Independent, The (London): Letter: Gambling by phone

Sir: We support Dr Mark Griffiths' call for regulation of the mobile phone gambling industry (letter, 21 October). The issue of access to inappropriate material by minors has been one which the mobile network operators have aimed to address through their Code of Practice, published earlier this year. The code clearly outlines the responsibilities that mobile operators have in the protection of minors from exposure to violent games, unmoderated chat, pornography and gambling services.

A fundamental commitment contained within the code was to put in place a mechanism to allow the barring of inappropriate services. In Vodafone's case this was implemented a number of months ago. Content Control, by default, restricts access to all sites deemed inappropriate, as outlined by the Independent Classification Board, unless the mobile phone user can prove that they are over 18.

All other mobile operators have committed to introducing their own versions of the bar by the end of 2004. We hope that this goes much of the way to protecting minors from the type of unscrupulous services Dr Griffiths points to in his letter.

AL RUSSELL

Head of Messaging & Content Services, Vodafone UK

Newbury, Berkshire