Let your mouth speak archive

A D.C. Councilmember said Tuesday that he wants to repeal a provision that would make the nation's capital the first jurisdiction in the country to offer legal online gambling.

Tommy Wells, a Democrat representing Ward 6, said he plans to introduce legislation this fall that would stop online gambling before it starts.

Online gambling was authorized outside the usual legislative process. Councilmember Michael A. Brown, I-At Large, added it to a budget bill late last year, and it became law in April when Congress did not object. The D.C. Lottery is preparing to start offering online poker, blackjack, slot machines and other games.

Wells said he objected to the way online gambling became law and said he did not fully understand the measure when it was slipped into the budget.

"It's not good government. It's not transparent," Wells told The Associated Press. He first announced his plan to repeal online gambling during an appearance on NewsChannel 8.

It's not clear whether any of Wells' Council colleagues would support a repeal. Councilmember Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, held a hearing on the D.C. Lottery's plans last month that prompted the lottery to delay its plans for implementation until after Oct. 1, the start of the 2012 fiscal year.

Evans, who chairs the Council's committee on finance and revenue, said Tuesday that he's spoken to Wells about the issue but does not favor repealing online gambling at this point. He plans to hold another hearing in October.

"I'm not going to do it until I'm very comfortable that this thing is OK," Evans said. "It could be a long time or not. I don't have a timetable in mind. It's not going to go into effect certainly until after October, if at all."

Evans said that because the law has been approved but not implemented, the Council has ample opportunity to give it the vetting it needs.

D.C. Lottery Director Buddy Roogow is planning to hold community forums in all eight of the city's wards to listen to concerns from residents and said Tuesday he would give "great weight" to the concerns aired at those meetings.

Some residents who testified at the June hearing said they were concerned about the prospect of bars, restaurants and hotels becoming destinations for gambling. The lottery plans to make gambling available through Internet protocol addresses at businesses before allowing people to log on from home.

Gamblers would have to be at least 19 years old, and the lottery intends to cap deposits in online accounts at $250 a week. The limits on wagering are meant to appeal to recreational players and not to poker professionals who've been out of work since federal authorities shut down the three most popular online poker sites this spring.

Intralot, the city's Greece-based lottery vendor, is developing the online gambling platform and will collect 51 percent of the net revenues, with the rest going to the district. The district's chief financial officer has estimated that online gambling could generate $13 million for the government over four years.

Wells said he was not morally opposed to gambling but that he wasn't sure how the new program would benefit the district.

"For some people, gambling can really be an addiction," he said. "I want to know what the public good is."

Brown, who has pushed hard for the district to become the first government to offer online gambling, said no other Council members have signaled their displeasure with the way the program was approved. He said he supported Evans' efforts to ensure the public had a say in its implementation.

"I want it to be done right, not fast," he said.

Wells' power on the Council was diminished last week when Council Chairman Kwame Brown stripped him of his chairmanship of the transportation committee. Wells was the only member to vote against the change. After the vote, he said his commitment to ethics and good government made some of his colleagues "uncomfortable."

Too bad to hear that. It was a natures disaster that we can't prevent to happen. They must have stayed in a safer place if they'd known.

Last month, District of Columbia presented a plan that would make it the first state to launch its own legalized online gambling website. As expected, however, the state’s plans have been put on hold and a date has not been set for when DC can resume the establishment of its online casino.

The original plan was to launch legalized and regulated online gambling in the District of Columbia by the fall of 2011. Now, the date has been pushed back indefinitely. The state also planned on launching a play-money version of the site this month; those plans were delayed, as well. There is no word on when DC will be able to launch its online gambling site.

Although the future looks bleak for online gambling in the District of Columbia, those in support of the new online casino are hopeful that it will be launched eventually. According to Buddy Roogrow from DC Lottery, this delay will simply give the company more time to plan and create a safer and more secure online gambling website for the residents of DC.

In the meantime, opposers of the new website are planning on creating a law that would prohibit the site from being launched at all. Over the next couple of months, it will be a bitter battle over the right to launch an intrastate gambling website in DC.

