New York Times: The Neighborhood Bookie Gets High Tech and Goes Pay Per Head
This weekend, the New York Times featured a good article on the local bookies and how they have reinvented themselves by going online.
From The Times:
The basic setup is simple: Instead of taking a phone call from every hopeful bettor, the bookie directs his clients to a Web site, where bets can be recorded, tracked and totaled. The bookie can then log on and see who owes — or is owed — money in the coming week.
Search on For Winners of $640 Mega Millions Lottery
ATLANTA (Reuters) - The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history totaling $640 million has at least one winner and officials were waiting early on Saturday to see if there are other winning tickets.
Maryland lottery officials announced that a winning ticket was purchased at a store in Baltimore County, though they had not identified the winner yet.
"This is truly remarkable and historic," said Maryland lottery director Stephen Martino.
Gambling Addiction in Asian Community Highlighted After Quadruple Slaying in San Fran
Following the brutal slaying of five family members last week in their San Francisco home, New America Media’s Aruna Lee, Andrew Lam and Summer Chiang examined the gambling epidemic among Asians.
William Hill Having Tough Time Getting Nevada License: Under Intense Scrutiny
One of the United Kingdom’s biggest bookmakers is having a rough go at breaking into the US market.
European companies are looking to forge relationships with US-based casinos in an effort to get a leg's up in the critical US regulated online gambling market....once it opens up.
Mega Millions Jackpot Now Stands at Record $540 Million
Good news: The Mega Millions Jackpot has yet to hit and is now up to a record $540 million.
Foxwoods $2 Billion Debt, FBI Probe
(Associated Press) - - For two decades, the Mashantucket Pequots lived like Indian gambling royalty. Luxury cars abounded on their tiny, gated reservation of colonial and ranch-style homes in the woods of southeastern Connecticut.
JetBlue Pilot Talked About ‘Sins in Las Vegas’ Before Diversion (Video)
JetBlue Airways captain Clayton Osbon’s erratic behavior Tuesday that forced Flight 191 en route to Las Vegas to make an emergency stopover in Amarillo, Texas included rants about the “Sins in Las Vegas”.
"We're not going to Vegas," Osbon said.
Casino Hires Robert De Niro as Celebrity Flack
You talkin' to me?
A casino in South Korea hopes you'll be listening!
The Paradise Walker-Hill Casino in Seoul, South Korea, has announced that it has hired actor Robert De Niro to serve as a paid celebrity spokesman for the casino.
The casino, which is South Korea's oldest and is open to foreigners only--meaning no South Koreans are allowed in--is located in the Sheraton Walker-Hill Hotel, a luxury hotel in Seoul that is popular with tourists and foreign business people.
Some Forms of Internet Gambling Could Take Place in Delaware
Delaware Governor Jack Markell said on Wednesday that an expansion of gambling in his small state is possible, include Internet gambling.
Delaware's Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 is the piece of legislation in question.
From NewsWorks.org:
Betfair to Introduce New Brand: Enters Fixed-Odds Market
The world’s largest betting exchange, Betfair, has announced its intention to enter the lucrative fixed-odds market.
Sportingbet Enters Partnership With Foxwoods Resort Casino
Sportingbet is now in advanced discussions with land-based operator Foxwoods Resort Casino about providing it with an online platform for intrastate poker and casino games over the coming months, such as in Connecticut, as part of a joint venture, according to a report in This Is London.
888.com Reports Full Year Earnings Nearly Doubling
(Reuters) - British online gaming company 888 Holdings' full-year earnings nearly doubled, helped by strong growth of its casino and poker offering, and the company named Brian Mattingley as chief executive.
The company, which operates 888 casino, poker, sport and bingo brands, said it planned to invest in several newly regulated markets across Europe and the United States.
More Britons prefer to stay at home, watching TV and gambling online, updates from consumer-facing companies showed, amid fears that the UK will slip back into recession.
Substance Abuse Linked More Heavily to Internet Gambling
A new study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, has attempted to link Internet gambling with substance abuse and the findings are staggering. This is Jagajeet Chiba reporting for Gambling911.com.
WMS Industries Latest to Apply for Nevada Internet Poker License
Casino game maker WMS Industries announced Tuesday it has applied for an Internet gambling license in the state of Nevada. The Silver State became the first to legalize intrastate online poker for real money with the potential to expand beyond its borders should federal legislation be passed.
Sportingbet Looking to Re-enter US Market After Paying Fine to US Government
Reuters was reporting that Sportingbet, one of Europe’s biggest online gambling firms, has made a final payment of $6 million to the U.S. Justice Department, as per a settlement reached in 2010 over alleged illegal Internet gambling, and said that it was exploring opportunities to re-enter the market.
Sportingbet to Appeal Spanish Injunction
* Expects licence from Spanish gaming regulator by May 25
(Reuters) - British online gaming firm Sportingbet Plc said it would appeal an injunction against it sought by Spanish casino group Codere, aimed at restricting online betting and gaming in that country.
In December, the Spanish company had sought several injunctions against companies operating in the online betting and gaming industry citing unfair competition before licences under new laws were about to be issued.
