Greek media reported that senior government officials had ordered that more investigations be carried out.

Deputy md at Stanleybet, Adrian Morris, opined that the new direction taken by the authorities not only allowed the re-opening of the company’s shops, but was ” … a clear indication that the Greek authorities consider that our business model is legitimate under European law, and that there are flaws in the Greek’s own restrictive domestic legislation.”

However, the shops may find it difficult to immediately resume business due to the removal of computer and other office equipment during the course of the police raids.

Greek authorities are probably treading lightly on the sensitive question of European Union law and the principle of free movement of goods and services. The country is already the subject of a final warning from the European Commission, which enforces compliance among member nations.

Source : http://www.casinoaffiliateprograms.com

Microgaming Software Systems Ltd has been a leading software providers to the online gambling industry, with just under 100 casinos listed on its website. Online casino operators such as the Carmen Media Group, Fortune Lounge Group, Ladbrokes, 32Red, Fairground Gaming, Vegas Partner Lounge and Golden Star Lounge are among those who use Microgaming’s software.

Microgaming also has an online poker subsidiary called Microgaming Poker, which is the network used by Doyles Room. Doyles Room’s domain registrant, GoDaddy.com, already announced it had turned over the website’s operating certificate to the commonwealth of Kentucky.

The state of Kentucky claims that several dozen online gambling websites have cut into their economic well being and will hold a forfeiture hearing in two weeks. Original reports suggested that Microgaming would only block Kentucky residents, however, the degree of difficulty in blocking a single state within a country appears too overwhelming for the firm.

There were no immediate indications that Microgaming would require its actual licensees to block US traffic as of press time.

Many Microgaming licensed companies restrict individuals from playing for real cash originating from certain states, however, the actual websites are not blocked.

China, Singapore and some Arab countries engage in similar blocking efforts and Australia is looking to follow suit.

Source : http://www.gambling911.com/

If the bill is passed into law, it would mean that all telecommunications operators would have to block access to all sites that offer any form of gambling. Any operator that doesn’t block access or tries to circumvent the bill will receive a penalty equal to ten or twenty times the amount of bets received in the region of Buenos Aires.

Deputy Liliana Piani, the politician behind the bill, argued that banning forms of remote gambling is essential so that the state can have full control over gambling activities. Piana was quoted as saying that this was to prevent “certain fundamental values from being endangered,” such as “public health, public order and the protection of minors.”

She complains the Argentinean government is not doing enough to address the problems associated with such forms of gambling, and she pointed out the issues addressed by her bill had been expressively excluded from all current gaming legislation.

This is essentially another form of the prohibition versus regulation debate. Regulation is where a set of laws exist which attempt to balance the need to protect the public from dangerous or harmful activity against the need for a free flow of legitimate commerce.

Prohibition on the other hand, is where all activities associated with something like gambling are banned and considered a crime. This has the unintended consequence of opening a black market for the activity.

The best example of this is the recent exclusion of Online Casinos like PartyCasino and 888 Casino from the US market. As both companies are publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange, they are subject to heavy regulation and constant monitoring to ensure safe and fair standards for their players. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) effectively forced both companies to withdraw from the US market. Their departure only created a gap in the market for unregulated, unlicensed online gambling operators. The ironic but unsurprising result is that American online gamblers are now less protected than they were prior to the UIGEA being signed into law.

Prohibition of regulated Online Casinos leads to an increase in unregulated and unscrupulous operators looking to fill the gap. The consumer no longer has protection against cheating operators and the games are no longer guaranteed to be fair. You are essentially gambling with the operator, with no safety checks and balances or right of appeal on decisions made.

In stark contrast to the United States, the United Kingdom decided to regulate the online gambling market in Britain. Regulation is the only intelligent and responsible way to ensure that operators behave responsibly. Prohibition simply prevents good companies from doing business, with less-than-ethical competitors not the type to let some legislation get in the way of doing business.

Prohibition didn’t stop Americans from drinking during the 1920’s and the UIGEA won’t stop Americans from gambling online in the next decade. It appears once again that the primary lesson we can learn from history is our infinite capacity to simply make the same mistakes over and over again.

Source : http://casino.pokernews.com/news/2008/10/argentina-ban-online-casinos-gambling.htm

http://www.lasseters.com/default.jsp?n=4051&c=001&b=002

The Aim-listed online payment processor will from November 17 be known as Neovia Financial, marking what it hopes will be the culmination of a turnround from the grim days of January 2007 when its cofounders were arrested in the US on illegal online gambling charges.

Their arrests came in the wake of Congress passing a bill tightening anti-gambling laws, which banned banks and credit card companies from processing online gambling payments.

Its shares were suspended for six months and it was forced to pay back $94m (£54m) to customers in a settlement with the US department of justice. Its pre-tax loss for 2007 was $185.7m.

