About 1,000 online casinos and gambling websites are expected to be affected when new legislation comes into force in the United Kingdom. The changes were passed by the government late August and will only allow those based in the European Union – and a few white listed – to advertise in the UK.

The Gambling Act came into force on September 1st. It was approved by the Department of Culture, Media and Services. The same department released a white list of the gambling licensing jurisdictions in non – EU territories. Those that do not apply to be included in the white list will automatically be banned.

From the 2,300 online casinos and gambling websites operating worldwide, around 537 are based in Antigua, 474 in Costa Rica, 401 in Kahnawake –a Canadian Reservation- and 343 in the Netherlands Antilles. Some applications have already been rejected, though Kahnawake and Antigua are still under review.

At the moment, only Alderney and the Isle of Man have been approved. To be white listed, they went through a rigorous evaluation on regulations, child protection, fair gaming and crime prevention. The ban is expected to benefit online casinos based in EU jurisdictions, reducing available choices for UK online gamblers.