Online Casino News and Information

Online Gambling - 2008

Gambling, big news in 2007, once seen as taboo, has become main stream across the world and it will be debated and expanded in the years to follow. We look forward to continue to keep you up to date as the news happens. This is one of the most exciting industries and will be the news to watch worldwide in 2008.

What will happen is yet to be seen. But rest assured, if it happens you will find it here! Our goal is to stay on top of this news and keep you informed as it happens. Let’s hope our Freedom will win out in the end! Stand up and let your voice be heard!! Open the gate in 2008!

Could Piracy Become Legal?
Dec 28, 2007
Keeping up with the online gambling lawsuits being evaluated by the US, the EU (European Union), and the WTO (World Trade Organization)? What happens in this study of international online laws may affect Internet laws for the coming years.

“The New York Times” reports the WTO on December 21 imposed a $21 million sanction against the U.S. in response to a complaint made by Antigua, the home of many online casinos. After WTO ruled in 2005 that a U.S. law prohibiting online gambling was illegal, Antigua and Barbuda claimed $3.4 billion in annual damages as a result of the U.S. prohibition.

“As part of the WTO ruling, the tiny island nation of Antigua was awarded compensation up to $21 million — but not in cash. Under the WTO ruling, Antigua basically gets a free to violate up to $21 million in copyright and trademark protections from the United States.”

As “The New York Times” puts it:
“…the ruling is significant in that it grants a rare form of compensation: the right of one country, in this case Antigua, to violate intellectual property laws of another — the United States — by allowing it to distribute copies of American music, movie and software products.”

What?

Were the U.S. media companies consulted about this offer before it was made? I am thinking if there are people in Antigua right now snapping up all the video-related domain names at this moment. This is something worth thinking about? Huh?

This could explode in the face of the U.S. Could this essentially be giving people, and or companies in Antigua a free pass to distribute content without the copyright holder’s permission? The WTO is opening a Pandora’s Box of video and music piracy. This one will be very, very difficult to close back up.

“If the U.S. government was to strictly enforce the perceived dollar value of copyright violation, it’s been proven many times before that it’s difficult to assign a mutually agreed-upon value to each offense.”

Could we be looking at another video distribution free-for-all like in the early days of Napster and Kazaa, before anyone in a suit knew what was going on — but every college kid sure did. It’s the wild West Indies, and every major copyright holder may be taken along for a ride.

“A U.S. trade representative recently warned Antigua to avoid acts of piracy or other intellectual property rights violations while the talks continue.” But will this actually be enforced?

“The irony is, the only advertisers that will be willing to go near advertising inventory on sites or services that spring up will be online gambling and porn — at least half of what the U.S. government wants to curb with this resolution.”

Read the entire story here: http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3627982

No Action From the Online Gambling Industry

We witnessed it this week.  European online gambling operators and their shareholders relied exclusively on the European Union to resolve the legal stranglehold placed over the industry by US lawmakers and the Justice Department.  They played their cards and busted.  By day’s end, anyone involved in Euro i-gaming was left with the notion that they will have no other choice but to squeeze each other for a piece of the very small pie that exists in Europe, where a number of nations there have taken a similar stance as the US government.  The Asian market remains a puzzle to break into.

Gambling911.com was stunned when Edward Leyden of iMEGA.org, the only organization challenging the US on its own turf, stood up to take the podium during this past October’s i-Gaming Expo in Barcelona and nearly half the room of European online gambling executives stood up and left the room.  Perhaps they would have stayed if a representative from the EU were in Leyden’s place.

Where was the EU representative?  This is a question we would all like to know. This makes one think “was this the plan all along?”

“Apathy” is the main problem and it’s not exclusive to the European i-gaming firms.

“After passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act last year we would have meetings every few weeks where hundreds of operators would show up,” said one Costa Rican-based operator, whose company still takes bets from Americans.  “It’s amazing how short-sighted this industry is.  They have no idea that unless everyone starts taking an active stand, the industry will be done.”

