Select your timezone:
Select
BETBLOG Forum Community help General discussion Let your mouth speak archive

Let your mouth speak archive

Reply
Subscribe
Several states are rushing to establish a foothold in online gambling — an activity that federal officials were only recently trying to ban.

Just a while ago, the federal government actually viewed online gambling as a crime. Lately, the Obama administration has taken a more permissive stance. It now allows states to sell lottery tickets online.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had expressed reservations about online gambling a month ago and had vetoed an earlier version of the bill. But in the end, the pressure to sign the legislation was just too great.

The Rev. Richard McGowan of Boston College, who studies legalized gambling, says New Jersey is eager to reap tax revenues from online gambling, and it's competing with other states to break into the industry early on. Nevada has already approved a law and Delaware has taken steps to legalize the activity.

But McGowan says the logistics of regulating Internet gambling are still being worked out.

"I'm just wondering who is going to be running it?" he says. "How are they going to be regulated? How much are the states going to be willing to spend to regulate this stuff? It's going to be a good question."

There are also big technical questions about online gambling. The New Jersey bill limits the activity to people who are actually physically present in the state. So New Jersey companies that set up gambling websites will have to find ways to keep people in other states from accessing them. Casino industry officials say technology to do that exists. The bill will also require companies to spend money on gambling-addiction treatment programs.

Donald Weinbaum, executive director at the Council of Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, notes that with Internet access, people will no longer have to go to a casino to wager money.

"Compulsive gamblers usually [are] looking for action and being able to play anytime, anyplace, maybe being able to play on multiple sites at one time, play in the car," Weinbaum says. "There's a certain appeal to that."

Yet he says it's also not clear how to keep young people from gaining access to the websites. "Kids are already into using the Internet, so that's a real risk, a real danger, and we're concerned that it may be very hard to keep out underage players," Weinbaum says.

But state and federal officials are willing to take a chance that these issues can be worked out. And there's simply too much money involved not to try.

McGowan says New Jersey's struggling casino industry sees the Internet as a rich source of new revenue.

"Their newest casino just went bankrupt," McGowan says. "Two of their other casinos got sold for less than $20 million. Atlantic City is in real trouble, so Christie is trying to do anything right now to save Atlantic City."

Many gambling companies see the Internet as a way to reach out to new customers and lure them into the casinos. And the more they can do that, the more tax revenue that will bring in. That's increasingly important to states like New Jersey, which continue to face big budget shortfalls five years after the financial crisis got under way.

As States Embrace Online Gambling, Questions Arise : All Tech Considered : NPR
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Europe may be debating how best to manage online betting and gambling companies and their profits, but – in what will hardly come as a shock to anyone who has ever shaken hands with a one-armed bandit or played cards in Las Vegas – the state of Nevada was delighted last week to become the first US state to legalise online gambling.

State officials were thrilled to get in ahead of potential competitor New Jersey, after the Nevada state legislature actually went into emergency overdrive, rushing a Bill through both houses in a single day with little opposition.

Governor Brian Sandoval went so far as to proclaim it “an historic day for the great state of Nevada”, noting the legislation will “usher in the next frontier of gambling in Nevada”.

Before anyone can set up shop, the state still needs to work out how such companies will be regulated. Sandoval indicated that the new legislation would enable Nevada to “continue to be the gold standard for gaming regulation”. If that concept intrigues, it might help to know that Sandoval was formerly the chairman of Nevada’s Gaming Commission.

If you are wondering how online gambling – which many will recall was prohibited in the US – now is to be allowed, it’s because the US department of justice cleared the way back in 2011, issuing a clarifying letter that stated that a 1961 Act often used to try to control online gambling only applied to sports betting.

The new Nevada law, which was yesterday followed by similarly pro-online gambling legislation in New Jersey, will be of interest not just to established online gambling firms, but online gaming companies too, who are looking for fresh revenue sources. Many of them know all too well that the average punter might be obsessed with Farmville this week but will disappointingly rush off into the arms of some other time-obliterating online game fling the next.

Zynga, which has its European headquarters in Dublin, is already rolling out online gambling sites for poker and other casino games in the UK, to go live in June. Not only does it plan for standalone sites – the company said earlier this month in a conference call that it also intends to make gambling available through Facebook too.

If Zynga, whose shares have been less than stellar since an initial public offering a little over a year ago, finds Lady Luck likes its new strategy, some downmarket neighbourhoods in San Francisco are likely to benefit.

Well-paid techies

According to the San Francisco Chronicle last Saturday, it is well-paid techies that are gently gentrifying some bleaker areas of the city, people from companies (like Zynga) located in some of the city’s seedier districts, or from larger Valley stalwarts such as Google, which provides free bus services between bohemian San Francisco and company offices in less exciting Mountain View.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg – whose residency choices seem these days to be the trendiness benchmark for a neighbourhood – has even bought a place in the city’s Mission District, apparently not content with sticking to his Palo Alto digs.

The Mission started to transform around the time of the dotcom boom, when the formerly no-go area south of the city’s Market Street (SoMa), which borders on the lower end of the Mission, began to appeal to online start-ups and web developers. In the next decade, interesting restaurants colonised funky buildings – always the sign of a neighbourhood rebirth in food-obsessed San Francisco.

Yet in this famously liberal city, to which I have happily returned this week for a technology conference, “gentrification” always has some negative connotations. Yes, it’s nice to see buildings and services improve and crime rates fall, and to say farewell to what a friend in a less salubrious city area used to call “disaffected urban youth”, menacing passersby on street corners.

But San Francisco, in general, thoroughly enjoys its ethnic, cultural and social mix, values its unique and varied neighbourhoods, and doesn’t want it yuppified.

Thankfully, the good fortunes of various homegrown and outlying technology companies, with flush employees that value San Francisco’s quirkiness, mean neighbourhoods benefit from their presence (and cash) – without “gentrifying” too much in the wrong way.



