Papua New Guinea Welcomes the Industry
Papua New Guinea is at the center of attention recently, with the country’s Parliament voting on “The Gaming Control Bill 2007”. Similar to the United States, the Parliament voted 61-0 on the case of gambling legislation. The only difference was that while the United States practically banned online gambling in America, the Papua New Guinea Parliament approved it. The bill was conceived by the nation’s Prime Minister, Michael Somare, and had no major opposition. Online gambling firms are doing well around the world and licensing operating permits means high profits for Papua New Guinea.
The bill mostly addresses land based gambling. According to “The Gaming Control Bill 2007”, there will be one casino per province and tax will be set at 20 percent of the gross revenue of each casino. To actually control gaming, as the bill states, there will be a high entering fee for each casino. If a person wants to enter a casino to gamble, he will have to pay a large sum of money that will be returned to him when he leaves the casino. This way, legislators believe, very poor people and gambling addicts will stay out of the new gambling venues. Another important note is that each casino will hold his permit for 10 years, making it a solid investment for firms looking into investing in Papua New Guinea’s new gambling business.
With “The Gaming Control Bill 2007” passing, a National Gaming Control Board will be established. This body will oversee all gambling activities in the country and will work to stop gambling addiction. As for online casino gambling, things are looking good. Companies are invited to the country and internet gambling will be allowed. Foreign firms can operate in Papua New Guinea’s territory; however, they will have to focus on international markets. This sounds like something that the gambling industry can live with. The industry has gone global since the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and having a supportive government that encourages international business will be perfect.