A dealer has been fined $75,000 for helping themselves to around $200 worth of poker chips from the tables at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, PA. 26-year-old Matthew Eisenberg worked at the poker and blackjack tables and apparently decided to increase his income a bit. According to casino security, Eisenberg was seen on video surveillance taking poker chips off the table and putting them into his personal tip box over a hundred times.

The method he used was pretty straightforward, even if it required a bit of skill. He would take a $1 or $5 chip from the pot with his right hand and slide it into the pile of discarded cards. After the hand was over and the winner collected the pot, he would then collect the chip from the discards with his left hand and put it into the tips box.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of probation for the relatively minor thievery, but a state gaming law means that he's been fined $75,000. Allegheny County district attorney spokesman Mike Manko said his office believed the crime fit the statute.

"We believe the General Assembly wrote the statute to protect the integrity of the casino process," Mr. Manko told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Actor Matt Damon may command a big paycheck but somehow he still manages to live a low-key lifestyle where he doesn’t have to worry too much about being hounded by the paparazzi unlike his friends Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who he claims “Are like prisoners” and can’t walk out the door without being bombarded by the press. So do you have any pointers there Matt?

In a recent interview with German television station TELE 5, he shared how lucky he is to have kept himself out of the spotlight all these years while still enjoying a high-profile career. “I have friends who are like prisoners. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for instance. They just can’t go someplace. If they go for a walk, it turns into an international incident.”

According to Scoop Today, Damon also shared how it may have helped that he married someone who is not in the business. Damon married Luciana Barroso, an Argentinian bartender he met while spending time in Miami who he later married in 2005 and shares four children with.

You have to admit that Brangelina are in their own league, apart from being talented and one of the best looking couples in the world, their star power is undeniable and as long as they go around saving the world and making multi-million dollar flicks, they will always be in the spotlight.

As for Matt Damon and his wife, they claim that it helps living in New York City where the locals don’t flip out if they see a celebrity.

David Williams finally got his opponent for governor, incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear, in the same room at a Kentucky Farm Bureau forum Wednesday. But the biggest news may have been Williams’ assertion that there are enough votes in the state Senate to pass a constitutional amendment on expanded gambling.

“I believe there are the votes in the state Senate to put it on the ballot,” Williams said. “I’m not one of them.”

Williams spoke to reporters after the forum where he challenged Beshear to formulate an amendment that can pass the General Assembly.

Beshear made expanded gambling a central plank of his 2007 campaign platform, saying at the time he wanted to let the people of Kentucky decide the issue and promised to get it passed. Williams has consistently opposed expanded gambling, saying he’s not opposed on moral grounds but thinks it’s “bad public policy.” Beshear says it’s necessary to prop up the horse industry — but the General Assembly has twice failed to pass an expanded gambling measure.

A constitutional amendment failed to pass the Democratic-controlled House in 2008 and the Senate refused to pass a bill to allow video lottery terminals at existing race tracks passed by the House and backed by Beshear in a subsequent session. Beshear has blamed Williams for failure to pass the measure.

Thursday, Williams said he never prevented an amendment on gambling “because there’s never been a constitutional provision passed by the state House of Representatives.” During the forum, Williams challenged Beshear to announce what he’d include in such an amendment and to secure public commitments by lawmakers to vote for it.

“I think having a constitutional amendment on the ballot would be wonderful,” Beshear said after the forum. “I was hoping he’d finally say, and I’ll let it be voted on in the Senate, but I never really heard that.

Williams said he plans on being in the governor’s office during the next session – not in the state Senate – and pointed out a governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment question passed by the legislature.

Beshear has declined several opportunities before Thursday to appear at forums with Williams and he said Thursday there’ll be plenty of time for such joint appearances and debates before the election.

“I think we’ll do this from time to time between now and the election,” said Beshear when asked if he’ll agree to more face-to-face encounters. “I find there are two groups of people who want a lot of joint appearances. One is my opponent and two is the news media.” He said the rest of Kentucky would like the campaign to be conducted in a “reasonably concise period of time” and he has a job to do as the incumbent governor.

All of the questions directed to the two candidates by the KFB board related to agriculture and both candidates responded farm-friendly answers – supporting sales tax exemptions for farm materials such as feed and fertilizer and opposing some federal and environmental regulations on farming.

