Johannesburg - Online gambling in SA came one step closer to being regulated, with the passing of the National Gambling Amendment Bill in Parliament yesterday. The Bill, introduced by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), aims to legalise Internet gambling by creating legislation for the licensing of interactive gambling activities. In terms of the proposed legislation, software vendors providing online gambling platforms would have to obtain a national licence for key staff...

Following on the successful purchase of two key gaming industry event/publication companies by Clarion Events, a merger of those into a single entity called Clarion Gaming began on September 10 and be complete by early 2008. ATE produces the major London exhibitions ICE and ICEi, along with The Betting Show and other conference events. In July 2006, ATE was joined by sister company, River City Group. Together they produce the European I-Gaming Congress and Expo (EiG) and BetMarkets.

The Economy Commission of the House of Legislators agreed on the proposal for the Tax Reform of the federal government in order to add a 20% fee on the performance of bets and draws. The project of the report, ready for approval next week in San Lázaro, indicates that the gambling industry with bets and draws neither brings society the direct and indirect benefits it demands, nor it fully compensates the associated costs.

London (Reuters) - The British government said on Monday it was reviewing taxes paid on player-to-player games in casinos, such as poker, where gamblers' so-called participation fees are subject to VAT but not gaming duty. Monday's government announcement came in a statement in which the Treasury said ministers had made several incorrect statements relating to gaming duty in casinos since April 30.

Tallahassee -- Gov. Charlie Crist's goal to seal a gambling deal soon with the Seminole Tribe of Florida has hit a major snag: the Legislature. House Speaker Marco Rubio laid down the gauntlet in a letter to Crist Monday, demanding that lawmakers be allowed to approve or reject the proposed agreement between the governor and the tribe and warning that if the compact allows games now outlawed in Florida, GOP leaders "won't support it."

Atlantic City will soon become the next testing ground for what many are calling the next generation of slot machine technology. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission last week approved testing of server-supported gaming in Atlantic City casinos. It means that tests will now be conducted of systems that download game content and peripherals from a central server to terminals on the floor. The “server-supported” gaming approved differs from “server-based” gaming in that the game logic will still reside at the slot terminals on the floor.

According to media reports from Russia, Storm International, the second largest company in Russian gambling business, will invest USD 300 million to build a casino and a network of gambling halls in Armenia. Lavrenti Gubin, Press Secretary of Storm International, says the company will build a 15-hectare gambling complex called “Shangri-La-Yerevan”. The company aims to build a five star hotel in the adjacent territory – with 200 rooms, a concert hall, trade center, restaurants as well as a night club.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida has offered the state USD 50 million up front and at least USD 100 million a year in exchange for the right to have Las Vegas-style slot machines, blackjack and baccarat, the tribes' attorneys said Friday. Under the proposal, the state would receive a percentage of the seven tribal casinos' revenue with the Seminoles guaranteeing a minimum annual payment of USD 100 million.

The United States continues to resist compliance with a World Trade Organization ruling regarding the double standards inherent in US online gambling regulations. In addition to reaching settlement with Antigua, the US will also have to negotiate settlements with several other countries. The Antigua Sun printed excerpts of an interview with an official from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office which outlined the basic US strategy for resisting the ruling.

Macao (Xinhua) -- The government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is to amend regulations to curb teenage gambling, local media reported Friday. Macao Daily News, the leading local Chinese-language newspaper, quoted MSAR Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah as saying that the new rules will bar those unqualified for the casino entry from gaining prize money that they win.

This year, on October 3-5, will see the 16th anniversary of one of the world’s biggest trade show, EELEX, one of the central events in the gaming and entertainment industry, to be held in the world class Crocus Expo Center in Moscow. The Russian gaming market has 400,000 gaming machines half of which needs to be replaced or exchanged, thus a huge demand for new ones.

The country stands to double its tax revenues from gaming over the next five years as three more casinos come to the table — new players likely to add, not take from existing operations. "The possibility exists, all things being equal, that the government could double its tax revenue from casinos with the addition of these new operations," said gaming board secretary Bernard Bonamy. The government already does quite well with the existing four. In 2006, it raked in BSD 14.1 million, through a dual system of taxation.