Harrisburg, Pennsylvania -- Twenty-four gambling companies, American Indian tribes and developers from Cleveland to Connecticut and Philadelphia to Phoenix have applied for the 14 licenses that will be awarded by Pennsylvania to operate slot-machine gambling parlors, state officials said Friday.

Anyone who deals with E-Commerce law is confronted with a vast catalogue of requirements, which range from information duties, down to the last detail, to organisational measures and the necessity of obtaining numerous consents from the customer. Most of the time, it is only the threat of fines and the risk of civil law proceedings, which cause firms to implement the extensive obligations. Now the Confidence Working Group, to which the German Association of Digital Commerce belongs, has published a recommendation catalogue, which – as the name of the working group suggests – focuses on confidence-building measures. This is because there is still a major lack of confidence on the part of those who decline to take part in online commerce.

In a main proceedings judgement of 2 December 2005 the Administrative Court of Breda rendered a landmark post-Gambelli judgement in the proceedings between the Compagnie Financière Régionale B.V. (hereinafter : "CFR") against The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (hereinafter: "the State"). The decision of the Breda Court can be qualified as no less than a historic victory for the supporters of the principles enshrined in the Treaty of Rome, notably articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty. After various Dutch interlocutory Courts and one main proceedings Court found the Dutch gaming legislation and policies to be compliant with the so-called Gambelli criteria in several crossborder internet gambling cases, the Breda Court ruled that the State monopoly on (casino) gambling is not effective and there is no specific evidence as to substantiate that the restrictive casino legislation is coherent and consistent.

The Baden-Württemberg Administrative Authority suffers another setback – this time at the Upper Administrative Court in Mannheim (case no. 6 S 1947/05). Where sports bets are concerned, it is well known that the administrative authorities take drastic steps – unfortunately without regard to law and order. Private sports betting distributors, who distribute sports bets to organisers in other EU countries have long been a thorn in the side of the state. This is because they are competition to the state sports betting provider ODDSET and in doing so rely on their constitutional rights and European law guarantees, freedom of establishment and freedom of services. However, the administrative authorities are increasingly finding themselves on the losing side.

Not so long ago, business conquered cyberspace. It is just 10 years since the first online-only gambling service went online. Recently M-Commerce (M-Gambling) has been shaping up alongside E-Commerce (eGaming). With the progressive technological development of mobile devices such as PDAs, Handhelds and Smartphones, M-Commerce seems to have been given another chance. After the internet and mobile hype at the beginning of the century died down and other technologies such as WAP or UMTS unmistakably flopped (perhaps unable to emerge from a niche market) it seems to be time to take a closer look at this market.

[ARCHIVE 2005] A landmark ruling by the Breda District Court finds the Dutch state's casino monopoly violates EU law due to a lack of coherent policy.

On behalf of the plaintiffs appeal was filed against the defendants' decision of 16 July 2003 ("the contested decision") upholding their refusal to grant the plaintiff... a licence to organise a casino. A defence was filed on the defendants' behalf.

Concession for the new casino in the Serbian capital awarded to the Austria-based international casino operator.

An exciting year and more to come – Looking back on 2005 and looking ahead to the new year.

Show organisers have unveiled an exciting new floor plan for ATEI/ICE 2007 which will allow exhibitors to maximise the massive commercial opportunities provided by the London shows.

The international i-gaming sector is poised to celebrate its biggest industry gathering in London when the doors open at Earls Court 2 on January 24-26. ICEi 2006, part of the International Casino Exhibition (ICE), will feature no fewer than 45 suppliers drawn from 12 countries, combining to showcase the latest products and services across more than 1,000sqm. (10,764sq.ft.) of net floor space.

Visitors to the 2006 edition of the International Casino Exhibition (ICE), which takes place on 24-26 January at London's Earls Court 2, will experience a varied showcase from suppliers drawn from the greatest number of countries ever seen under one roof. The news follows the revelation made at the beginning of December by show organisers ATE that 185 companies from 34 countries are lined up to appear at ICE and its interactive gaming section, ICEi.