Beshear worked his campaign case into most answers: that jobs are his focus and that he’s “balanced this budget nine times” and did so “without any broad-base tax increases” while protecting education. Willliams often did the same thing with his call for comprehensive tax reform and said several times Kentucky is at a competitive disadvantage with surrounding states, especially Tennessee.

Beshear responded that the National Tax Foundation ranks Kentucky’s business tax climate friendlier than Tennessee’s and then took a jab at his opponent: “I don’t know the love this fella over here has for the Big Orange, but I tell you I don’t like their football, I don’t like their basketball, and that Jack Daniels is not Bourbon.”

Williams used questions about environmental regulation and health care costs to assail the policies of President Barack Obama and claim Beshear supports those policies. Beshear said he has problems with aspects of the health care reform and thinks the federal government over regulates industries like coal.

Shannen Doherty, fired multiple times from multiple shows, now has her own show to get fired from. Doherty, famous for being cantankerous on the initial 90210 back in the 90's by famously feuding with cast members and rumored to have ordered wardrobe assistants to supply her with Evian water for washing her hair with, is now in her 40s and has apparently grown up a bit.

She's also is wanting to settle down with a new man – celebrity photographer Kurt Iswarienko - which is the point of the show. Cameras will follow Doherty as she plans her wedding, with the show's finale culminating with the ceremony itself, if Doherty (or Iswarienko) can make it that far. You see, Doherty has a history of break-ups. Her first fiancee filed a restraining order against her after she threatened him with a gun and sodomy. Yes, you read that correctly. She then married Ashley Hamilton, the son of George Hamilton, after dating for just two weeks. Shockingly, the marriage only lasted a few months. In 2002, she married poker player Rick Salomon who had starred alongside Paris Hilton in that infamous sex tape, but the marriage was annulled a year later.

This time, however, it's for keeps. Production is slated to begin in August, and it is intended to be only a season long. Perhaps the cast and crew have already realized they'll be only able to stand her for one season. It is slated to premiere in January.

Studio executive John Miller tells Entertainment Weekly, "She's insanely compelling. People will see a side of Shannen they never expected to see … unfiltered, honest and vulnerable."

Doherty was famously fired from 90210 after getting in multiple scuffles with the rest of the cast. Add to that substance abuse and a Playboy spread, and Doherty was cut. Late 90210 creator Aaron Spelling gave Doherty another shot on his teen witch show, Charmed. But it was the same routine. A volatile Doherty feuded with the cast and so she was replaced.

Doherty made a comeback on Dancing with the Stars, but was the first to get booted from the show. She also made appearances on the latest 90210 reboot.

Online Gambling has long been a big business. Initially the phenomenon that spread rapidly was totally unregulated. The advent of Online Casinos followed by Online Poker caught most Governments out who failed to legislate for online gambling.

What has followed has been a bit of a mixed bag. The online gambling industry has tried to regulate itself with a few organizations set up and being funded by operators. There have been a lot of questions asked about the impartiality of these organizations during the various crises that beset the online gambling industry.

The real game changer for online gambling and in particular online casino operators was the implementation of UIGEA. This bill made it illegal for anyone to transact to an online gambling venue – it did not specifically ban online gambling. As soon as this Federal Bill passed it meant that a number of publicly listed companies had to withdraw from the largest online gambling market in the world. That would be the United States of America.

This did not however deter a large amount of operators on both the Casino and Poker side of gaming. Indeed the withdrawal of major companies like 888 and Party Gaming meant that opportunity existed for others who were prepared to gamble.

All of this seemed to be working out until recently, the events of what is now known in the industry as Black Friday where the US Government cracked down on the largest Poker Rooms and made a number of confiscations of both domains and funds, has changed the landscape again.

A large number of operators from across the spectrum have removed themselves from the market as it seems that it just does not pay to tangle with the US Government.

The question has been asked if this is the prelude to legislation in the United States. From looking at all of the evidence and the moved made by land based game suppliers it does appear that this is the case. This can only be a win, win situation. The public get what they want, and what they want is to gamble online in a regulated safe market.

The US government will also in all likelihood get what it wants, and that is a slice of the online action in the form of taxes. That we think is a fair solution and we do look forward to the day when all of this has become a reality,

Other parts of the world – most notably the United Kingdom and most of Europe have successfully implemented legislation on online gambling products. The USA therefore does have working examples to make use of.

