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Lawmakers on Wednesday expressed broad agreement that more regulations are needed for online gambling.
A Senate panel on Wednesday derided out-of-date regulations that make it easy for almost anyone to bet money online without proving their identity.
“Shame on us if we don’t get something done on this because, when I think about the possibility for money laundering, terrorism, drug trafficking and the potential for children to get access to use the Internet as well as people to add to the addiction issue, I hope this is something that we move on very quickly,” said Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).
Users of gaming websites are largely anonymous, which can allow criminals and terrorists to use the sites to hide the sources of their money.
Chuck Canterbury, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, told senators: “Organized crime is using offshore online operations to launder their profits. We also know that terrorist organizations are or could be using the same strategies to launder funds.”
"Congress needs to provide clarity and guidance on these issues," Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said. "If we do not, this illegal market will continue to grow where millions of consumers are put at risk and criminals can act freely."
The same anonymity that makes online gambling appealing to money launderers can also expose consumers to identity theft and allow children and people who suffer from gambling addictions to easily access the games.
The only real prohibition preventing children from accessing online gambling, the senators were told, was a button users click to verify that they are over 18.
“My kids are pretty sharp; I don’t think it would take them long to get around that at the age of 5 and 8,” Ayotte said.
New laws are needed to make it harder to take advantage of online gambling sites, senators agreed on Tuesday.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said, “I think there’s a clear moral and economic imperative to acting to prevent the abuses and wrongdoing that clearly are inherent, almost inescapable, in this form of gambling, if we fail to take effective countermeasures.”
He also expressed concern that the personal financial information gambling sites have could be easily exposed by security breaches and hackers.
Even with good intentions, he said, “absorbing and accumulating huge amounts of information could potentially be the 'victim' — putting victim in very heavy quotes — of a theft of that data.”
Few regulations govern online gambling, especially since a 2011 Justice Department decision that laws against interstate betting via telecommunications only apply to sports betting, not other games like poker and lotteries.
Since then, states like New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada have decided to legalize online gambling within their borders.
The opinion opened up the “floodgates” to states developing their own online gambling rules, said Heller, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance, and it led to “regulatory uncertainty” across the country.
“Patchwork state and tribal regulations have sparked a regulatory race to the bottom,” he said.
Heller said that he would like to write legislation to rein in the Internet gambling sector, and that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was supporting the effort.
“I would like to put together a piece of legislation, as does Sen. Reid, but we want broad support,” he said after the hearing. “I don’t want this to be a Sen. Reid and Sen. Heller piece of legislation. I want broad support.”
On Wednesday, he seemed to attract the kind of support he was looking for.
“Congress has an important role to play in overseeing the expansion of online gaming,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), the subcommittee chairwoman.
She added that Internet gambling is “inherently an interstate matter.”
The casino industry also cheered signs lawmakers may enact more regulations for online gambling.
“The question is whether Congress will ensure minimum regulatory standards of online poker, protect consumers, exclude bad actors from the American market and provide Native American tribes with an appropriate regulatory framework,” said Geoff Freeman, president of the American Gaming Association, in a statement.
Read more: Senators deride online gambling regs - The Hill's RegWatch
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Regulations are regulations and in Belgium in the heart of the European Union that means fines of up to €100,000 for offering online gambling services without a license from the Belgian Gaming Commission.
Controversial regulations imposed in Belgium are in defiance of the European Commission’s regulatory platform asking for all European Union members to accept free e commerce across the board. With regard to Belgium's online gambling regulations, only land-based casino firms with existing licenses in Belgium can be eligible for online gambling licenses. Some operators have found ways around these rules, with online gambling firms such as Bwin.party digital entertainment forming partnership deals with smaller terrestrial operators located in Belgium and through these partnerships, are then able to offer Belgian residents their online gambling services.
According to a recent update The Belgian Gaming Commission has expanded its prohibition on offshore operated online casinos, blacklisting another four gambling sites. Belgium has now banned a total of 78 online gambling sites.
Among the online gambling sites put on the blacklist lately included the Amaya Gaming owned Intercasino, an online casino brand that Canadian software developer Amaya Gaming has been opearating with some success and Betsson owned Scandinavian Betsafe. Casino Belgie was also put on the no fly zone list of online gambling service providers. Casino-Belgie, is licensed in the Netherlands Antilles.
