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Iowa Wants Legalized Sports Betting
DES MOINES – Iowa gamblers would be able to legally wager on sporting events if Congress and the Iowa Legislature play ball.
Two Democratic senators introduced separate measures Thursday seeking to give the state Racing and Gaming Commission authority to allow state-licensed racetracks and riverboat casinos to offer sports betting to patrons if a federal prohibition is lifted.
“I think we ought to have sports betting in Iowa,” said Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg. “They’re probably betting on them anyway, but we’re not getting any tax. I think it would raise a lot of money.”
The federal professional and amateur sports protection act of 1992 made sports betting illegal in all but a handful of U.S. states. However, Kibbie and Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center, say current restrictions are being challenged in court and there are efforts to convince Congress to change the law.
They have offered slightly different versions – Sodders’ bill mentions professional sports only, while Kibbie authored a measure that would give Iowa gambling regulators the go-ahead if federal law does not prohibit professional and amateur sports betting in Iowa.
“This bill hinges on federal legislation to open it up,” Kibbie said.
“There are people that would like to bet on sports who don’t bet on other things,” added Kibbie, who speculated an expansion into legalized sports wagering eventually could generate as much as $100 million in new state gaming revenue it if were taxed at the same rate as other betting activities.
Sodders said he hoped the proposals would begin a conversation about legalizing sports gambling. He planned to contact members of Iowa’s congressional delegation to enlist help in getting the federal prohibition lifted.
“We think that we ought to be able to regulate that here and have sports betting if Iowa desires to do that in our casinos,” he said. “Why not let them do that betting here than in other states that are getting the revenue for that?”
Sodders said the fact that huge sums of money will be wagered on the upcoming Super Bowl is evidence there is consumer interest in betting on sporting events. He said channeling the activity through state-regulated outlets would help prevent problems associated with clandestine betting options.
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Kentucky Still Awaits Final Online Poker Verdict
It’s the case that just won’t seem to end: The Kentucky government’s attempt to seize 141 online gambling-related domain names in late 2008 is still playing out in the courts.
Many in the online gambling industry (and the state itself) believed that this week would see a decision being made by the Kentucky’s Supreme Court. But, as of yet, no final decision has been made, and reports now indicate that the decision won’t come until March — if then.
It’s a good sign for the online gambling industry, since the most recent verdict by a Kentucky appeals court was that the domain name seizure was unlawful. The fact that the higher court is taking so long to decide which way to go on this issue, however, is a bit less encouraging.
All this is happening in the wake of this week’s decision by Kentucky lawmakers to not allow an expansion of land-based gambling in casinos and state racetracks. So, as much as the Kentucky governor is vilified in this issue because of his seemingly hypocritical take on gambling, it’s important to note that some legislators in the state are consistent in their opposition to online gambling. (The real question, however, would be: What do the voters think?)
Rush Poker Introduced at Full Tilt
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Created to minimize players’ wait time between hands and the action going at top speed, Full Tilt’s latest feature shows off the company’s ability to cater to what online poker players want. Rush Poker pits players in a large pool, facing a different table of opponents with each hand played. When a player folds, he or she is rushed to the next table for a new hand, almost instantaneously.
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Playtech Positioning For U.S. Online Gambling
As European online casino operators scuffle to get in position for impending US regulation of online gambling, Playtech made a big leap by finding a US partner.
While Playtech hasn’t accepted US players since the passage of the UIGEA, many observers think that regulation of Internet casinos by the US is just a matter of time.
Playtech boosted its US gambling profile by partnering with Scientific Games Corporation, a deal whose announcement today caused Playtech stock to jump 11 percent during the day. The arrangement is for the two companies to work together developing both online and land gambling products.
The Wall Street Journal quoted James Hollins, an analyst at Daniel Stewart, as saying the deal would be a major assist in getting Playtech contracts with regulated US online casino operators.
Scientific Games would blend its government-compliant gambling products with Playtech’s B2B online gaming software under the contract. SciPlay, their joint product, will feature online casino gambling as well as Internet poker.
“This deal sets Playtech apart as the market-leading technology provider in our [coverage] universe, with the means, scale, capabilities and likely traction to build a massive global entity with minimum upfront costs and strong potential returns,” Hollins told the Journal.
Legal Internet Poker Coming to Florida?
According to today’s Florida Times-Union out o0f Jacksonville, the Florida legislature is reportedly considering legalizing and regulating Internet poker with its borders, becoming the latest state to consider doing so. (Read about California’s and New Jersey’s efforts to do the same.)
However, putting the issue to a vote isn’t necessarily a positive development. According to the article, it could just as easily result in a total ban of the activity as a freer set of regulations.
“The Legislature could also wait to see whether Congress intends to address Internet poker, which is considered illegal in the United States but is often operated by foreign companies,” writes Brandon Larrabee in the article.
“When the feds tried to [ban Internet poker], it didn’t really work,” said state senator Dave Aronberg, according to the article. “Is there anything that Florida can do other than allowing it to occur?”
Haiti Lost Big Bucks by Snubbing Online Gambling
If you’ve been watching TV coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, no doubt you’ve heard numerous times how Haiti is “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.”
That fact–that nobody has any money there–has exacerbated the effect of the earthquake.
Helpless people are now even more helpless.
It didn’t have to be that way, however.
Haiti didn’t have to be so poor–at least not for the last decade. Had Haiti only embraced online gambling–as other Caribbean nations have done–it would have been one of the richest countries in the Caribbean.
