As we already mentioned in issue 18 of our newsletter "German Gaming Law updated" many crucial legal question will be resolved this year. In the WTO case Antigua v. USA the WTO's Appelate Body has meanwhile reached its decision (without really bringing clarification to the crucial questions, so that both sides claim to have won). Next to the upcoming "Gambelli II" decision (dealing with Italian facts concerning the case "Placanica") there will probably soon be a "Gambelli III" decision concerning several German cases.

As we already mentioned in our last newsletter, in the context of several preliminary procedures, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) asked the local regulatory authorities not to take any measures against agents of sporting bets anymore. Despite this clear request issued by the highest German court, even during the last weeks many state authorities (especially those in Hessia, Bavaria and North-Rhine Westphalia) have kept trying to enforce so called orders of interdiction (Untersagungsverfügungen) by force, threatening to seal betting shops and to take away computers and printers.

The Kiel-based FLUXX AG, a specialist handler of lotteries and betting, announces the key figures for the first quarter of 2005. Revenue showed a 35 percent rise on the prior-year quarter, from EUR 3.9 million to EUR 5.2 million, thus matching the level of the strong fourth quarter of 2004. The gaming volume processed was boosted by 21 percent, from EUR 16.6 million to EUR 20.1 million.

Police have arrested four men in connection with an armed raid on a Bristol casino. The robbery hit the headlines last year when a gang burst into the Gala Casino, in Redcliffe Way, demanding cash while wearing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle masks and Santa hats.

6th European Conference on Gambling Studies and Policy Issues - Radisson SAS, Malmö, Sweden, 29 June – 2 July 2005

Las Vegas - A few minutes before midnight, billionaire casino mogul Steve Wynn stepped outside his new $ 2.7 billion resort and gazed towards the hotel's marquee on the Las Vegas Strip. As he spoke into his walkie-talkie, a clock appeared on the high-definition screen, and quickly a crowd of thousands counted down from 30 in unison. When it reached zero, the gambling aficionados and curious onlookers--some of whom had waited in line for hours to catch a glimpse of the new hotel--erupted with cheers of glee.

Steve Wynn's new Vegas hotel debuted early Thursday morning to hundreds of eager people clamoring to get the first glimpse of the city´s newest attraction and the most expensive mega resort ever built here.

As he was preparing for the opening of The Mirage in 1989, Steve Wynn seemed taken aback by the attention. The resort -- the first new Strip development in almost two decades -- was the subject of lavish praise for its "tropical oasis in the desert" theme and financial scrutiny for its unheard of 630 million USD price tag. Writers from national and local publications toured the property prior to its opening and authored glowing accounts of the white Y-shaped building, lush decor, expensive palm trees, faux volcano and the plans to bring dolphins to what once was mostly vacant desert land.

As was made known today, the Federal Minister of Finance intends to present a draft bill (Referentenentwurf) which provides that the gambling houses must pay VAT from next month onwards and this in addition to their taxes to the individual federal states. The background to the additional charge is as follows: In a decision of the 17th of February 2005 (Case no. C-443/02 and C-462/02) the ECJ determined that the national provisions which render only...

Following the passing of the UK Gambling Bill by the House of Commons last year, the Bill has also survived the next greatest hurdle. After successful marathon negotiations in the House of Lords, the Bill appears to be home and dry in Great Britain. Now, it still remains for the Bill to get through Parliament. Whether this will occur before the Parliamentary elections on the 5th of May is doubtful. A major reason for the agreement of the House of Lords to the Bill was the reduction of the originally planned 40 mega-casinos to one casino of this type.

On the 7th of April 2005, the WTO reached the final decision in the online gambling dispute between the USA and the island state of Antigua and Barbuda, regarding whether the USA must liberalise its restrictive legislation in the gambling area and make its market accessible to foreign firms as well. (Decision of the 7th of April 2005) Both parties see themselves as winners. Why? Following this decision, the USA must also foreign providers who offer their services online and, for example, are resident in Antigua, access to the legal area of gambling.

In our last edition of Betting-Law-News, we reported on the claims which were lodged by Real Madrid against European online bookmakers alleging unauthorised publication of photos of the football stars. As reported, photos of "public persons" (Personen der Zeitgeschichte), such as e.g., football stars from Real Madrid, may not, without contractual agreement, be used for external tangible aims, i.e., in particular, advertising, because of their general personal rights.