Madrid Gaming Direction has granted Sportium the third license to operate sportsbooks in the region. The remaining two had been granted to Codere, that began to operate this week under the Victoria brand, and to Intralot Iberia. According to the company, the first Sportium center will be located on number 87, Paseo de la Castellana, and will be inaugurated under the name of Sportium Center. It is a 150 sqm space which includes exhibitors of betting tickets, panel of displays to show events, self-service terminals and displays or Betting Counters.

With floating casinos proving to be a “vital cash-cow” for the state’s exchequer, the Goa government is all set to become a gambler’s paradise on the lines of Las Vegas. The state cabinet has agreed “in-principle” to award another five licenses to float offshore casinos. Currently, the state has two offshore casinos, while the third is expected to start operations this month. Following this significant development, the tourist state will now have a total of eight casinos floating on Goan waters.

Taipei (XFN-ASIA) - Ma Ying-jeou, who is due to take office as president on May 20, is in favor of allowing local governments in the offshore islands to issue gaming licenses if they so choose, the Economic Daily News reported. Subject to parliament passing the necessary amendments, his administration is ready grant such licensing authority to local governments in the islands, Ma said during a visit to Penghu in the Taiwan Strait.

Sydney (Thomson Financial) - Australian gaming groups Tatts Group Ltd, renamed from Tattersalls Group Ltd., and Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. said on Thursday that trading in the shares of the two companies had been suspended following a decision by the state government of Victoria which could affect a key source of revenue for the two groups. The government of the southeast Australian state announced plans to abolish the two companies' duopoly in the state's slot poker machine licences and will allow hotels and clubs to directly bid for licences beyond 2012.

His casino empire, his personal finances and his integrity all are under siege. He recently lost his only New Jersey casino license in a high-stakes case that has reverberated throughout the gambling industry. And regulators in the four states where he is still in the gambling business — Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Nevada — are investigating or reviewing his operations.

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 Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will not authorize new casino licenses and will seek a study on the impact of new casinos. The five member commission made its decision Thursday morning at a meeting in Johnston. At least five communities have said they want to build new casinos: Fort Dodge, Franklin County, Newton, Ottumwa and Tama. Iowa has 20 casinos, and it’s been three years since the state accepted new applications.

Arena Leisure is putting together a consortium to bid for one of the 16 new casino licences being made available for the government and said it would begin building it early in 2009 if its bid was successful. The operator of seven racecourses and a quarter of UK horseracing fixtures wants to attach a casino to its Wolverhampton racecourse, which last year staged more than a third of Arena’s fixtures, and will be a leading contender for the city’s casino licence.

Tropicana Entertainment on Tuesday filed a long-threatened appeal of New Jersey regulators’ decision to strip it of its Atlantic City gaming license. The Crestview Hills-based affiliate of hotelier Columbia Sussex was denied the license in December by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which fined the company USD 750,000 in civil penalties. The regulators cited poor management practices...

The Sikkim Government has come up with an innovative plan to lure more hospitality players to develop five-star hotels in the state. It will be the first Indian state to offer casinos at five-star hotels license for in-territory gambling. According to latest reports, Royal Plaza managed by Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. and a five-star resort built by DLF Hotel Holdings have already received a nod from the government for the Casino license.

The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) rejected the petition of Mexican president Felipe Calderón to prevent temporarily the Superior Audit Office of Mexico to make progress in its investigations on alleged irregularities committed by the Mexican Department of the Interior in the previous government, until the constitutional controversy promoted against the House of Legislators is solved.

Philadelphia - The city's new mayor revoked a license Thursday to build a slots casino on wetlands along the Delaware River, chiding the previous administration for rushing through the approvals. Mayor Michael Nutter opposes the waterfront sites of both casinos slated to be built in Philadelphia, saying no one had fully studied their potential impact on surrounding neighborhoods.