E-gaming gets the go-ahead
Thursday 22nd April 2010, 3:00PM BST.
JERSEY is to cash in on the multi-billion-pound internet gaming industry after a landmark States vote yesterday.
After years of debate, the Island could soon become home to global gaming companies which have captivated a new generation of gamblers.
The lucrative industry attracts punters who can now bet from their mobile phones during sporting events as well as play, for example, online poker.
Islanders could also benefit from the creation of the new industry, as it could be the catalyst for faster internet connection speeds.
• See Thursday’s JEP for full story.
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Now we are officially ‘gambling friendly’, any chance of a Casino on the Island?
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Well done, only 10 years too late.
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If it creates plenty of new jobs and income for the Island then this can only be a good thing.
Let’s just hope the companies coming over don’t employ all their staff from abroad and that the States don’t allow them to avoid tax like so many other companies.
Rev
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Only a decade late to the party, all the big money has already gone.
100 quid they mess it up
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Anything that gives us faster broadband is welcome, 2 meg is dog slow by modern standards and very expensive compared to cheaper faster UK providers.
JT are advertising 8 meg but don’t tell you that unless you live in town you can’t have it for up to 2 years. Who else would make a big deal out of advertising a service that isn’t available for 2 years, 3rd World smart – home grown!
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Too late. Far, far, too late. Boat missed and over the horizon by now… Idiots in power have zero vision.
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10 years to late as usual
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Horse. Bolt. Gate. Shut ?
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Well done the Sates of Jersey about 11 years too late!
It’s now already established in Guernsey, Isle of Mann and Gibraltar.
The annoying thing is I was asked about this 12 years ago while I was still in the island and gave the advice to allow it to happen.
So it seems that even when good advice is given from a local who knows his business we are ignored in favour of expensive outside consultants.
Geeze how did Jersey ever survive the previous 800 years on its own with local people having their own ideas and opportunities?
For the islands sake wake up and smell the coffee and listen to free local advice we have the islands best interests at heart not like external agencies / advisors.
If you have gotten this far in reading this I can only assume you are not a states member as it appears they can’t even see past their own noses at the best of times!
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Oh good
idiots are gonna contribute to my tax bill
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Let’s party like it’s 1999 – oh wait a second it is in Jersey!!!
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With the majority of the States being made up of rightwing religious members until recently, is it any wonder online gambling is 10 years too late?
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Congratulations to the states of Jersey for being only 10 years behind.
Usually it’s twenty. Things are looking up!
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Too little too late! We missed the boat on this one big time!
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OMG our methodist leaders must of been asleep during the vote! we are all doomed with the sin and are going to hell..
but hold on someone has realised there is money to be made therefore lets put our morals aside and get on the gravy train.
Right decision, wrong time and too late.
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Jersey has missed the boat on this one.
Maybe a casino but again this will be to late.
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Now we need to market pornography aswell perhaps a rude tube e site?
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Good a little diversification in the economy.
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Welcome jersey to 2010,now we want the lotto.it’s stupid as i can play on line anyway,just so long as i have an uk bank a/c.and pay through that a/c…ABOUT TIME…
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Ok, so now tell me something please!!
Does that mean that we can now buy UK and Irish lottery tickets online, as buying online did fall under the gambling act??
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“JT are advertising 8 meg but don’t tell you that unless you live in town you can’t have it for up to 2 years.”
Someone at JT has been telling you fibs, I’ve had an 8mb connection since they turned it on for public use, and I live in St Ouen.
Though I agree it is ridiculously highly priced. Unlike the mainland though, 95% of the time I’ve had access to my full 8mb. On my Virgin Media connection in Cardiff two years ago, my ’20mb’ connection never connected higher than 1.6m – mind you, it was still cheaper than JT’s 2mb service.
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5, Mulvie Le Phew
What on earth are you talking about? I live up near the Zoo and I have a perfectly fine 8 meg broadband speed.
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J-Cat
“Now we are officially ‘gambling friendly’, any chance of a Casino on the Island? ”
You have a lot to learn my son.
The Methodists and the Stopford Road boys will never,ever,allow it to happen.
Perhaps when another generation has passed but certainly not in our lifetime.
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About time. Roll on faster broadband.
