February 3rd, 2012
Residents of Kentucky were looking forward to legalized casino gambling, but they will have to wait a little longer than they had been told. According to Governor Steve Beshear, the new gambling bill will have to wait, after previously stating that the bill would be introduced within a few days.
The problem seems to like within a conflict over redistricting, in which a state redetermines the local electoral boundaries. The state of Kentucky has recently been bogged down, attempting to deal with the redistricting issue, so all other bills have been put on hold.
After the bill is finally introduced, Beshear anticipates that it will take little time for the public to decide on the issue:
“Everybody knows what the issue’s about,” he says. “It can be passed one way or the other in very short order.”
Beshear believes that expanding the state’s gambling market would greatly benefit Kentucky and its residents. As many state governments have already realized, gambling is an effective way to bring in additional revenue, which can be used to fund a wide range of education, health and social services.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 2nd, 2012
DC isn’t the only state that is having second thoughts about online gambling legislation; Utah is also not convinced that legalizing the activity is the best route. As such, the state is working on a legislation that would ban online poker even if the federal government legislates online gambling.
“We want to keep Utah free from the negative impacts of legalised gambling,” a political representative stated.
The bill, titled House Bill 108, seeks to ban all forms of online gambling within Utah. This would not only include online gambling, but also mobile and television betting. The state wants to cover all of its bases by ensuring that residents cannot access remote gambling websites in any way.
State politicians believe that if online gambling is legalized, it will open the floodgates, allowing all forms of gambling to take place. Since Utah is only one of two American states that prohibits all types of gambling, politicians believe that there is a lot at stake if federal legislation passes, legalizing online poker and other online casino games.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 1st, 2012
Ladbrokes and PlayTech have already announced their plans to enter their American online gambling market; now another European brand is planning to make waves. 888, based in Gibraltar, has announced its new partnership with Las Vegas brand Caesars Interactive Entertainment, allowing the company to get its foot in the door of the American gambling industry.
Dragonfish, a subsidiary of 888, will work with Caesars to launch an American-facing online poker room. At this time, the two companies will build and develop the software, but they will not launch it until the government legislates online gambling.
In the meantime, this is a very effective tactic. By teaming up with an American company, 888 can enter the American market without getting into any trouble. It is also useful, as the two companies can work on perfecting their new online gambling software in the months before legislation occurs. And - the launch of the new software may not be far off, as plenty of states are working hard to pass online gambling legislation.
“This gives us a strong platform to roll out our cutting edge, turnkey solution to other potential partners as the market opens”, says 888 spokesperson, Brian Mattingley.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 31st, 2012
If you live in DC, and you were just starting to get excited about online gambling being legalized – not so fast. The state Senate has decided to repeal the law, in a shocking and unexpected turn of events.
While you may think that the decision was made because residents raised moral and ethical issues about legalizing online gambling, that’s not the case. Instead, local politicians have decided to repeal the law, as they are not happy with the way that the bill had been passed.
According to the Associated Press, politician Jack Evans states that the public was not given enough time to weigh in on the issue. Reports also stated that the online gambling bill might jeopardize the state’s current lottery provider, but this issue was also not taken into consideration.
As such, the District of Columbia wants to start over. Politicians believe that there is a better way of going about the legalization and regulation of online gambling, and they wish to go about it in a more careful, considerate fashion.
It is unfortunate, however. DC was likely to be one of the first states to legalize online gambling in the United States. Now, it will have to start from scratch.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 30th, 2012
While many states across America are working hard to draw up plans for legislation and regulating online gambling, Connecticut has taken the opposite approach. Rather than getting closer and closer to online gambling legislation, it is looking less and less likely that Connecticut will jump on the online gambling bandwagon.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy has stated that no legislations legalizing online poker or any other forms of online gambling will be introduced this year. Attorney General Bob Clark states that a bill must be introduced in order for online gambling to be allowed; however, the local governor’s office will not be the entity to do so.
Although the American Department of Justice issued a statement last year concerning the legalization of online gambling, Clark does not believe that this has officially opened the doors for legalized and regulated online gambling within the United States. The federal government would still have to create a law or repeal the UIGEA; otherwise, the state itself would have to introduce an intrastate gambling legislation, which the local governor has already confirm he would not do.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 27th, 2012
Zynga Poker is already one of the most popular games in the Facebook universe, offering players the chance to take part in poker games without having to pay real cash in order to buy in. With the tremendous success of this particular application, Zynga has decided to expand its casino offerings. The first new game under the Zynga Casino brand is Zynga Bingo.
