Stakes were yesterday raised on a super casino coming to Norfolk after the minister responsible for the number of licences reportedly said he wanted more. As it stands, Yarmouth is almost certain to miss out on a regional casino featuring up to 1250 slot machines, with only one pilot licence available and Blackpool the firm frontrunner.

At the beginning of February 2006, media reports stated that the Regional Court of Cologne (LG Köln) had banned the provision of gaming and sports betting in Germany, among others for the online providers "betandwin", "intertops", "unibet" and "bet365" (see www.isa-casinos.com/articles/11282.html). This statement has temporarily unsettled the media and entertainment sector.
However, it soon became obvious that this statement could not be maintained in this form. On the one hand, for instance, the betandwin decision only applied to the ".com" offers of the Austrian provider of sports bets and not to the sports betting site www.betandwin.de designed for Germany, which, as is well known, is based on a so-called GDR sports betting licence.

Following the German Constitutional Court's (hereinafter, BVerfG) oral hearing on November 8th on the constitutionality of the state sports betting monopoly (we reported on this issue in the 08/05 edition of Betting-Law-News) the BVerfG has announced that it will make its decision before the end of March. As we reported in the 08/05 edition of Betting-Law-News, at the very beginning of this long awaited oral hearing BVerfG Judge Prof Byrde (the senate reporter) stated: "I am sure that bets will also be taken on the outcome of these proceedings."

Small firms could be "knocked out" by big businesses if Southport wins the race to build a new "Las Vegas-style" casino, the town's MP has warned. John Pugh, a Liberal Democrat, said he feared claims that big casinos could breathe new life into towns and cities were exaggerated and misleading.

When Steve Wynn talks about his USD 900 million megadeal to sell his Macau casino sub-concession to Australia-based Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd., he sounds like an ambassador of the semiautonomous Chinese enclave. PBL is controlled by the family of the late Kerry Packer, who died in December. The company owns many of Australia's leading broadcasting and magazine assets as well as the Crown casino operation. Packer's son James Packer runs PBL.

New research claiming a Birmingham super-casino would fail to meet regeneration targets because profits from the multi-million pound venture would be returned to overseas investors has been dismissed by the Government. Sports Minister Richard Caborn described claims in a report by economic consultants Hall Aitken as "rubbish".

Wynn Resorts executives weren't too happy with the local response to the company's first full quarter of earnings as a public company. Wynn's third quarter earnings, reported in early November, had TV reporters pondering whether the company was on the verge of bankruptcy and others incorrectly reporting that the company, on the heels of a USD 14 million loss, was laying off workers.

Richard Caborn, the minister responsible for gambling deregulation, has privately said he wants eight resort-style regional casinos across Britain, according to one of the industry's leading operators, Rank Group. Its outgoing chief executive, Mike Smith, said: "Caborn wants eight [regional casinos] but will settle for four." He said the minister had set out his ambitions for the industry at a private meeting with the company.

Healdsburg -- A black-clad intruder wearing a "Ninja"-style mask who was shot to death in a retired casino executive's Healdsburg home this week has been identified as a former chief financial officer of an Indian tribe's gaming operations. Authorities said David Edward Ferguson, 48, of San Diego, used to work for the man who shot him dead Monday morning, 68-year-old Louis J. Phillips.

The minute one walks into the hotel lobby entrance of the changing Caesars Tahoe, it becomes obvious this is a Lake Tahoe property. Bright blue glass panels stretch from floor to ceiling. A big, bold name dominating the panels spells out the fall of the Roman Empire - MontBleu, which is French for blue mountain. The exterior signs are expected to go up in June, unveiling a major renovation inside.

Plans to boost Blackpool with a Las Vegas-style casino are flawed, an independent report claims. Regeneration consultants said building the UK's only "super casino" in the town could damage the economy rather than create jobs and investment. Blackpool Council described the report as "inaccurate", saying there were clear benefits for the resort.

ICE 2006 was the biggest on record, according to figures released by show organisers, Clarion ATE. A total of 9,799 casino industry professionals attended the London-based exhibition, an 8.8 per cent increase on the previous best – 9,008, which was set last year.