How White is the White List

It has been about a year that the United Kingdom has led efforts to regulate the online gambling industry. September 1 is one coming date that will be momentous, as the wide-scope bill comes into effect. One element of the bill was announced more recently, and calls for a ban on advertising any online casino that is not included on the official White List.

What is behind the White List? How does a country or territory get on it? Is it really white or merely whitewashed? Such questions concern casino operators, world governments and individual gamblers all. Here are some answers.

White Label countries, those included on the list, who will be allowed to advertise online casinos in the UK under the new bill, are mainly members of the European Union. This raises some suspicion by the industry, for the UK seems to have taken the easy way, avoiding confrontation with EU members, for it can face counter measures by the hands of EU authorities.

The European Court could find the UK faulting in unfair practices. Hence the White List including the UK's fellow European member countries. Those left out are not as happy, though. With no immediate legal check on a ban on such overseas countries, UK protectionism can take effect.

The White List, as of today, includes: the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Netherlands Antilles has been excluded.

Yet, Antigua and Barbuda, of the most established, long active countries to permit online gambling are optimistic and expect the UK to include them on the White List. Whether they make it or not will be a litmus test regarding the UK motivation - honest regulatory efforts or sheer protectionism.