| So WMS has been sold... time to buy some more stock in the Slot companies methinks.... :-) More on the story here. Trying to make my February Foreword contemporary I thought I'd have a quick look at what is happening currently in the UK press and swiftly found "Addiction soars as online gambling hits £2bn mark" from the Independent. The feature is quite well-constructed from a sensationalist viewpoint touching on all of the old favourites: FOBTs compared to crack cocaine and the obligatory story about Mrs X who started off with a few games of free bingo online and then fuelled her habits with her son's lunch money... read more online... The main implications are that online gaming regulation in the UK will rely not on the point of origin but on the point of consumption. Simply put, if your online service is capable of being played in the UK you will need to be licensed... and that is where the controls hopefully can be made. Not now, not even in the next year or so - but longer term. And what of casinos? Well, there was a chance for all of this to have been wrapped up and tied in to physical bricks and mortar years ago but the industry was too slow. Not slow to react - but slow to think ahead... beyond the boundaries of existing technology; ... read more online...
Most industries need to have strong representation with individual companies being prepared to work with their competitors to make sure that such representation not only exists but is active. If that industry is considered a pariah then such a united front is needed even more and certainly needs to be pro-active; to think ahead; to promote a more positive image. Let us hope that this happens. Finally, I and my colleagues are looking forward to ICE and its new venue. I have been to Excel for other events and it is a great place that improves each year so I hope exhibitor and guests alike will appreciate it and come to love it in the future. Glyn Thomas Editor My blog | 
