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Delegates from Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Africa will attend the meeting at the Royal Ascot racecourse outside London today in an attempt to gain international consensus on regulating online gambling. U.S. officials were invited but decided not to attend. What a surprise!

“online gambling is on the rise, and there is a need to do something about this at a global level,'’ Jowell, UK Culture Secretary, said in an emailed statement. “I want to secure international support for agreed standards of regulation.'’

During the past five years online gambling more than doubled in the U.K.

Last week Jowell called the US ban “a new prohibition” and confirmed that the UK government would work with online gambling firms rather than banning them.