Feeling lucky?

The UK government has just banned about 1,000 offshore gambling sites from advertising - across all media - within the country.

The ban does not affect gambling companies within the European Economic Area.

According to The Guardian, the new Gambling Act will forbid online gambling firms based outside of the UK, including Costa Rica, the Netherlands Antilles and Belize, from advertising within the UK. The Department of Culture Media will preside over the process of punishing offenders.

The ban includes all media, including television, newspapers, radio, taxi cabs, buses, websites and magazines.

Countries seeking exemption must meet a set of regulatory standards and appear on a "white list." Standards were set in place to keep children from gambling, protect the "vulnerable," ensure the fairness of game play and discourage crime.

Thus far, only Alderney and the Isle of Man have made the white list.

Internet gambling is a prevalent problem, with the US' own House of Representatives also considering controls on legitimizing some gambling firms and blacklisting others.

The crackdown on off-shore gambling firms may be attributed to the difficulty of pursuing abusers of UK citizens with legal action if all goes awry.

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