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This island is being run by absolute jerks.
Why leave it so many years? – because they thought it had an adverse effect on families!
What a joke!
Why not just ban the internet completely, let us go back to wearing cloth caps, donkey jackets and ride our bikes everywhere. Why not arrest Jess Dunsdon for corrupting us with showing too much leg in the evenings.
I could go on – I think I’ve made my point
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Oh Fine!!
We can’t have a casino because we will cause social deprivation by enticing the weak-willed to gamble away their earnings and cause little Jonny to go without his food and necessities…. but we can have e-gaming!
I bet the methodists weren’t asked for an opinion on this one!
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I enquired about an 8 meg connection and was told it was only available in town. Would be rolled out to St. Saviours in 2 years.
Hey maybe they don’t want me on the internet, I wouldn’t
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Of course this is way too late. This industry is established, it has had it’s boom, it have had it’s collapsed and the strongest have survived. It can be lucrative a industry, but only when run smooth and well by a clever company. I have been working in the IT business with gambling systems and internet based gaming systems for more than 10 years now and the party is over. Now these companies are driven by healthy business ideas, they need to be smart, cost efficient. But they are also struggling to handling international and national regulations, running and development cost. The question is, what can we offer these companies to move their business to Jersey? There are a lot of countries that offers good deals, tax wise, with good communication, speedy network connection and well educated workforce available these type of new establishments within EU, like Lithuania and Macedonia and in other low cost countries. What offers should we give these companies so they will spend millions of pound to relocate to a new place? What is the plan?
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Theres a couple of empty buildings on the water front that used to be a night club…..Good place for a casino me thinks…..
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good grief!! gambling and double-deck buses!!
well done, Jersey!
What next? A phone network that works?
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10 writes: “Oh good
idiots are gonna contribute to my tax bill”
Exactly.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone, far away, will pay dearly for your a bit faster broadband.
If we just think that life is a morals – free zone, then life will come and bite us.
You may think me first me first does not matter, but it does. I wonder if this is ultimately for the good of the island, I suspect not.
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Residents of Jersey can already bet online, so what’s been the States big opposition to e-gaming arriving here?
What about the new breed of traders operating through Betfair? Surely they are no different to people playing the stock market, actually gambling isn’t a million miles removed from many jobs within the world of finance.
I agree with Beaumont (your Jess Dunsdon quip made me laugh) – the attitude of the States is almost Victorian. Who the hell are they to decide what’s right or wrong for other people?
Unfortunately, as already mentioned – it’s too late
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From one corrupt and immoral niche industry to yet another. Jersey’s values have changed since growing potatoes, milking cows and welcoming tourists supported an Island populated by Islanders.
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Mulvie Le Phew,
I think someones telling you lies, I know plenty of people in the maufant area in St Saviour’s who have 8 meg since it was rolled out. I even know someone who works for JT with a 16 meg connection in St. Saviours!
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Interesting to see the Methodists getting a couple of mentions above.
My reaction to this news was “Whatever happened to the time honoured principle of the Island being run in accordance with the views of it’s straight-laced newspaper”.
What next, Sunday trading for all?
How about an Amsterdam type sex industy as well as a casino?
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It seems form the comments above that very few people have experienced the troubles that a gambling addiction brings on an individual and family.
And, your correspondents accuse our Esteemed Members short sighted.
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Not sure how this is meant to be a good thing.
Local companies have been involved in online gaming provision for years developing software for Camelot and other e-gaming providers. I don’t see this work increases just because the games can now be hosted here.
All this means is the States now have the right to charge for licences for game providers to host their services in the island … which they may or may not do based on cost of that hosting which is down to the providers (JT, Foreshore, etc).
I’m more concerned that the States have actually decided to cash in on a market that has major negative impact on users – Gambling Addiction is practically endemic in our community and is on the rise. For the States to permit E-Gaming without considering the social impact and the cost of mitigating that impact is utterly irresponsible.
And I wouldn’t count on faster internet off the back of this either. The island already has massive capacity connections to the UK and France to support the connectivity requirements of the Finance Industry.
