The UK Gambling Commission has been busy of late, gearing up for the first of September when the Gambling Act comes into full enforcement and as many people believe, a precedent of online gambling regulation is set into stone. It goes without saying that the UK Gambling Commission will be under the radars of other countries considering the possibilities of regulation, not to mention the Government. Detailing this workload is the UK Gambling Commission's first annual report, which is now available for download on their website.

Prepared by Chairman, Peter Dean, the report sheds a positive light on the work the Commission has been doing up until this point, the first of which was a £14.4 million operational cost in 2006. This was £1.7 million lower than the Commission's allotted budget, although much of this savings was due to a deferment of recruiting expenditures. According to the report, 218 employees have been on the books helping to draft new casino gambling policies while still overseeing current regulatory procedures.

Chairman Dean, who retires at the end of 2007, said that with the necessary gambling reform now complete, it is quite satisfying to see the 2005 UK Gambling Act placed on the statute book, and the Commission at the heart of operating the gaming regulatory system and enforcing rules and regulations. Indeed, Chairman Dean's retirement is well deserved. Nearly eight years ago Dean openly urged the Government that antiquated gambling regulations were not fitting the bill, and that a gambling reformation was in order. As Chairman of the Gaming Board, Dean advised that an inflexible timeframe should be set for the reform.

In addition to the Gambling Commission's responsibilities regulating land-based casinos (supposedly an entire new fleet), betting machines, bingo halls and lotteries, they will now be regulating online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, racebooks, skill gaming sites and online bingo rooms - In short, the entire scope of online gambling activities. The Commission will also be given more legal powers for wielding prosecutions against illegal gambling operations, both offline and online. Furthermore, the Commission is to regulate land-based arcades and all other applicable forms of remote betting.