Britain may loosen internet gambling law

LONDON - Britain may bring in legislation allowing London-listed internet gambling companies to move their headquarters to Britain, the Sunday Times newspaper reported today.

The paper said it had seen documents in which the government said the move would provide Britain's online gamblers with "a safe, well-regulated environment."

The paper also said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport had been lobbying the Treasury to introduce a favorable tax regime for online gambling companies.

The biggest London-listed internet gambling company, PartyGaming, which is in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, is based in Gibraltar, as is 888 Holdings. Empire Online Ltd is based in the British Virgin Islands.

Earlier this month, the US Congress approved a bill to make it illegal for banks to process payments to gaming websites, leading most European operators to pull out of the United States and hitting their share prices.

- REUTERS