities by empowering more than 1 500 licensing officers that will enforce the new laws. Many changes will be made thanks to the Gambling Act, including the fact that the Gambling Commission will be the sole regulator for betting shops and online casino sites, local authorities will be able to impose sanctions on operators and limit their opening hours and TV gambling advertisements will be allowed for the first in British history.

“Many people like to gamble, and for the vast majority it’s harmless fun. It’s always been like that, but the way people gamble has changed, which meant that we had to change the rules too” said UK Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe. There’s no doubt that we’re entering a new era of online gambling and online casino sites, to the delight of millions of UK online gamblers. At least for now, the American players can only envy them and hope for a better future.