Both Betsafe and Intercasino are well established in other jurisdictions and are licensed and registered with the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority.
There have been many arguments put forward by the European Gaming and Betting Association to the European Commission that point out the flaws in the amended regulations imposed in 2008. Critics in the European parliament say Belgium’s gambling laws need to be reviewed and changed to comply with the E.U. treaty agreement on free e-commerce. Belgium is the center of the European Union and there is some hope these measures will be sorted out eventually.
The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance held a hearing on Internet gambling today. The hearing was not held to discuss any specific bill. It was just a general discussion of gambling over the Internet.
The guest speakers were:
• Mr. Chuck Canterbury – National President, the National Fraternal Order of Police
• Mr. Matt Smith – President, Catholic Advocate
• Mr. Tom Grissen – Chief Executive Officer, Daon, Inc, a biometrics software company
• Mr. Jack Blum – Attorney that specializes in money laundering compliance
The senators on the subcommittee agreed that regulations are needed to make it harder to take advantage of online gambling sites. They also seemed to agree that online gambling was an interstate issue requiring the attention of Congress.
Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the subcommittee chairwoman, mentioned that her Twitter account had been bombarded by online poker players. Senator McCaskill later stated:
Congress has an important role to play in overseeing the expansion of online gaming.
Senator Ron Heller (R-NV), a member of the subcommittee, said after the meeting:
I would like to put together a piece of legislation, as does Sen. Reid, but we want broad support. I don’t want this to be a Sen. Reid and Sen. Heller piece of legislation. I want broad support.
Rich Muny, Vice President of the Poker Players Alliance, voiced several opinions during and after the hearing. One opinion was that this hearing proved how difficult the process of legalizing and regulating online poker at a federal level. He also voiced his opinion on whether Congress might pass regulations that further restrict online gambling:
[T]he toughest action they can really take, especially now that states are offering games, is something like UIGEA+ combined with authorization of licensed sites.
Cory Monteith, the Canadian star of the hit TV musical series “Glee,” died of an apparent overdose of heroin and alcohol, the British Columbia coroner’s office said Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Monteith, who had struggled in the past with substance abuse and checked into a rehab facility in April, was found dead Saturday in his Vancouver hotel room
“There is no evidence to suggest this is anything other than the most sad and tragic accident,” coroner Barbara McLintock said in a statement released on YouTube.
“The cause of death was a mixed drug toxicity and it involved heroin, primarily, and also alcohol.”
McLintock said the coroner’s investigation was continuing, and that no further statements would be made until it was completed.
Police said they believed Monteith had been alone when he took the heroin and when he died.
Monteith starred on “Glee” as Finn Hudson, a star high school football player who joined a motley crew of students in the glee club.
In the most recent season, he returned as a graduate coaching new singers.
Off-screen, Monteith dated his co-star Lea Michele, with whom he sang the show’s signature cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Michele’s representatives issued a statement Tuesday asking for continued privacy for the 26-year-old actress and for Monteith’s family.
“Lea is deeply grateful for all the love and support she’s received from family, friends, and fans,” the statement said.
“Since Cory’s passing, Lea has been grieving alongside his family and making appropriate arrangements with them. They are supporting each other as they endure this profound loss together.”
The actor had spoken openly about his past struggles with drugs and alcohol, which began in his youth.
Before shooting to nationwide fame on the Fox hit musical show, Monteith had played minor roles in TV series such as “Smallville” and “Kyle XY.”
Read more: ‘Glee’ star died from heroin, alcohol mix–coroner | Inquirer Entertainment
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Over the past several years, online bingo has grown in popularity by leaps and bounds. Bingo has always been popular to play in bingo halls, Bodog
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A Senate hearing focused on regulating Internet gambling – even though it remains banned interstate by Congress. Such backdoor maneuvers toward legalization only reveal the commercial interests pushing this wrongheaded move.
