The Morning of a New Day

The first TV ad ever! Alright, maybe we should not be so dramatic, as television and television ads have been part of our lives for long years, as have online casinos as a matter of fact. But a television ad for an online gambling site is a first. It marks a new day for all the industries involved.

The first ad to be broadcast in Wales and north East England conveys this festive feeling of good times. For many, these truly are good times; in fact, it seems to be improving from here on.

Is this so? Are the new gambling laws in England, those that allow for pictures of actual playing at tables to air on television and place online casinos alongside commercials for laundry detergent and automakers, good for all?

Besides the effects on the gambling culture and community, television stations will now enjoy a new market, and a wealthy one at that, competing over the airwave, paying top dollar (pound or euro) for 30 second spots. Online casinos from across Europe - numbered in the hundreds - from territories that are allowed to advertise under the new law, will send their ads to the UK with large sums of money. The traffic would actually center on the UK, for it being the first to allow the ads to air and at a time that casinos are banned from other markets.

The same will follow on buses driving into the cities, on radio stations and other media hosting commercials, including, naturally, the Internet. Many industries will profit from the new age of casino ads.

But there is also the effect on online gambling, legitimizing the industry and raising issues of social responsibility. While the UK government regulators have put together a white list that allows gaming operators in other European Union countries to advertise in Britain, it has in other statements said not to ban people living outside the UK from gambling at UK-based casinos, saying "It is up to the consumer what they do."

But that would not be the case with regard to the English gambler. The government will protect UK-based gamblers. James Purnell, the UK Culture Secretary, said in a statement, "Protection is my No. 1 priority." As it ought to be.

The UK experiment could prove that online gambling can coexist with responsible gambling, legit operators, mainstream media and not entirely protectionist policies.