Following the landmark decision, a debate on e-gaming legislation will be held next year. Such legislation would enable people to tap into a new industry of websites running online gambling services, such as online poker and sports betting sites.
Several small jurisdictions, including Guernsey, Alderney, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar, have already set up online gambling industries, leaving Jersey several years behind. Members approved the first step towards an internet gambling industry yesterday when they backed the proposal by Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean to set up the Jersey Gambling Commission to license and regulate the gambling industry – a move which was agreed in principle in 2005.
Senator Maclean said that the commission would also be a consultative and advisory body which would have a social responsibility to protect people from gambling addiction.