I totally agree with this. Why as we Americans, do not stand up for our rights to spend our money, (which has already been taxed), to do with it as we wish. We, by doing nothing we are letting the Government tell us what we can and can’t do with our own money.  “WAKE UP” Americans, before we lose all our rights!!!

“iMEGA is the only group challenging the UIGEA in a court of law,” said this operator, who wished not to be identified.  “We need an industry-wide support of this grass roots effort and it needs to be monetary.”  (learn more about www.iMEGA.org here)

Another reason for this apathy has to do with individuals waiting around for a positive outcome with the World Trade Organization decision that found in favor of tiny Antigua and its online gambling dispute with the US. 

We can’t depend solely on the WTO! We need to get people to STAND UP! Voice our opinions, and take our FREEDOM Back, before it is to late.

Read this story in it’s entirety at http://www.gambling911.com/online-gambling-121907A.html

The US to face sanctions for Online Gaming Ban 
 
The small island of Antigua was hoping they could rely on online betting and less on tourism.
The World Trade Organization has ruled, US faces $21m (£10.6m) in annual trade sanctions as a result of its online betting ban. 
The Islands of Antigua and Barbuda were awarded the right to impose sanctions targeting US services, copyrights and trademarks.

The Laws that was passed in the US on October 2006 effectively made it illegal for foreign internet gaming firms to trade in the US.

Then in March the trade body made a final ruling saying that the US online betting ban was illegal.
The hope of Antigua was to impose $3.4bn in retaliatory measures against the US. The amount awarded was described as a token gesture given the massive size the economy of the US.

US stated, that Antigua’s claim was to great as it was more than three times the size of Antigua’s entire economy.

Sean Spicer, spokesperson for U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, stated The United States is pleased that the sum arrived at by the arbitrator is over 100 times lower than Antigua’s claim.

Antigua, is a former British colony of about 800,000 people, had been promoting electronic commerce as way to end the reliance on tourism. Tourism was hurt by a series of hurricanes in the late 1990s.

Piracy risk

In the WTO’s 12 year history, The Caribbean nation is the smallest country to litigate a case successfully.

This case had drawn the attention of US industry because Antigua threatened to target US trademarks and copyright, which could make the nation a haven for intellectual property piracy.

The US stated, this ruling could establish a harmful precedent for a WTO member to affirmatively authorize what would otherwise be considered acts of piracy, counterfeiting or other forms of … infringement.

Antigua and the US cannot appeal against Friday’s decision.

The lawyer, Mark Mendel who led the case for Antigua, stated that the country was unlikely to violate US copyrights.

Antigua does not want to negate American intellectual property rights. They do not want to sell — DVDs and copies of Microsoft Office.

Unequal laws

The US stopping US banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gambling,  it the country, it effectively killed off the market for overseas gambling firms.

The market is estimated to be worth $15.5bn since about half of the world’s online gamblers are based in the US.

The WTO ruling said the US was breaking trade law by targeting online gambling firms, without equal application of the rules to US firms offering online betting on horse and dog racing.

The EU earlier this week stated, the US would offer its member countries trade concessions as compensation for its refusal to lift internet gambling laws.

Online Gambling EU Firms Challenge US Ban
The European online gaming trade association formed a complaint on Thursday with the European Commission over the U.S. ban on online gambling.

The U.S. Department of Justice was accused today by the Remote Gambling Association of discriminating against its members, by enforcing the ban against foreign online gambling companies while allowing U.S. rivals to stay in business.

The association’s chief Clive Hawkswood, stated, we have been left with no choice but to pursue every legal avenues available to challenge the U.S. Department of Justice for its discriminatory enforcement activities against European online gaming operators.

Now it is up to the commission to investigate the complaint and make a decision as to what action to take.

On Monday the US stated it would widen access to some of its services to compensate the European Union, Japan and Canada in order to settle a World Trade Organization dispute over the U.S. ban on online gambling.

The deal does not address the discriminatory issues and the protectionist Us practices against the European and other foreign online operators in the form of selective prosecution. 