Nevada rolls the dice on online gambling - The Irish Times - Thu, Feb 28, 2013
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
It’s neither trick nor illusion: Ben Stiller will appear on the revived Arrested Development, EW has learned. The film star will reprise his role as Tony Wonder, rival magician to GOB (Will Arnett), in one episode during the new season of the cult comedy, which Netflix will stream in May.Exactly how he fits into the plot is being kept under wraps. But it may not be a bad idea to check the dumbwaiter.

Stiller guest-starred as Wonder in seasons 2 and 3 of Arrested, which originally aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006.

The upcoming season will also include guest spots with Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Conan O’Brien, Isla Fisher, and John Slattery, among others.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
This is a big year for the King Center for the Performing Arts.

Not only does it turn 25, but it’s got a whole slew of exciting activities to celebrate. The excitement ramps into high gear Saturday with the organization’s signature event, a performance by the world-renown Boston Pops, led by conductor Keith Lockhart.

To make it even grander, the concert is preceded by a cocktail party at the riverside home of Phil and Jeanne Farmer. The cocktail party, by invitation only, will bring together King Center anniversary sponsors who will enjoy a motor coach ride from the King Center to the Farmer home for drinks and lavish hors d’oeuvres.

Then, the motor coach will escort anniversary sponsors back to the King Center for the Boston Pops concert and champagne at intermission. The evening ends with a cordial and dessert-filled post-concert reception for Lockhart and vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway.

“It will certainly be a very elegant evening,” says event co-chair Darcia Jones Francey.

The entire evening will be a most rare event for Brevard, says co-chair Myra Igo Haley. “I think it’s going to be a very special evening,” she says.

Those anniversary sponsors also will receive tickets to the opening of “Rock of Ages,” which performs April 10, the exact 25-year anniversary. Looking back over those years brings smiles to the faces of three people who have helped build Brevard’s cultural cornerstone: executive director Steve Janicki, marketing director Nance Burroughs and managing director Tim Freese. The trio have been at the King Center helm since it opened April 10, 1988, with the show “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Janicki, who was working in Los Angeles for Colortran, a manufacturer of stage lighting equipment and systems, and managing the Starlight Amphitheater in Burbank, is proud of what the King Center has achieved.

“I remember walking on site the first day,” he says. “The rotunda was not built yet. It was all sand and dirt with a bunch of red flags where things were supposed to go. We started from absolutely zero. Nothing. We didn’t even have pencils or paper clips.”

Now, for the 25th anniversary, Janicki says he wanted to bring in two shows that really celebrate the spectrum of King Center presentations, a pops concert and a rock ’n’ roll Broadway musical.

Much of the King Center’s strength can be attributed to the longevity of key staff.

“It’s a credit to the many directors of the King Center board who supported the organization ever since its inception,” Janicki says. “Also, to the many people who were on the college administration over the many years, and the many trustees we’ve had over the last 25 years.”

Janicki says the King Center owes deep gratitude to “powerhouse fundraisers” like Jones Francey, Haley and the Farmers.

“Words can’t describe how grateful we are for the support of the Farmers,” he says. “They are pillars of the community.”
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Ixgames .comis a valuable source of information with regards to online gambling. Being around for many of years it has become number one pick for many experienced as well as new players. ixgames-com does make the gambling world closer to anyone.


Welcome to our site!! www-ixgames-com/
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Welcome....New Jersey. You can play assured that money transactions are safe, your wins will be paid out and you will get them without undue delay.



Welcome to our site: Casino Games and Online Gambling Guide by ixgames
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
New Jersey has become the third U.S. state to allow its residents to bet on games and sporting events online, a key step towads legitimacy for a shadow industry that experts believe is worth tens of billions of dollars annually.

Late Tuesday, Republican governor Chris Christie signed the state's Internet Gaming Bill into law, after the state legislature had amended the original proposal to include more safeguards he had requested.

"This was a critical decision, and one that I did not make lightly," Christie said in a statement. "But with the proper regulatory framework and safeguards that I insisted on including in the bill, I am confident that we are offering a responsible yet exciting option that will make Atlantic City more competitive while also bringing financial benefits to New Jersey as a whole."

The move follow a similar one in Nevada last month, and opens the door even further to allow U.S. residents to openly and legally bet on games of chance such as poker, or even sporting events. Delaware also allows the practice under a longstanding law.

Online gambling is something that's already happening in large numbers, but U.S. residents and businesses have been forced to move offshore to websites hosted in Europe, Asia or on Caribbean islands or risk running afoul of America's nebulous anti-gambling laws.

Residents of other states will likely still have bureaucratic problems trying to get any winnings into their home states, but it is a symbolic move for the state home to Atlantic City and its casinos.

To be sure, the bill does not open the floodgates to all kinds of online betting. The only form that New Jersey has okayed in the bill is that which happens via the online versions of the state's existing casinos. Bettors will have to open accounts with existing bricks and mortar casinos where it's hoped there can be more oversight.

The tax rate on winnings is set at 15 per cent, and the bill includes a built-in "trial period" while the state surveys the effects. Also, participating casinos had to pledge to contribute even more money to anti-gambling support programs.

But despite the red tape, it is a significant move. "New Jersey has effectively legalized online casino and poker," Citibank analysts said in a research note Tuesday.

Official data from the state's Division of Gaming Enforcement shows revenue in New Jersey casinos was $3.3 billion in 2011. That's an almost 25 per cent decline from the $4.3 billion the casinos took in a decade ago.

The state hopes the move to allow online gambling could be a shot in the arm to the state's finances, and possibly double New Jersey's casino-related income to $400 million next year, state budget estimates show.


New Jersey legalizes online gambling - Business - CBC News
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie this week finally approved online gaming in the Garden State. Now comes the hard part: banding together with other states to attract more gamblers, drive up jackpots and lure players away from offshore websites.

New Jersey is now the third state to approve online gambling, after Nevada and Delaware. The catch, however, is that the new laws apply only to people physically present in the individual states.

Several other states, including Massachusetts, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa and Mississippi, are weighing some kind of online gambling legislation. If they want to offer the big jackpots that attract scores of players, they are likely to look outside their borders to combine gaming offerings and set regulations, much as they have with multi-state lottery drawings like Powerball and Mega Millions.

