Gaming is big business the world over and Jamaica is no exception. As the industry grew here, thegovernment recognized a need for regulation, and so in 1975, it created the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission. In an interview with JIS News, Executive Director of the Commission, Derek Peart explains that the purpose of the Commission is to regulate the gaming industry. "The Commission has the responsibility of regulating them, licensing or approval being given and also to ensure that only persons who are licensed or receive approvals are able to participate.

650 international exhibits added to Gauselmann Collection

Gary Kaplan used to throw lavish parties in Costa Rica and plaster the name of his thriving online gambling company on New York City buses. Now, the 48-year-old founder of BetonSports PLC and the multibillion-dollar industry he helped spawn are in reduced circumstances -- the man on the run, the industry in disarray. Mr. Kaplan is a fugitive from a racketeering conspiracy and fraud indictment filed last year in a St. Louis federal court charging him with heading a criminal enterprise that illegally took in over USD 3.5 billion in wagers since 2001.

The Indonesian cigarette billionaire Putera Sampoerna has put Les Ambassadeurs, his high-rolling London casino, up for sale 18 months after buying it. A number of the world’s biggest gaming groups, including Harrah’s, are taking a keen interest, but it is thought that Las Vegas Sands is the frontrunner to buy it. However, the purchase price could be below the [[GBP]] 115m that Sampoerna paid. Les Ambassadeurs is one of London’s most exclusive casinos, attracting high rollers as well as a good smattering of hedge-fund managers, trustafarians and Premiership footballers.

The referendum battle over a major expansion of Indian casino gambling in California already resembles the stretch run of a bruising political campaign -- despite the fact nothing has even qualified for the ballot. But with signature gatherers circulating petitions for Feb. 5 referendums seeking to stop four of the Golden State's richest tribes from adding up to 17,000 new slot machines, big campaign dollars are flowing and the political vitriol is in full bloom.

Atlantic City - New Jersey gaming regulators have scheduled a hearing next month to consider a USD 17.1 billion buyout of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. by two private equity firms. Harrah's Entertainment, the world's largest gaming company, controls about 40 percent of the Atlantic City market through its ownership of the Harrah's, Bally's, Caesars and Showboat casinos. Pending regulatory approvals in states where Harrah's operates casinos, private equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group will acquire the gaming giant in the casino industry's largest takeover ever.

Progressive Gaming International announced that it has executed a purchase agreement with Shuffle Master, whereby it will acquire Progressive’s worldwide Table Game Division assets, including the worldwide rights and lease contracts for all of the table game titles including Caribbean Stud and Texas Hold ’Em Bonus. The agreements also include a "Software Distribution License Agreement" under which PGIC will be the exclusive provider of progressive table technology to Shuffle Master...

A gambling industry group argued in federal court Wednesday that a new federal law against transmitting online bets outside the United States violates people's right to gamble in the privacy of their own homes. The group's lawyers said that, because filtering technology already exists to make sure children and compulsive gamblers cannot access offshore betting sites, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act serves only to stifle gambling companies.

Europe and the United States are on the brink of a major trade dispute worth billions of pounds over Washington’s decision to renege on international trade commitments and protect its domestic gambling industry by preventing foreign companies from entering the lucrative market. The Remote Gambling Association (RGA), whose members include such household names as Labrokes, Skybet, William Hill and Paddy Power, said yesterday that the US action, if unchallenged, could lead to similar protectionist behaviour in other areas.

Wagers made through mobile phones will top USD 12 billion by 2010, according to a new study recently released by Juniper Research. The growth will be mainly pushed by the burgeoning availability of mobile payment processors and liberalization of gambling laws in key markets, such as the UK. The largest growth is expected in the area of mobile lotteries, with more than 380 million people worldwide expected to be playing lotteries through their mobile phone by 2010.

Within the Law of measures to promote the information society, Spanish political party Partido Popular (PP), has presented a group of measures to regulate the online bets in the Congress. The party is in favour of the legalization on the issue in order to finish with the legal void in online gaming. Aming its proposals it aims to bring the state wide competences on the matter and bring the same powers to regional governments in cases such as advertising and the services offered to the customers.

Jan Jones, senior executive of US gaming giant Harrah's Entertainment, held talks with representatives of local authorities and NGOs in the Western town of Nova Gorica, where Harrah's plans to build a gaming resort with Slovenian gaming company Hit, Slovene Press Agency reports. Plans for the EUR 750m facility were in the focus of separate talks between Jones and Nova Gorica Mayor Mirko Brulc, with the latter saying he was pleased with the answers he got.