While the United States continues to debate whether to prohibit or regulate Internet gambling, and many US credit card issuers are declining online gaming transactions, a number of major online casinos are finding it increasingly difficult to operate a profitable business and are closing their doors.

Here are the major casualties so far in 2003:

Casino Atlantis (www.casinoatlantis.com) - DEAD

Casino Atlantis was operated by Kerzner Interactive, the online division of Kerzner International Limited, a developer and operator of land-based casinos, resorts and luxury hotels. Kerzner's flagship destination is Atlantis, a 2,317-room, ocean-themed resort located on Paradise Island in The Bahamas.

Kerzner's online casino opened in Jauary 2001 and closed in March of this year.

The casino was licensed in the Isle of Man. The casino targeted play only from jurisdictions that permitted online gaming, and did not accept U.S. bets. Kerner blamed market size and competition for the closing.

"As these jurisdictions have become more restrictive in their acceptance of play, the market size has been reduced and competition has intensified. Without the potential for expansion into other markets, including the United States, the outlook for new business has substantially decreased and achieving profitability is unlikely in the short-to-medium term."

Crown Games (www.crowngames.com) - DEAD

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (ASX: PBL) closed its online gaming operation, CrownGames.com, on 5 May 2003.

Chief Executive Officer of PBL Mr Peter Yates said, "We have flagged at our past two results presentations that a review of our online gaming operations would be conducted prior to the end of this financial year. We have formed the view that the business will not breakeven this financial year and is now unlikely to achieve the scale necessary for this business to contribute meaningfully to the group’s profitability."

The casino was based in Vanuatu, a nation of about 200,000 people and 80 islands, 1,400 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia. It launched in January 2002.

Tattersall's Online Casino (accessed via www.tatts.com) - DEAD

Tatersall's, Australia's largest gaming company, closed its online casino on January 22nd of this year.

In a statement sent to its players, Tatts said it closed the online casino because "in a recent review of the tatts.com Internet Casino business it was concluded that difficult trading conditions are not likely to improve and that, as a consequence, we would not continue with internet initiatives beyond our internet lotteries."

Tatts lottery sites - www.tattersalls.com.au, www.tipstar.com.au and www.lotto.tatts.com - continue to operate.

Tattersall's is the State Lottery or Gaming Licensee in the Australian States and Territories of Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Tattersall's also operates the Lotteries in Fiji, Nauru, the Cook Islands and a number of other Pacific Island Nations, and is a partner in Uthingo - the operator of the South African National Lottery.

Play MGM Mirage (www.playmgmmirage.com) - SOON TO BE DECEASED

MGM MIRAGE announced that it would discontinue operations of its online casino, PLAYMGMMIRAGE.com, on June 30, 2003.

The online casino, which is licensed in the Isle of Man, opened in September 2001. PLAYMGMMIRAGE.com does not accept bets from the United States and other prohibited jurisdictions.

Terry Lanni, Chairman and CEO of MGM MIRAGE: "Unfortunately, even in light of a successful working model, the legal and political climate in the U.S. and several countries around the world remains unclear. The fact is that millions of U.S. citizens currently participate in online gaming in an unregulated environment. We believe that a more sound and realistic public policy would be to regulate the activity and hold operators to the highest standards of probity and integrity. MGM MIRAGE Online has clearly established that the regulatory model works."