Online Casino News and Information

iGAMING BUSINESS
04-12-06

A host of bookmakers and online gambling companies are expected to flock to the Spanish market following the decision by Madrid’s regional government to regulate gaming through the introduction of licences.

The move comes in the wake of Italy’s decision to regulate gaming, which prompted a flood of applications from UK bookmakers and online companies such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and Gala Coral, who are also expected to bid for licences in Madrid along with Sportingbet and PartyGaming in the online sector.

Madrid’s regional government announced that it was allowing minimum €1 bets in games locations as well as telephone and online bets, covering sports and other competitions, as well as allowing internet bets on bingo and casino games.

The licences will last for five years and be renewable if the Madrid regulator’s conditions are met. The announcement will also include strict regulations to prevent the participation of young and mentally ill people.

Regulation of the betting market by Italy and Madrid comes by sharp contrast to the attempts by other European countries to control and limit betting by banning online gaming and legalising onshore betting only for state monopolies.

Italy’s new regulated market has opened up 17,000 licences to the private sector. There will be 7,000 new sports betting shops and 10,000 outlets for betting on horseracing.

Italy’s legal betting market is worth €3.7bn (£2.5bn). All legal gaming, including the Italian lottery, pools, betting, bingo and machine gaming, is worth €28bn.

READ THIS ARTICLE AT iGAMING BUSINESS

EGamingPulse
Friday, December 1

In the recent movie “Thank You for Smoking,” the hero–a tobacco lobbyist–comes under fire for working to protect people’s right to smoke.

A similar movie could be made about gambling. The villain would be Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).

Goodlatte has been fighting to enact legislation on Internet gambling for some time, and he can now finally claim a good deal of success with the passage of H.R. 4954, a port security bill with an anti-Internet gambling attachment. Goodlatte’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is set to make it illegal for American banks and financial institutions to process online gambling payments from the U.S.

Finding a Way
“The passage of this legislation is a step in the right direction in the fight against online gambling and will help to cut off the money supply to these illegal outfits,” Goodlatte said. It is true enough the legislation makes banks suffer the wrath Goodlatte feels towards the online gaming industry, but a key question remains: Will tightening the rope around bankers’ necks really stop online gambling?

Following passage of UIGEA, gaming companies took a beating. PartyGaming, the world’s largest online gaming company, fell out of the FTSE 100 while World Gaming suspended dealings in its shares due to “uncertainty over its ability to continue trading.”

Most of the world’s online gaming firms are not located in the U.S. due to government hostility, but now it appears that even those based in London and elsewhere are subject to America’s dominance in a global economy.

MORE - READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT EGamingPulse

Caribbean Net News
Friday, December 1, 2006

ST JOHN’S, Antigua: The Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) of Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday announced that it has filed an application for a restraining order in the High Court of Justice, against BETonSPORTS (Antigua) Ltd.

BETonSPORTS (Antigua) Ltd, an interactive gaming and interactive wagering service provider, under the order is restrained from, among other things, entering into any agreement or arrangement to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of cash and assets within or outside of Antigua and Barbuda without the consent, management and supervision of FSRC.

The application also calls for BETonSPORTS to account for its assets and obligations and otherwise provide such information that will assist the FSRC in ensuring that BETonSPORTS consumers are protected to the maximum extent possible and that Antigua and Barbuda’s Laws and Regulations are adhered to effect the orderly closure of BETonSPORTS’ US-facing operations.

The application for the order comes on the heels of an announced settlement between the United States government and BETonSPORTS and its affiliates pertaining to criminal and civil charges levelled against the company by United States authorities earlier in the year.

These charges, which resulted in the high-profile arrest of BETonSPORTS former Chief Executive, led to wide-spread disruption throughout the international online gaming community and represented a new assault on cross-border competition for gambling and betting services by the United States government.

Kaye McDonald, the Director of Gaming for the FSRC, observed, “While the jurisdiction of the United States government over BETonSPORTS is questionable, by virtue of being the holder of an Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering license issued by the Antiguan and Barbudan authorities, BETonSPORTS has acquiesced to our international jurisdiction over the company and its assets. It is important for the protection of consumers that whatever assets BETonSPORTS has remaining be properly available to depositors and other creditors and not be dissipated on fines or penalties or otherwise improperly disposed.

MORE - READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT Caribbean Net News