Mexico City (Reuters) - Mexican broadcaster Televisa, which has a growing betting business, said on Tuesday it is trying to convince the government that a planned 20 percent tax on gaming is too high and will hurt the industry. Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, last month presented a long-awaited fiscal reform plan, part of which would close off corporate tax loopholes.
(AP) - Illinois gambling regulators signed off on plans Monday to move the Casino Rock Island to a new USD 150 million complex with a hotel, conference facilities and a third more gaming tables. The long-planned move from a riverboat in downtown Rock Island to an inland site near Interstate 280 and Illinois 92 was unanimously approved by the Illinois Gaming Board during a special meeting in Chicago.
Labour's plans for a gambling revolution are in ruins in the wake of Gordon Brown's dramatic decision to axe plans for Britain's first supercasino. Those councils awarded licences for smaller casinos have been asked if they still want them by Culture Secretary James Purnell. But only four of the 16 say they will definitely go ahead with the plans, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Regarding the report "Major gambling changes on cards" (The Mercury, July 19) in which I was quoted, I would like to correct some misperceptions. In general, the contents of the KwaZulu-Natal Gaming and Betting Bill, 2007 do not herald major changes in gambling policy. By and large, the overall effect is that two existing pieces of legislation will be amalgamated.
Pubs will be able to host games of poker for stakes of [[GBP]] 5 and a maximum prize of [[GBP]] 100 from 1 September. The Gambling Act regulations also remove the requirement for pubs to seek permission from local authorities, provided children and young people are not allowed to play. Daily and weekly limits on stakes and prizes for games of chance played in individual premises have been set at GBP 100 and GBP 700 respectively.
The Conference of the Caribbean Community, at its recent meeting in Barbados, expressed its appreciation and pledged its support for the efforts of Congressman Barney Frank and his legislation to regulate Internet gambling in the United States. The 15 Caricom member countries further pledged to work with Members of Congress who introduced bills to regulate and enforce Internet gaming and expressed continued support for Antigua and Barbuda...
Tony Blair's plans to allow betting shops and internet gambling websites to advertise on television and radio are set to be ditched. Blair and Tessa Jowell, the former culture secretary, had planned legislation that would have removed the ban. The change of policy, indicated by James Purnell, the new culture secretary, is a further sign that Gordon Brown has abandoned the widespread liberalisation of gambling planned by his predecessor.
An American attorney is taking legal action against the western state of Washington claiming that its online wagering ban infringes the US Constitution’s protections of interstate trade. Lawyer and poker aficionado Lee Rousso has filed suit in King County Superior Court in an effort to overturn the State’s ban on Internet gambling, a topic that also has the US mired in international trade disputes. “I think my chances are darn good,” said Rousso.
Neteller co-founder John Lefebvre pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge related to the processing of millions of dollars in gambling transactions, according to Reuters. The guilty plea is similar to one filed by fellow Neteller co-founder Stephen Lawrence earlier this month. Both Lefebvre and Lawrence admitted to wrongdoing in their pleas.
Sweden gaming company Svenska Spel, which offers sportsbook, lottery site, poker room, casino site and bingo room, announced that it has subscribed to intelligent software that claims to minimise gambling addiction. The system, created by Sweden’s ICU Intelligence, analyses the betting habits of each player, how much money they place on bets, the conditions under which they bet and the frequency with which they wager their money.
Tory leader David Cameron will call on the government to raise the age limit for all forms of gambling to 18, after a new Conservative report said that it was the "single most important" measure for combating problem gambling. A Tory report says that tens of thousands of children are addicts.
Thirty-eight Russian regions have banned all gambling activities, as the new federal law restricting gambling in the country comes into effect. The Primorye region, which is one of the four gambling zones to be left in Russia by July of 2009, has not entirely banned gambling, but has introduced far-reaching restrictions. The law, which was passed by the State Duma in December 2006, put a requirement for a casino’s minimum area to be 800 sqm.
