Online Casino News and Information

EDITOR’S OP

The talk around town, London Town that is, is that the British government’s attempts to get online gambling firms to base their operations in and pay tax to the UK is not going to fly . The Observer reported that John Healey, Treasury Minister for the UK was addressing tourism industry leaders last week. During his speech, he said the government is having problems fixing a tax rate to persuade online gambling firms to pay tax in the UK. Currently these gambling firms are located in tax havens such as Costa Rica.

The Gambling Commission promised a ‘kite mark’, a sort of government seal of approval, for gambling firms who move their operations to the UK and adhere to UK regulations, but this doesn’t appear to be much of a motive to relocate.

Ladbrokes proposed a possible solution. Instead of a tax, define a set percentage of income by gambling firms based in the UK to be paid to the British government specifically for treatment of gambling addicts. There haven’t been any indications that this solution would be welcomed.

On first glance, a person would think that the online gambling firms would look favorably on gaining respectability; pay a tax, conform to UK guidelines and remove the company and eventually the industry from that grey area of illegitimacy.

So why is the online gaming firms baulking at this? Why would they not want to pay for legitimacy and respectability? Maybe it’s the fact that last week UK Sports Minister Richard Caborn stated the UK will still respect extradition requests from the US in relation to online gambling.

The arrest and detainment of 2 of Britain’s respected online gambling business executives in the US took place without so much as a token protest from the UK. Then there was the decimation of the London Stock Exchange by US politicians with the passing of UIGEA; the major motivation for the bill that trashed the London Stock Market was a Congress looking for voter support from special interest groups. Not a whimper came from Great Britain. Well, not in the government, anyway.

Let’s see…. currently, gaming firms reside in countries that offer tax advantages, a friendly government and no extradition on the whim of the US. If the gaming firms take the UK up on their offer, they would exchange their current situation for a country where they would pay a tax that could be increased by the will of the government, require the addition of personnel to handle reporting and government compliance and the assurance that should the United States require a gaming company official’s presence in the US to answer any questions they may have, the UK will extradite the requested party, no questions asked.

Nope, ain’t gonna happen. Sometimes, the price for respectability is too high.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Janet Hook, Times Staff Writers
November 3, 2006

BILLINGS, MONT. — Heading into the last days of the fight for control of Congress, both political parties moved Thursday to expand the battlefield, trying to revive campaigns that had been seen as lost causes.

President Bush traveled to Montana to campaign for beleaguered GOP Sen. Conrad Burns, launching a final midterm drive for Republicans in mostly conservative states and districts.

National Democrats announced Thursday that they were pouring $1 million into the effort to defeat Sen. Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican who long had been considered a safe bet for reelection.

As those fronts open, many pivotal congressional races remain close. Democrats need to pick up 15 seats to win control of the House, six for the Senate. Reuters/Zogby polls released Thursday found that Democrats were leading in six of the seven Republican-held Senate seats considered most vulnerable, but only two of them by decisive margins.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT LOS ANGELES TIMES

THE BUSINESS
By : Simon Goodley And Ben Marlow
02/11/2006

America’s MGM Mirage and Britain’s Ladbrokes, two of the world’s largest gambling groups, have started exploratory takeover talks with internet rivals decimated by recent US Congress legislation banning online gambling.
MGM, the world’s second-largest gambling group, is understood to have contacted a number of players in the sector, including poker market leader PartyGaming, to discuss a takeover.

Though talks are at an early stage, bankers involved with MGM stressed the US company’s interest was serious.Bankers stressed Las Vegas-based MGM wants to buy a market leader and is considering a move on any group created by a merger of PartyGaming and 888 Holdings, which are said to be in negotiations, along with Sportingbet.

Rumours forced 888 to reveal its hand by issuing a statement to the London Stock Exchange admitting it had been “very active” and was talking to “more than one party”.
The Business also understands that one party involved in these talks is Ladbrokes, which refused to comment except to say that it was watching the situation.
It has a popular online casino and poker website but these are dwarfed by its sports betting arm. It has made no secret of its desire to expand into European and Asian markets.

A brand clearly designed for the Asian market, 888 has no real sports betting offering. It derived about half its revenues and profits from the United States before that business was closed down but has been developing other territories.
At interim results in September, its last financial announcement before the American bombshell, 888 reported net gaming revenues had grown 61% in the UK and 16% in continental Europe. “The truth is that everybody is talking to everybody else,” said one source involved in discussions. “These things are at an early stage – the US situation only developed a few weeks ago.”

The move by Ladbrokes is in direct contrast to the bookie’s two great rivals – Gala Coral and William Hill – who have said they will not be acquiring online rivals.
Gala Coral is looking at buying the Tote, the state-owned pool betting business, while William Hill chief executive David Harding has ruled out any approaches.

THIS ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THE BUSINESS

Poker Players against Kyl

POKER PLAYERS AGAINST KYL have anounced a positive lead in the polls for the Senate race in Arizona where Incumbent John Kyl (R) is challenged by Jim Pederson (D)
NEW POLL: PEDERSON LEADS IN EARLY VOTING. 44 TO 40. Another poll shows that the campaign is closing further on 11/3/06. They are within the margin of error. The DSCC has just announced a $1 million ad buy in AZ.