The RGA was disappointed with the WTO compensation between EU and US.
Chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) stated his organization was disappointed by the news of an agreement between the EU and the US regarding the withdrawal of gambling services from its WTO commitments. But it will continue lobbying for US to have a regulated system.

Though the news was not unexpected he had hoped the negotiations would “go on for a while to put some pressure on the US” stated Clive Hawkswood.

A European Commission (EC) official stated the package was substantive with meaningful commitments for the EU.

The terms of the agreement signed today in Geneva, the US will provide the EU with new trade concessions in mail services and warehousing. The value of the compensation falls short of the US$100bn (E69bn) worth of concessions the EU was seeking.

The terms of the agreement, gambling services will no longer be covered by the US’ WTO commitments. But, the EC will seek a “non-discriminatory policy towards internet gambling in the US. EU spokesperson for trade, Peter Power, stated, while the US is free to decide how to best respond to legitimate policy concerns relating to internet gambling, discrimination against EU or other foreign companies should be avoided.

Efforts made by EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson in taking the case to the US was hailed by Hawkswood. He has done a lot for us, he stated. When was the last time we had a senior politician go to the US to press the case for the gambling industry?”

Hawkswood stated the agreement between the EU and the US was likely to “be a factor” in the ongoing negotiations between the US and China, India, Canada and other countries over the WTO issue. Including the dispute with Antigua which started the process where a decision regarding the compensation due to the tiny Caribbean island, which has been delayed.

Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo Pay $31.5 Million

These Internet Companies, have agreed to pay $31.5 Million to settle federal civil allegations they took illegal gambling ads.

They also agreed to stop taking ads and wagering for sports and other online gambling.
 
An investigation was conducted by Hanaway’s office, with the IRS and the FBI, dates to 2000, she stated that Negotiations have been going on for 12 to 18 months.

Hanaway stated that “this is a very profitable business that had a lot of money to spend on marketing.” And that was aiding the gambling firms advertising on the Web.

These three companies said they stopped taking the ads years ago.

Hanaway said “I do think it will have a major impact. These are three of the largest online organizations in the world.

The public service campaign will be aimed at informing users, especially those of college age and younger, that online gambling is illegal.

Microsoft’s $21 million portion of the settlement includes a $4.5 million forfeit, $7.5 million to be paid to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and $9 million in public service ads over a three-year period starting next year.

Microsoft said that this agreement will reflect their ongoing commitment to online safty. They are hoping that their educational campaign will stop young people from gambling before they start.

$7.5 million which is Yahoo’s share of the settlement includes a $3 million forfeiture and $4.5 million in public service ads over three years.

Yahoo stopped accepting online gambling advertisements years ago, and after the U.S. Attorney’s office contacted Yahoo with its concerns, they worked cooperatively over several years to reach this settlement.

$3 million, Google is to pay is less than half its average daily profit of $11 million. The ads appeared in sponsored links at Google.com and other Web sites that that belong to its ad network.

Not admitting any wrongdoing, the Department of Justice has advised that online gambling is illegal in the United States and ads to promote it are improper.
Google voluntarily discontinued running these ads. Which were a very small part of their  AdWords business, in April 2004.
Earlier in the year, the London-based Internet gambling firm BetOnSports PLC pleaded guilty in St. Louis to federal racketeering charges. Cases are still pending against company executives. Hanaway’s office also settled a civil case against BetOnSports in November 2006. That settlement prohibits the company from accepting any bets from gamblers in the U.S.

Authorities said. The investigations of Microsoft, Yahoo and Google were unrelated to the BetOnSports case.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in St. Louis has previously prosecuted and settled with other companies over Web-based gambling and gambling ads agreements that generated more than $40 million in forfeitures and back taxes.

In my opinion, how this all will affect online gambling is yet to be seen. Americans need to speak up for their rights to gamble online. It should be our choice! Where is America “ The Land of The Free?”