Everyday Americans are not banging on the doors of Congress asking it to legalize online gambling. The country is already awash with casinos and state lotteries. Yet much of the gambling industry, a few gambling-dependent states like Nevada, and a handful of lawmakers seem eager to find any excuse to reverse a federal ban set down in 2006. The latest example was a Senate hearing Wednesday. It was titled “The Expansion of Internet Gambling: Assessing Consumer Protection Concerns.” The hearing was cloaked to look at the alleged need for Washington to regulate Internet gambling – even before it is legalized nationwide.
Lawmakers expressed concern over the few states that are moving to allow online wagers for only their residents. Such intrastate gambling was allowed by the Obama administration based on its 2011 re-interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act.
In April, Nevada began to offer Web-based poker for its residents. Delaware has approved online gambling, while New Jersey, worried about the decline of its Atlantic City casinos, is not far behind with plans for online gambling in coming months – even on sports. Similar steps are being weighed in a few other states. The hearing focused on the alleged inability of such states to deal with any spike in the number of underage or problem gamblers as well as fraud or money laundering through online gambling sites. But if Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have not learned by now how to deal with these problems, how could a new and massive federal regulator do any better?
Any newfound concern about the security of online gambling should begin by maintaining the federal ban. The Justice Department confirmed that it can enforce the ban. In 2011, it cracked down hard on foreign companies offering offshore gambling on poker to US residents. (The agency had no problem seeing poker as a game of chance.)
The pressure on Congress to lift the ban comes from commercial interests that don’t see a very lucrative market in just a few states with online gambling, especially if those states only tiptoe into this market by offering just poker first.
And Congress should not be tempted to end the ban in order to gain tax revenue from this new industry. The cost to individuals and the economy by an expansion of gambling will likely be more than any contribution to the US Treasury. The Senate hearing did expose one potential problem. It hinted at the draconian infringement on privacy that might be needed to screen teen gamblers. Every sort of government database could be tapped to check the age of online gamblers – something on the order of the electronic surveillance done by the National Security Agency.
The steady expansion of legalized gambling in the United States must come to an end. It is not a wealth creator and it perpetuates the belief that one’s life is determined by luck. Congress should learn to live with its decision in 2006 that Internet gambling is just not worth it.
A dubious drive to legalize online gambling - CSMonitor-com
Paul Bhattacharjee, the British actor who had roles in Casino Royale and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as well as the British soap EastEnders, has been found dead, according to the BBC.
The 53-year-old Bhattacharjee had gone missing on July 10 after he was spotted leaving the Royal Court theater in London's Sloane Square, where he was slated to appear in the play Talk Show.
After an intensive search, authorities in Seaford, East Sussex, discovered his body at Splash Point cliffs two days later and contacted London's Metropolitan police on Wednesday.
So far, investigators are not treating his death as suspicious, and next of kin have been notified. His family and friends appealed for his return while his 24-year-old son, Rahul Bhattacharjee-Prashar, told the Evening Standard Battacharjee's disappearance was "completely out of character".
Fellow thesp Parminder Nagra of Bend It Like Beckham and ER fame subsequently mourned his passing on Twitter.
"Very sad to hear the news about Paul Bhattacharjee. My thoughts are with his loved ones," she tweeted.
Among Bhattacharjee's other notable credits were a slew of U.K. TV series including Bedtime, Waking the Dead, Identity and Any Human Heart.
To supporters of efforts to repeal a federal ban on most types of Internet gambling, the question is not if the government will roll back at least some of its prohibitions. The question is when.
Already this year, a New York representative has introduced a bill that would allow the federal government to sanction online gambling operations that accept bets from customers in multiple states. While the bill is not expected to go anywhere in this year’s congress, most horse racing lobbyists expect similar bills to surface each and every year until a ban on online poker, at the very least, is rescinded.
The legalization of online gambling could have serious a impact on racing. Under a federal exemption to the online betting ban, horse racing is the only legal form of Internet betting, and the sport has enjoyed a monopoly of sorts on the practice for more than a decade. While handle overall on U.S. horse racing has long been in decline, the availability of online betting has served to stanch the bleeding. Additional competition in the marketplace is not expected to work to horse racing’s benefit.
“There’s always going to be people pushing [for Internet gambling], and there’s always going to be states looking for money,” said Chris Scherf, the executive vice president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, a racetrack trade group. “That additional competition is going to have an impact on racing, no question, but it all depends on what types of gambling are legalized.”