Former state Sen. Steve French said Friday that fellow Sen. Harri Anne Smith told him more than once that she would contribute to his campaign if he voted for gambling legislation.

French, a Republican from Mountain Brook, is on the witness stand in a federal corruption trial. Smith, an independent from Slocomb, is one of nine defendants in a federal corruption trial that alleges that casino interests bribed state lawmakers to vote for gambling legislation.

French said Smith mentioned during a March 9, 2010, dinner with other Republicans, hosted by wholesale beer distributors, that other Republicans were coming to her for contributions.

French said the comment got their attention because senators typically ask for contributions and are not asked for contributions.

Smith said that some Republicans, when they heard she had endorsed Democrat Bobby Bright for Congress in 2008, were leery of accepting the contribution. French said he joked that he would take a contribution regardless of whether she endorsed Bright, the former mayor of Montgomery who was elected to Congress in 2008.

Two days later, while the Senate was in session, French said Smith called him over to her desk.

He said that Smith, at least twice, told him there was campaign money available if he voted for the gambling bill.

French, who served three terms in the Senate, said he told her “we’re not going to talk about any kind of official action … If you want to give me a contribution, I would be glad to accept it.”

When asked about the interaction in court, French said “her linking the two was very uncomfortable to me and I thought she had stepped over the line.”

When asked about why he walked away during the conversation, he said “I was very uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed and I did not want the conversation to continue.”

The prosecutor asked French if anyone had ever offered him a contribution in exchange for his vote before.

“No one and no one had even come close,” French said.

The senator, who lost in the 2010 Republican primary, said he talked to authorities about the offer.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's 13-year-old son Christopher has been in ICU for days since being involved in a surfing accident last week. His condition has since been upgraded so he will be alright, but Christopher suffered multiple broken bones and a collapsed lung as a result of the accident, which occurred in Malibu.

TMZ reports that Shriver has been by his side consistently and that Arnold has also been dropping in to check on his son. They report that despite the ongoings of their ugly divorce, Arnold and Maria are pulling together as a family and putting on a brave face.

Life has been particularly tough for Maria, who only recently found out that her husband fathered a love child with one of their longtime employees. Maria was pregnant with Christopher and their housekeeper, Mildred Patty Baena was pregnant with her son, also now 13, at the same time.

TMZ is also noting that as Maria was in the hospital at Chris' side, she was dealing with new divorce papers Arnold filed that created a conflict over spousal support. The upside to all of this is that Christopher's condition has improved and perhaps it takes a health scare to shed some perspective on divorce squabbles. Or not. It is Arnold after all.

“Is poker a sport?” is a much-argued question and one that, for the sake of this story, I will answer in the affirmative (although many will disagree).

We have recently had several stories regarding the evils of online gambling and it is hard not to agree with those that say it is dragging sport down to an unacceptable level.

Well finally, someone has decided to do something about it!

The government of the USA, that upholder of truth, justice and the American way, has shut down several poker and online gambling sites and charged their management with money-laundering and other crimes.

In an attempt to help their citizens and those worldwide, the American government has, through the FBI and other organizations, seized several poker sites, thereby freezing the accounts of persons worldwide (American or not) who played on those sites.

As always happens some people are stupid enough to disagree with the USA government.

Now many non-American people are saying, “What does this have to do with us and why are our accounts frozen?”

These people need to look at “the big picture” and be assured that anything the USA does is in the best interests of all concerned.

Those who still doubt, only need to look at the USA’s long and selfless record in attending to world crisis.

America rushed in to help its allies in the second World War, only waiting twenty seven months after it had started thereby allegedly placing several countries under a mountain of debt.

During this war, they became the only country to ever use nuclear weapons against civilians, but this was for the good of the people not to see how the weapons would work.

They invited their allies, with allegedly very little pressure, to participate in the Korean and Vietnamese “conflicts”.

Several necessary worthwhile skirmishes worldwide were also attended by the USA and her Allies and most recently, the invasion of Iraq.

