The government plans to cut betting tax to 10 per cent from the present 25 per cent in a bid to clamp down on illegal practices and enhance tax revenues, officials said yesterday. In 2006, betting tax revenues declined to CYP 4.27 million from CYP 4.59 million in 2005, coming largely from bets on horses and football. Illegal betting is considered to be responsible for the declining revenues.

Victor Chandler, one of Britain's best-known bookmakers, is understood to be one of a group of bookies arrested during the Arc de Triomphe meeting at Longchamps on Sunday for illegally taking bets. The group, including Chandler's nephew and rails representative Butch Beaton-Brown, were caught in a raid on the corporate facility for British racegoers run by Horse Racing Abroad, who take around 1,300 punters to the Arc in Paris every year.

Sports bodies fighting the betting industry over ways of protecting the integrity of sport received backing from the government yesterday. Problems in sport have been highlighted by the case of Kieren Fallon, the former champion jockey, who is currently on trial charged with attempting to defraud customers of a betting exchange. Tennis has also been hit by scandal and Betfair, the online betting company, voided all bets on a recent match after noticing suspicious betting patterns.

Gaming is big business the world over and Jamaica is no exception. As the industry grew here, thegovernment recognized a need for regulation, and so in 1975, it created the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission. In an interview with JIS News, Executive Director of the Commission, Derek Peart explains that the purpose of the Commission is to regulate the gaming industry. "The Commission has the responsibility of regulating them, licensing or approval being given and also to ensure that only persons who are licensed or receive approvals are able to participate.

France is preparing to bow to pressure from Brussels and agree to a partial liberalisation of its state-run betting monopolies. In a sign that it is backing away from a confrontation with the European Commission, Paris has said that it is willing to legalise internet gambling on horse racing and football. The move would give companies such as Sportingbet, the London-listed online bookmaker, a toehold in the EUR 25 billion (GBP 17.4 billion) annual Gallic gambling market.

The European Commission will set itself on collision course with France, Sweden and Greece today when it orders them to end lucrative state-run sports betting monopolies. Paris and Stockholm will be given a final chance to change their legislation or face court action, while Athens will receive an initial warning. Sweden has hinted at a willingness to compromise with Brussels, but the French say that they will defend state gambling operators against competition from the internet.

A gambling industry group argued in federal court Wednesday that a new federal law against transmitting online bets outside the United States violates people's right to gamble in the privacy of their own homes. The group's lawyers said that, because filtering technology already exists to make sure children and compulsive gamblers cannot access offshore betting sites, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act serves only to stifle gambling companies.

A supercasino in Manchester would not lead to an explosion of problem gambling and should go ahead, a major study will claim today. The document will find 'little evidence' that the GBP 265m development - earmarked for east Manchester but set to be scrapped after an apparent u-turn by Gordon Brown - would 'significantly' increase the number of gambling addicts.

So the Gambling Act has finally come into force. Much has been made of its impact on the nation's gambling habits but for those who love watching or playing sport, or betting on sporting events, it is Clause 42, entitled "Cheating", which will be of greatest interest. This aims to ensure that the integrity of sport is protected from the many and various forms of betting. Now it will be a criminal offence punishable by two years in prison to cheat while gambling.

As part of its efforts to safeguard the integrity of the game of football, FIFA is extending its early warning system for monitoring sports betting to take in the preliminary competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup when it kicks off later this year. Early Warning System GmbH, a company founded specifically for this purpose with its own staff and offices in Zurich, has been contracted to undertake this task and started the relevant work on 1 July 2007.

Tony Blair's plans to allow betting shops and internet gambling websites to advertise on television and radio are set to be ditched. Blair and Tessa Jowell, the former culture secretary, had planned legislation that would have removed the ban. The change of policy, indicated by James Purnell, the new culture secretary, is a further sign that Gordon Brown has abandoned the widespread liberalisation of gambling planned by his predecessor.

Spanish The Tax Agency is investigating the growing Internet betting business. A sector which in 2006 generated 413 million euros in Spain, a 65% more than the previous year, which put the country on the top of the European ranking on online gaming. The Finance Ministry controls the activity of these companies, considered illegal by the Law of General Budget of the State for 2007.