Online Gambling Donations Do the Work

Published August 25, 2007 by OCR Editor

A couple of donations from online gambling groups have coincided with Labour Party decisions to scrap plans for a land based mega casino and have raised some criticism of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The English have a new scandal to talk about over tea these days, as it has been revealed that the English Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has received donations from online gambling operator Bet365. The donations, two in total, amounted to £150,000, the first one, mysteriously and suspiciously, received on June 28 (for the sum of £100,000), only one day after Brown has entered office.

This would have been all nice and good, had Brown and the Tories not cancelled plans, two weeks later, to establish a mega casino in England. The casino, planned to be erected in Manchester, was supposed to take on a style reminiscent of Las Vegas casinos, with as many as 1,250 unlimited-jackpot slot machines.

The plans for the super-casino were originally the previous administration's, by fellow Labour Party Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair himself received a £50,000 donation by the same online gambling sites operator, in April earlier this year.

The accusations are focused on the double play at hand. The Tories and Brown are taking the high moral ground on all things gambling - online casinos and mega casino centers. At the same time they accept donations from operators of such businesses. This is all taking place in a time that the online gambling future is being decided in the UK. New bills, acts and laws are being passed and implemented these days, trying to make sense of the entire industry and perhaps bring the UK to a leading status and an example for other governments around the world.

Is this the best behaviour to show while involving itself in the regulatory efforts?