People are shaking their heads and thinking, “this is not right”, but of course, it was because the CIA had told Bush that the Iraqis were stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

The United Nations and other countries of the world that could not see this, were totally blind and therefore any mandates submitted could be ignored. (The arguments that the USA’s involvement had anything to do with oil are, of course, totally ludicrous)

So now we come to this world crisis, where the terrorists are allegedly laundering money through the online poker sites.

It must be stopped! (The rumour that the Americans are only dirty because they are not getting their cut through taxes is absurd)

Here is how the scenario will pan out: The sites will agree to pay a certain amount to the US government and they will then be allowed to reopen but under American supervision.

Those sites who do not agree, will forfeit their assets in the USA and Americans will be banned from playing there.

So what does this mean if you have money in any of these sites?

If you are an American, you will get most, if not all, of your money back. If you are Australian or from some other country apart from the USA, you might get a small percentage of your money back from PokerStars, but are unlikely to get anything from Full Tilt or Absolute.

The horse has bolted, so it is no good closing the gate but here is a little piece of information for the future. Do not leave more money in your online account than you are prepared to lose.

When you have a decent win immediately pull out all, except that amount that you have already decided you can afford to lose.

There is more than one way to lose when gambling, which is why we are so lucky to have the Government of the good old USA looking after us.

One of Kentucky's leading opponents of expanded gambling has challenged Gov. Steve Beshear to come up with a fresh constitutional amendment to place on the ballot so voters can decide the issue.

Republican David Williams, who is running against Beshear in the Nov. 8 election, issued the challenge at a political forum in Louisville on Wednesday.

Beshear has been a major proponent for expanding gambling opportunities in the state where people have been betting on horse races for generations. He made casino-style gambling the centerpiece of his last campaign, using it as a springboard to the governor's mansion.

Williams called for Beshear to gauge support for gambling in the legislature. If enough lawmakers support it, Williams said the matter should be voted on by the House and Senate.

"I believe there are enough votes in the state Senate to put it on the ballot," Williams said. "I'm not one of them."

Beshear blamed Williams, president of the state Senate, for blocking previous gambling proposals over the past three years.

"I was hoping he would finally say 'and I'll let it be voted on in the Senate,'" Beshear told reporters. "Hopefully, he has changed his mind." Williams said he hopes to be governor the next time the legislature convenes, a position he claimed would preclude him from blocking or vetoing a constitutional amendment.

The state's horse industry has been pressing for an expansion of gambling at racetracks to upgrade facilities and generate cash for larger purses. Proponents believe that would bolster an ailing horse industry and keep Kentucky the horse capital of the world.

"We are in danger of losing that tag," Beshear said.

Gambling opponents consider Williams a champion for their cause, even though decade-old divorce records show he once lost thousands of dollars in casinos. The Rev. Jeff Fugate, pastor of Clays Mill Road Baptist Church in Lexington, said he wants to learn more about Williams' latest proposal before weighing in.

"This is the most foolish time, considering the economic situation in our state, to consider something like gambling for increasing revenue," Fugate said.

Beshear and Williams reached out to leaders of the Kentucky Farm Bureau in their first joint appearance of the general election campaign, promising their full attention to agricultural matters if elected.

In two hours of back-and-forth, Beshear told the state's farm leaders that the agricultural economy is "the heart and soul of Kentucky" and he promised to continue his administration's efforts to bolster the industry.

Williams said he considers fortifying the state's farming industry "a matter of national security" because it produces food necessary to keep the country running.

Williams is one of two challengers trying to unseat Beshear, who is seeking his second term. The other, independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith, who wasn't invited to the Louisville forum, is expected to officially enter the race Thursday. They have much ground to make up against an incumbent who reported Wednesday that he has more than $5 million raised and a huge lead in the polls.

Williams and Beshear agreed that state agricultural programs aren't adequately funded, and both committed to increasing funding over the next four years to help increase productivity.

Criticized by his opponent for not doing enough to help the state's farmers, Beshear said his administration has worked hard to expand markets for Kentucky products.

"We've been playing that role aggressively," he said. "And it's working."

Williams said if he's elected governor, he will improve roads and other public infrastructure into rural areas to strengthen farming communities.

"People have to understand where their food comes from and where their energy comes from," Williams said.