About 10 years ago, at least one online betting site, looking to relocate, looked into the possibility of relocating to Haiti.
The site, a sports betting site in Jamaica, was looking to relocate, preferably to another Caribbean country.
Conventional choices that already licensed online sportsbooks, such as Curacao and Dominica, were considered.
But also considered were some unconventional choices that did not license online gambling and seemed unlikely to do so, including Haiti and, yes, even Cuba.
Government officials in both those countries were contacted by representatives of the sportsbook to see if there was any interest in letting the sportsbook relocate and be licensed.
To no one’s surprise, both countries turned down the offer.
No way Cuba was going to accept–it’s a communist country and gambling is oh so capitalisitic.
In fact, one of the first things Fidel Castro did when he took over Cuba in 1959 was destroy the island’s lucrative-but-American-owned casinos in Havana.
But Haiti has no such history–it could’ve embraced online gambling and been a rich (or at least much richer) nation today.
Had Haitian government officials embraced the sportsbook, other online gambling entities would have been sure to follow.
And the dollars would have rolled in, and Haiti would have been off the world’s welfare roll.
But no–the government of Haiti did not want online gambling in any way, shape or form.
It’s a decision it may come to regret–or maybe even reverse. Especially now (the sportsbook eventually moved to Ireland).
The twin island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, for example, licenses online sportsbooks and charges them each an annual $100,000 licensing fee.
Other nations inside and outside the Caribbean that license online betting also charge licensing fees and make a lot of money.
If Haiti only had seen the light 10 years ago and embraced online gambling and issued licenses, it would be millions of dollars richer today–and in a much better position to deal with an earthquake.
By Tom Somach
New Jersey Considers Regulating Online Casinos
New Jersey state Senator Raymond Lezniak has introduces a bill to regulate online casinos. Lezniak’s measure would specifically grant permission to New Jersey residents to gamble on the Internet.
The casinos allowed would be the licensed casinos in Atlantic City, part of Lezniak’s ongoing effort to revive the New Jersey gambling scene. Lezniak is also involved in efforts to legalize sports betting and regulate online poker.
The suggested law would require servers to be located within Atlantic County, either on casino property or in a secure location operated by an Atlantic City casino. All casino games legal at Atlantic City resorts would be available, including poker.
The bill would allow residents to establish an account and then play at online gambling either from personal computers, or at terminals to be located at state racetracks, giving both racetracks and casinos a chance to successfully pool customers. The terminals may be virtually the same as slot machines.
Lezniak would create a regulatory Division of Internet Wagering under the Casino Control Commission, which would watch over the new industry. Taxes would be set at 20 percent of gross revenue from the online casino gambling.
Despite the US Department of Justice defying courts and asserting that all online gambling is illegal, New Jersey joins a slew of states debating plans to run Internet gaming inside state borders, including Maine, California, and Florida. Illinois already operates legal and regulated online gambling.
Published on January 17, 2010 by Tom Weston
Little Progress Made in California Online Poker Meeting
Earlier this week, a meeting of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association focused partially on a new effort to legalize Internet poker in the Golden State.
The subject has been a controversial one in California. As the most populous state in the U.S. — and one where Internet poker is extremely popular — there’s a growing consensus that tremendous amounts of money can be made from the legalization and regulation of online poker, both by the government and independent parties.
And, indeed, law experts agree that the regulations outlawing Internet gambling in America, the UIGEA, would not be violated by a law legalizing online poker within a single state’s borders.
Last year, a group led by the Southern California-based Morongo Band of Mission Indians tried to introduce legislation to regulate and tax Internet poker in the state, but that effort couldn’t get off the ground before the end of the year, partially because the state was facing a catastrophic economic shutdown that consumed most of the legislative agenda.
So, expectations are high that, with more time, the state’s gambling interests can achieve some sort of legislation this year.
“Consensus-building began in earnest, prompting former state Sen. Jim Battin to predict an Internet poker bill could arrive sometime this year,” writes the Desert Sun about the meeting. Read that article here.
However, that consensus is anything but a sure thing; and reports indicate that this week’s meeting saw the same sort of dissent that the issue faced last year.
“Several months after a failed push for state legislation authorizing a ‘tribal intrastate Internet poker consortium,’ the Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning seems no closer to getting significant support from other successful gaming tribes,” writes Jim Miller at the Press-Enterprise.
“The Morongo tribe so far has not found an author for legislation containing the online poker proposal,” continues Miller. “A Senate committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the issue next month.” Read Miller’s article here.
The main problem seem to be fears from some tribes that legalizing online poker means that people will have less of a reason to visit the land-based casinos where so much profit is currently made. The opposing perspective is that, since online poker is already happening, a framework should be created to prevent all the profits from leaving the state, as is currently the case.
Legalizing and regulating online poker within the borders of America’s largst state seems to make sense, especially considering the taxation aspect and California’s financial crisis. But it remains doubtful that the necessary parties can agree on how to make that happen.
Casino Rewards rejects Microgaming upgrade
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — (PRESS RELEASE) — A planned upgrade by game software provider Microgaming has been rejected by CasinoRewards.com in an effort to maintain the best user experience across its 19 online casino brands.
The Microgaming upgrade aims to enhance game-play by increasing screen resolution, but instead has led to negative player feedback due to increased load times and distortion.
CasinoRewards.com has chosen to keep the current software to preserve the very best online gaming across its range of 19 online casinos and poker rooms. CasinoRewards.com stood firm on keeping the original software, featuring better graphics, game-play and stability and being the preferred choice of the player:
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