Rome - Italy has become the first European nation to outlaw scores of unauthorised gambling sites that are available on the Internet.
Italy's Economy Ministry has published a list of more than 600 offshore gaming sites that are in the process of being made unavailable to Italian internet users.
The list includes popular gambling sites such as 888.com, which is based in the Caribbean island of Antigua and which describes itself as 'the world's No. 1 online casino & poker room.'
A spokesperson for Italy's State Monopolies told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa on Friday that Italian police were currently moving to prevent Italian internet providers from allowing connections to the banned sites. Internet providers that fail to comply face fines of up to 180,000 euros (216,000 dollars).
Italy's law, which came into effect on February 24 and which sets a precedent in Europe, is opposed by the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), which argues that it violates European Union rules on free trade.
The RGA, which represents prominent online gambling operators such as William Hill and 888.com, is now threatening to take the Italian government to court.
Online gambling sites are estimated to generate annual incomes worth at least 100 billion euros (120 billion dollars) worldwide.
In Italy, online gambling sites have become increasingly popular and in the month of January 2006 alone earned an estimated 42.5 million euros, according to Agipronews, a news agency specialised in gambling news.