THE COMPLETE ARTICLE CAN BE READ IN ITS ENTIRETY AT Poker Players against Kyl

FOX NEWS
Friday, November 03, 2006

NEW YORK — A Republican-sponsored effort to clamp down on Internet gambling may turn out to be a bad bet for the GOP.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which President Bush signed into law Oct. 13, has infuriated many voters who enjoy betting on sports or playing poker online, analysts said.

Other observers, however, see little threat to Republicans from the law, calling it a relatively minor matter to most voters.

“I don’t believe a large volume of voters are motivated to go to the polls because of Internet gaming, either way,” said Brian Darling of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.

But with Republicans already on the defensive over the Iraq war, budget deficits and the congressional page scandal, the gambling law is the latest issue that could steer voters away from the GOP.

“I’ve been a loyal Republican for over 30 years, and I’m quitting the party I once loved,” said Jim Henry, 55, who lives outside San Francisco. “Not because of the Mark Foley scandal or Middle East policy. But because the Republican Party wants to stop me from what I love to do: play poker over the Internet.”

THE COMPLETE ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT FOX NEWS

SLOTS24.COM

In a statement emailed Friday, Robert Ramsden, Senior Manager of Slots24 announced the close of ‘Cash Play’ at Slots24. “Due to the legal pandemonium in the United States, with regards
to the new “Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act”
Bill (HR4411), the detainment of several senior online-casino
representatives in the US, and that given the majority of
revenue from Slots24 is US based, we have unfortunately had to
make the decision to close ‘Cash Play’ on Slots24.”

The scheduled closing is structured to begin November 13th when Slots24 will close deposit methods and allow their players to play out their remaining balances. Then on November 27th they will close ‘Cash Play and pay out all remaining balances due to players.

EDITOR’S NOTE
November 2, 2006

On Friday the 13th of October 2006, President Bush signed into law the Safe Port Act, a bill to tighten port security and make our country a safer place from terrorists. Attached to this bill was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIEGA). Bill Frist, Tennessee Senator, US Senate Majority Leader and future 2008 presidential candidate hopeful, decided to trade away millions of American’s rights to accommodate the wishes of special interest groups by attaching UIEGA to a bill guaranteed to be passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President. His reasoning probably included the fact that the Christian Coalition has a proven ability to motivate their voting membership. Pit that ability against the general apathy displayed by the average American citizen and ‘bingo’, the decision to cater to the special interest group was made. But first, Frist made sure there was ’safe harbor’ in the legislation for several special gambling interests that contributed heavily to his campaign. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act specifically exempts online horse racing and state lotteries from the legislation. Surely these industries were very grateful.

A peaceful protest march in Washington DC has been organized and is scheduled for November 3rd and 4th. Organizer Debbie Richardson said several press outlets such as CNN, Fox News and MSNBC have expressed interest. So far, the rally has a confirmed attendance of approximately 250 with the promise of more groups joining.

The march will start at 9 am each morning at the Washington Monument. From there, the marchers will move towards the White House and set up in the park on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the White House. Poker will be played as a form of protest during the demonstration.

Bill Frist plays a dangerous game; His ante is American rights and he’s betting that no one will call. There are over 12,000,000 angry online gambling players in the United States. Surely half of these are registered voters. When asked about possible repercussions, Carolyn Weyforth, spokesperson for Senator Frist stated “I doubt its passage will hurt the GOP or depress Republican turnout.” In other words, they’re betting that the benefits of the action taken by Senator Frist to ensure the support of the Christian groups will far outweigh the affects (if any) on the GOP in general and his bid for the 2008 Presidency in particular.

If you can attend the march, be there. If you are a registered voter, vote. If you aren’t a registered voter, make sure you register in time for the next election. Don’t wait for someone else to do something. I’ll be voting Democrat for the first time in my long, never missed a vote, Republican voting life. My daddy will be rolling over in his grave. But maybe not. He always told me ‘never, ever lose any of your rights just for security’s sake.’ But he got that line from another great American, Ben Franklin, who said “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty not safety.”

Bill Frist is playing with IOU’s and he’s betting that the American public will validate them. I’m betting he’s wrong.

BLOOMBERG (www.bloomberg.com)
By Warren Giles

Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) — Antigua, the Caribbean island nation accounting for a quarter of online betting, says its effort to overturn a U.S. ban on Internet gambling through the World Trade Organization is a last chance for the industry.

WTO arbitrators first backed Antigua’s claim that the U.S. illegally discriminated against foreign Internet betting companies two years ago. Last month, President George W. Bush signed a law making it a criminal act for credit-card companies to collect payments for online gambling. The WTO may authorize retaliatory sanctions to the value of Antigua’s losses if it finds that the U.S. hasn’t complied with its decision.

In response to the new U.S. law, gambling companies including PartyGaming Plc and Gibralter-based 888 Holdings Plc have said they started merger talks after the industry lost $7 billion of market value in a day after Congress passed the legislation Sept. 30. U.S.-based gamblers accounted for half of the $12 billion Internet market worldwide last year.

“The U.S. has done absolutely nothing to comply,” Mark Mendel, chief legal counsel for the Antiguan government, said in a phone interview from London yesterday. “In fact, they’ve gone the other way. It’s just bald-faced protectionism. Somebody had to take the fight, and this is really all there is left. If we lose this case then the U.S. is free to do what it wants.”

Antigua, a nation of 70,000 people and the smallest government ever to lodge a WTO complaint, scored its initial victory against U.S. online gambling restrictions in November 2004, when the WTO said the U.S. had pledged to open the industry in 1995.
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