European Union Investigating U.S. online Gambling Crackdown

Today the European Union launched an investigation into whether U.S. prosecutions of foreign online gambling companies were discriminatory, possibly paving the way for action at the World Trade Organization.

European online gambling companies, such as PartyGaming and BWIN Interactive Entertainment, complained in December that the U.S. Justice Department singled out foreign online gambling companies.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said in a statement., “The U.S. has the right to address legitimate public policy concerns relating to Internet gambling, but discrimination against EU companies cannot be part of the policy mix”.

Source: Forbes.com

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March Madness May Cost Employers about $1.7 Billion

According to an annual survey by Chicago-based placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. college basketball’s “March Madness” may cost employers abuot $1.7 billion in productivity. March Madness which begins March 18 in Dayton, Ohio,

This number is based on the 37.3 million workers expected to participate in office pools during the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s basketball tournament, and the 1.5 million expected to watch games online from their desks.

The 65-team tournament has become so popular even non-sports fans follow the games and participate in betting pools. According to John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, “While the games can boost office morale, it comes at the expense of the bottom line…Those who insist there will be no impact are kidding themselves…The key for companies is finding a way to maximize the positive aspects of March Madness so that they outweigh the negatives.”

Source: honoluluadvertiser.com

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PokerStars Launches Latin American Poker Tour

PokerStars today announced the launch of Latin America’s first major poker tour, the LAPT. With stops in Brazil, Costa Rica and Uruguay, the tour is set to bring world-class poker action to some of the most beautiful destinations in the world.

The Latin American Poker Tour kicks off in the beautiful beach city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from May 3-5, 2008. This three-day, $2,500 tournament will be the largest poker tournament ever held in Brazil, with players competing for a total prize pool of over $600,000. Among the players will be Team PokerStars Pros and international poker stars Andre Akkari from Brazil and Humberto Brenes from Costa Rica.

The tour continues with the LAPT San Jose in Costa Rica from May 22-24, and then moves on to Uruguay for the LAPT Punta del Este from August 7-9.

As well as players from Latin America, the LAPT is also set to attract top players from North America and Europe. Each LAPT event planned so far anticipates 250 players or more, creating total prize pools of well over $600,000.

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Everest Poker Secures Agreement with the World Series of Poker

GigaMedia Limited announced yesterday that its acclaimed Everest Poker offering has secured a key multi-year promotional agreement with the world’s largest and most prestigious poker tournament – the World Series of Poker.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the world’s premier poker event, with over 50,000 participants from around the world competing for a prize pool of over US$150 million – all in front of a broadcast audience of over 350 million households worldwide during over 2700 broadcast hours.

Everest Poker is one of the world’s most popular poker sites, and was named Poker Operation of the Year in 2007 by industry journal e-Gaming Review.

Under the terms of the deal announced today, Everest Poker will be the sole poker related table sponsor of the WSOP and will enjoy a prominent logo position on the “felt” on every table in the competition – as well as exclusive brand positioning on the coveted “inner-rung” of the championship table.

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The Internet Gambling Regulation & Tax Enforcement Act of 2008

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced a few days ago the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008 that would ensure that taxes are collected on regulated Internet gambling activities. These revenues are estimated between $8.7 billion and $42.8 billion over ten years, according to a recent tax revenue analysis prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The legislation strengthens provisions in an earlier version of the bill introduced last year, and includes an enhanced reporting mechanism under which licensed gambling operators are required to provide each customer an annual statement of winnings and losses. It also establishes a two percent licensing fee that is paid by the operator, not the individual gambler. The licensing fee is designed to equalize the costs of operation in providing gambling services online, as opposed to brick-and-mortar casinos providing gambling services in-person, and would only be applied to online operators.

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PGCB Promotes National Problem Gambling Awareness Week

Recognizing the effects problem gambling can have on citizens, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is actively promoting National Problem Gambling Awareness Week, March 9 through 15, 2008 with outreach efforts and helpful information.

In addition, Governor Rendell, the House and Senate of Pennsylvania, the Gaming Control Board and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Health and Revenue have all proclaimed that week as “Problem Gambling Awareness Week” in the Commonwealth.

The Director of that office, Nanette Horner, said the goal of “National Problem Gambling Awareness Week” is to educate the general public and health care professionals about the warning signs of problem gambling and raise awareness about the help that is available both locally and nationally.

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Momentum Grows to Regulate Online Gambling

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, will hold a hearing in early April to explore the burden on U.S. financial institutions to comply with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA).

The law was intended to deter illegal Internet gambling activity. Meanwhile, support for legislation that would regulate Internet gambling continues to gain momentum as Congressman George Miller (D-CA), one of the most influential members of Congress, signed on last week as a co-sponsor of the bill introduced by Congressman Frank.

Hundreds of comments submitted to the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve highlight the ambiguity in the proposed rules to implement the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). One of the major criticisms is that the rules do not clearly differentiate between legal and illegal Internet gambling activities.

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Century Casino & Hotel Edmonton Announce Poker Tournament

Century Casinos, Inc. announced today that its Century Casino & Hotel in Edmonton, Canada, will host the St. Patrick’s Day Poker Tournament from March 10 - 15, 2008.