"I would be shocked if within a few years there aren't multiple states cooperating," said Tom Goldstein, an attorney who has represented online gaming companies. Once that happens, Goldstein expects a "steamroller effect where a state legislature says 'Why are we passing up on tens of millions of tax revenue every year?"

According to American Gaming Association, about 85 countries have legalized online gambling, and an estimated $35 billion is bet online worldwide each year, including millions of people in the United States through offshore websites. Every state except Hawaii and Utah collects some kind of revenue from lotteries, casinos or other types of wagering. States received an estimated $7.5 billion in direct gaming revenue in 2011 on a fiscal year basis through licensing fees, taxes and other allocations, according to Fitch Ratings.

The U.S. government has long considered online wagering illegal, but the Department of Justice in late 2011 clarified its stance, paving the way for states to unilaterally legalize some forms of online gambling. A state's population is a key factor for the new gaming programs. With just 2.7 million residents, Nevada could have trouble attracting enough in-state players to its online poker games to offer a range of limits, or the minimum and maximum amounts a player can wager on one bet. Without a wide range of active games, states could lose business to the unregulated offshore sites that dominate the market currently.

"There's going to be intense competition for customers," Michael Paladino, a Fitch Ratings senior director, said.

A partnership with New Jersey, which has more than three times as many residents, would boost the pool of potential players dramatically. If more states sign up for online gaming and form a large, multi-state system, the numbers of players could soar -- and so will tax revenues.

"If you are flying to Vegas you are not necessarily doing so with the aim of being able to fire up your laptop and gamble," said ITG casino analyst Matthew Jacob, pointing out that most people go to Vegas for its casinos. "New Jersey is bigger, but the opportunity comes when a number of states are up and operators can span across those states."

States hit hard by the financial crisis, and by the increasing costs of retirement and healthcare benefits, are still struggling to plug big budget holes, and many expanded gaming as they looked in every corner for new sources of revenue.

New Jersey will take 15 percent of the amount won by online casinos from players within its borders. Nevada will keep 6.75 percent of the dollars won from online poker players. Nevada's law legalized only online poker, while New Jersey's allows for a broad array of games, including online slots, blackjack and other table games.

Cooperation would also help states regulate the market by sharing resources for identifying where gamblers are located and guarding against under-age gambling, stolen identities and credit card fraud.

"If individual jurisdictions go about setting up their own individual processes without the industry as a whole looking at it together, it's going to be a very difficult thing to do," said Craig Durbin, committee chair for the lottery subcommittee of the National Association of Gaming Regulators.

At the same time, Durbin said it will take time to find common ground. For instance, technology that allows states to detect where a person is playing online -- so that someone in New York can't access New Jersey's online gaming system, for instance, is not totally foolproof. More stringent geolocation options could "put limitations on growth, or on the ability to create revenue," Durbin said.

Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International told Reuters in October that several states were already in talks about how to link interactive gaming plans.

"We are encouraged to know that states are talking to one another. They are crafting their own legislation and legal frameworks but are talking with other states in anticipation of compacting with multiple states," said MGM CEO Jim Murren.

Such pacts would come in addition to relationships many casinos have with overseas online gaming companies. Gibraltar-based Bwin. Party Digital Entertainment, the world's largest listed online gaming group, has a joint venture with MGM and Boyd Gaming. Rival company 888 Holdings is partnered with Caesars Entertainment, while Wynn Resorts is partnered with PokerStars.

While it may be hard for states to not make a run for the money, historic trends show revenue spikes from gambling are anything but a steady stream. A 2012 analysis by Stateline, a project of the Pew Center on the States, found that of the 13 states that had legalized casinos, casinos at racetracks or lotteries in the previous decade, more than two-thirds "failed to live up to the initial promises of projections made by political and industry champions of legalized gambling."

"Revenues generated through online gaming will hike in the beginning," said Lucy Dadayan, a senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany,
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
New Jersey on Feb. 26 became the third U.S. state to legalize online gambling, after Nevada and Delaware—but that doesn’t mean Americans can log on and start playing online poker just yet. I talked with Jennifer Webb, an analyst for Gambling Compliance, which tracks the global gambling industry, about the state of play.

When can I start gambling online?
“Until online gambling goes live, it’s definitely still illegal,” says Webb. States still need to sort out their implementation, a process that will hinge on issuing gambling licenses and testing online gambling platform technologies. Nevada, where only online poker is being legalized, will probably be the first to open the gates, likely in early 2013. Delaware, where online gambling will be overseen by the state’s lottery, intends to go live before Sept. 30. And in New Jersey, if all goes well, online gaming may start before the end of November, Webb says.

How can you place state boundaries around online activity?
The laws all require gamblers to be physically within each state. Industry regulators and experts say this can be verified using technology that tracks your location.

What about the feds?
Although there are still gray areas, federal laws likely won’t pose any problem. “Conventional wisdom now is, as long as online gaming is intrastate—within the state—and has proper geolocation and age verification, that it’s in compliance with federal law,” says Webb. Interstate gaming may also become legal in the future, she adds. “If it’s legal in New Jersey and legal in Nevada, and they have an agreement, then you could have pooling between the states.”

Who’s running the show?
In Nevada and New Jersey, online gambling licenses will go exclusively to land-based casinos. Some casinos are forming partnerships with online gambling sites to get hold of their software. Online gambling giant PokerStars, meanwhile, is taking a different route. The company, which is based on the Isle of Man among the British Isles, is in the process of buying a struggling Atlantic City casino to gain a foothold in America’s burgeoning online gambling market.

What do the states get out of it?
Tax dollars, naturally. Revenues in states that legalize online gambling could be substantial. “The revenue estimates [for New Jersey] have ranged between $175 million and $1.5 billion” a year, says Webb. The tax rate on online gambling in New Jersey will be 15 percent. Other states are already lining up to get in on the action. Online gambling bills are currently pending in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Iowa.


