By Jean Eaglesham, Chief Political Correspondent
Britain hopes to persuade the offshore centres that are reaping the lion's share of the explosion in online gambling to sign up to new controls on the sites.
Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, told the Financial Times she would host a summit in October to try to get international agreement on a new code of practice.
Centres that host online gambling sites include Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua and Costa Rica.
The government plans to invite the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation, along with ministers from all the main offshore gambling jurisdictions.
However, Britain could face an uphill task in persuading offshore centres to put at risk a lucrative source of revenue by imposing much tighter regulations.
The code of practice would include provisions such as requiring age verification checks.
"I don't pretend that it will be easy or straightforward to put together an agreement," Ms Jowell admitted. But she said she hoped the reputational benefits in creating customer confidence would encourage centres to sign up.
Last year's Gambling Act set up a legal framework for gambling sites to be based onshore in the UK from September next year. Licensed UK-based sites will be able to offer games such as online poker.
But Ms Jowell conceded that the new regime might fail to win back much business from the offshore centres.
"It's perfectly possible we will provide these protections here in the UK but people in significant numbers will continue to gamble online with sites in centres such as the Cayman Islands," she said.
The main factor influencing the commercial viability of the new UK-licensed sites will be the tax regime and that is out of Ms Jowell's hands.
Gordon Brown, the chancellor, is expected to defer the politically tricky decision on whether to offer the sites tax breaks until next year's Budget.
Ms Jowell refused to be drawn on what levels of tax she thought should be imposed on internet gamblers, saying it was "obviously a matter for the Treasury".
But she insisted the new licensing scheme would not necessarily be a flop. "I hope we'll see a significant number of applications," she said. "There are reputational advantages in being UK-licensed, UK-based, UK taxpaying and complying with UK regulations."
The prospect of government-approved poker sites could provoke another media backlash. Ms Jowell was forced to reduce the number of new "super-casinos" allowed by the Gambling Act from eight to one, following a tabloid newspaper campaign.
However, speaking to the FT, Ms Jowell blamed the U-turn on political manoeuvring by the Tories, rather than the media.
She said the government had "absolutely no intention" of allowing more super-casinos unless the opposition party changed its stance.
Having marked five years as culture secretary, Ms Jowell is now used to juggling business demands for liberalisation with the populist pressure for tighter regulation in areas such as drinking and gambling.
She said it was "too early" to judge whether the Licensing Act, which came into effect last year, had struck the right balance.
But she insisted the "vast majority of people welcome the greater flexibility in opening hours".
Famed for being the first minister to fly an England flag ahead of the World Cup, Ms Jowell resisted the temptation to jump further on to that political bandwagon by predicting a win for the domestic team.
Asked if the government had plans to celebrate an England victory, she said: "Not yet. We're very superstitious about these things."
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
Britain hopes to persuade the offshore centres that are reaping the lion's share of the explosion in online gambling to sign up to new controls on the sites.
Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, told the Financial Times she would host a summit in October to try to get international agreement on a new code of practice.
Centres that host online gambling sites include Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua and Costa Rica.
The government plans to invite the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation, along with ministers from all the main offshore gambling jurisdictions.
However, Britain could face an uphill task in persuading offshore centres to put at risk a lucrative source of revenue by imposing much tighter regulations.
The code of practice would include provisions such as requiring age verification checks.
"I don't pretend that it will be easy or straightforward to put together an agreement," Ms Jowell admitted. But she said she hoped the reputational benefits in creating customer confidence would encourage centres to sign up.
Last year's Gambling Act set up a legal framework for gambling sites to be based onshore in the UK from September next year. Licensed UK-based sites will be able to offer games such as online poker.
But Ms Jowell conceded that the new regime might fail to win back much business from the offshore centres.
"It's perfectly possible we will provide these protections here in the UK but people in significant numbers will continue to gamble online with sites in centres such as the Cayman Islands," she said.
The main factor influencing the commercial viability of the new UK-licensed sites will be the tax regime and that is out of Ms Jowell's hands.
Gordon Brown, the chancellor, is expected to defer the politically tricky decision on whether to offer the sites tax breaks until next year's Budget.
Ms Jowell refused to be drawn on what levels of tax she thought should be imposed on internet gamblers, saying it was "obviously a matter for the Treasury".
But she insisted the new licensing scheme would not necessarily be a flop. "I hope we'll see a significant number of applications," she said. "There are reputational advantages in being UK-licensed, UK-based, UK taxpaying and complying with UK regulations."
The prospect of government-approved poker sites could provoke another media backlash. Ms Jowell was forced to reduce the number of new "super-casinos" allowed by the Gambling Act from eight to one, following a tabloid newspaper campaign.
However, speaking to the FT, Ms Jowell blamed the U-turn on political manoeuvring by the Tories, rather than the media.
She said the government had "absolutely no intention" of allowing more super-casinos unless the opposition party changed its stance.
Having marked five years as culture secretary, Ms Jowell is now used to juggling business demands for liberalisation with the populist pressure for tighter regulation in areas such as drinking and gambling.
She said it was "too early" to judge whether the Licensing Act, which came into effect last year, had struck the right balance.
But she insisted the "vast majority of people welcome the greater flexibility in opening hours".
Famed for being the first minister to fly an England flag ahead of the World Cup, Ms Jowell resisted the temptation to jump further on to that political bandwagon by predicting a win for the domestic team.
Asked if the government had plans to celebrate an England victory, she said: "Not yet. We're very superstitious about these things."
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006