The consulting firm MECN’s new study “Casual Gaming and Gambling in the Internet” analyzes some of the hottest topics in the industry – skill gaming, online bingo, and fantasy sports. The study includes the results of a survey MECN conducted among more than 60 industry experts who offered their unique insights and assessments. The recent weeks were the toughest for the private online gambling industry ever: an online gambling prohibition bill (Goodlatte/Leach Bill) passed the US House of Representatives and has a chance to be passed by the Senate also...

The Millennium Dome is the front-runner in the race to open the first super-casino. The announcement came yesterday after weeks of controversy over John Prescott’s stay with Philip Anschutz, the owner of the Dome, which MPs criticised last Friday as unwise. Opposition politicians have repeatedly asked whether the Government has become too close to the billionaire and his companies.

BetonSports, the internet gaming company, said on Tuesday that it had terminated the contract of David Carruthers, its chief executive, “as a consequence of [his] continued detention by US authorities”. “Clearly, while he remains in the custody of the US government he is unable to perform his duties. Further, the company has been unable to speak directly with Mr Carruthers,” it said.

Japan is in talks with global casino operators including Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. to operate the nation's first casino expected after 2010, the country's gaming adviser said. The government may initially issue two to three casino licenses for gaming resorts that would each cost "slightly less" than Las Vegas Sands' $ 3 billion investment in Singapore, said Toru Mihara, adviser to the governing Liberal Democratic Party's casino study group.

An Italian MP has alleged that the revocation of the Casino di Venezia’s licence following wild celebrations marking Italy’s World Cup victory, could have been a ploy by the casino’s competitors to jeopardise the Vittoriosa house of gambling. The allegation was made by Michele Zuin, a representative of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, and a councillor for the town of Venice.

Vienna/Los Angeles, Chile, 24 July 2006 - Casinos Austria International's (CAI) latest expansion step into Chile takes the company further south than ever before. In mid-July 2006, the Vienna-based international casino development and management company was awarded the license to develop and operate a casino in the central Chilean city of Los Angeles. CAI's integrity, know-how and 30-year's experience as an international casino operator were key factors in the selection of the Austrian bid following a multi-phase tender process.

In the legal framework of a bone of contention between the FDJ and the Syndicat des Casinos Modernes de France, the Court dealing with trade disputes pronounced, on the 12th of June 2006, a summary judgment that, on the rebound, gave new obligations to the FDJ regarding its site accessibility to surfers under 18. The bone of contention comes from the publication, on the 11th of April 2006, of a press release on the FDJ, wherein the company claims that “its site is only accessible to French residents aged more than 18”, that “the weekly stake is limited (500 €)” and that “the gambler’s huge gains are directly paid into their bank account and not into a gambling account”.

On 30 June 2006 the Italian Council of Ministers enacted a Law Decree (“LD”) entailing an early mini-budget to cut its deficit by an ambitious EUR 11,2bn. In presenting the LD to the media Mr Romano Prodi, the Prime Minister, announced far-reaching liberalisation economic measures in many sectors including legal and professional services, taxi licences, some medicines now tradable in supermarkets, class actions available to consumer associations and other interest groups, etc.

When David Carruthers was arrested last Monday night at Dallas Airport, panic spread through the online gambling industry. "Never mind the falling share price," many will have wondered, "am I going to go to jail?" The indictment of the Glaswegian chief executive of BetonSports and his associates on charges of tax evasion, racketeering, fraud and conspiracy was a defining moment for an industry which has ridden its luck for years. More than GBP 600m was wiped from the value of the sector as investors took fright.

Las Vegas Sands is planning to invest more than USD 8bn in its casino, leisure and convention facilities in Macao and on a neighbouring island over the next four to six years. The size of the investment, double that reported originally, is part of the US-based gaming company's plans to change the face of the former Portuguese enclave's tourism industry from offering one-day gambling trips to becoming a longer-stay destination.

Hundreds of workers from some of London's largest casinos are threatening strike action following a breakdown in pay talks with Gala Casinos. Floor staff from five of Gala's London branches - including an outlet on Piccadilly - called for industrial action on Friday after demands for a 5.1 per cent pay increase were turned down.

State casino operator Holland Casino - in a joint effort with the city of Amsterdam and Rotterdam - sued the national government for not allowing a second Holland Casino facility to be located in the cities Amsterdam and Rotterdam. On 16 June 2006 the Administrative Court of Rotterdam rendered a negative ruling for Holland Casino and the cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The parties now have the option to appeal this matter before the "Afdeling Rechtspraak Raad van State", (Council of State) which is the highest instance court in Administrative law matters.