How, Where, and When Americans Can Gamble Online - Businessweek
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Simon Cowell has taken over television screens and radio airwaves around the world. Now he's taking aim at the Internet.

Cowell's Syco Entertainment empire and YouTube announced Thursday that they are launching "The You Generation," a global online talent contest that is seeking entries from people with "unconventional and original talents" - from musicians and photographers to makeup artists, magicians and chefs.

Syco says the contest, which starts next month and is due to run for a year, will seek auditions in a different category of talent every two weeks. Entrants can upload their pieces on a dedicated YouTube channel, to be viewed by the public and judged by professionals associated with Syco.

There will be prizes - exactly what they are has yet to be announced - every fortnight and a grand prize at the end of the year.

Syco calls the initiative an experiment aimed at discovering new talent. It's the company's bid to tap the power of social media, which has launched millions of wannabe celebrities - and some genuine stars, including Justin Bieber.

You Generation will be available in 15 languages and 26 countries around the world.

Syco is a joint venture between Sony Music and Cowell, the entertainment mogul who became a household name as an acerbic judge on TV talent shows. Syco's projects include the "X Factor" and "Got Talent" TV shows in the U.S. and Britain, and its music acts range from Susan Boyle to One Direction.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Manne wrote: New Jersey on Feb. 26 became the third U.S. state to legalize online gambling, after Nevada and Delaware—but that doesn’t mean Americans can log on and start playing online poker just yet. I talked with Jennifer Webb, an analyst for Gambling Compliance, which tracks the global gambling industry, about the state of play.

When can I start gambling online?
“Until online gambling goes live, it’s definitely still illegal,” says Webb. States still need to sort out their implementation, a process that will hinge on issuing gambling licenses and testing online gambling platform technologies. Nevada, where only online poker is being legalized, will probably be the first to open the gates, likely in early 2013. Delaware, where online gambling will be overseen by the state’s lottery, intends to go live before Sept. 30. And in New Jersey, if all goes well, online gaming may start before the end of November, Webb says.

How can you place state boundaries around online activity?
The laws all require gamblers to be physically within each state. Industry regulators and experts say this can be verified using technology that tracks your location.

What about the feds?
Although there are still gray areas, federal laws likely won’t pose any problem. “Conventional wisdom now is, as long as online gaming is intrastate—within the state—and has proper geolocation and age verification, that it’s in compliance with federal law,” says Webb. Interstate gaming may also become legal in the future, she adds. “If it’s legal in New Jersey and legal in Nevada, and they have an agreement, then you could have pooling between the states.”

Who’s running the show?
In Nevada and New Jersey, online gambling licenses will go exclusively to land-based casinos. Some casinos are forming partnerships with online gambling sites to get hold of their software. Online gambling giant PokerStars, meanwhile, is taking a different route. The company, which is based on the Isle of Man among the British Isles, is in the process of buying a struggling Atlantic City casino to gain a foothold in America’s burgeoning online gambling market.

What do the states get out of it?
Tax dollars, naturally. Revenues in states that legalize online gambling could be substantial. “The revenue estimates [for New Jersey] have ranged between $175 million and $1.5 billion” a year, says Webb. The tax rate on online gambling in New Jersey will be 15 percent. Other states are already lining up to get in on the action. Online gambling bills are currently pending in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Iowa.


How, Where, and When Americans Can Gamble Online - Businessweek
It's about time for online gambling
Join: 2006/12/11 Messages: 1758
Quote
0
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie this week finally approved online gaming in the Garden State. Now comes the hard part: banding together with other states to attract more gamblers, drive up jackpots and lure players away from offshore websites.

New Jersey is now the third state to approve online gambling, after Nevada and Delaware. The catch, however, is that the new laws apply only to people physically present in the individual states.

Several other states, including Massachusetts, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa and Mississippi, are weighing some kind of online gambling legislation. If they want to offer the big jackpots that attract scores of players, they are likely to look outside their borders to combine gaming offerings and set regulations, much as they have with multi-state lottery drawings like Powerball and Mega Millions.

"I would be shocked if within a few years there aren't multiple states cooperating," said Tom Goldstein, an attorney who has represented online gaming companies. Once that happens, Goldstein expects a "steamroller effect where a state legislature says 'Why are we passing up on tens of millions of tax revenue every year?"

According to American Gaming Association, about 85 countries have legalized online gambling, and an estimated $35 billion is bet online worldwide each year, including millions of people in the United States through offshore websites. Every state except Hawaii and Utah collects some kind of revenue from lotteries, casinos or other types of wagering. States received an estimated $7.5 billion in direct gaming revenue in 2011 on a fiscal year basis through licensing fees, taxes and other allocations, according to Fitch Ratings.

The U.S. government has long considered online wagering illegal, but the Department of Justice in late 2011 clarified its stance, paving the way for states to unilaterally legalize some forms of online gambling.

A state's population is a key factor for the new gaming programs. With just 2.7 million residents, Nevada could have trouble attracting enough in-state players to its online poker games to offer a range of limits, or the minimum and maximum amounts a player can wager on one bet. Without a wide range of active games, states could lose business to the unregulated offshore sites that dominate the market currently.

"There's going to be intense competition for customers," Michael Paladino, a Fitch Ratings senior director, said. A partnership with New Jersey, which has more than three times as many residents, would boost the pool of potential players dramatically. If more states sign up for online gaming and form a large, multi-state system, the numbers of players could soar -- and so will tax revenues.

"If you are flying to Vegas you are not necessarily doing so with the aim of being able to fire up your laptop and gamble," said ITG casino analyst Matthew Jacob, pointing out that most people go to Vegas for its casinos. "New Jersey is bigger, but the opportunity comes when a number of states are up and operators can span across those states."

States hit hard by the financial crisis, and by the increasing costs of retirement and healthcare benefits, are still struggling to plug big budget holes, and many expanded gaming as they looked in every corner for new sources of revenue.

New Jersey will take 15 percent of the amount won by online casinos from players within its borders. Nevada will keep 6.75 percent of the dollars won from online poker players. Nevada's law legalized only online poker, while New Jersey's allows for a broad array of games, including online slots, blackjack and other table games.

Cooperation would also help states regulate the market by sharing resources for identifying where gamblers are located and guarding against under-age gambling, stolen identities and credit card fraud.

"If individual jurisdictions go about setting up their own individual processes without the industry as a whole looking at it together, it's going to be a very difficult thing to do," said Craig Durbin, committee chair for the lottery subcommittee of the National Association of Gaming Regulators.

At the same time, Durbin said it will take time to find common ground. For instance, technology that allows states to detect where a person is playing online -- so that someone in New York can't access New Jersey's online gaming system, for instance, is not totally foolproof. More stringent geolocation options could "put limitations on growth, or on the ability to create revenue," Durbin said.

Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International told Reuters in October that several states were already in talks about how to link interactive gaming plans.

"We are encouraged to know that states are talking to one another. They are crafting their own legislation and legal frameworks but are talking with other states in anticipation of compacting with multiple states," said MGM CEO Jim Murren.

Such pacts would come in addition to relationships many casinos have with overseas online gaming companies. Gibraltar-based Bwin. Party Digital Entertainment, the world's largest listed online gaming group, has a joint venture with MGM and Boyd Gaming. Rival company 888 Holdings is partnered with Caesars Entertainment, while Wynn Resorts is partnered with PokerStars.

While it may be hard for states to not make a run for the money, historic trends show revenue spikes from gambling are anything but a steady stream. A 2012 analysis by Stateline, a project of the Pew Center on the States, found that of the 13 states that had legalized casinos, casinos at racetracks or lotteries in the previous decade, more than two-thirds "failed to live up to the initial promises of projections made by political and industry champions of legalized gambling."

"Revenues generated through online gaming will hike in the beginning," said Lucy Dadayan, a senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany,
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
While U.S. federal authorities continue cracking down on internet gambling site operators, New Jersey governor Chris Christie this week signed a bill legalizing online gaming in his state. And by this fall, long before Toronto’s proposed waterfront casino materializes, Ontario Lottery and Gaming will be operating an online gambling portal.

The reason is clear: cash.

With Atlantic City’s casinos struggling, Christie hopes online gaming can revive New Jersey’s sagging gambling industry. And OLG officials estimate Ontarians spend between $400 million and $500 million annually gambling at off-shore web sites.

“That gray market cash is going to Malta and going to the Isle of Man,” says OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti. “It’s not staying in Ontario.”

But experts warn online gambling can’t save an industry, let alone an economy, and point out there’s a large discrepancy between how much gamers spend online and how much of that money the government ultimately receives.

“For the government, what is the risk factor? How much can they lose,” says William Thompson, University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor and casino industry expert. “It’s not a guaranteed win. It’s not’s not a panacea. If a casino wins $400 million from the players it’s a little different.”

Bitonti says the OLG’s expansion into online gaming is part of a five-year plan to increase the corporation’s annual contribution to government coffers to $3 billion from the current $2 billion. Over that span, he expects online gambling revenue to total roughly $375 billion.

OLG’s internet gambling program will allow Ontarians to play a variety of games from their computers, tablets or mobile phones.

Ontario and New Jersey are moving into online gaming just as Internet technology, the economy and changing demographics affect the way people gamble worldwide.

Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that in North America’s gambling capital, Las Vegas, eight poker rooms have closed, with similar shutdowns occurring on riverboats and at Indian Reservation casinos in other states.

Thompson says replacing poker rooms with slot machines is an easy decision for profit-conscious casino operators – each poker table needs a dealer, while one technician can service 20 continuously running slot machines.

Ontario’s five poker rooms has slowed slightly compared with five years ago, Bitonti says, calling the drop-off in attendance a natural after-effect of the Internet and TV-fueled boom in poker’s popularity.

“There are only five (poker rooms) in Ontario, so it’s not over saturated,” Bitonti says. “The market peaked. Several years ago poker was all over TV. You couldn’t turn a channel without seeing a poker tournament. (Poker rooms were) very busy at those times.”

Bitonti confirms poker will be among the games made available when OLG unveils the first phase of its online gaming program this autumn, but experts don’t think offering Internet poker will hurt business at places like Casino Rama.

Thompson points out that in-person and online poker games attract different players with different skill sets seeking different experiences.

“Poker needs a community of players, and with online poker the community is artificial and worldwide,” he says. “In a live setting a player is very vulnerable to be taken by experts. You don’t know who the other people are at the table, whether they know each other or not.”

Still, other forms of gambling -- and the industries they support – are struggling to survive alongside online gaming. In Thailand, promoters of kickboxing matches complain of sagging attendance and gate receipts as the bettors who once filled arenas to watch fights now prefer to stay away and bet over the Internet.

McGill University professor Jeffrey Derevensky says ubiquity, convenience and even cost make online gaming impossible for many gamblers to resist.

“Gambling online minimizes restrictions,” says Derevensky, an expert on problem gambling. “You can do it wherever you are. You don’t have to go out of your house. You don’t have to buy food at the casino. You can do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”


Online Gaming: Will it cannibalize poker at OLG Casinos? | Toronto Star
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
As of early November, 2012 was looking like a great year for Intrade. Traders on the online market where people bet money on political contests had accurately predicted the results of the presidential race for the second time in a row. Then Intrade’s fortunes turned. On Nov. 26, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued the Dublin-based company, accusing it of operating an illegal exchange. Intrade immediately barred U.S. customers from the site. Since the company had previously told me most of its users are in the U.S., I wagered in an article that it was doomed.

Turns out that may have been a bad bet.

This week, New Jersey became the third state, after Delaware and Nevada, to pass an online gambling bill. This came thanks to a complete reversal in policy at the U.S. Department of Justice. For years the agency had said online gambling was illegal—a violation of the Wire Act of 1961 that bans betting across state lines—and had prosecuted the owners of online gaming sites. Then late last year it told states wanting to start online lotteries that the Wire Act applied only to sports betting and not to other games. Industry observers were shocked. “The Justice Department came out 180 degrees opposite of where it was before,” says David Stewart, a lawyer specializing in gambling law at Ropes & Gray. “I’ve never seen that.”

Although the CFTC’s lawsuit against Intrade is still pending, the Justice Department’s new attitude appears to offer a way for Intrade to come back as a political betting site. The CFTC’s complaint against Intrade takes issue with its futures contracts on currency prices and some current events, but not its line on politics. In a past ruling, the CFTC said that political betting is out of its scope.

The Nevada statute allows 20 games, including community poker and craps. Companies that want to start gambling sites for games not on that list can seek special permission for a license from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. “There’s nothing that would stop Intrade from getting a license in the state of Nevada,” says Anthony Cabot, a Las Vegas lawyer who specializes in gambling law. Cabot says Nevada’s gaming commission would investigate the government’s allegations against Intrade, but the CFTC lawsuit wouldn’t automatically disqualify the company from getting a license. It would have a shot at certification if it could prove it’s offering a game of chance, as opposed to a game of skill, he says.

Intrade may resist transforming itself into a “gambling” site. It has always thought of it itself as a “market,” not a casino. It was founded by a stock trader, and Intraders buy and sell “shares” in their candidate. The difference between gambling and trading may be only semantic—for much of this century, commodities trading was considered illegal gambling—but Intrade could have a tough time making over its image. (Intrade did not return multiple requests for comment.) You can bet that political Intraders in the U.S., who’ve been fuming since the company closed their accounts last fall, want nothing more than for Intrade to come back.



New Online Gambling Rules Might Bring Back Intrade - Businessweek
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Gov. Chris Christie is a large man who has just created a large pot of gold for New Jersey taxpayers.

This week, the popular politician signed into law on-line gambling, joining Nevada and Delaware in the enterprise that used to be illegal. It will allow eligible bettors in the state to wager on all the games available now in New Jersey casinos including blackjack, slots and poker.

And I say, "Who cares?" The answer to that question is "People who want to be in other's business."

Those are the same people who have debated the issue so passionately and for so long that it's still limited to three states. Why shouldn't the fourth be Arizona?

We have our tribal casinos. We have our state lottery, all of which were fought vociferously by those who insist on protecting us from ourselves. It's estimated that, in the first year of operation, online gambling revenue in New Jersey alone will top $400 million. I'd like that kind of profit for our state.

Not because I like gambling personally. I don't. I think it's boring, but I'll make one wager: online gaming would solve a lot of Arizona's fiscal problems.

Want to bet?


- See more at: Why shouldn't we allow online gambling in Arizona? - Pat McMahon - KTAR-com
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
A fierce debate is raging in China over a state-run channel’s decision to air the last hours of four foreign drug smugglers before their executions for killing 13 Chinese fishermen. But the outrage belies a simple reality in China: Executions here are frequent – and TV stations have treated them as entertainment before.

From 2006 to 2012, China’s Henan Province aired a hugely popular TV show called “Interviews Before Execution,” in which death row inmates discussed their crimes and regrets with in-your-face host Ding Yu. The show drew 40 million nightly viewers during its run – almost half the population of Henan Province, or 1.25 times the number of Americans that watched the Olympic closing ceremonies.

“Interviews Before Execution” favored controversial inmates, like a gay man who murdered his mother and a young couple who killed the boyfriend’s grandmother. The interviews could be provocative as well.

“I went to see your brother and sisters. They all know that you are leaving this world. But, sorry, they didn’t want to see you,” Ding Yu told one man, according to NBC. “You’re dangerous to society. You’re s—,” she reportedly said in another episode.

Something of that provocative tone echoed in Friday’s controversial broadcast. That program included interviews with police officers, a graphic that read “Kill the Kingpin,” and instant analysis from a host of pundits — what the Post’s William Wan called “all the staples of modern current events coverage.”

“Some viewers may consider it cruel to ask a criminal to do an interview when they are about to be executed,” Ding Yu told the BBC. ”On the contrary, they want to be heard.”
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
America is a much freer place than it was a few decades ago, and one way you can tell is that changes once considered unthinkable now occur almost unnoticed. A case in point came when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill to legalize online gambling.

Atlantic City casinos, which offer various games on-site, will now be able to provide them to patrons at home or wherever else they have access to a computer. New Jerseyans will be able to play the slots without getting off the couch.

Doesn't sound like such a big deal, does it? But 40 years ago, there was only one way to take part in casino gambling: Get in your car or board an airplane and go to Las Vegas. For decades, Nevada was the only state where it was allowed.

Why? Because gambling was regarded as disreputable, the seamy habit of criminals, hustlers and lowlifes. Many people thought entering a casino was the first step on the road to self-destruction. So governments generally made gambling illegal.

To anyone who grew up since then, all this may sound bizarre. The casino-goer you know may be your strait-laced grandmother. Today, 38 states feature casino gambling establishments, including those on Indian reservations.

Nearly 60 million people — 1 in 4 adults — visited these places in 2011, according to the American Gaming Association. The industry accounts for almost 1 percent of the national economy.

Legal gambling is all around us, and it's only going to become more ubiquitous. New Jersey is the third state to allow online betting, after Nevada and Delaware, and others are sure to follow.

The Obama administration spurred progress in 2011, when the Justice Department abandoned its position that federal law essentially prohibits online gambling. State lotteries, of which there are 43, may now sell tickets beyond their borders.

Legal restrictions can only do so much, regardless. In the digital age, policing online gambling is only slightly easier than curbing online pornography. In the debate over legalization, says Chapman University law professor Tom W. Bell, "always looming in the background is instant access to overseas casinos."

For the gambler determined to circumvent the law to wager from the comfort of home, he told me, "there's some hassle, but you can do it — and not get caught." A survey commissioned by the AGA found that 4 percent of respondents already take part in online gambling.

That black-market competition is one reason the casino industry, which once opposed Internet betting, has gotten behind it. Better to provide it themselves, even if it means many players will stay away from casinos, than to let unregulated foreign operators corner the business.

The industry's support for change is a mixed blessing, as the New Jersey measure illustrates. Gamblers would have to establish accounts with casinos, and industry officials "expect the state to require gamblers to have to appear in person at a casino to open their accounts and verify their age, identity and other personal information," reports The Associated Press. A rule of this kind would serve to get patrons in the door, where they may be induced to buy food, drink and tickets to a show.

The new law also requires participants to be physically in New Jersey to place bets, at least for now. What lies ahead is not quite a wide-open, consumer-driven business. Still, it's a far better deal for customers than being denied a legal avenue to Internet betting.

Drastic change hasn't happened overnight, and it won't start now. But we have seen a steady, gradual process of opening up freedom in this particular realm — a process that is not about to end.

That's because as more and more Americans have encountered legal gambling, they have discarded the exaggerated fears that once blocked it. The vast majority of patrons, it turns out, don't become compulsive gamblers, don't blow the rent on blackjack and don't desert their families.

Bringing a casino into a community is not likely to set off a wave of crime or social decay. Neither is allowing it in the home.

Attitudes that took years to change are not about to turn around. At a casino or a racetrack, you can't be certain of winning any wager. But in the policy arena, the continued expansion of legal gambling is as close as you can get to a sure thing.



- See more at: Internet gambling: Freedom to gamble - chicagotribune-com
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
After running the marathon, your body is often sore and needs you to devote a certain amount of time to enable the healing process to take place. If you continue to work out onthe following day of the marathon, this could lead to an excessive amount of strain on your body.

“Professional runners generally spend one to four hours everyday on a recovery routine.The most important elements to take into consideration are hydrating yourself and eating right. During the first ten to fifteen minutes after you stop running, you must drink enough water to replace the fluid loss from your body,” says Jeet Chowhan, fitness and training instructor. A simple and easy recovery program has been devised for you. This routine will ensure your body recuperates and returns to normal functioning soon.

Stretching
After hydrating yourself, it would be advisable to cool down. A few minutes of very gentle jogging after you finish will reduce any post-race muscle soreness. After this you can begin to do some stretches. Ideally, you should begin your stretches within twenty five to thirty minutes of having completed your run. Focus on stretching all the main muscles of your legs, this would include your calves, Achilles tendons, hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors and glutes. It is perfect to stretch your muscles while they are still warm.Your joints are lubricated at this point and are primed to stretch. If you experience any small injuries, it would be advisable to roll out a foam roller to alleviate any knots and tightness.

Consuming carbohydrates and proteins
Replenishing your system with an adequate amount of carbohydrates and proteins is necessary. “The best post run fuel to consume would be chocolate milk and a granola bar. If you’d prefer opting for fruits, banana and orange juice is great for a quick fix. I always ensure my body is energized and that I’m not overly fatigued after running.”says Vrit Vaibhav Shah, athlete and marathon runner. Refueling your body with energy contributes to your recovery by aiding cellular repair.Consuming your proteins in the form of liquid is advisable, since it digests faster than solid forms of food. You can opt for a fresh fruit juice or a healthy mixed vegetable soup. After one or two hours of running you must eat a well balanced meal. If you’re returning home after a run in the morning, breakfast could comprise of egg whites, oatmeal and whole wheat toast. Yogurt and salads are other options you could opt for to ensure you have a high quality meal with a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fat.

Warm bath with epsom salts
You always feel good after a nice warm bath. An hour before you take a nap or go to sleep you could take a hot bath in epsom salts. You could combine by putting four cups of epsom salt with a single cup of baking soda, followed by relaxing yourself in warm water for approximately ten to fifteen minutes. Once you finish having your bath, you could stretch out your muscles before you prepare yourself for a long nap. Any excess toxins from your muscles will be released and the stretching before you go to sleep will ensure you wake up feeling refreshed. Most importantly, the relaxing warm bath with the epsom salts will make you fall asleep easily.
You must get an adequate amount of sleep at the end of your day. This simple recovery program will ensure your body is completely at rest after any strain imposed on it post running the marathon.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Manne wrote: America is a much freer place than it was a few decades ago, and one way you can tell is that changes once considered unthinkable now occur almost unnoticed. A case in point came when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill to legalize online gambling.

Atlantic City casinos, which offer various games on-site, will now be able to provide them to patrons at home or wherever else they have access to a computer. New Jerseyans will be able to play the slots without getting off the couch.

Doesn't sound like such a big deal, does it? But 40 years ago, there was only one way to take part in casino gambling: Get in your car or board an airplane and go to Las Vegas. For decades, Nevada was the only state where it was allowed.

Why? Because gambling was regarded as disreputable, the seamy habit of criminals, hustlers and lowlifes. Many people thought entering a casino was the first step on the road to self-destruction. So governments generally made gambling illegal.

To anyone who grew up since then, all this may sound bizarre. The casino-goer you know may be your strait-laced grandmother. Today, 38 states feature casino gambling establishments, including those on Indian reservations.

Nearly 60 million people — 1 in 4 adults — visited these places in 2011, according to the American Gaming Association. The industry accounts for almost 1 percent of the national economy.

Legal gambling is all around us, and it's only going to become more ubiquitous. New Jersey is the third state to allow online betting, after Nevada and Delaware, and others are sure to follow.

The Obama administration spurred progress in 2011, when the Justice Department abandoned its position that federal law essentially prohibits online gambling. State lotteries, of which there are 43, may now sell tickets beyond their borders.

Legal restrictions can only do so much, regardless. In the digital age, policing online gambling is only slightly easier than curbing online pornography. In the debate over legalization, says Chapman University law professor Tom W. Bell, "always looming in the background is instant access to overseas casinos."

For the gambler determined to circumvent the law to wager from the comfort of home, he told me, "there's some hassle, but you can do it — and not get caught." A survey commissioned by the AGA found that 4 percent of respondents already take part in online gambling.

That black-market competition is one reason the casino industry, which once opposed Internet betting, has gotten behind it. Better to provide it themselves, even if it means many players will stay away from casinos, than to let unregulated foreign operators corner the business.

The industry's support for change is a mixed blessing, as the New Jersey measure illustrates. Gamblers would have to establish accounts with casinos, and industry officials "expect the state to require gamblers to have to appear in person at a casino to open their accounts and verify their age, identity and other personal information," reports The Associated Press. A rule of this kind would serve to get patrons in the door, where they may be induced to buy food, drink and tickets to a show.

The new law also requires participants to be physically in New Jersey to place bets, at least for now. What lies ahead is not quite a wide-open, consumer-driven business. Still, it's a far better deal for customers than being denied a legal avenue to Internet betting.

Drastic change hasn't happened overnight, and it won't start now. But we have seen a steady, gradual process of opening up freedom in this particular realm — a process that is not about to end.

That's because as more and more Americans have encountered legal gambling, they have discarded the exaggerated fears that once blocked it. The vast majority of patrons, it turns out, don't become compulsive gamblers, don't blow the rent on blackjack and don't desert their families.

Bringing a casino into a community is not likely to set off a wave of crime or social decay. Neither is allowing it in the home.

Attitudes that took years to change are not about to turn around. At a casino or a racetrack, you can't be certain of winning any wager. But in the policy arena, the continued expansion of legal gambling is as close as you can get to a sure thing.



- See more at: Internet gambling: Freedom to gamble - chicagotribune-com
Online gambling will never stop!
Join: 2008/12/18 Messages: 846
Quote
0
Manne wrote: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie this week finally approved online gaming in the Garden State. Now comes the hard part: banding together with other states to attract more gamblers, drive up jackpots and lure players away from offshore websites.

New Jersey is now the third state to approve online gambling, after Nevada and Delaware. The catch, however, is that the new laws apply only to people physically present in the individual states.

Several other states, including Massachusetts, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa and Mississippi, are weighing some kind of online gambling legislation. If they want to offer the big jackpots that attract scores of players, they are likely to look outside their borders to combine gaming offerings and set regulations, much as they have with multi-state lottery drawings like Powerball and Mega Millions.

"I would be shocked if within a few years there aren't multiple states cooperating," said Tom Goldstein, an attorney who has represented online gaming companies. Once that happens, Goldstein expects a "steamroller effect where a state legislature says 'Why are we passing up on tens of millions of tax revenue every year?"

According to American Gaming Association, about 85 countries have legalized online gambling, and an estimated $35 billion is bet online worldwide each year, including millions of people in the United States through offshore websites. Every state except Hawaii and Utah collects some kind of revenue from lotteries, casinos or other types of wagering. States received an estimated $7.5 billion in direct gaming revenue in 2011 on a fiscal year basis through licensing fees, taxes and other allocations, according to Fitch Ratings.

The U.S. government has long considered online wagering illegal, but the Department of Justice in late 2011 clarified its stance, paving the way for states to unilaterally legalize some forms of online gambling.

A state's population is a key factor for the new gaming programs. With just 2.7 million residents, Nevada could have trouble attracting enough in-state players to its online poker games to offer a range of limits, or the minimum and maximum amounts a player can wager on one bet. Without a wide range of active games, states could lose business to the unregulated offshore sites that dominate the market currently.

"There's going to be intense competition for customers," Michael Paladino, a Fitch Ratings senior director, said. A partnership with New Jersey, which has more than three times as many residents, would boost the pool of potential players dramatically. If more states sign up for online gaming and form a large, multi-state system, the numbers of players could soar -- and so will tax revenues.

"If you are flying to Vegas you are not necessarily doing so with the aim of being able to fire up your laptop and gamble," said ITG casino analyst Matthew Jacob, pointing out that most people go to Vegas for its casinos. "New Jersey is bigger, but the opportunity comes when a number of states are up and operators can span across those states."

States hit hard by the financial crisis, and by the increasing costs of retirement and healthcare benefits, are still struggling to plug big budget holes, and many expanded gaming as they looked in every corner for new sources of revenue.

New Jersey will take 15 percent of the amount won by online casinos from players within its borders. Nevada will keep 6.75 percent of the dollars won from online poker players. Nevada's law legalized only online poker, while New Jersey's allows for a broad array of games, including online slots, blackjack and other table games.

Cooperation would also help states regulate the market by sharing resources for identifying where gamblers are located and guarding against under-age gambling, stolen identities and credit card fraud.

"If individual jurisdictions go about setting up their own individual processes without the industry as a whole looking at it together, it's going to be a very difficult thing to do," said Craig Durbin, committee chair for the lottery subcommittee of the National Association of Gaming Regulators.

At the same time, Durbin said it will take time to find common ground. For instance, technology that allows states to detect where a person is playing online -- so that someone in New York can't access New Jersey's online gaming system, for instance, is not totally foolproof. More stringent geolocation options could "put limitations on growth, or on the ability to create revenue," Durbin said.

Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International told Reuters in October that several states were already in talks about how to link interactive gaming plans.

"We are encouraged to know that states are talking to one another. They are crafting their own legislation and legal frameworks but are talking with other states in anticipation of compacting with multiple states," said MGM CEO Jim Murren.

Such pacts would come in addition to relationships many casinos have with overseas online gaming companies. Gibraltar-based Bwin. Party Digital Entertainment, the world's largest listed online gaming group, has a joint venture with MGM and Boyd Gaming. Rival company 888 Holdings is partnered with Caesars Entertainment, while Wynn Resorts is partnered with PokerStars.

While it may be hard for states to not make a run for the money, historic trends show revenue spikes from gambling are anything but a steady stream. A 2012 analysis by Stateline, a project of the Pew Center on the States, found that of the 13 states that had legalized casinos, casinos at racetracks or lotteries in the previous decade, more than two-thirds "failed to live up to the initial promises of projections made by political and industry champions of legalized gambling."

"Revenues generated through online gaming will hike in the beginning," said Lucy Dadayan, a senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany,
It's really about time. I'm Happy 😁
Join: 2008/12/18 Messages: 846
Quote
0

New posts