Singapore is likely to decide early in December which one of three competing consortiums will be awarded the bid to build the city-state’s second casino, a government minister was quoted as saying on Sunday. On October 10, three groups - one led by Malaysia’s Genting, one by U.S. group Eighth Wonder and one by Bahamas-based casino operator Kerzner - submitted bids worth up to USD 3.5 billion to build and run a casino on the Singapore resort island Sentosa.

The situation of the Internet betting business in Spain is being studied “due to the complexity that presents the recent development on the subject as well as the autonomous competences”, according to a statement of the government. Vicente Martínez-Pujalte, the economic speaker of Grupo Popular in the congress, had presented a question to the goverment on the regulation of the commercial activity based on the marketing and sales of online beting.

MGM Mirage unveiled last week plans for residences at the USD 7 billion Project CityCenter, saying the 26,000 hectare site will include four condominium developments encompassing five high-rise towers. Units will have a price range from USD 500,000 to USD 8 million. A preview center is open at Bellagio, where potential owners can sign an interest list. Sales for all 2,700 residences will begin in January, when MGM Mirage opens CityCenter’s 2,700 sqm sales office on the Strip, which will include model units.

Las Vegas gambling giant Harrah’s Entertainment has stunned Britain’s sleepy casino industry by raising its already colossal takeover offer for London Clubs, a loss-making operator of just six gaming sites. It is the clearest marker yet of how lucrative international casino groups believe Britain will become as the 2005 Gambling Act slowly unwinds many of the regulatory constraints that have so tightly bound the industry over the past 40 years.

At this moment, France, Italy and Austria monopolize the sportbooks market and their respective public administrations. The European Community demands that they have to open the market in order to guarantee the free flow of capitals and services inside the union, as other countries have performed.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board published on its wb site an application and instructions for people with gambling problems to have themselves barred from Pennsylvania gaming facilities. This practice, known as "self-exclusion," is used successfully by gaming regulators in jurisdictions throughout the U.S. to prevent and treat compulsive gambling.

The chances that legalized gambling could be expanded throughout Texas in the near future are greater than ever considering that the four primary candidates for the state’s governor race all have been supportive, or at least open to the idea. In a recent article, the candidates views on gaming were chronicled: Governor Rick Perry, a Republican, has already proposed allowing the state’s racetracks and Native American tribes to operate Class III slot machines during his stint in office.

Macau could soon take the title of gambling capital of the world from current holder Las Vegas, after recently published statistics revealed its gaming income rose by 39 per cent last month. According to the figures, Macau’s gaming revenue totalled USD 578 million in September, aided by the opening of the USD 1.2 billon Wynn Macau casino hotel earlier that month as well as a 20 per cent increase in visitor arrivals.

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) organized with great success its fourth annual European Regulators Roundtable. The two-day event took place 5-6 October at the Hotel Schiphol A4 in The Netherlands. This year’s roundtable drew over 37 regulators from across the continent, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. GLI Europe presented the roundtable free of charge to regulators to provide awareness and education concerning changes within the European marketplace and technology.

Blog Will Feature Conference Previews and On-site Reporting

Washington - Could a cornerstone of Republicans' American Values Agenda - the just passed law to ban Internet gambling - come back to bite the party on Nov. 7? That's the prognosis of poker-playing scholar Charles Murray, who warned in a recent newspaper opinion piece of the political damage Republicans may face from the nation's poker-playing masses this fall. An estimated 8 million Americans gamble online.

Observers say the recently enacted U.S. law that bans gambling online could cut into the number of entrants to the planet’s richest card game - the World Series of Poker. The number of players in the tournament, run by Harrah’s Entertainment, has ballooned thanks largely to the online game. In 2003, a mere 839 participants took part when accountant Chris Moneymaker emerged from a USD 40 Internet tournament and went on to win the USD 2.5 million grand prize. This year, 8,773 players gambled for part of an USD 82.5 million prize pool and more than half are estimated to have won tournaments over the Web to play.