Farmers are a key voting bloc in Kentucky, and candidates traditionally have appeared at the Kentucky Farm Bureau forum to appeal to those voters. Their next scheduled joint appearance is set for early next month in Fancy Farm, a tiny western Kentucky farming community that serves as the place where the state's general election campaigns are kicked off.

But already the race is in full swing. Beshear has been traveling the state touting his record of balancing the budget nine times since taking office, and doing it without raising broad-based taxes. Williams has been telling voters that Beshear is a supporter of President Barack Obama, an unpopular political figure in Kentucky, and of his policies, including federal health care reforms that Williams said will have a devastating impact on Kentucky businesses and families.

Beshear has been running TV ads for more than a month. Williams began airing his first television spot since the GOP primary on Tuesday.

Galbraith, a perennial candidate who could serve as spoiler in the race, said he will submit more than 7,000 signatures to state election officials on Thursday to get his name on the ballot. That's more than the 5,000 signatures required under state law.

Galbraith had filed paperwork last December declaring his intent to enter the governor's race. That declaration wasn't enough to earn him a spot in the Farm Bureau forum. He said he considered his exclusion from the forum a snub.

Sad news came out of London today, as local papers announced the death of troubled pop singer Amy Winehouse. Reports claim that the singer was found dead in her apartment after police responded to a call at around 4:05p.m. to her Camden Square home. According to the Telegraph, it is thought that her death was caused due to an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

Amy Winehouse’s troubles with drugs and addiction were no secret and she was often pictured in a drunken state throughout her career including a very unfortunate video which was released back in 2008 of the singer smoking crack in her home as well as consuming large amounts of cocaine and ecstasy.

According to the LA Times, it was her father that tried to get her back on track and back in May the singer checked into London’s Priory Clinic so she could be ready for an upcoming European tour which must not have had much effect because while performing in Serbia she was booed off stage for slurring her words and was forced to cancel two dates on her tour.

So far there have been no reports of foul play and despite her troubled personal life, Amy Winehouse will be remembered for reviving the British music scene with her soulful jazzy tunes and being the first female British singer to win five Grammy Awards for her album release Back to Black.

Online casinos no longer need to go through reams of paper work or e-mails that contain the personal details of their players. Technology has enabled security on the internet that is easily retrieved via an encrypted filing system.
Security is paramount in the online gambling industry; it simply could not survive without the best and most reliable systems. Servicing the internet wagering boom can be a complicated task that requires experts in many fields and trades.

Processing of vital information security is a perquisite of getting a regulatory permit from most authorities. One of those technical challenges has always been the player verification process. This is done when the new patron applies for an account or membership at an internet casino. This process verifies the player’s location by locating the server locally and the internet service provider. The whole verification process is able to prevent fraudsters from having many accounts or using bogus or stolen credit cards or is even possibly a stolen identity.

New technology and services streamline the process of verification. There are top notch service companies that handle this aspect of operating an online casino. The ability to securely upload personal documents such as a drivers license or passport information to verify your identity has become much easier with the special services of these firms.
One such entity is PlayerVerify.com's online approval services which provides a valuable service to operators and customers. Mark Dalton of PlayerVerify.com explained, "With PlayerVerify.com, players and gaming sites alike can be confident that sensitive personal information remains private, avoiding unsecured email and facsimile that's currently required within the industry."
The facts speak for themselves, it is usually a good idea to use a specialist to make the process safer and simpler. Having all of your personal data go through one portal avoids duplication and dissemination of information which makes perfect sense.

Looking to increase opportunities for licensed operators on the island, the Isle of Man government has introduced a new licence under the existing Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001, allowing online gaming operators to provide B2B services to customers across the world.

The Network Services Licence is a new level of licence and is designed to recognise the increasing important of B2B relationships

The cost of the new licence is £50,000 per year plus £5,000 per overseas customer. Duty will be paid on retained profit at a maximum rate of 1.5 per cent. The government said that the new business model will not only attract new and larger businesses into the Isle of Man but will also increase opportunities for those businesses already based on the Island to develop relationships with companies across the world.

“The introduction of this level of licence gives us the ability to satisfy every model of gaming business in the Isle of Man from those selling their platform capabilities to other businesses to those with direct customers,” said Garth Kimber, head of e-Gaming Development for the Isle of Man government. “Our system is now in three tiers; Network Services Licence, Standard Licence and Sub-Licence.