Even without a change in federal law, horse racing’s monopoly on legal online betting will probably end this year. Three states – Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey – have passed legislation allowing for online gambling by in-state customers. In addition, 10 states considered bills this year to authorize online poker, signaling that many cash-starved states see Internet gambling in their futures.
The flurry of state legislation was a result of a 2011 opinion issued by the Justice Department that said states were free to legalize Internet gambling as long as betting was restricted to people in the state and as long as the operations did not run afoul of federal limits on sports betting. The opinion cleared up what had previously been a murky area of federal law, which contains a broad ban on Internet betting across state lines, with the exception of horse racing.
This year’s federal legislation was introduced by Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, on June 6, one day before the Belmont Stakes. It would create an Office of Internet Gambling Oversight in the Treasury Department, a new agency that would be assigned “licensing and enforcement responsibility” for state Internet gambling operations. Under the bill, states or Native American tribes could choose to ban Internet gambling, and they could also choose to cooperate with each other to allow interstate gambling, thereby leading to what the gambling community calls “liquidity,” a reference to creating larger pools of bettors.
“Rather than cede the regulation of Internet gambling to state lawmakers, Congress should ensure there is consistent oversight of this industry and move to generate significant new revenues without having to raise taxes or cut programs,” King said in a prepared statement.
King’s office added that “the horse racing industry would also be treated equally” under the bill, which would seem to suggest its existing practices – the acceptance of interstate wagers by online operators in commingled pools – would be allowed to continue. A representative of King’s office did not respond to requests for comment, but Jay Hickey, the president of the American Horse Council, a Washington D.C. lobbying group for all breeds of horses, said the bill’s language would “finally make it clear that interstate simulcasting is legal,” in reference to concerns raised in the past by the Justice Department that betting over state lines by horse racing is not explicitly legal in current federal law and violates the Federal Wire Act of 1961.
Despite intense lobbying by Internet poker companies, King’s bill is not expected to find any traction this year, in large part because of opposition to expanded online gambling by the chairmen of committees that would need to approve the bill before a floor vote, according to lobbyists. But the general consensus among supporters is that as more and more states approve online gambling, the federal government will want to get in on the action in order to reap a share of the tax revenue.
Among the states to have already passed bills, Nevada limited online betting to poker, in large part because its bricks-and-mortar casinos opposed any wider authorization, in fear that new online operations would cannibalize their businesses. But in New Jersey and Delaware, the laws allow for online gambling on any betting game already legal in the state. Casino gambling is legal in New Jersey, and Delaware allows slot-machine gambling and a limited number of sports parlays.
So far, Nevada is the only state to have issued a license to an online poker company. At the urging of Gov. Chris Christie – who has made the rather dubious claim that the state can reap $160 million in tax revenue from online gambling this year alone – New Jersey is expected to issue several licenses this fall, if not sooner. Last week, Delaware released draft regulations governing online betting, with a public comment period to follow. On-line gambling will technically become legal in the state on Sept. 30.
Elsewhere, the Illinois state legislature this year considered a bill that would have authorized all forms of Internet gambling, but the bill failed to pass. Provisions in a version of the bill, which would have also allowed for slot machines at racetracks, led to a rift between Illinois racetracks and the state’s horsemen, who feared that racing companies would open Internet gambling sites without providing any revenue from the operations to purses.
The Irish Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, has published details of new gambling legislation that will extend licensing to online gaming and limit the number and size of casinos in Ireland.
Under the new Bill, anyone or any entity offering gambling services, whether based in Ireland or not, will require a licence. The Bill replaces all existing arrangements for bingo, lotteries, sports betting and online gaming, although the National Lottery remains untouched.
Shatter said in a statement regarding the bill, “This legislation has the twin objective of effectively regulating the new and dynamic gambling sector that has emerged in recent years, while also providing the opportunity to introduce important new measures to protect vulnerable adults and young people. The updated legislation and new regulatory regime will provide for a consistent interpretation and application of the law across all areas of gambling and as a result, it will bring legal certainty to the area. I believe that this Bill will give Ireland a well-regulated gambling system that will be recognised as such internationally.”
