The RGA – global voice for the online gambling industry

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) is proud to support the International Gaming Awards on 25th January 2010 and certainly hope our members will feature among the winners at such a prestigious charitable event. As the largest trade association for the world online gambling industry we are pleased to see an awards ceremony that seeks to reward excellence in all areas of our industry. The origin of the RGA can be traced back to 2000 and we like to think we have grown alongside online gambling which in the past decade has been one of the internet’s greatest commercial success stories.

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) represents most of the worlds largest, licensed and stock market-listed remote gambling companies and although we are based in Europe, with fully staffed offices in London and Brussels the issue of cross border gambling is totally global where businesses have to compete in an international market to survive. Currently we have or will shortly have consultants in France, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Czech Republic in addition to resources on standby in the majority of jurisdictions active in the legislative or licensing process. Ultimately the RGA believes that opinion formers across the EU have a responsibility to view online gambling objectively and it is our confirmed belief that reputable, well regulated companies can be controlled in a way that meets all reasonable public policy, security and health concerns.

Internationally it is no secret that several of our members suffered badly when the US Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) back in October 2006, collectively losing billions in market value overnight. However under the new administration there are encouraging signs, such as increasing support for The Frank Bill that could see a federal licensing system for online casinos and poker become a reality in the foreseeable future. In addition it is a positive sign that the key states, most notably California have begun to look seriously at the regulation of online poker at State level.

In these and many other areas, the industry has much to be proud of and it must be right that this is properly recognized. That is why the RGA embraces events like the International Gaming Awards as a night when, without political agendas, the great positives of the industry can be showcased, be it in terms of technology, social responsibility, customer service or innovation.