The newly named group will retain the names of its three main brand products - Neteller, Netbanx and Net+ - but Ron Martin, chief executive, said the new parent name was aimed at rebuilding its credibility with merchants, customers, partners and regulators.

“An element of the strategy is moving beyond the US situation,” Mr Martin said.

After exiting the US market, Neteller quit its Canadian base, cut more than half its staff and regrouped round European and Asian markets. It pledged to end its dependence on online gambling for revenue, merging its payment gateway with e-wallet operations and launching a new card, Net+.

Last month, it reported interim profits of $1.15m, and said it was heading for a maiden dividend payment.

Its non-gaming revenues stand at 18.5 per cent of total income, and Mr Martin said it was ahead of schedule in targeting 30 per cent in non-gaming revenues by 2010.

“Gaming will continue to be an important part of the business, but on the other hand we have built a payment capability much beyond gaming and many products have an application outside of gaming,” said Mr Martin.

He refuted the suggestion that the company was avoiding mention of online gambling. “If anything, our site has moved closer to gaming from an appearance perspective. In our rebranding of the Neteller wallet, it’s reaching out to the poker player.”

Mr Martin added that market conditions were causing customers to rein in discretionary spending, “but from a Neteller perspective, we are looking at a three-year game plan that we don’t believe is going to be materially impacted by what’s going on today”.

Source : http://www.ft.com/

Then a week like this one comes along and bettors once again are rejuvenated. It is not interleague play, it is games that actually have a significant impact on the pennant races.

The Chicago Cubs have been in first place for a long time this year. They have been the National Leagues best team for a while, but that could all change in the next few days.

The Milwaukee Brewers have made significant moves to bolster their team, namely that meant acquiring C.C. Sabathia. Since picking up the former Indians ace, Milwaukee has made a strong push towards first place. This week, the two teams are going head to head for the division lead.

Over in the East, the Mets have overcome their early season struggles to regain first place in the division. The Marlins, on the other hand, have played mostly consistent baseball and are only two games out of first place.

These two teams also will be squaring off Monday through Wednesday in Florida. The Mets held a two game lead on the Marlins coming into the series.

Source : Casinogamblingweb.com

It has been announced that PayPal has opened their client account information that was supposed to be secure, to the IRS. The move could mean trouble for thousands of people who were using PayPal to transfer gambling money.

The IRS is thought to be investigating something much bigger than just online gambling. They are looking to investigate people who have been linked to banks that are considered by the IRS to be ‘tax havens’.

The IRS is trying to also crack down on people who have income that they are not claiming. Gambling money won online would be classified in that group.

PayPal was one of the bigger companies that accepted money from gamblers and transferred the money to Internet gambling sites. That all stopped in 2002 when the company was fined by Attorney General Elliot Spitzer.

PayPal has been trying to keep its distance from the online gambling industry since then. “Even if they had kept themselves away, there was no reason for them to sell out the many people who gave them money and trusted them with private information,” said online gambling analyst, Gordon Price.

The move to give the IRS the records could lead to civil lawsuits against the company. Their information is supposed to have been secure, and with PayPal now opening the records, people will claim they are in violation of security agreements.

Source : Casinogamblingweb.com

Malta is a valid EU member and this means that Betsafe now is under strong control and regulation. LGA (Lotteries and Gaming Authority) has full insight both when it comes to gambling and money transactions. The security for the players is high on LGA’s agenda with numerous controls, which means security for you as a player at Betsafe. LGA requires that the customer’s money is always separated in a special bank account, for your own safety.

Several Swedish outlets have reported that the “less addictive” games being considered for a possible spinoff include state-run lotteries, sports betting and poker, including many of the operations of the state-run Svenska Spel service, which has been at the center of the controversy in recent months. Svenska Spel has been assailed by outsiders for being the beneficiary of protectionist policies, while at the same time asserting that its own precarious position has crippled the service in its hopes of modernizing and remaining a competitive online player.

Other online-gambling services are not necessarily waiting for Sweden to take a course of action in their favor, despite the likely backing of the EU. On Friday, Betsson AB plans to open its betting shop in Sweden, offering a new private-enterprise option to Svenska Spel and ATG retail outlets. Pontius Lindwall, Betsson’s CEO, said, “We are taking this opportunity to challenge the Swedish gaming monopoly as we see betting shops as an interesting development of our business. Betting shops complement our online offering and our aim is to create more freedom of choice for our players.”

The effort to force Sweden’s compliance with EU directives has not gone unnoticed by Swedish authorities. Svenska Spel is expected to file a complaint with officials after Friday’s noon opening of the shop, and the same government officials have already announced their intent to closely monitor the new Betsson Stockholm outlet for violations of Sweden’s existing Lottery Law.

Source : Poker News