Kimber said that the level of licence required is dictated by the type of B2B relationships a company intends to pursue and covers all gaming activities from sportsbook to poker and involves the same application process. All levels of licence are still processed in a maximum of 12 weeks.

“The creation of this new licence demonstrates our ability to keep pace with the dynamism of the e-gaming industry without over complicating licensing,” continued Kimber. “There remain many activities such as software downloads and marketing for example, which can be carried out without the need for a licence as we are focussed on the key issues of regulation, protecting players by ensuring their funds are protected and that games are fair.

“We must continue to adapt our regulation and approach not only to ensure continued protection for players on our licensed sites but to remain a commercially attractive jurisdiction to all kinds of gaming business. Our close working relationships with customers and with the Regulator, Steve Brennan and his team at the Gambling Supervision Commission are central to this.”

A number of interested parties are already talking to the Isle of Man’s e-Gaming Development Team regarding the licences.

“I look forward to welcoming the additional business opportunities that will come from this new development,” said Allan Bell MHK, the Isle of Man’s Minister for Economic Development. “The strengths of the Isle of Man as an e-gaming licensing jurisdiction continue to match the needs of some of the world’s leading gaming businesses but we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.

“This development opens the door to more diverse businesses and will only be positive in terms of economic value and eventually job creation for the island.”

Alex Downie OBE MLC, Department of Economic Development member representing e-Gaming, Isle of Man Government added: “The delivery of the Network Services Licence is a prime example of the collaborative approach that the Isle of Man adopts in developing the e-gaming sector. It’s only through talking to the industry that we can hope to continue to meet their needs into the future.”

A former Chicago commodities broker who disappeared almost 32 years ago and was declared dead in 1986 was found working as a sports book writer in an upscale Las Vegas neighborhood, a job he had held for a decade. Arthur Gerald Jones, a husband and father of three was reported missing on May 11, 1979. The police then believed that he might have been a victim of foul play because of his gambling debts and links to the mob, but they never solved the missing persons case according to an affidavit filed by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles earlier this week, reports Reuters.

However, after Jones was found in Las Vegas a DMV investigator concluded in the affidavit that he had voluntarily left his family and friends possibly to flee the mob and start afresh.

Jones, now 72, was arrested last week on four felony counts related to identity theft and fraud after he renewed his Nevada driver's license in 2008 under his assumed name, Joseph Richard Sandelli. Authorities say that before Jones disappeared he had paid a friend in Chicago to forge documents, including a false Illinois driver's license, birth certificate and a Social Security number belonging to another man.

Jones told investigators that he had held a seat on the Chicago Board of Trade, which he was forced to sell to pay off his debts. To escape a troubled marriage and dwindling finances, Jones decided to leave his family and get a "fresh start" the affidavit said.

Jones' former wife, Joanne Esplin, informed authorities that Jones sold his seat to pay personal gambling debts, and he had even forged her name to take out a second mortgage on their house to redeem his gambling debts. She added that her husband's gambling had led him to bet $30,000 on a basketball game, according to the affidavit.

Esplin added that she suspected her husband of running errands for the Chicago mob and the day he disappeared he looked very jittery.

Since Jones maintained no contact with his family or friends he was presumed dead and Social Security paid his wife and children $74000 in benefits.

Jones was discovered after the Nevada DMV, on a tip from the Social Security Administration, began investigating his potentially fraudulent use of a social security number.

Jones' lawyer Stephen Stein, has said he has been released on $20,000 bail. He is set for an Aug. 23 court hearing.

If you've always wanted to live the American Dream, perhaps you can. Walt Disney, the man who created the Happiest Place on Earth, also created this Los Feliz French-Normandy style mansion – and its current owners have placed it on the market.

With the economy in the tank, the 1932 house is actually on at quite a steal, with the asking price of $3.65 million.

The home comes with four bedrooms, five bathrooms, painted and vaulted beamed ceilings, original stained glass, a billiards room, sleeping porch (if you like sleeping on porches), a swimming pool, and a screening room.

A virtual tour can be found here, and meanwhile, a Danish blog called A. Film L.A. has posted the 1940 Better Homes & Gardens article about Walt at the home, which is located at 4053 Woking Way.