The Gambling Control Bill 2013, to give it its full title, states that there are to be no more than 40 casinos within Ireland and that each casino must not house more than 15 gaming tables. Also, the Bill includes details of a full ban on fixed-odds betting terminals.
Ireland to Introduce Law to License Online Gambling | PokerNews
Cyber-attacks, cyber-security and cyber-spying have a very public profile at the moment. Both the American and British governments are battling hacking attempts on businesses. At the same time, the Prism scandal rumbles on, with the NSA and GCHQ busy deflecting accusations that they monitor communications data of private citizens.
In reports from media outlets and statements from industry watchdogs, we often hear of the "growing concern" of cyber-attacks; the "growing threat." Following the Prism revelation especially, it feels like cyber experts are capable of anything, as if merely going on the internet makes you vulnerable to identity theft, data monitoring and robbery.
But in the world of online gambling, cyber-threats are not so glamorous. Far-removed from the arch menace of NSA agents or Chinese hackers, the people targeting betting websites are just a constant nuisance. Their modus operandi is to launch, or threaten to launch Distributed Denail of Service (DDoS) attacks, purposeful acts of sabotage where typically a huge amount of data floods a website's server, overloading it and taking it offline. Though DDoS attacks are usually performed using a network of malware-infected PCs called a botnet - as IBTimes UK has investigated previously - it's not a case these days of individuals needing to set up the botnet themselves. You can now hire an organisation to perform a DDoS attack for you; in the case of online gambling sites, this means service outages are now an accepted cost of doing business.
Nuisance
"There won't be a crisis of internet crime," says Ashley Stephenson of web security firm Corero "it's just a nuisance. Like real-life, with credit card fraudsters or people who knock on old people's doors pretending to be electricians, we'll always have these bottom feeders, this background level of activity. It's part of having an online business."
Gambling sites are often targeted at peak times says Stephenson, either during or just before major sporting events. Attackers will first contact the site and threaten them with a DDoS attack. Rather than risk being pulled offline and losing business, gambling sites often accept these threats as just another overhead, and bow to attacker's demands, which are often paltry when compared to the cost of prolonged site downtime.
"We've seen cases of gaming companies receiving anonymous threats saying that if they don't contribute to some untraceable digital money bank, like BitCoin, that they will be disrupted," says Stephenson. "Betting sites are highly dependent on peak times during sporting events, peak times during things like boxing matches. These are their most critical times, when people are betting on dynamic odds in unison with a live stream.
"If a gambling service goes offline during the Grand National, people will click to their next favourite gambling service. So the cost today is in downtime. It's like forcing a high street shop to be closed for a day."
Standard fit
Stephenson also says there's no standard fit for perpetrators of these attacks; they can be orchestrated by individuals buying a DDoS attack for hire or large organisations with their very own botnets:
"We've seen instances of disgruntled individuals, or small groups that are milking sites for money, but also instances where it's been more organised."
The motivations behind a DDoS attack, or threatening to launch a DDoS attack also vary:
"We saw one example where a gaming company was changing the rules of their game, and the result of that rule change would make it harder for third-parties to make money off the game. Those parties were annoyed with that so launched DDos style attacks on the company to try and reverse those rule changes in the game.
"You also get examples," Stephenson continues "of people making large bets on say interactive poker, and then purposefully crashing the site if it looks like they're going to lose. In the physical word it's like getting up and tipping the table over."
Expected
Corero estimates than on average, a DDoS attack will cost a gambling site £150,000 in lost business. Stephenson says there are three ways to deal with it:
"You can consider these things a nuisance and just pay the demands and move on; tolerate the attack and just take a hit; or dig in, and invest in making your security more robust."
Especially when compared to the potential risk, the cost of DDoS protection comes cheap: Cloudflare, in the US, offers DDoS protection for $200 (£130) a month. It's the equivalent, Stephenson says, of fitting your house with locks or your car with an alarm. Contrary to the big bad NSA stories currently doing the rounds, cyber-threats in the online gaming world are a constant pest. The risk is certainly real, but in terms of escalating, or threating to overturn the industry, DDoS attacks aren't the real deal. Instead, Stephenson concludes, they're comparable to real-world petty crimes:
"I wouldn't say it's routine yet, but it's expected. It's the cost of doing business on the internet."
