The British government is calling for an international summit to discuss the benefits and problems of online gambling.

The UK government is one of the few to have taken an interest in collecting tax from online gambling sites - last year's Gambling Act is one of the few to cover "remote gambling".

Tessa Jowell, culture minister, told the FT: "This is a global problem and requires a global solution, which is why this summit is important."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport confirmed the proposal and that Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have expressed an interest.

What is unclear is whether or not the US will send representatives. The US remains the world's largest market for online gambling despite such betting being officially illegal.®