With its decision of 2 January 2007 (file no. 3 MB 38/06), the Administrative Court of Appeal of Schleswig-Holstein (Oberverwaltungsgericht Schleswig-Holstein) dismissed the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck’s appeal against a decision of the Administrative Court of Schleswig-Holstein and also granted protection to a sports betting agent. The Administrative Court, in its decision of 23 August 2006, had followed the agent’s petition for relief and restored the suspensive effect of the agent’s objection against the prohibition order of the City of Lübeck. According to the Administrative Court, the agent could invoke constitutional law as well as Community law principles.

The rapid influx of tourists from China pushed gaming revenue in Macau to USD 6.4 billion (AUD 8.2 billion) in the first 11 months of 2006, according to international credit rating agency Standard & Poor's. S&P said it expected cumulative gaming revenue to have overtaken the Las Vegas Strip in 2006 and to possibly top USD 10 billion by 2010. The momentum presaged good fortunes for James Packer's joint venture Melco PBL Entertainment (Macau), which is expected to open its first casino, the Crown Macau, around April.

London (Reuters) -- Two men and a woman were sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to trying to defraud a casino using what police said was a scam they had not seen before in Britain. The sting, which involved micro-cameras and earpieces, netted the gang 250,000 pounds. Two members of the gang, a man and a woman, would sit down at a table and play three-card poker.

Under-18s should be banned from using fruit machines to prevent gambling addictions, doctors have said. A report from the British Medical Association warned that addiction to gambling would rise after the law is relaxed in September. Young people are most at risk and research has shown that using slot machines is addictive and linked to delinquent behaviour. Today the BMA recommended a review of slot machine access and whether it should be restricted to over-18s only.

The online magazine Spiegel Online reported already more than seven months ago that the state lottery operator of North-Rhine Westphalia, Westdeutsche Lotterie GmbH & Co. oHG (WestLotto), did not hold a license for operating sports betting (Dietmar Hipp: Oddset droht in NRW das Aus, Spiegel Online of 1 June 2006). WestLotto was therefore served a cease and desist letter and, according to a press release of an association of private betting operators, Verband Europäischer Wettunternehmer (VEWU), had to issue a statement, supported by contractual penalty, to refrain from claiming to be hold such a license on 12 January 2007 in proceedings before the Court of Appeal of Cologne (Oberlandesgericht Köln, case-no. 6 U 196/06).

The Seneca Nation plans to move forward this week with construction of a downtown Buffalo casino, but critics say they don't believe the casino will ever be allowed to open. Despite a federal court decision raising questions about the legality of a Buffalo casino, Seneca President Maurice A. John said he is "confident" the National Indian Gaming Commission will determine that property the nation bought near the city's Cobblestone district can be used for a casino.

Paris (AP) - Imagine French cafes free of cigarette smoke, without smoldering butts or ash underfoot. The prospect - an imminent reality - raises a question that smoker and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre might have enjoyed contemplating: Will France still be France without widespread smoking in public? A new ban on smoking in French offices and other public buildings begins next month and will ensnare bars, cafes, restaurants, hotels and casinos from 2008 onward.

The government's controversial plans to give the green light to Las Vegas-style super-casinos across the country are facing fresh scrutiny after a secret police report raised concerns that they would cause crime and antisocial behaviour to rise. The internal police report undermines government pledges that the new casinos would not lead to a rise in crime or problem gambling, particularly among the young. It says that 'vulnerable' groups could be lured into gambling.

Developers planning to build the state's fifth casino in Rockhampton face an uphill battle. They must first convince the State Government to change its casino policy and then get past local clubs who are against the proposal. A spokesman for Acting Premier Anna Bligh said yesterday that it was not government policy to allow another casino in Queensland, "but that does not mean someone cannot apply".

Patrons at Auckland's Sky City Casino may have thought their luck had run out when an electrical fault caused the gaming lounge to be evacuated on Saturday morning. Northern Communications shift manager Kevin Barbara told NZPA an electrical fault in the switch gear in the first floor of the building sparked the alert at 3.15am. The fire was contained to the fist floor electrical cupboards but smoke was detected up to seven floors, he said.

A jury has been asked to consider whether poker is a game of skill, chance, or a combination of both. Club owner Derek Kelly, 46, is accused of running unlicensed poker games at the Gutshot Private Members' Club in Clerkenwell, central London. But he has argued that poker is a game of skill and he therefore does not require a licence. Prosecutors say that merely shuffling the cards introduces an element of chance into the game.

New Jersey's casino industry extended its winning streak to 29 years in 2006 as it won a record USD 5.2 billion from gamblers. The industry has set a winnings record each year since the first casino opened its doors in 1978. The 2006 winnings were 4 percent higher than the 2005 winnings of USD 5 billion, and they came in a year when the generally booming industry had a few moments that looked like setbacks.