This week some rather unsettling news came out of Sky, after the internet service provider announced that its Sky Broadband Shield could soon be blocking websites such as casinos before watershed.
Only Available After Watershed
The move would mean that Sky Broadband Shield would automatically make all such websites that are unsuitable for people under 18 only playable from 9pm onwards. Only websites suitable for children aged 13 or under will be accessible before that time frame. In order to get around this, adults will have to set up their Sky Shield settings in order to permit access to such sites.
Parental Controls
A law in 2014 demanded that ISPs (Internet Service Providers) forced parent controls on websites which features sexual material. This mean pornographic websites to sex education websites would be blocked unless adults altered the filters. Now Sky is going one further and adding gambling to that list.
Players Can Opt Out
The move came into effect on January 1, although it is not yet apparent just how successful the initial blocking of casino sites is. The watershed time is optional at this time, and new players can also opt out of the system simply by switching this feature off.
Smart Move
This seems to be a sort of middle ground gesture from Sky, to ensure that children aren’t able to gamble. Whilst there will be many parents out there who consider the move smart to protect their children, there will be equally the same number of punters who are unhappy with the move, as they feel it will violate their rights; hence the ability to adjust the settings.
Ongoing Struggle
In the ongoing struggle about what children should or should not have access to, it seems that rather disappointingly, the online casino world is next on the hit list.