Gambling Websites Paying Protection to Cyber Blackmailers - IBTimes UK
British Indian actor Paul Bhattacharjee, who played the role of a doctor in James Bond film 'Casino Royale', has been found dead at Splash Point cliffs in Seaford, East Sussex.
Bhattacharjee, 53, was last seen leaving the Royal Court theatre in London's Sloane Square on July 10, reported BBC online.
Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious.
The actor, from Redbridge, was said to be in good spirits when he was last seen but after sending a text message to his girlfriend at around 9pm that night, no-one heard from him and an appeal was launched.
The Metropolitan police was contacted on Wednesday morning by Sussex Police who said a body matching his description had been found last week.
The actor had starred in films like 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', 'White Teeth' and 'Dirty Pretty Things'.
The Senate’s subcommittee for Consumer Protection, Product Safety & Insurance, held a hearing last Wednesday, to hear testimonies that could give light on how online wagering is linked to money laundering, acts of fraud, terrorism and drug trafficking.
The general consensus among lawmakers, is that the need to come up with clear federal regulations to control online wagering as a pastime is necessary, inasmuch as interacting, communicating and transacting in the Internet has become a way of life. Having uniform laws in place, instead of a patchwork of regulatory provisions coming from 50 different U.S. states, would properly mitigate all potential problems related to online gambling.
Based on the subcommittee chairperson Sen. Claire McCaskill’s opening remarks, the need to consider federal governance of Internet gambling is a result of the legal clarification made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2011. This pertains to the exclusion of online gambling from the coverage of the Federal Wire Act of 1961.
Jack Blum, a lawyer and investigator who handles mostly money laundering cases, gave a broad-spectrum of examples to describe in general, the link between organized crime and Internet gambling activities.
Another hearing witness, Chuck Cantebury of the Fraternal Order of Police, attested that there are technological controls to prevent minors and problem gamblers from gambling via the Internet. Daon Inc CEO Tom Grissen, who was there to explain how technology measures for age and ID verification works, supported Cantebury’s testimony.
The holding of the hearing denoted a positive move toward addressing the shortcomings of the Federal Wire Act of 1961; but this seemed hardly enough to change the views of those who do not support online gambling.
U.S. Senate Committee Mulls on Internet Gambling : ADI News
The financial situation in the heart of Europe is changing quickly and the decline in disposable income and the liberalization of online gambling in nations such as Italy and France are having their effect on casinos in Switzerland.
Switzerland is not a member of the EU, so has a free hand to determine its own laws.
Historically, democracy has been widely decentralized in the nation of less than eight million people, with almost all serious issues decided by referendum.
New laws regarding online gambling will be drafted by the Department of Justice and Police in cooperation with the representatives of each Swiss Canton, with the drafts being made available for consultation and review in the second half of 2013. In an extensive report published in 2009 the Federal Gaming Board concluded that “virtual gambling should be liberalized, and apart from such liberalization, illegal operation of these games should be more effectively curtailed through further measures.”
The decline in Gross revenue for Switzerland’s 21 casinos was 24 percent last year compared with 2008. Much of the reduction in casino revenues is attributed to the decline in Italian gamblers who once took the short trip from Italy to the many terrestrial casinos in Switzerland. Italian’s are also gravitating to online casinos that don’t require travel away from home. The influence of internet casinos and card rooms has had an impact in Switzerland which has been surviving the economic crunch better than most European countries.
The Swiss 1998 gaming law prohibits online poker and all online gambling but there is no enforcement capability in the law which means that Swiss poker players have had no difficulty playing at the sites of all the major online gambling operators.
In a move preparatory to introducing the new legislation, the Swiss Federal Constitution was amended after a popular vote in March last year. The amendment establishes a framework for the new gambling laws which includes levying “a revenue-related tax on casinos; this tax must not exceed 80 per cent of the gross revenues from gambling.”
