Last week, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) unanimously declared unconstitutional the decree that rules the bingo operation by Río de Janeiro lottery (Loterj). The decree also defined the profile of lottery agents, their registration, the criteria for the tender process and eventual penalties for the infringement of the rules. The action was proposed in August 2003, by the former General Attorney of the nation, Claudio Fonteles, who challenged the state decree considering that it would be using the competence which belongs exclusively of the Union to legislate the draw system.

The state’s highest court upheld the decision of state regulators to allow groups led by a Connecticut Indian tribe and by a Chicago billionaire developer to build slot-machine casinos on Philadelphia’s riverfront. The Supreme Court rejected the challenge by a rival applicant that lost out on a license, and sped Philadelphia toward becoming the nation’s largest city with downtown casinos.

London (Reuters) - Britain's high court dismissed a challenge to government plans to build a new wave of Las Vegas-style casinos in the UK on Monday, after a casino industry body claimed the plans were badly thought out. The British Casinos Association (BCA), which represents 90 percent of Britain's casino operators, had sought a review of the government's new gambling policy.

Poker may be a game that takes skill to win, but the chance turn of the card still trumps even a top player's ability to bluff, read people and master the odds of drawing the high hand, the state appellate court ruled Tuesday. That means what is arguably America's most popular card game, played in rec rooms by friends and hyped in celebrity tournaments on cable, is still a violation of state anti-gambling statutes.