Der heutige 1. April könnte ein historischer Tag für alle Online-Spieler in den Niederlanden werden: Soeben hat der holländische Senat mit 37 zu 35 Stimmen gegen das geplante Anti-Online-Gambling-Gesetz entschieden. Damit scheint in unserem Nachbarland der Weg zu einer vernünftigen legalen Lösung in Sachen Online-Poker frei zu sein. Das Monopol der staatlichen Spielbanken ist durch das Votum definitiv durchbrochen.

Gaming tourism continues to power Macau's buoyant economy, as its gross domestic product (GDP) for 2007 grew 27.3 % over the previous year, according to Macau's Statistics and Census Service. Latest figures showed that the region's GDP for 2007 was estimated at 153.61 billion patacas (USD 19.2 billion) in real terms and per-capita GDP amounted to 292,165 patacas (USD 36,357) - outstripping the USD 29,847 in neighboring Hong Kong.

Espelkamp/Hamburg. Das Tochterunternehmen der Gauselmann Gruppe – Merkur Interactive GmbH – hat vor wenigen Wochen das Hamburger Unternehmer EDICT GmbH zu 100 Prozent übernommen. EDICT gehörte zur 'Jahr und Achterfeld Beteiligungs KG'. Seit seiner Gründung im Jahr 1998 fokussiert sich das Unternehmen auf die Entwicklung von Software für Online-Kasinos und Backend-Spiel-Systeme im Bereich der digitalen Spieleangebote.

Chen Si-ting, head of Nevada's representative office in Taiwan, visited the Miaoli County government this week to gain a better understanding of its plan to establish a special gaming district in the county's Tongsiao Township. An engineering consultancy company commissioned by the county government to select and assess potential sites for the gaming district recently completed its inicial report.

Swedish prosecutors have been advised to halt cases against media organizations accepting ads from foreign online gambling companies. Many online poker operators may now decide to begin advertising in Sweden, competing openly with state-supoprted Svenska Spel. The order came from UC Malmo, a department of Sweden’s Prosecution Authority, according to reports by Gaming Intelligence Group.

A settlement proposal due by the end of the month could put an end to the five-year trade battle over Internet gaming between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States. According to Mark Mendel, Antigua and Barbuda’s attorney in its World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute, the US is scheduled to put forward a proposal for the settlement of both aspects of the trade dispute by next Monday.

RAY, Finland’s state-owned Slot Machine Association, is considering proposals to make their games available online, with their Board of Administration expecting to announce during the second quarter of 2008 whether they will be able to do so. RAY’s activities currently meet legal justifications confirmed by the European Court of Justice in 1999, for the organization’s exclusive rights in Finland to operate slot machines and casino table games and a casino.

The sixth and final gaming license granted for the Guateng province in South Africa was awarded to Silverstar Casino. The preview opening took place in December and grand opening in March will complete all dining and entertainment facilities. TCS supplied all gaming tables, including Albatros Roulette table. Silverstar Casino, operated by Gold Reef Resorts, has a joint controlling interest in the development.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office received a grant today from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Washington County officials say they plan to use the USD 153,000 grant to crack down on illegal slot machines with the formation of a new task force. "It’s obviously a problem, it really is," said Washington County DA, Steven Toprani. "We have meetings with state police, with the vice unit, so there are problems around the county that pertain to this."

Rota Mayor Joseph S. Inos has already submitted the names of his five appointees to the island’s Casino Gaming Control Commission. They are Barry Cuthbert Toves, Diego M. Songao, Ephrem S. Taimanao, Abraham M. Ogo and Melchor A. Mendiola. In his letter on Feb. 14 to Roy James A. Masga, Rota’s municipal council chairman, Inos stated that “after having personally consulted with each appointee...

Der Online-Casinospielanbieter Party Gaming legte jetzt seine Geschäftszahlen für das Jahr 2007 vor. Zwei Drittel seines Umsatzes generiert der Onlineanbieter aus dem Pokerspiel. Ein wichtiger Grund, weshalb sich der Einbruch im US-amerikanischen Markt weiter so stark bemerkbar macht. Das Gesetz Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), das seit 2006 in den USA in Kraft ist, trägt sicher eine Hauptschuld an dem schlechten Geschäftsergebnis, auch wenn sich die Geschäfte in anderen Regionen der Welt durchaus positiv entwickelt haben.

British culture secretary Andy Burnham told MPs today that he would introduce legislation forcing licensed gambling operators of all types to donate more funding to problem gambling at the end of the year unless operators voluntary contribute more. At the moment, only about 380 of the country’s 3,800 gambling companies have been paying into the Responsibility in Gambling Trust.