After announcing the plan to bring the two superheroes together, Snyder issued a statement via Warner Bros. saying the two would be fighting each other, and conceded this might surprise some.
sequel to last month's hit Superman film Man of Steel is not only in the works, but will feature two of DC Comic's best-known caped crusaders - Superman and Batman - facing off against each other, director Zack Snyder said on Saturday.
Snyder, who directed British actor Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, was a surprise addition to the end of the Warner Bros. film panel at San Diego's Comic-Con, an annual comics convention, and received thunderous applause from the 6,000-plus in attendance.
After announcing the plan to bring the two superheroes together, Snyder issued a statement via Warner Bros. saying the two would be fighting each other, and conceded this might surprise some.
"Let's face it, it's beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest superheroes in the world," said Snyder, who has been confirmed as director of the as-yet unnamed sequel. While both Superman and Batman are superheros in the DC universe, they have been portrayed as nemeses in DC's Dark Knight comics, from which Christopher Nolan adapted his Dark Knight Batman franchise.
Nolan will serve as executive producer to the sequel, Warner Bros. said. The studio is banking on the success of other recent films that have paired up heroes from the comic book universe, such as Disney's Marvel superhero ensemble The Avengers in 2012, which made $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office.
Nolan's 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, starring Christian Bale as Batman, has made more than $1 billion at the global box office. Superman has not always seen a success at the box office and 2006's sequel starring Brandon Routh did not perform up to industry expectations.
But Snyder's darker reimagining of the complex superhero in "Man of Steel" grossed $621 million worldwide and with Nolan as executive producer, rumors had been circulating that Batman and Superman could soon appear together on screen.
Cavill will reprise the role of Superman in the sequel, and Man of Steel stars Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane, and Laurence Fishburne will also return, Warner Bros. said.
The film is slated for release in summer 2015, but there has been no word on who will play Batman. Bale has previously shot down rumors that he would play the masked hero again.
Greg Silverman, president of creative development at Warner Bros., said the studio could not think of any director better suited to bringing Superman and Batman together. "Zach Snyder is an incredibly talented filmmaker, but beyond that, he's a fan first and he utterly gets this genre," he said in a statement.
Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, showcased a number of upcoming films on Saturday at Comic-Con, including Seventh Son, 300: Rise of an Empire, Godzilla and The Lego Movie, which will bring together Superman and Batman in animated Lego form.
Another week has rolled on by and I feel somewhat accomplished. By the end of this update I’m hoping to be whole again. Complete even, as it is my goal daily to bring you the best of week this fine Sunday morning on the latest industry insights from the world of gambling entertainment. So sit back, relax and lets have a chat shall we.
Consumer Protection: Problem and Underage Gambling?
First up, this week the “Expansion of Internet Gambling: Assessing Consumer Protection Concerns“ hearing held by US Senate Committee members took place. The hearing’s main focus was to address the concerns on problem and underage gambling.
With five US States so far initiating online gambling within their borders and over 20 additional states considering, US lawmakers continue to question the 2011 reversal of the Wire Act by the Obama administration.
“Internet gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry that comes with some serious risks, including the potential for money laundering used for terrorist financing. This alone demands that we take a hard look at what a growing Internet gambling industry means as more states have recent laws permitting online wagering,” said Chairman Rockefeller. “We’ve also got to take a hard look at consumer protections, and how we’re going to fix any existing gaps that allow underage gambling or otherwise leave consumers vulnerable to fraud and abuse.”
Senate Dan Heller shared his own experiences on how online gambling has affected his personal life. The Subcommittee member related a story of his friends child who had wager his entire college tuition to online gambling sites.
Statistical Research: According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, seven of every ten college students in the U.S. (70.5%) are age 21 or older. More statistical rankings are provided here: Most Students Over Age 25 | Rankings | US News
While others attending the hearing like, Tom Grissen, focused on biometrics, a computer science for human identification of characteristics or traits. Security measures were a significant cause for concerns as Grissen, CEO of Daon, identity management and authentication solutions, demonstrated that the proper use of Internet security procedures is a solution for those plagued with gambling addiction and for a prevention of underage access.
Acquisitions
A huge announcement this week was the acquisition of SHFL Entertainment by Bally for a mere [sarcasm] $1.3 billion in cash. The purchase will open up new avenues online and offline markets for the gaming industry’s largest slot machine developers especially in the Asia markets. According to recent figures released from the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the gaming industry has seen revenue of $21 billion in the first quarter of 2013.