The format is a six-day Texas Hold’ Em tournament. Play starts daily at 7:30 PM with the top ten of each day advancing to the finals on March 15 at 2:00 PM.

For further information about the tournament schedule and rules, including price structure and levels, as well as for registration for the tournament, please visit: http://www.cnty.com/../players-club/.

A live concert by two popular bands, Harlequin and Prism, will also take place at the 400-seat Century Showroom on March 15, the day of the Poker Tournament finals. This will be followed by concerts of April Wine on March 20 and Ian Mitchell’s Bay City Rollers on March 21. Alannah Myles, a true Canadian rock icon, will perform live on April 5.

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Police Investigate Man for Running Illegal Online Gambling Site

Asa Alexander, of Philadelphia is in big trouble. Police asked a judge to freeze the 27 years old bank account and to prevent him from selling or leasing his home. The judge agreed to put the order on the house, however, refused to freeze Alexander’s bank account, stating that $18,000 was “not sufficient to raise an inference to illegal gambling.”

Asa Alexander hasn’t been charged with any crime, however, court records show that police believe he runs the Web site www.bettheking.net, an allegedly illegal gambling site that allows members to gamble on domestic and overseas sports, horse races and casino games.

Detectives served Alexander with a search warrant last week and seized documents, $22,500 in cash and a cell phone they say are linked to the site. Detectives testified that the $746,000 house, outfitted with 5 flat screen TVs, high-end appliances and new furniture, was purchased with illegal proceeds during a hearing in Bucks County court in Doylestown Wednesday.

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Canada May Investigate Kahnawake Online Gambling

A recent report claims Canada may in the future prevent its citizens from gambling with websites registered out of the Kahnawake Indian Reservation located a few miles away from Montreal, Quebec.

This would cut off customers from online gambling websites like Sports Interaction, which was the first Kahnawake-based online sports betting site in 1999.

Kahnawake licenses many online gambling ventures; however, the ventures are mostly located outside the Reservation.

Genevieve Breton, Mr. Nicholson’s director of communications, has told the Ottawa National Post that “Following recent concerns surrounding Internet gambling in Canada, the Minister of Justice [Rob Nicholson] has asked his officials to examine whether the enforcement of the Criminal Code provisions could be assisted with other measures.”

Source Gambling911.com

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36 People Indicted for Online Gambling

Thirty-six (36) people, most of them from Arizona were indicted for online gambling.

The indictments completes an investigation which caused the Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies to visit 3 states and 1 country, Costa Rica, before collecting enough evidence to make their case.

Police seized more than $8.5 million in cash, homes and cars associated with the gambling ring’s leaders. The indictments were handed down to suspected bookmakers, loan sharks and debt collectors, however, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas warned that all online gambling is illegal in Arizona, and some bettors could become targets in the future.

Source: Azcentral.com

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Review of Craps.com

Craps.com has over 100 games and is owned by Playtech, the largest publicly traded online gaming software company in the world.

The site has a very professional Customer Support team. The support staff is on hand 24/7/365 via phone, email, fax, as well as online chat. Any problems and they will do their best to take care of you.

Craps.com is currently offering first-time depositors a 100% Sign-Up Bonus up to $1,177. That’s correct, $1,177. Players are also treated to a VIP Program and the valuable player points which are awarded to frequent players.

Craps.com offers many games which include blackjack, roulette, video poker, slots, and keno. Trust is a must when selecting an online casino to wager your hard-earned money at.

Integrity is also a must, not only in terms of how quickly your winnings are paid out to you, but also concerning a casino’s fair-gaming practices. Fortunately, Craps.com’s got that department covered too, given that the games are powered by Playtech.

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FBI Investigaged Packers’ Max McGee’s Gambling

According to newly released records, Green Bay Packers receiver Max McGee, who scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history, had a gambling habit that the FBI tracked after his career ended.

From late 1972 through September 1973 FBI agents investigated McGee, before dropping the case for lack of evidence. The FBI thought he was a bookmaker but determined he wasn’t. According to Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California, “Given that there are no federal laws against making a bet, the FBI wouldn’t have had anything to charge McGee with.”

Source: Boston.com

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Regulators Claim Online Gambling Ban Won’t Work

Cindy Skrzycki of the Washington Post wrote an article recently on past Internet gambling legislation (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) and why it probably won’t work.

According to her report, “Officials at the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve found that out after sifting through more than 200 comments from banks, gamblers, church groups and members of Congress on recommendations for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The basic sentiment was that their Oct. 4 proposal, which depends on financial institution enforcement, won’t work.”

Source Gambling911.com

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Watch Tony G Play Poker Online

Did you know you can watch Poker Pro Tony Guoga, aka Tony G, play poker at his website TonyGPoker.com? At TonyGPoker.com, Tony can be observed playing poker all the time on the site! Tony G plays anything from low limit games, to different tournaments, including tournaments that include bounties!

This means you will get paid to kick him out, usually around $100. Since Tony G plays on the tables under the nickname “Loudmouth”.

Tony G Poker is currenly offering a sign up bonus of 100% up to $400. You can also enjoy the iPoker Sit-n-Go Progressive Jackpots Tournaments where you can win millions of dollars. One of the unique features Tony G Poker is the Tony G Blog. This blog is written by Tony G who is always giving plenty of poker tips to improve your game.

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