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By Joey Gardiner, 14 May 2002 15:55

NEWS UK online gambling firm SportingBet will tomorrow take out full-page adverts in high-profile US newspapers urging the government to change the laws on gambling. From tomorrow the Washington Post, the Washington Times and other influential newspapers will feature an Englishman piping up from under an umbrella: "please sir, can I pay more tax?" Nigel Payne, CEO of SportingBet, told silicon.com the move is a high-profile attempt to stimulate debate on the issue in the US. He said: "What we're saying is you're not going to stop internet gambling, it's an enormous industry already, so why don't you regulate it, and tax it. "The parallel is with 1920s' prohibition - there's absolutely no point trying to ban this, as a government you stand a better chance of controlling it if you bring it under regulation." Payne estimates the US government is currently missing out on upwards of $1bn a year in taxation revenues, by barring US-based internet gambling. Currently internet gambling is banned on US soil, so the huge US gaming market is served by a large number of off-shore websites. SportingBet itself gets well over half its revenues from the US but has no presence there, being registered in the Channel Islands and serving up its US services from computers in Costa Rica. However, it has backed up its strategy by hiring US-based lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig to make its point to the lawmakers in Washington. Payne added: "There is a huge debate in the US at the moment and a large number of conflicting bills are vying to get before the Congress and the Senate. This is precisely why we have timed this campaign as we have - we sense the opinion is moving our way." Republican senator Bob Goodlatte is currently attempting to put legislation through explicitly banning all forms of internet gambling. On the other hand a civil case against SportingBet sponsored by the state of New Jersey has recently been dropped. Dan Stevenson, analyst at Jupiter Research, said: "SportingBet is a very significant player in this market. Their reliance on the US market means any tightening of the legislation there could make life very difficult for them - ISPs could be forced to ban connections to their sites or take down advertising." According to analyst estimates, SportingBet is on course to make a profit on revenues over £900m in its forthcoming yearly results.