Wunderwerk der Technik. Anders lässt sich das nicht bezeichnen, was aktuelle Geräte wie der Action Star Titan im Repertoire haben. Doch solche Elektronik-Giganten lassen einen manchmal auch vergessen, dass es schon einmal Zeiten gab, in denen Menschen staunend vor Automatenspielen standen und nicht minder verblüfft waren, von so viel Technik.

Following Bermuda Premier Emil Brown’s announcement that the island nation is considering modeling itself as a base for online casinos, another politician has issued a warning. Finance Minister Bob Richards is worried such a move could anger the United States. Brown stated reasons for welcoming Internet gambling sites to operate from Bermuda would be a major boost in jobs and revenue, and establish economic growth based on more than just tourism.

Der republikanische Abgeordnete Pete Sessions (R-TX) hat einen neuen Gesetzentwurf vorgestellt, den Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Clarification and Implementation Act of 2008 (H.R. 6663), durch welchen versucht werden soll einige der vielen unklaren Punkte des UIGEA zu klären. Der Gesetzentwurf hat sich jedoch schon jetzt den Zorn der Pokergemeinde zugezogen…

Lawmakers failed to agree on setting a clear definition of illegal Internet gambling to go along with a ban on online betting passed in 2006. The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department have been unable to finalize rules to implement the ban because Congress didn’t clearly define online gambling when it passed legislation less than two years ago. The House Financial Services Committee rejected a bill Wednesday that would have prohibited the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve…

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was informed yesterday that Antigua and Barbuda and the United States had agreed to another deferral of arbitration proceedings, as the two countries seek to finalise a bilateral agreement that would bring years of conflict over the Internet gambling industry to an end. Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort yesterday told the Antigua Sun that the parties have agreed to a further extension of their talks to 11 July.

Gestern, 18. Juni 2008, kam die grosse Überraschung für einen Touristen aus Florida, USA. Der Herr gewann im Grand Casino Luzern den Carded Mystery Jackpot in der Höhe von CHF 33’006–. Der Besucher spielte an einem „Mushrooms Magic Automaten“ und nahm somit automatisch am Spiel um den Pilatus Jackpot teil.

As part of an ongoing major trade dispute over Internet gambling that has the United States in an increasingly difficult position to justify, the European Commission has now launched a formal investigation over US actions. The Commission submitted a list of questions to leading U.S. officials related to a possible U.S. trade violation for discriminatory trade practices against European online gambling companies according to Inside Trade.

It may have been offered after the World Trade Organization deadline, but it appears that the United States has at last proposed a settlement in its protracted WTO dispute with the Antigua and Barbuda government. The Antigua Sun newspaper is currently reporting that the Caribbean island government is soon to make a statement „…that a proposal for the resolution of the trade dispute received from the U.S. last week has not been met favourably.“

James Packer’s Crown Limited has formed new alliances with powerful US gambling barons, spending AUD 414 million to buy stakes in the giant privately owned Harrah’s Entertainment and Stations Casino Group. But an earlier plan to buy a prime piece of Las Vegas land and build the world’s tallest casino tower is under a cloud, with Crown’s partners reviewing their involvement in the project.

The United States has reached a deal with the European Union, Japan and Canada to keep its Internet gambling market closed to foreign companies, but is continuing talks with India, Antigua and Barbuda, Macau and Costa Rica, US trade officials said. „We are pleased to confirm that the United States has reached agreement … with Canada, the EU and Japan,“ Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative’s office, said in a statement several hours after the EU had announced details of the deal it had reached with Washington.

More than a decade ago, over dinner at an exclusive Los Angeles restaurant, James Packer watched his late father and Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn haggle over how much Kerry Packer could wager on a single hand on his next visit to Sin City. Wynn won the argument, limiting Packer to USD 250,000 a hand because he knew the notorious hit-and-run whale could get on a streak, as he famously did at the MGM Grand one weekend in 1997, reportedly taking the casino for at least USD 20million playing baccarat.

Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister says he is hopeful that weekend meetings with members of the U.S. Congress would help resolve an ongoing trade battle with the United States over Internet gambling. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer discussed the dispute with New York Democrat Representative Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and three other members of the Congressional Black Caucus Sunday on the sidelines of a regional business conference.