The new Zynga Bingo title offers players the ability to socialize with their friends in a brand new way. Since bingo is already a very social game, Zynga had to really improve upon it in order to offer players something new in the Facebook world. As such, the game offers players chance to use the game to interact with their friends. For example, when playing Zynga Bingo, you can see which bingo rooms your friends are playing in and invite them to compete in games.
This is one of the most exciting new games to hit the Facebook world, but it has not been fully unveiled yet. As it stands, only a few Facebook users will be able to access Zynga Bingo. Zynga will allow more users into the application as time progresses.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 26th, 2012
Gambling offers local government an additional source of revenue, which can be used to fund a wide range of state programs. As the economic climate continues to worsen across America, individual states are looking at the option of expanding their land-based gambling markets in order to generate much-needed revenue.
The biggest developments seem to be taking place in Florida and New York. In Florida, state senate has approved the construction of 3 new casinos. One casino could possibly be built in Miami, the state’s busiest tourist destination. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed an expansion of the aqueduct casino in Queens, in addition to amendment that would allow casino gambling throughout New York.
These developments present a significant threat to Las Vegas, the country’s gambling capital. Should local states continue to invest more money into their gambling markets, fewer tourists will make Las Vegas a destination. This is bad news for the city, as Las Vegas has yet to recover from the recent economic crisis and is still struggling to recover tourism and gambling revenue.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 25th, 2012
Various states across the country are working hard to legalize and regulate online gambling, but some states are still working on land-based gambling. Nebraska is one of them, as the state has outlawed gambling for years. Now, Senator Paul Schumacher has proposed a gambling bill that would make the activity legal within the state.
In November, politicians and citizens will vote on the bill. If successful, the state will be able to host casinos and other gambling events. Currently, many Nebraskan residents spend money at casinos in bordering states, and the state government wants to reclaim a portion of that revenue.
The bill proposed that bordering states should share a portion of their profits with the state of Nebraska. Otherwise, the state itself will begin building casinos in order to keep gambling business within the state, causing these casinos to lose out completely.
In Iowa’s Council Bluffs, an area bordering Nebraska, there are nearly 4000 slot machines, which bring in upwards of $800 000 per day from Nebraskans. While Iowa politicians may not believe the new provision is fair, it does seem to make at least a little bit of sense – since Nebraska residents spend so much money at out-of-state casinos.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 24th, 2012
Connecticut Governor Dannel P Malloy has announced that he is not interested in bringing online gambling into the state. Although Connecticut has had a difficult time with finances recently, the governor does not believe that it should turn to gambling to solve the problem.
The main concern for the state is that legalizing and regulating online gambling would cut into profits from local lottery retailers, who also contribute to government tax revenue. According to the governor, it would take at least 5% away from these outlets. The government also wants to encourage general sales for local retailers, as lottery customers also use the opportunity to buy tickets to pick up other items.
Governor Malloy also states that keeping underage players from accessing online gambling websites would be a difficult feat. He does not believe that the government would be able to adequately protect these individuals from gambling online and does not want to take the risk at the moment.
Connecticut is one of many states that have adopted this stance on online gambling. It seems that many others have changed their minds about the option of legalizing and regulating online poker.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2012
PlayTech has been very busy with the business side of its operations, recently. The company has been working hard to secure a place in the American online gambling market, following in the footsteps of Ladbrokes and Aristocrat.
According to PlayTech CEO Mor Weizer, his company is currently considering several deals with partners currently working in the United States of America. An opportunity to work with these companies would present PlayTech with the chance to enter the American online gambling market in good standing with the local government.
Last year, PlayTech acquired Vegas-based gaming operator Scientific Games. The company works on supplying gaming solutions to local lotteries and casinos, and its partnership with PlayTech gave the online company a foot in the door in America’s gambling market.
Now, PlayTech is looking for more opportunities to expand into the US online gambling market. Should the company partner with other gaming operators, it will have a vast presence in the market, allowing PlayTech a great deal of flexibility in the American online gambling world.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »