In honor of master puppeteer Jim Henson's 75th birthday, Google has added a virtual puppet play land as part of today's Google Doodle for fans of the Muppets creator or simply anyone with a short attention span. You’ll find a series of six quirky puppets which are each guided by the movement of your mouse which could probably result in an awesome distraction. Remember the Pac-Man doodle?
Jim Henson was the creator of some of the most memorable puppets that are still celebrated today including Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Animal and the Cookie Monster and that’s just naming a few. The master puppeteer passed away back in 1990 but left with us an amazing legacy of movies and creations that are still celebrated through his company, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which has more recently worked on movies such as “Where the Wild Things Are” and “The Hangover” where amazingly, that tiger in the bathroom scene apparently wasn’t real and was actually their creation.
So back to the doodle, it was also created in partnership with the Google Doodlers who are responsible for creating the daily imagery you see on the search engine. What they came up with was a fun creation using virtual puppetry that comes to life as you move your mouse. According to Mashable, upon interacting with the animation, you can find all sorts of hidden tricks that the puppets can perform once you start moving your mouse around.
The indictment last week of well-known poker television personalities Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Howard Lederer for their alleged role in an online Ponzi scheme has spurred renewed calls from the commercial casino industry for a federal law legalizing online poker.
But state Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, doesn't want to wait. He recently reintroduced an amended version of a bill that would make New Jersey the first state to allow residents to play versions of casino table games online. He sponsored a similar bill that passed the Legislature during the spring, but it was vetoed by Governor Christie.
Lesniak faces some formidable opposition from those who support a federal solution, including the American Gaming Association.
"How much money that we don't know about is being swindled from U.S. consumers, and how long will it take before we change laws to protect those consumers?" AGA President Frank Fahrenkopf asked, adding that state-by-state regulation could lead to a "patchwork quilt of inconsistent regulatory and legal practices."
Ferguson and Lederer, part-owners of Full Tilt Poker, a seven-year-old gambling website based in the Channel Islands off France, are accused of pocketing a combined $67 million from online player accounts. Nearly $400 million overall, prosecutors allege, was not kept in secure accounts, as promised, but instead doled out to various company executives. An attorney for Full Tilt said Wednesday that while the company "may have made mistakes," he saw no evidence to justify calling Full Tilt a Ponzi scheme.
A coalition of Las Vegas casino operators, meanwhile, recently hired former FBI Director Louis Freeh and former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge to lobby Congress to pass an online gaming bill.
"Maybe I should change my name to 'David,' " Lesniak quipped when asked about the "Goliaths" lining up against him. "Of course, we all know how that story turned out."
Richard "Skip" Bronson, a former executive for Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn, predicts that states will ultimately serve as the governmental regulators of the multibillion-dollar industry.
"I would be delighted if a federal bill passed, because it would be good for my company," said Bronson, the co-founder of U.S. Digital Gaming, a California-based company that partners on technological and financial issues with gaming operators and governmental agencies.
"But I watched the debt ceiling debates," Bronson said of the recent congressional squabbling. "Anything one party suggests, the other party is opposed to it. And here you have what, at best, is a controversial issue, so you have to be realistic."
Many states, including New Jersey, have successfully regulated casinos, Bronson said.
"I'll guarantee, a la Joe Namath, that in less than five years a majority of U.S. states will offer online gaming," Bronson said, referring to the 1969 Super Bowl prediction by the Jets quarterback. "You'll see a domino effect once the first state moves forward."
The rise of lotteries nationwide, Bronson said, is a good blueprint for the pace of online poker legalization. Once one state — California, Iowa, and Florida are among the other leading contenders — breaks the ice, the others are likely to follow.
New Jersey in 1970 is credited as offering the first "modern lottery," with bigger prizes and more frequent drawings than New Hampshire and New York, its 1960s predecessors. Within five years, 10 more states — mostly in the Northeast — had followed suit, and now 43 states sell lottery tickets.
Lesniak said his amended bill should ease Christie's concern, expressed in March, that the bill would lead to the rise of an Internet café gambling industry, undercutting Atlantic City's constitutional monopoly on gaming.
But two other Christie reasons for his veto remain. The first is Lesniak's intent to use a portion of revenues to subsidize horse-racing purses. The second is the fact that all Internet wagers would be deemed to be placed in Atlantic City, regardless of a resident's actual location, because the betting technology would be based in Atlantic City. Christie called that a "legal fiction."
Lesniak points to the announcement in August by Perretti Farms, the state's largest standardbred breeding farm, that it plans to sell 400 acres of land. The end of the Atlantic City casino annual purse subsidy, worth $30 million, and a 50 percent reduction in racing dates were among the factors cited by the farm's owners as making the breeding business unprofitable.
"I presume there will be a big push in strong Republican areas like Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington counties to do something," Lesniak said, referring to the possible loss of open space from the sale of horse farm land. Lesniak also noted the possibility of one or more of the 11 struggling Atlantic City casinos closing before a referendum — which he said he believes is not legally required — on online poker could be held in 2012.
"I don't want to see casinos close, and I know the governor doesn't want that, either," Lesniak said.
Lesniak said he expects to have no trouble passing the amended legislation through the state Senate and Assembly during the lame-duck session after the November elections. He said if the governor relents, online poker could be a reality in "a matter of months" after his bill became law.
The battle lines have been drawn over the much in news online gambling bill of Washington DC. Though the actual fight will take place only after the public consultations are completed, but both sides are using this period to sharpen their weapons. In this consultative phase public meetings will be conducted by the DC Lottery in all eight wards of the city in which the mechanics and the other details of the online gambling scheme will be explained. DC Lottery is the nominated implementing agency for the online gambling proposal.
Meanwhile the Washington Times has conducted an online poll on whether online poker should be legalized. 85% of respondents approved of the legalization of online poker, whereas only 14% of respondents gave a negative vote. 1% of the respondents were undecided. 35 respondents have also voiced their opinions. One of them said, "Poker is a game of skill, plain and simple. Here in the "land of the free" we are not allowed to play, but yet so much of the rest of the world has already legalized it."
Whether the response to the public consultations confirms with the poll results or not will be known when the report is made to the council's Committee on Finance and Revenue. Jack Evans, the chairman of the committee and the chief opponent of the online gambling legislation, will then consider the issue in detail in a further hearing. Evans will also take inputs from the D.C. inspector general about how the council awarded the underlying lottery contract about two years ago.
However, two Democrat councilors Tommy Wells and Phil Mendelson have not waited for the consultations to be completed. They have already introduced a bill to repeal the part of the law that authorizes online gambling. Council member David A. Catania has indicated that he would co-sponsor the bill. Wells said that his bill would allow a transparent debate on the pros and cons of online gambling and whether it makes sense for Washington DC to go ahead with this proposal. He pointed out that there was no such discussion last year when the bill was passed.
Michael A. Brown, the independent councilor who drove the online gambling bill as part of a supplementary budget bill, continues to defend his position. He has written a letter to fellow councilors stating that the opposition, though apparently vociferous, does not have the numbers. He reiterates that the law is a win-win way to generate revenue for the District while regulating a very popular pastime that in any event goes on illegally on offshore websites.
While numerous online gambling operators are waiting for the online gambling market in Europe to fully deregulate, it is going extremely slowly. Many countries are taking their time with online gambling. The countries are looking to make sure that everything is in place correctly so there are no issues in the online gambling industry in the country. Currently Italy and France have opened up to online gambling and are fully regulated. Because of this, online gambling operators are anticipating for other European countries to follow these examples in a reasonable and timely manner.
In Sweden, the winds of change are blowing by extremely slowly. For the last four years online gambling regulation has been almost at a full halt, much to the dismay of online gambling comapnies . While the country itself is known for producing some of the best in software pioneers and entrepreneurs, it is currently leaving them out of the cost. While all prospects of change have not been very optimistic in the last few years, in the last week the government monopoly, Svenska Spel, hosted a new seminar about licensing the market, something a number of political parties agree with.
The European Union has been notified by the country of Estonia that some remote gambling operators have the opportunity to house their servers outside the country because of changes in their Gambling Act. This can prove to be good news in the long run for the country.
Lastly time to take a look at France. The system of online gambling taxation in France looks to be finally changing due to a number of continual complaints from individuals. Operators are now looking to switch from tax on turnover to then be charges to a new system that is based only on gross gaming revenues.
Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez is in no way showing signs of heartache despite her recent divorce from her ex-Marc Anthony after partying it up at PURE Nightclub in Las Vegas over the weekend shortly after her performance at the iHeart Radio Festival at the MGM Grand.
She was dressed to the nines in a sleek little white number as she partied the night away together with her entourage at Pure, where according to People Magazine, it was one of her dancers that gave her a special surprise as he stripped down and gave her a lap dance.
Lopez was part of the iHeart Radio Festival which took place at the MGM Grand this weekend and brought together some today’s hottest pop stars from all different genres for what they called, “The Biggest Live Event in Radio History.”
Some of the artists in the mix included Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Jane’s Addiction, Steven Tyler and the Black Eyed Peas. These are just a few of the many which also included the newly single Jennifer Lopez.
As Lopez displayed her famous dance moves at the club and sipped champagne throughout the night she let the world know that she won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
When it comes to having a real time of it there is no place like the Calvin Ayre web site to check out the latest party action and information about what the ‘man’ and his crew are up to around the globe. After all, the whole idea of having fun does deserve the respect that Calvin Ayre has been maintaining for a long time now.
There is the flip side where the Bodog brand is keeping pace in the very competitive world of online gambling casinos and sports books. The direction is clear for Calvin Ayre, he will continue to make shrew and calculated decisions based on his instincts.
Coming up in a very few days September 28, 2011 Bodog88 will officially launch their Live Dealer Casino product. In unusually serious way Calvin Ayre media experts will be on the scene to put this prestigious project in the history books.
The Opus Lounge, housed at Resorts World in Manila, which is the largest casino in the Philippines. This traditionally high roller jump off spot before the Baccarat action heats up or the night clubs at Resorts World make for a time out from wagering the big cheese. Bodog88 is part of the new wave today and will be sure to succeed as their product appeal for the discerning player is enormous.
Robert Gustafsson Bodog88 Chief Executive Officer is confident that Bodog88 has created just that, “We call it Live Dealer 3.0, as we are taking the live dealer concept to the next level.” Gustafsson explained further, “I’m extremely pleased that we have managed to launch the Bodog88 Live Dealer Casino as quickly as have done. We’re even more pleased that it looks so good and performs so well. The casino players who were involved in the beta tests have given it incredible reviews. Our Live Dealer Casino product will put us in the frontline of the other live dealer products offered on the market. The Bodog88 casino players will be very happy with the overall experience.”
Boston Redsox pitcher John Lackey (apologies for the old image) has recently filed for divorce from his wife, Krista, who is battling breast cancer. They were married in 2008 and according to the divorce papers, "the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities."
While Krista underwent a double mastectomy back in March and underwent chemo as recently as June, Lackey was having a hard time career-wise. The 114 earned runs he allowed were the most in the American League.
The divorce petition says John and Krista had a prenup and that Lackey owns "separate property" he doesn't want to share with Krista.
Lackey recently was angry at the media for a text message he received that a press member sent to him prior to the game against the New York Yankees, which the Redsox won 7-4, in a 14-inning dramatic game.
However, after he allowed three runs in the first inning, he was questioned about his "rocky" start.
"There was one hard-hit ball in that rocky first inning," said Lackey. "A ground ball that went by somebody. Let's be honest, one time. Whatever. Let me tell you the truth. Thirty minutes before the game I got a text message on my cell phone from one of you, somebody in the media, talking about personal stuff. I shouldn't even have to be standing up here dealing with it."
Lackey never disclosed what the texts were about. Get all your MLB odds in the Bodog Sportsbook now.
The New Jersey Nets basketball team is making a big move to Brooklyn, New York and with the move comes their new name, the Brooklyn Nets. Rapper Jay-Z who is a partial owner of the team, is scheduled to headline a series of concerts in the new Barclay’s Center arena which is set to open in September of 2012.
Will you miss the New Jersey Nets? That may be questionable but whatever your feelings may be, this NBA team may be making a move for the better as their new home will be the new Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn which is the home of superstar Jay-Z who grew up in the borough.
Jay-Z is an actual part owner of the team but the main owner is Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov who is the country's third wealthiest man and could actually be a basketball player himself, standing at 6’ 8”. The unlikely pair is looking forward to the move and all the riches that are headed their way, claims CBS, who commented on how the move is mainly for financial reasons.
Jay-Z is expected to give 8 performances during the inaugurational period of the Barclay’s center next fall and will have more than one reason to celebrate as by then he’ll already be a daddy.
The Massachusetts Senate has ended its first day of debate on a contentious casino gambling bill, but an actual vote may not happen until next week.
Senators were able to make their way through 60 of 182 proposed amendments to the bill, which would allow three resort-style casinos and one slot parlor.
One of the amendments approved would require gaming license applicants to check the immigration status of all employees and contractor employees through the Department of Homeland Security.
Senators also backed an amendment prohibiting councils on aging from using state funds to sponsor trips to out-of-state casinos once new gambling facilities are established in Massachusetts.
Debate comes as a new poll suggests the gambling plan has the backing of a majority of state residents.
The poll by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth concludes that 56 percent of residents support the casino legislation, compared to 36 percent who oppose and 13 percent undecided.
“Over the last four years, it doesn’t matter how you ask the question, or what configuration of facilities you put forward, the support level remains, really, in the high 50 percents,” said Clyde Barrow, director of UMass Dartmouth’s Center for Policy Analysis.
Sixty-one percent of people surveyed say they believe expanded gambling would increase tourism. Fifty-one percent say it would increase gambling addiction.
Casino backers say gambling halls will create 15,000 jobs and bring $300 million to $600 million in tax revenue to the state every year.
“And it also helps to bring home the players who are currently spending about $1.2 billion in surrounding states,” said Sen. Stan Rosenberg, of Amherst.
Critics have questioned the strength of the economic boost casinos are said to bring. They say social and economic costs, such as gambling addiction, outweigh any potential benefits.
“This is not going to be what we think it’s going to be, and then if we have 15 casinos and slot parlors in a 15-mile radius, I don’t see the numbers being there,” said Sen. Barry Finegold, of Lawrence.
The House overwhelmingly approved a casino bill earlier this month.
Ireland is to modernize its gambling laws, with changes designed to tackle the shortcomings of current legislation, which include the absence of a taxation regime for remote gambling.
The plans, announced Alan Shatter, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, have been agreed by the government, but detailed arrangements for the implementation and operation of the new streamlined system are yet to be worked out. This will happen as the legislation is being drafted.
According to Shatter, Ireland’s present laws are not adequate to deal even with aspects of gambling which they were intended to cover, with the government clear that “it was long past time for a full and comprehensive revision of our gambling laws”. Crucially, it is felt by the government that the Exchequer is also being "short changed" because of the absence of a taxation regime for online and other forms of remote gambling.
The existing laws date from 1931 in the case of betting and 1956 for gaming. The new legislation will deal with online and other forms of remote betting and gaming, as well as addressing loopholes. It will also take account of the blurring of the lines between betting and gambling, especially in the online operations.
According to Shatter’s department, the new regime will therefore cover both betting and gaming, under the collective term ‘gambling’. In addition, a new unified enforcement structure will be established, with licensing and inspection duties to be brought together under the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence.
Among the key features of the new regime already agreed to within government are the following:
The legislation will cover the following activities: betting, gaming, lotteries (other than the National Lottery). It will include ‘remote’ gambling, including online gaming, but will not include on-course betting, as this is already covered in current legislation.
The new legislation will introduce a single updated and unified structure under the control of the Minister for Justice and Equality and cover ‘remote’ gambling, betting shops, gaming outlets, bingo venues and lotteries. The Minister will have full supervisory, inspection and enforcement powers, with assistance from the police as required. Currently, licensing and supervisory functions are split between the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister for Finance.
The government will establish arrangements for the licensing of ‘remote’ operators, namely those who provide services online, via telephone or interactively. Once licensed, the remote operators can be brought within the taxation code as it applies to gambling. The taxation of gambling will remain the responsibility of the Minister for Finance and the Revenue Commissioners.
The new regime will provide for the licensing and operation on a modest scale of casinos. The legislation will set down the maximum number to be permitted nationally, and the anomalies existing in the present law, enabling certain types of club to operate, will be removed.
In future, a licence will be issued only where the applicant satisfies the Minister as to his personal suitability, financial resources, tax compliance, previous record as a licence holder (whether in Ireland or elsewhere), and criminal history (if any).
Shatter explained: “The series of decisions taken by the government will bring clarity and certainty. This will assist anyone planning to locate business here. They can be assured they will be operating within a comprehensive, modern regime.”
Shatter will present the government with a full draft of his proposed legislation in the spring of next year, for its approval.
The government in Canada, including all the provinces, are currently having a number of concerns over all online gambling transactions as well as money laundering after opening the doors to the internet gambling market. Their concerns lies the proof they have seen coming from other countries about possible criminal activities, such as money laundering, which many be traced to a number of fraudulent crimes, including terrorism, taking place with the transactions made in cash via online casinos.
The Lottery Corporation in the Canadian province of British Columbia has started a new move that looks to limit the total sum of cash online gamblers are able to utilize when participating with an online casino. Because of investigations conducted in the United States to look into big cash transactions which turned out to be deceitful and made the announcement that it is quite possible that the large cash transactions were being used to benefit crime, British Columbia decided that it is necessary to maintain vigilance on all online casino gaming transactions as well.
The Canadian government prefers electronic funding as the payment method of choice. Electronic funding means that there is a written record of the transaction, which would deter the possibility of criminal activities, including money laundering. Cash transactions do not have any written record, as well; there are no possibilities of tracing where the cash funds originated from or where they will end up. This creates an opportunity ripe for illegal activity. In light of this, the Canadian government is looking to create a new law that all online gambling transactions need to be electronically made. Agreeing with this approach is the Public Safety Ministry. They believe that by using beneficial incentives, online casino players will easily make the switch from cash to electronic transactions. This new approach is not to hinder online gambling but make a separation between legal and illegal online gaming.
At the recently held European iGaming Congress and Expo in Milan, the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) set forth a list of proposed measures for uniformly regulating European online gambling. The guide, titled "Online Gambling: Key Objectives for a Successful Regulatory and Tax Framework," outlines the key issues in establishing regulations for legal online gambling.
Currently, individual European nations operate autonomously when it comes to determining whether online gambling is legal. Among those that do permit online gambling, regulatory measures vary immensely.
RGA, a London and Brussels based online gambling association that counts among its members such influential companies as Playtech, Microgaming and Virgin Games, aims to promote a non-discriminatory regulatory environment wherein licensed operators may offer legal online gambling services.
Clive Hawkswood, RGA Chief Executive, explained that the guidelines were created as a tool for those countries that are considering legalization.
Of them, he said: "Our message to them is that working in partnership with responsible operators and building modern remote gambling regimes that balance consumer interests and commercial opportunities presents the greatest prospect for new remote frameworks to be successful from a social and fiscal perspective."
The 16 page guide is divided into three parts: Key Regulatory Objectives; Taxation; and Remote Gambling Verticals. Key objectives include fair gaming, protection of vulnerable players, and the provision of a crime-free environment. Taxation via gross profits is the recommended model. Gambling Verticals addresses how the regulatory structure will enable operators to generate revenue, which is of particular importance to those betting on poker and casino games.
The question as to whether anyone or any government read the guide and was influenced by it remains to be seen.
Making betting online easier does not result in more people suffering gambling addiction, a European Commission report has concluded.
The Commission, which has been consulting on whether there should be European Union legislation in the field of online gambling, held a series of workshops with health and gambling experts to inform their decisions. The Commission published a green paper on online gambling in March, provoking intensive lobbying on a matter that is highly sensitive for many countries.
Regulation is currently a matter for member states, despite the increasingly cross-border nature of betting. Some countries prohibit online gambling, while in others it has been largely liberalised.
In a decision that has heartened the online gambling industry but infuriated traditional betting organisations, the Commission ruled on 20 September that Denmark could impose lower rates of tax on online gambling companies compared with those on traditional ‘land-based' casinos.
Online gambling companies have also been encouraged by the conclusions of the workshops organised by the Commission, which are expected to feed into the consultation results.
A report based on one workshop says that access to online gambling products “does not appear to have given rise to problem development or addiction at a higher rate than in the offline environment”.
It goes further, to suggest that regulated online gambling “provides good opportunities for close monitoring of individual gambling behaviour and early detection of problem development”.
A separate workshop focused on systems of revenue distribution. The report said evidence suggested that there was only “marginal cannibalisation” – principally, a loss of revenue – where online gambling is liberalised and regulated.
Members of the European Parliament's internal market and consumer protection committee are due to vote on 6 October on a report drawn up by Jürgen Creutzmann, a German Liberal MEP. He wants online gambling to be made legal throughout the EU, while avoiding the introduction of state monopolies.
Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH), the country's highest civil court, on Wednesday upheld a ban that bars private-sector companies from operating online gambling sites.
Germany's 16 states currently have an iron grip on the gambling market, but are in negotiations to award seven nationwide licences for sports betting companies from next year.
Industry players include Germany's Tipp24 (TIMGn.DE) as well as British companies Betfair and Bwin.party .
The Federal Court of Justice is the highest German court for both civil and criminal lawsuits and can only be overruled by the country's constitutional court.
The largely illegal German sports betting market is estimated to be worth at least 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion). ($1 = 0.733 Euros)
A gambling company based in Ireland could become the first European online gaming operator licensed in Nevada.
Paddy Power, which operates Internet gambling websites in Europe and Australia, is seeking approval from Nevada gaming regulators for a license as a manufacturer and operator of mobile gaming devices.
The licensing is viewed as a precursor for Paddy Power to seek approval for operating an Internet poker website in Nevada, should the federal government legalize the activity.
Paddy Power is headquartered in Dublin. The company provides fixed-odds sports betting in Ireland and the United Kingdom through licensed betting offices and Paddy Power Dial-a-bet, an Irish-based telephone gambling service.
The company's PaddyPower.com has never accepted wagers from American gamblers, company officials said.
A United Kingdom website, eGamingReview, reported Paddy Poker could be licensed by Nevada gaming officials in November. However, Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli said the agenda for the panel's Nov. 2 hearing wouldn't be set until six days before the meeting.
Paddy Power filed its Nevada gaming license application in August 2010 and has been participating in the investigative process.
The company wants to become involved in the mobile gaming business, which is expected to expand now that the state legislature and gaming authorities have approved regulations allowing the activity to take place inside hotel rooms and other nongaming areas of a hotel-casino.
A license would put Paddy Poker ahead of other online gaming companies which could also be seeking a gaming license to operate Internet poker website headquartered in Nevada.
"The method of applying for the manufacturer and distributors license has been used in the past by people who want to pass probity to then allow them to consider a broad number of options," Paddy Power Chief Operating Officer Breon Corcoran told eGamingReview.
In March, Gibraltar based 888 Holdings was deemed by Nevada gaming regulators to be a suitable business partner for Caesars Entertainment Corp. The decision marked the first time Nevada regulators have signed off on a state-licensed gaming company and foreign-based Internet gaming operator.
However, 888, which operates online gaming websites in the United Kingdom under the Caesars brands, including the World Series of Poker, would still need to apply for a Nevada gaming license if it wishes to operate Internet poker in the United States.
It's unclear if Congress is going to take up legalization of Internet poker before the current session ends in 2012. The American Gaming Association, last week, came out in favor of the activity being legalized and regulated as a way of protecting American consumers.
The Gaming Control Board held its first public input session Monday on proposed regulations covering the operation of Internet poker in Nevada. Lipparelli said he hopes to have the regulations approved by both the control board and Nevada Gaming Commission in December.
In addition to sports wagering, Paddy Power's online casino offers wagering slot games and various table games, including blackjack and roulette.
When the German state of Schleswig Holstein broke away from the other 15 German states to set up its own European Commission (EC) approved online gambling regime it was expected to be the odd one out. However, there are now rumors in the German online gambling market that it could soon be joined by Saxony. Of the 15 remaining states Saxony is known to have a more liberal and progressive approach to online gambling. It sees that the remaining states have dug a hole for themselves because they have formulated a proposal that has been rejected by the EC. With the existing monopolistic and highly restrictive treaty expiring by the year end, time is running out. In the end these states may lose both the existing structure and a new legalized online gambling regime. Therefore Saxony is apparently moving in the direction of Schleswig Holstein. On the positive side this move may motivate some of the other states to give up their existing rigid positions.
The benefits of online gambling legalization and regulation are being felt in Italy. Ever since online casino gambling was brought into the framework of regulation the valuations of Italian online casino domains have increased significantly. I-Promotions Limited recently acquired the Blackjack.it domain for €65,000 and domains like OnlineCasino.it are currently up for sale at a low six figure price. OnlinePoker.it is also available to buyers willing to pay a price in the region of mid 5 figures. Trust Partners, a consultancy firm, has estimated online casino revenues in Italy for 2011 at €200 million, which is expected to increase to anywhere between €800 million and €1 billion in 2012.
Local newswire MTI in Hungary has revealed more details on the proposed online gambling regulations. A tax amendment proposal has been submitted to the Parliament by the governing Fidesz party based on a bill authored by Economy Minister Matolcsy. The proposal states that online gambling operator permits are subject to tax authority approval with effect from January 1, 2012 at a tax rate of 20% on net revenue, payable each month following a reporting period. Permits would be issued with a validity of five years and with a renewal option of a further five years. Permit applicants would have to have a minimum registered capital of HUF 200 million in a member state of the European Economic Area and a "specific certificate" validating the company's credentials in that particular line of business. Illegal online gambling operators will face fines ranging from HUF 10 to 100 million. Horse race betting and online casino card games have been included in the tax net, if operated via an electronic communication network.
It’s the latest tale of what seemed to be somewhat of a functioning Hollywood marriage between Two and Half Men star Ashton Kutcher and actress Demi Moore who have been going through some serious marriage troubles and according to tabloids it's all due to Ashton having an alleged affair with a young woman in San Diego who is apparently hiding out until someone decides to dish out $250K for the full story.
The couple, who have been married for six years, is experiencing some serious drama right now and well, there have been some past reports on Ashton having affairs, but the media savvy couple always make amazing comebacks by showing the world how in love they are. So at that point you can chalk it all up to silly rumors, but this time there seems to be a young woman in the spotlight who claims to have slept with the actor.
Her name is Sarah Leal and she is a young woman who a tabloid claims engaged in sexual relations with Kutcher while partying in San Diego last weekend. Demi, who still looks quite amazing at 49, and has been posting some downright somber Tweets lately in between some upbeat ones, but they have left many wondering what's really going on.
So there’s definitely a lot of speculation involved especially since according to US Magazine, the couple didn’t spend their sixth anniversary together. So there are all these little bits and pieces that that point to the couple being in trouble, but as cheating scandals go, who knows, could Ashton be looking to doctor his reputation so that he parallel’s his new character on Two and a Half Men?……..or is he just really busted?
Germany looks set to open up its gambling market more than envisaged following criticism from the European Comission, which has said planned changes appeared to restrict companies’ freedom to do business across Europe.
Commercial operators in a new online sports-betting market could now end up paying only half the planned 16.67 per cent tax on each punter’s stake, while the number of concessions looks set to be raised from a proposed seven.
Germany’s federal states, which regulate gaming and betting, were now set on liberalising the sector with more regard “for the European framework,” Rainer Robra, chief of staff to Saxony-Anhalt state premier Rainer Haseloff, told the Financial Times.
The states until now were only considering cautious moves to deregulate online gaming – just enough to take European scrutiny off their lottery monopolies. The measures were intended to curb gambling addiction and fill public coffers.
This spring the states agreed a tight cap on national online-betting concessions, and to run a five-year “pilot phase” starting in January 2012. They also agreed on a much steeper tax than the 1-10 per cent levied on bets by many other countries.
But after complaints from commercial operators including Betfair and Bwin.party, and criticism from the EU competition watchdogs, the states recognised past proposals may be commercially unworkable and questionable under EU law.
In taking a bigger step towards opening the betting market, the states also hope to heal a rift within their ranks. This came when Schleswig-Holstein shunned this spring’s agreement, which was then backed by 15 of 16 states.
Instead, Schleswig-Holstein last month passed an online-betting law of its own. It will allow any EU operator to apply for a state concession, and sets a tax of 20 per cent on the operator’s take, not 16.67 per cent of the punter’s bet.
Should the state enact these rules as planned next spring, it would be hard for other states to stop betting providers based in Schleswig-Holstein from offering their services nationally.
Martin Stadelmaier, chief of staff to Rhineland-Palatinate state premier Kurt Beck, told the FT the 15 states were now considering “a more differentiated tax system” and in particular the 8 per cent tax France levies on each sports bet.
He also said there would be “more than seven” concessions for online sports bets, although there would still be a cap. State premiers are expected to agree details when they meet for a twice-yearly summit on October 27 and 28.
“We’re aiming to agree a treaty involving all 16 states. I think we’re on a pretty good track to reach that goal at the end of October,” Mr Stadelmaier said, although he said it was hard to say what tax rate and concession cap would result.
The board of Greek gambling company OPAP gave initial approval on Thursday for the firm to pay 935 million euros ($1.27 billion) to the government to extend its monopoly and buy a new videolotto license, an OPAP official told Reuters.
Partly state-owned OPAP, one of Greece's most precious listed assets, is key to the country's efforts to raise 4 billion euros from privatizations this year and convince its international lenders it is meeting its obligations to receive a new portion of an EU/IMF bailout.
To boost state coffers, the government will extend OPAP's monopoly by 10 years until 2030 and grant it the sole license to install 35,000 videolotto machines (VLTs) in the country.
The board gave its initial approval to the proposal of the Greek state for extending the concession for 10 years, said an OPAP official who requested anonymity.
The price is 375 million euros, the official said, adding that OPAP will pay a fee of 5 percent on each game's gross profit from 2020 to 2030.
For the 35,000 VLTs, the price is 560 million euros, of which 474 million will be paid with the signing of the deal, the official said.
The board will continue to meet on Friday, the official said.
Three of South African ex-president, Nelson Mandela's grandchildren will be starring in a new reality television series highlighting the day to day lives of these three urban professional women as they focus on their careers and personal lives in South Africa but don’t expect any hair pulling or drag out fights because these women are out to send a message to the world minus the normal reality television drama.
Seeing how Nelson Mandela is a well-respected visionary in his country, you wouldn’t expect his family members to make a fool of him on television, which may be one of the reasons why three of his granddaughters, which are all professionals ranging from their late 20’s to mid 30’s, have chosen a different kind of spin for the show.
According to the Mail and Guardian, the young women on the show will include Dlamini-Manaway, a mother of 2 children who is involved in the family business, Dlamini who is a single mom focusing on her career as a philanthropist and Amuah who has both a law degree and an MBA and is involved in the luxury brands market.
One of the show’s producer Rick Leed, claims that these women clearly care a lot about each other, “This may be part storytelling, part reality, except the story we are telling is real,” he told the M&G. Basically, they are not looking to disrespect the family name but there has to be some entertainment value there so expect some laughs as well.
Another family member involved in the project is Mr. Mandela's grandson, Kwecku Mandela Amuah who is a partner of Out of Africa Entertainment and will serve as producer on the show which is set to air in early 2012.
Jim Henson was the creator of some of the most memorable puppets that are still celebrated today including Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Animal and the Cookie Monster and that’s just naming a few. The master puppeteer passed away back in 1990 but left with us an amazing legacy of movies and creations that are still celebrated through his company, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which has more recently worked on movies such as “Where the Wild Things Are” and “The Hangover” where amazingly, that tiger in the bathroom scene apparently wasn’t real and was actually their creation.
So back to the doodle, it was also created in partnership with the Google Doodlers who are responsible for creating the daily imagery you see on the search engine. What they came up with was a fun creation using virtual puppetry that comes to life as you move your mouse. According to Mashable, upon interacting with the animation, you can find all sorts of hidden tricks that the puppets can perform once you start moving your mouse around.
Happy 75th Birthday to Mr. Jim Henson!