The Department of Culture, Media and Sport and UK Gambling Commission released their highly anticipated online casino and gaming jurisdiction whitelist today, ahead of the September 1 enforcement date that will allow whitelisted online gaming companies to advertise in England. A tough set of regulations to say the least, only two gaming jurisdictions have been approved for the whitelist, while several others were outright denied and a couple more still await a decision.

The two whitelisted online gaming jurisdictions are none other than Alderney and Isle of Man - both of which have been actively updating their regulatory framework the past few years in order to keep up with the new heightened standards imposed by the UK Gambling Act of 2005 and leading independent regulators such as eCOGRA. Come September 1, online casinos licensed in these two jurisdictions will have limited freedoms to advertise in the UK, including television adverts.

According to a press release issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), only Alderney and Isle of Man were able to demonstrate their licensing framework had adequate and effective provisions for preventing criminal activities, protecting minors and high risk bettors, as well as protocols ensuring games are continually fair. Details were not given as to what areas were lacking for those gaming jurisdictions put on the UK government's non-whitelist, which does not mean they have been blacklisted by any means. They simply did not adequately demonstrate they were up to par with the UK Gambling Act.

Those online gaming jurisdictions who did not make the cut include Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, Alexander First Nation and Tasmania. Both Kahnawake and Antigua and Barbuda are still awaiting their fate. The DCMS said they will continue to monitor Alderney and Isle of Man to ensure they maintain their regulatory regime, which includes provisions requiring licensed online casinos to donate funds to problem gambling research, education and rehabilitation programs. The DCMS made no apologies for putting nearly 1,000 online gaming sites on the non-whitelist.

Some online casinos, such as Inter Casino (currently licensed in Curacao), are already making arrangements to get licensing elsewhere. Inter Casino apparently will have a permanent gaming license from Malta by the end of the week. Since Malta is in the European Economic Area, Inter Casino will be permitted to advertise in the UK, which they say they are planning to be amongst the first to do so. Only those regulatory areas outside of the European Economic Area who have made the whitelist will be permissible for advertising.