Massachusetts Governor may testify at Casino Hearing
17 December 2007

As reported by The Republican: “Gov. Deval L. Patrick plans a major push for his bill to legalize casinos, stating that he may testify before a legislative committee next week on the plan.

A sign that the casino bill is being taken seriously by the industry, Patrick said that 15 developers around the world are expressing interest in bidding for licenses to operate gambling resorts IF the state Legislature approves his bill.

Patrick suggested he would testify on Tuesday when a legislative panel is scheduled to conduct a hearing on casinos. He stated  that if his bill went to a vote in the Legislature now, it would be approved, adding that the prediction stemmed from both a head count and his gut feeling.

Patrick stated “I think we will get a debate, and a serious one, on the casino-resort proposal, It deserves one.”

Governor wants to auction licenses for three casino resorts around the state, including one in a region comprising Worcester County and the four counties of Western Massachusetts. The Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut is proposing to develop $1 billion casino in Palmer.

Deal  for compensation reached In  the EU and U.S. in WTO case
17 December 2007

As reported by Reuters: Brussels” The European Commission dealt a blow to European online gaming companies on December 17th,  when it accepted a U.S. offer of openings in other sectors to compensate for closing the U.S. gambling market to foreign firms.

Companies in Europe such as PartyGaming and Bwin Interactive Entertainment was  hoping the European Union executive might shun a settlement and fight on instead to restore their ability to operate in the world’s biggest market.

A bi-lateral agreement was signed in Geneva, in which provides EU service suppliers with new trade opportunities in the U.S. postal and courier, research and development, storage and warehouse sectors, so the Commission said in a statement.

U.S. also made concessions in the testing and analysis services sector, the Commission stated, adding it would still try to dissuade the United States from discriminating against foreign operators.

Representative of Europe’s online gaming sector , which saw billions of euros of market value wiped out by the U.S. restrictions  Stated the announcement was a disappointment.

Commission can still press for an opening up of the market, but the leverage of the outstanding (compensation) negotiations has been taken away, said Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association.

Deadline for all public commentary on draft regulations closed on Dec. 12th

Today, December, 13^th 2007, iMEGA announced that it has filed its objections with the Department of Treasury over the agency’s proposed regulations regarding the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA).  The new law, attached in the waning minutes of the 109th Congress to the unrelated Safe Ports Act with very little input from Members of Congress, is a misguided and potential harmful attempt to regulate Internet content.

iMEGA believes UIGEA and its proposed regulations establish a dangerous precedent for denying Americans’ First Amendment rights; that it will stifle online innovation and commerce; that it will inadequately protect children by eliminating the established safeguards offered by banks and credit card companies; and that it will have a chilling effect on the privacy rights of Internet users.  iMEGA has made asserting and safeguarding Americans’ civil liberties in the online world part of their core mission.

“These proposed regulations will limit Americans’ freedom to use the Internet as they see fit in the privacy of their own homes,” said Edward Leyden, President of iMEGA. “While UIGEA is intended to protect minors and problem gamblers, the law ironically makes these groups more vulnerable by targeting US banks and credit card companies, whose identity verification, fraud prevention and credit profiling systems protect online consumers every day.”

“How does this make children and problem gamblers safer?” Leyden asked. “The fact is, it does not, and is certainly not worth the trade-off in our First Amendment rights the law demands. This is a dangerous precedent that must be corrected to preserve our digital civil rights.”

iMEGA noted in its filing that it was alarmed by the agency’s refusal to define exactly what an “unlawful gambling transaction” is, and was equally alarmed that the required determination would be  delegated on an ad hoc basis to the entity or person having a “customer relationship” with an Internet gaming concern.

In addition, the regulations would, if implemented, exert a chilling effect on Internet innovation by imposing unprecedented burdens on the financial system, and risk stifling the growth of electronic commerce.

Leyden said” The Internet is dispensable to our economy and our freedom”, “We implore the Congress to join in a bipartisan effort to preserve Americans “Digital Civil Rights” and to enact legislation that will guaranty these rights and prevent future abuse.”

Watch here for some very interesting and good news to come.