E-Gaming will improve our off island bandwidth and infrastructure – it won’t touch our internal broadband and with JT facing the problems it currently has due to increased competition in the domestic market, it’s doubtful they’ll be in a hurry to invest any additional profits back into local services.
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#35 Rozel Aubin
‘How about an Amsterdam type sex industy as well as a casino?’
There is a god!
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Don’t hold you breath – this still has to be approved by the [unelected] civil servants at JFSC and it goes against their unilateral policy of Jersey being the number one whiter than white tax haven regardless of the cost to the local population.
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LOTTOFAN
You are correct you can play the Lotto online from Jersey if you have a UK bank account and as long as you keep winning tenners and small amounts then this will be fine – if you ever won the Jackpot though they wouldnt pay it to you as you put the ticket on whilst in Jersey, the same would apply if a UK resident was over here on holiday and went onto your computer and played online, its all about where you actually are when you buy the ticket.
I stopped playing online from over here for this reason.
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‘Why not arrest Jess Dunsdon for corrupting us with showing too much leg in the evenings.’
That Jess really needs to stop being such a trollope.
She was wearing a skirt that showed her ankles the other night! What is the world coming to.
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How many years of e-gaming will be required to recoup the 100 million tax payers cash wasted on that rediculous incinerator on the Jersey coastline.
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All this talk of a sex industry and Jess Dunsdon’s legs…
I am having trouble seeing any further than that at the moment.
What is this thread about?
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Personally, I reckon they are taking a huge gamble.
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Jambo 38.
Re: There is a god!
Well there’s a turn-up for the books! I’d better start praying then….
“Lord protect me from the economic consequences of bad government policies….”
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I fail to understand the gambling affect on peoples lives argument with regards to jersey being able to host e-gaming. If you are addicted to gambling this has no affect on you whatsoever unless you can explain why a gambling addict does not have easy access to a bookies or the crown and anchor or home card games or online gambling as it is already.
This egaming does not mean people with an addiction will find it easier to gambe it will just be as easy as it always has been, no easier, and no harder. Its not as though they will be able to walk into an egaming companies offices and start placing bets they will do it online as they can already. Bit of a non starter that argument in my opinion. Unless you are going to come straight out and say all gambling in and from Jersey should be barred then that is a different matter but not what this decission is about.
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Haha some of you posters are bonkers!
It’s the reason I love this site, some comments really make me laugh – we go from E-Gaming to Jess Dunsdon’s legs within 25 posts
Poor Jess, I hope she doesn’t read this site, I remember a thread at Christmas recommending she turns on the Christmas lights in a St Trinian’s outfit!
With regards to E-Gaming I agree fully with Carly #32. Betfair is an internet phenomenen. They have given rise to a new era of betting traders, these people are absolutely no different to financial wizards who the States adore so much. I really don’t understand why the States oppose such a move, it makes no sense whatsoever
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47 Jean..you have to admit ,a good pair of legs is an infinitely more desirable subject than whether online gaming is allowed…..
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Jon James 36
….so should we ban food because of the problems associated with food addiction?
Get a grip. Control and willpower is part of being an adult…..for those weak willed and greedy then they bring misfortune upon themselves in my opinion.
I get so fed up of the minority trying to ruin the enjoyment of the majority because they cannot take responsibility for themselves!
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BS DeLuxe 49
Re: “Control and willpower is part of being an adult…..for those weak willed and greedy then they bring misfortune upon themselves in my opinion.”
Although I can agree with you with regard to gamblers, I can’t when it comes to compulsive eaters. I believe they are faced with a far more trying task than gamblers. How many gamblers have no choice but to sit at a roulette table (whether virtual or real) three times a day?
Compulsive eaters must face their demon daily at mealtimes. Following a super-restrictive diet when food is there to be had requires enormous willpower and self-discipline…it must be very hard indeed to have to spend one’s entire life avoiding such temptation.
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Born Warrior
Sorry, my post wasn’t clear.
The first part was relating to addiction in general and I just chose eating addiction to make my point.
The second part related to gambling not eating.
My bad :-0
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They have really missed the boat on this one, but better late then never I suppose, but whey did it take so long?
Hopefully, Jersey Telecom, our World Class telecommunications company are going to pull their finger out now and provide us with faster broadband than the existing overpriced 8mb service.
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