Lotterien und Glücksspiele bilden seit jeher eine zuverlässige staatliche Einnahmequelle. Nach st. Rspr. des EuGH ist die Veranstaltung von Glücksspielen aber eine Dienstleistung im Sinn der Grundfreiheiten des Binnenmarkts. Die Verabschiedung der Dienstleistungs-RL hat die geringen Chancen einer Regulierung des Glücksspielsektors auf EU-Ebene deutlich gemacht.

Boston - Casino opponents rallied on Beacon Hill on Wednesday, a day after the House speaker said expanded gambling would be debated this legislative session. Casino Free Massachusetts, a coalition of casino foes, sent to all legislators copies of "fool's gold," or materials that outlined studies that show the economic problems...

The president of the Tourism Commission of the Chamber of Representatives, Octavio Martínez Vargas, discarded that the new Federal Law with Games and Draws will be approved in the current ordinary session period. Martínez Vargas considered that there are several unfinished points that require work and detail, such as the fact that SEGOB should authorize the operating licenses for betting centers in Mexico.

Tallahassee, Florida - At 18, Floridians can vote, join the armed forces and buy a pack of cigarettes. Should they be able to play blackjack or slots? A state Senate committee last week advanced a far-reaching gambling package that would turn Seminole resorts into full casinos with craps, roulette, blackjack and no-limit poker. And South Florida racetracks would, for the first time, be authorized to operate blackjack tables.

Half-finished casinos and dropping revenues have fuelled fears that Macau’s staggering growth has faltered, but analysts insist the gaming haven remains a sure long-term bet. Macau has transformed itself from a sleepy backwater to a dazzling entertainment centre in the last five years, with foreign and Chinese-owned casinos sprouting up across the territory. The city of just 550,000 now takes in more gaming revenue than Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined...

A US crackdown on European online gambling breaches World Trade Organization rules and would justify action at the WTO, the European Commission said this week. The European Union executive, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation bloc, said its draft report found that such US laws hampered trade and thus were inconsistent with WTO rules but stressed it would seek a negotiated solution.

Crown Casino has won access to the financial records of chronic gambler Harry Kakavas, to put his declared AUD 36 million losses "in context". Mr Kakavas, a Gold Coast property developer, is suing Crown in the Supreme Court for the money he says he lost at the casino between June 2005 and August 2006, along with AUD 50 million in damages. He claims that Crown executives pursued a plan to lure him back to their tables despite knowing he had been the subject of various exclusion orders banning him from entering casinos.

Manila, Philippines - San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito declared yesterday that he will not allow gambling joints to operate in the city despite pressures from gambling operators. “San Juan City residents are very conservative about this thing (gambling) and once the community is against it, I am very sensitive about it,” said Ejercito. The young mayor is referring to the stance of the local community with regards to the proliferation of poker clubs in Metro Manila.

The emerging gambling markets of Eastern Europe are attracting interest from both land-based and Internet operators and, despite the economic crisis, the region holds interesting potential according to a new report published by Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC). The gaming industry as a whole was still showing growth in 2008 in many of the 17 individual gambling markets covered in GBGC's report, suggesting the Eastern European gambling markets are not yet in recession.

(Bloomberg) - Casino gambling revenue dropped 15 percent on the Las Vegas Strip in January and tumbled 19 percent in Atlantic City last month as the U.S. recession curbed spending on travel and betting. Casino proceeds on the Strip, the biggest U.S. gambling center, slumped to USD 510.4 million in January, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said today in an e-mailed statement.

Italian government has included a series of points in the text of a community law on Internet gaming that aims to harden the existing regulations for casinos and online betting center, as well as for its users, which could end in prison if they enter to illegal sites. According to the Italian press, one will just be able to enter to such web pages through the site of Monopolios del Estado, and in a first moment, the executive will just allow 200 concessions.

Brussels/Strasbourg - The European Casino Association (ECA) welcomes the European Parliament’s adoption of the Resolution on the integrity of online gambling by the vast majority of the Members of the European Parliament (544 in favour, 36 against and 66 abstentions). The Resolution stresses the special nature of gambling services due to the social and public order aspects...