Twenty suspects in what is believed to be the country's biggest online gambling case went on trial today in Kunming, Yunnan Province. Prosecutors at Kunming Intermediate People's Court told judges that the case involved about 8.68 billion yuan (USD 1.24 billion) in wagered money and more than 200 million yuan in illegal profits, the report said. One of the gambling Website's allegedly operated by the defendants attracted 5,198 registered users from August 2006 to March 2007, prosecutors said.

Taipei, Taiwan -- Premier Liu Chao-shiuan called yesterday for legalizing casino gambling on Taiwan's offshore islands, in what some considered to be the first concrete step towards building gambling facilities on islands outside the Taiwan proper. Liu made the remarks while attending the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday. During the meeting, Hu Chung-ying, vice chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD)...

According to Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, its citizens spend about USD 2 billion a year on betting, lottery and gambling via TV and online, reported local media VietNamNet Bridge this week. The ministry discovered programs planned by Internet service providers, radio, TV and press agencies are conducting illegal gambling activities and profiting by charging high S.M.S. fees.

The government will release an assessment report by December on whether to develop the gambling industry in Taiwan, and if it is assessed as feasible, priority will most likely be given to the outlying islands to open this type of business, the country's top economic planner said yesterday. Chen Tain-jy, chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, said that the outlying island county of Penghu...

Two more gambling ships are interested in coming to Brevard County, which could bring to four the number of such ships based at Port Canaveral. There currently is one gambling ship operating at Port Canaveral and a second ship is expected to start operations later this month. The two new potential players made presentations Tuesday to the Canaveral Port Authority as the first step in negotiations.

The Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board will issue a draft request for proposals for the 10-year casino license in the western part of the province (Zone 1) currently held by Sun International, which operates the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth. In an advertisement yesterday, the board said a "bidders conference" would be held at its offices in East London on September 5 at which it would hear from interested parties.

New York (AP) -- Gambling revenue dipped 1.1 percent for the state of Nevada in the month of June as revenue collected by the largest casinos on the Las Vegas Strip fell, according to data released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Monday. Nevada's gambling licensees reported a total "gaming win" of USD 949.3 million for the month of June, a 1.1 percent decline from USD 960 in June 2007.

The high-flying gambling industry, long thought to be recession-proof, is having its wings clipped, and its woes may say as much about the economy as about the industry. So far this year, a handful of debt-laden casino operators have filed for bankruptcy, and several others have shelved or slowed ambitious expansion plans as financing has become tougher to secure.

The number of new clients seeking Gambling Helpline support increased by nearly 10 percent in 2007, Ministry of Health statistics show. The ministry's annual gambling statistics report showed the number of new people seeking phone or face to face help was up from the 2006 figure of 2648 people. The ministry said the change in the number of people seeking help from its problem gambling services did not necessarily equate to a change in the prevalence rates of problem gamblers.

The new “Technical Regulations for the operation of Casinos and Gambling Venues (Bingo halls)” came into force, as a result of a consensus reached in meetings with representatives and actors from the private sector that are dedicated to this activity. The technical norms, that are currently in force, oblige casinos and gambling venues to be guided by the agreement...

With casino development one of the biggest topics throughout the Asia-Pacific region, the government and the people of Taiwan continue to blow hot and cold on the subject. It is not a new situation. The Penghu County of Taiwan, composed of a number of islands between the main island and the Chinese mainland, has been one of the primary locales touted as being ripe for casino development.

In United States, a bill sponsored by Nevada Representative Shelly Berkeley that would commission a full and independent study into online gambling and its implications for American citizens has been shelved until at least next month. House of Representatives Bill 2140, also known as the Internet Gambling Study Act, was set to be marked up last week before the House Judiciary Committee...