The European Commission is heading for a fresh showdown over France’s gaming laws amid a threat to ban a cycling team from the Tour de France because it is sponsored by an online bookmaker. Charlie McCreevy, Europe’s Internal Market Commissioner, has expressed support for the Malta-based gambling company Unibet in its clash with the organisers of the world’s most famous cycle race.

Atlantic City, New Jersey -- The air inside Atlantic City's casinos was notably cleaner Sunday, as a restrictive new smoking law took effect. Well-placed signs let gamblers determine which areas were OK to smoke in, and only a few patrons had to be reminded not to light up in no-smoking areas. The new law restricts smoking to no more than 25 percent of a casino's floor. It went into effect Sunday, exactly a year after New Jersey's Smoke-Free Air Act prohibited cigar, cigarette and pipe smoking in restaurants, bars, private office buildings and other indoor places.

Casino operators are likely to see an 8.4% drop in income from table games and an even larger fall in gaming machine income once the English smoking ban comes into force in July, experts have warned. A new report from Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC) says the Scottish experience since the March 2006 ban indicates that operators south of the border are set to suffer.

Newark, New Jersey - Atlantic City's casinos should be completely smoke-free, but a full ban should wait until it's clear how a partial one enacted last week will work, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Monday. Up to a quarter of casino floors are to be walled off and set aside as smoking areas by April 15 under the city regulation. "Ideally, I think we ought to have completely smoke-free casino floors," Corzine said after an unrelated news conference in Newark. "I'd like to see a complete ban. But this is a very positive step forward."