Next week, on March 12, Germany’s 16 federal states are scheduled to approve the new State Treaty on Gambling that will allow country-wide online gambling from July 1, 2021.

As of February 8, 2013, all German federal states introduced legislation regulating games of chance, the so-called Interstate Treaty on Gambling (ITG). Despite this al- leged harmonised legal situation, the Gambling Reform Act Schleswig-Holstein (GRA SH) is still applicable for gaming operators who are in possession of the licence issued by the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has started communicating with the some of the worlds’ largest online gambling operators to discuss casinos in Japan. The casino operators are sure that Japan has what it takes to be a successful destination: a large and relatively wealthy population, a responsible government, and people who are constantly looking for new forms of entertainment.

A panel of casino and gaming executives from domestic and international companies weighed in on the current economic crisis at one of the main Global Gaming Conferences held yesterday in Las Vegas. American Gaming Association president Frank Fahrenkopf led a “State of the Industry” discussion with Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman, International Gaming Technology CEO TJ Matthews, Olympic Entertainment Group chairman Armin Karu…

It is seven years since Sir Alan Budd published a report that was supposed to usher in a new era of gambling regulation in the UK more relevant to the 21st century. Given what has happened since, the respected economist must wonder why he bothered. Although the Gambling Act 2005, which came into force last year, did adopt some of his 175 recommendations, the main thrust of the Budd report was ignored as the Government’s deregulatory strategy lost its way amid controvesy and political dithering.

Taiwanese legislature is planning to discuss a proposal to legalize gambling and casinos on outlying islands close to China, while police say they will take tough measures against eventual crime linked to gambling. The proposal up for discussion at the Legislative Yuan’s Economic Affairs Committee comes from a small group of independent lawmakers, but the larger parties are likely to request changes.

According to numerous news sources, the Office of the US Trade Representative has requested the postponement of planned meetings with a European Union (EU) delegation to discuss US online gambling policies. Scheduled to take place next week in Washington, DC, the meetings were to consider accusations that EU-based online gambling firms were being unfairly discriminated against under the White House’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006.