Isle of Man-based online gaming firm PokerStars should find out in the next couple of weeks whether it will have to earn United Kingdom regulatory approval.
According to reports in the Observer newspaper, UK culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is preparing to radically overhaul online gambling licensing rules there.
Currently, firms such as PokerStars can advertise in the UK without being licensed by the country's Gambling Commission, as long as they are in the jurisdiction they operate in and the UKGC approves of the regulator.
But that could be about to change, following the money laundering and illegal gambling charges brought against the founders of PokerStars, Absolute Poker and Full Tilt Poker in the United States in April.
The Observer article has a quote from a UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson, which, referring to the charges, says: 'This highlights why the government is looking at reforming how overseas-based operators are regulated, and we hope to make an announcement in the next few weeks'.
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