Internet Gambling About to Become Even More Complicated in the UK
Internet Gambling About to Become Even More Complicated in the UK

Players in the United Kingdom may have more hurdles to cross in order to be able to enjoy online poker from the comfort of their own homes due to new internet filters that will block adult-related material. Starting as soon as this week, UK residents who wish to play online might have to contact their internet service provider and ask them to remove the adult content block.

Last week, Sky was the first of the four major ISPs to announce its intentions to activate its new Sky Broadband Shield filter within the next ten days, according to CalvinAyre. One of the other major ISPs, TalkTalk, followed suit a few days later, announcing it would roll out its HomeSafe filters in February. It is believed that both ISPs will enable access to adult content sites by logging into your account and changing filters or by contacting the company’s customer support.

According to PokerNews, UK-based ISPs are under pressure to add adult content filters due to the July 2013 plea from UK Prime Minister David Cameron about the easy access to pornography corroding the innocence of the country’s children.

At the time, Cameron told The Independent, “I want to talk about the internet. The impact it is having on the innocence of our children. How online pornography is corroding childhood. And how, in the darkest corners of the internet, there are things going on that are a direct danger to our children, and that must be stamped out… I feel profoundly as a politician and as a father that the time for action has come. This is, quite simply, about how we protect our children and their innocence.”

The remaining two UK major ISPs, BTand Virgin Media, have yet to head down this path. While both ISPs understand the importance of filters to some people, they will not be making them the default setting and will instead allow customers to switch them on and off as needed.

While internet filters in the UK are just a minor inconvenience to online poker players, there are a couple of cases where this will not be positive for players or the overall online poker ecology. If you have ever had your internet connection go down and rushed to a neighbor’s house or ran out the door to find a place with free internet, you may want to think twice when you are in the UK since it is possible that you will be filtered away from your favorite online poker room.

Perhaps the bigger problem is the poker ecology. Potential online poker players may not want to lift filters in order to be able to play. They may think they are doing something wrong and wonder why online poker is being lumped in with pornography. The fewer new players the poker world has, the worse it’ll be for online poker operators and players alike.

Visit PocketFives’ United Kingdom poker community for the latest news and discussion from UK players.

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