Along with his brother Roy O. Disney, Walt Disney was co-founder of Walt Disney Productions, which began as an amusement park and became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation now enjoys annual revenues of approximately $35 billion.

An ambulance driver during World War I, Disney's rise to fame included four honorary Academy Awards and twenty-two Academy Awards from a total of fifty-nine nominations, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual in history.

Following criticism from Malta and Britain, as well as rulings by the European Union’s top court, Germany may have to relax its draft gambling law to give online gaming firms more scope to operate.

Germany is under pressure from the EU to open up its gambling market, which is controlled by the country’s 16 states. Online gambling is banned, except for betting on horse racing.

But betting companies from other EU countries have complained that the proposed new rules would severely hamper their activities or shut them out of the market.

Following a three-month consultation, the European Commission said this week that the law, which Germany wants to adopt in January, must take account of factors such as judgements by the European Court of Justice last September.

The statement raised hopes that Germany may have to alter its plans, lifting shares in BwinParty and Betfair by 5.5 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively on Tuesday.

The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice ruled last year that while monopolies were sometimes justified, Germany’s public monopoly on sporting bets and lotteries did not advance the objective of combating the dangers of gambling in a consistent and systematic manner.

British betting exchange Betfair, which also operates in Malta and which complained to the Commission about Germany’s proposals for a 17 per cent licensing tax on turnover and to exclude private operators from offering casino and poker bets, said it was not alone in having those concerns.

“Aside from the opinion of the Commission, the British and Maltese governments have also submitted comments to the European Commission that raise serious doubts about the legality of the draft treaty,” Betfair said.

“We now expect the proposals to be amended so that they genuinely cater for a competitive, well-regulated online gambling market in Germany,” Betfair’s chief legal officer Martin Cruddace was quoted as saying this week.

A spokesman for the European Commission said Germany had until 18 August to respond.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) lobbying group said that the German proposals, if not revised, could shut out competition.

“These provisions effectively slam the door in the face of EU operators from other member states and will, in fact, extend the monopoly for offline to online games,” said EGBA Secretary-General Sigrid Ligné.

A New Jersey lawmaker is asserting that individual states have the legal right to offer in-state Internet gambling within their own borders.

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, wrote late last week to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asserting that New Jersey and all other states can legally offer online betting within their own borders.

He said he will introduce legislation in November to address the main concerns expressed by Gov. Chris Christie in March when he vetoed a bill that would have made New Jersey the first state in the nation to legalize in-state Internet gambling.

Governor Quinn is considering whether or not to sign Senate Bill 744 which would expand gambling in Illinois. SB744 is being called the "gaming bill." Personally, I think it should be called the "jobs bill." Currently, the horse racing industry is responsible for more than 30,000 jobs statewide. SB744 would breathe new life into horse racing in Illinois, preserve the 30,000 jobs already there, and stimulate many new jobs-this, in a state that is in dire need of each and every one of those jobs.

SB744 would allow slots at the racetracks and also add five casinos in Illinois. At the present time, Illinois ranks 25th in slots per person nationwide and the signing of SB744 would move us to 20th. For those who view it as excessive, I can't imagine a scenario where a business would be discouraged to open in a particular location because there is already another similar business in the vicinity. It is a simple matter of supply and demand, and healthy competition keeps things in check. Just look at the rows of fast food restaurants located side by side. The revenue generated by SB744 would be phenomenal and have a tremendous ripple effect throughout the state. This money would help the following entities on a yearly basis -- education, 4-H programs, $5 million to county fairs, $10 million to soil and water conservation, $4 million to U of I extension programs, $1 million to forestry, $2.5 million to state historic sites and $2.5 million to state parks.

We live in a highly agricultural state and we need to support the people who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Farmers who raise hay, grain and straw, fencing dealers, blacksmiths, veterinarians, horse breeders, horse owners, implement dealers, people who work at the casinos, park rangers etc. – they all need SB744 to be signed by Governor Quinn. This is far too many jobs to be taken for granted in this difficult economic time in Illinois. I invite you to join me in calling Governor Quinn's office and asking for his support of SB744. He can be reached at:

Springfield office: (217) 782-0244 Chicago office: (312) 814-2121

Too many jobs are at stake!