In an effort to underscore the need for federal regulation of online poker, especially in light of the recent Washington Post and "60 Minutes" stories on cheating scandals at Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, the Poker Players Alliance has placed full page ads in several Capitol Hill newspapers. The ad, which will run in Roll Call, The Politico and The Hill this week, calls on Congress to enact thoughtful regulation of online poker...

Surat: Think casinos and Las Vegas beckons. Back home, Goa is as far as a Gujarati gambler can get. But, gaming by the Arabian Sea in Daman could bring the dice closer with leading US-based gaming, entertainment and hospitality chain Thunderbird Resorts and Daman Hospitality Pvt Ltd (DHPL) joining hands to set up a Rs 375-crore resort with a casino as its centre-piece.

Islam prohibits gambling. Gambling in a way is connected to competitions and awards. For the sake of this article, so writes Paul Wouters, lawyer in Istanbul and the authoritative Islamic banking specialist, I would appreciate you to follow my lead in the reasoning. Please be aware that amongst the different schools of legal thought, there can be specific nuances. Islamic jurists so far have not given a direct and clear definition of gambling. Gambling is considered to be a game that allows the winner to take the bet...

Britain and Malta teamed up this week in a bid to head off moves by EU president of France to forge a bloc-wide policy for regulating the multi-billion euro gambling industry. France put forward a discussion paper to a meeting of the bloc’s 27 industry ministers that said there were "already grounds for seeking a common approach". In the past, gambling could be dealt with nationally, but the rise of cross-border online betting undermines this.

The Treasury for the Isle of Man has released proposals for the Gambling Supervision Bill of 2008, which would provide for the Gambling Supervision Commission on the island to become a Statutory Board. In addition, the proposals would expand on the Commission’s constitution, status and exercise of functions but not alter the body’s existing regulatory objectives.

City leaders ask state lawmakers to support the idea of casino gambling in Atlanta, suggesting it will bring millions of dollars to the region. Each year, state lawmakers reject the idea; fearing casinos will lead to more gambling addictions. Casino supporters say those concerns are outweighed by the major financial troubles gripping the state and city.

The latest report of the Government Watchdog’s Office on the income of the gaming sector in Panama indicate a collection of USD 819.9 million between January and September 2008, that represent a growth of 20.2% on the same period last year. According to the head of the Gambling Control Committee in Panama (JCJ), Raúl Cortizo Cohen, “the success of the activity is due to the strong presence of international players in the country”.

Kangwon Land, the operator of South Korean only casino open to local citizens, dropped by its daily trading limit in Seoul trading ahead of an announcement of the government’s plan to control gambling. Kangwon Land dropped 15 %, or USD 1,418 to USD 8,131, as of 10:26 a.m. local time, the most since September 2. The benchmark Kospi stock index declined 1.5 %. The government plans to limit total annual revenue of the gambling industry, including horse racing, lottery tickets and casinos, to 0.58 % of gross domestic product...

After rejecting the budget and the increment in taxes, the political counterattack of the opposition was to propose the government to charge an 8% tax to the collection of riverboat casinos, bingo halls and slots in Palermo horse racetrack. With these resources, they say, it could be replaced the tax increment proposed by City Mayor Mauricio Macri. "When I was Mayor of the City, we fought for the gambling sector to pay Gross Incomes, but companies obtained judicial statements on their favor."

The legalization of Internet gambling will be the hottest federal issue facing Nevada’s gaming industry in the next few years, the president of the American Gaming Association said. "The need for new tax money could drive its legalization in both houses of Congress,” said Frank Fahrenkopf, the AGA president and CEO. “There have been projections circulated on the Hill that it can raise billions of dollars in new federal revenue,” said Fahrenkopf, a Reno High School graduate.

Taiwanese parliament is set to legalize gambling on a group of offshore islands as soon as year end, legislative sources said this week, as local officials eye permits for three resort casinos to shore up their economy. The passage of a bill authorizing gaming in the Penghu archipelago would bring Taiwan into competition with other East Asia gaming hotspots such as Macau and South Korea, and upcoming casinos in Singapore, even as the global credit crisis make it harder for developers to raise funds for new projects.

General manager of National Lottery, José Francisco Peña Guaba, revealed that, according to several investigations, USD 8,624,057 are bet daily in Dominican Republic. He explained that a study performed by the biggest gaming company reveals that “Dominican Republic is the second country worldwide that gambles the most.” Interviewed during the act of awards to the Worthy Soldier and Official...