San Francisco Murder Victims Identified: Suspect was Supposed to Have Been Deported
San Francisco medical examiner identified five victims in a grizzly early Friday morning slaying as Hua Shun Lei, 65, and Wan Yi Xi, 62, who were married, and their children Vincent Lei, 32, and Ying Xue Lei, 37. The other victim was Chia Huei Chu, 30, the girlfriend of Vincent Lei. All were found brutally murdered in an Ingleside district home.
Gambling Debt May be at Center of Brutal San Francisco Quintuple Murder
Authorities in San Francisco now believe that a gambling debt could be the motive for a brutal quintuple murder that occurred in the Ingleside district Friday morning (March 23, 2012).
Illinois Lottery Tickets Now Sold Online: First State to do so
Illinois became the first state to begin selling lottery tickets online Sunday.
$1 Billion Wagered Online by Canadians Annually
A report this week claims that $1 billion is wagered by Canadians over the Web with sites that are not even based in the country.
Sites like 888.com have proliferated throughout Canada while PokerStars enjoys a decent chunk of the online gambling market as well.
Women, Young More Likely to Gamble Online
ATLANTIC CITY (AP) — A new survey has found that online gambling appeals more to women and the young.
Of 3,000 people surveyed from the Northeast Corridor and other major markets in the eastern half of the country, between 16 and 25 percent said they would play electronic versions of blackjack, craps, slots, baccarat, poker and roulette.
Forty percent of females favored Internet poker compared to 13 percent of males. Nearly one in four people under 30 told pollsters they would gamble online. That rate fell to one in 10 for people aged 30 to 49.
UK Internet Gambling Tax Structure Restructured: Sin Tax Based on Consumption
Sinners in the UK, you’ll have to pay! At least if it is at online casinos and poker rooms where you play.
Internet gambling aficionados find themselves caught up in George Osborne’s budget tax increases.
A new tax will be introduced for Internet gambling that is based on the place of consumption. Previously, that tax was levied on a 'place of supply' basis.
George Osborne UK Chancellor of the Exchequer:
California Legalized Internet Poker Update (Video)
Sports Book Review analyst Natalie Rydström interviewed California State Senator Roderick Wright on the hot topic of legalized online gambling.
Afghanistan Massacre Suspect Last Arrest at Casino
TACOMA, Wash. — (Associated Press) -- A police report says the U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians was arrested in 2002 in the drunken assault of a casino security guard.
The report was obtained Tuesday by The News Tribune newspaper in Tacoma. It says someone called police to report that the soldier, Robert Bales, had threatened another customer. Two security guards told him to leave, but Bales got out of his cab, picked up a trash can lid and rushed the guards, punching one in the chest before they tackled him.
Maine Gets Casinos
Remember the Maine!
Or at least its casinos.
Maine has officially become the latest U.S. state to open a full-scale casino with table games.
The Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway in Bangor, Maine, USA, which has been in operation for the last seven years as a slot parlor with only slot machines and video poker machines, Friday added roulette, blackjack, craps, poker and more.
It also has a new name: The Hollywood Casino Bangor.
Voters approved casino expansion in a referendum last fall.
Relax Gaming, Fast Poker Receives 100th Alderney License: Not Hurt by Full Tilt Poker
The 100th Alderney eGaming license has been issued and it goes to Relax Gaming, developers of the fast-paced online poker platform, Fast Poker.
Fast Poker will allow for fast play and quick transfer of a pool of player to another table upon folding their cards. Fast Poker is set to be implemented with a handful of European Internet cardrooms in the coming days including iGame, Betsson and Unbibet.
Utah Second State to Make Online Gambling Illegal
Utah has become the second state in the US to specifically make Internet gambling illegal.
House Bill 108 was passed last week and designed to ensure an opt-out for the state should online poker and casino games become legalized on the state front. Neighboring Nevada has already passed legislation allowing for Web poker within that state’s borders.
State Representative Stephen Sandstrom introduced the bill back in January.
Attempts to Legalize Internet Poker, Casinos in Hawaii Fail
Hawaii is the latest state in the US to propose legalizing Internet poker only to have such efforts stall in the legislature.
A series of three related bills that included the legalization of Web poker, brick and mortar casinos and a state lottery were introduced back in January.
Rep. Angus McKelvey introduced the online poker measure that would have provided for a state lottery to oversee and regulate Web gambling activity.
Hawaii is one of only two states in the US that does not permit any form of gambling including a state lottery.
Managers with 40 Plus Years Experience Sacked at Star Casino
Seven mid-level managers, some with more than 40 years experience, have been sacked by Australia’s Star Casino for a breach in email policies. One of the managers reportedly forwarded an internal email revealing how the casino had apparently permitted international high rollers to gamble 24 hours straight.
New Jersey Internet Gambling by September Despite Thursday Hiccup
New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak promised that his measure to legalize Internet gambling would sail through the state legislature this past Thursday. That didn’t happen. But it was more a technical snafu than any type of opposition blocking the bill’s passage.