WSOP, November Nine
The events of the 2013 WSOP finally culminated with the selection of the nine participants to compete for the ultimate fame and prize in November. Odds on favorite JC Tran is the chip leader with 38,000,000 chips!
Online poker room Full Tilt announced that it is looking to diversify with its very own online casino. According to a statement released from parent Rational Group via OP Report, there are plans to “expand product offering to include casino style games on Full Tilt Poker.”
“While adding new games, we remain committed to building our leadership in poker with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker and continuing to deliver the highest quality poker experience to players.”
“These new games on Full Tilt will provide more gaming options with the same high quality player experience, integrity, security, safety and support that players have come to expect from our brands. PokerStars will continue to offer a poker-only experience.”
Perspective’s Weekly
And to round out this week’s recap we head over to our friends at the APCW as JTodd takes a look at the latest poker industry major developments: Including Playtech’s purchase of PokerStrategy-com and PokerStars heading to the sunny state?
“In Vegas, everybody’s gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I’m watching the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all.” Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, Casino
Until next time, see ya on the felt.
The Dirty Stack, Online Gambling & Consumer Protection -
The death was announced in a statement on behalf of Smith's wife Pam by his agent Michael Foster. His former colleagues from Not the Nine O'Clock News paid tribute on Saturday to the comedian Mel Smith, who has died of a heart attack at the age of 60.
Griff Rhys Jones, who worked closely with Smith over several years, said last night: "Mel was a force for life. He had a relish for it that seemed utterly inexhaustible. He inspired love and utter loyalty and he gave it in return.
"I will look back on the days working with him as some of the funniest times that I have ever spent. "We loved performing together. He was a gentleman and a scholar, a gambler and a wit. And he was a brilliant actor. But he never took himself or the business too seriously. We are all in a state of shock. We have lost a very, very dear friend."
Rowan Atkinson, who worked with the comic on both Not the Nine O'Clock News and the first Mr Bean film, which Smith directed, said he was "truly sad" to hear about his death.
"Mel Smith - a lovely man of whom I saw too little in his later years," he said. "He had a wonderfully generous and sympathetic presence both on and off screen. He was also an excellent theatre and movie director, doing a wonderful job on the first Mr Bean movie. If you direct a comedy movie that takes $245?million at the box office you've done something pretty special, and I never thought he was given enough credit for this success."
The death was announced in a statement on behalf of Smith's wife Pam by his agent Michael Foster. It said: "Mel Smith, comedian and writer, died on Friday aged 60, from a heart attack at his home in north-west London."
Smith, was born and raised in Chiswick, west London, where his father owned a greengrocer's then a bookmaker's shop. He attended Latymer Upper School before going on to New College, Oxford. He joined the university's dramatic society, which appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The society shared a venue with the Cambridge Footlights, where Smith was spotted by the producer John Lloyd, who went on to cast him in Not The Nine O'Clock News, which began in 1979. Smith initially earned pounds 100 per episode.
Lloyd said last night: "I first saw him at the Cambridge Review and when I came to cast Not The Nine O'Clock News I knew straight away I wanted him in it.
He knew what made something funny. It's a great loss not just as an amazingly talented guy but also as a friend." After the series ended in 1982, he performed with Griff Rhys Jones in Alas Smith and Jones. In 1981, the pair founded Talkback Productions, which has produced several successful comedy shows of the past two decades, including Da Ali G Show and I'm Alan Partridge.
In 2000, the company was sold to Pearson for pounds 62?million. In 1987, he recorded a cover of the Christmas song Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree with Kim Wilde for Comic Relief which reached number three in the charts.
Smith also starred in the comedy film Morons From Outer Space and directed Emma Thompson in The Tall Guy. He also played serious roles. He appeared at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe festival in Allegiance, a play by the Irish journalist and author Mary Kenny about Churchill's meeting with the Irish nationalist leader Michael Collins in 1921.
The following year Smith directed the West End revival of Charley's Aunt. Smith had suffered from poor health in recent years, but said he was unable to stop working.
In December 2008 he appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, despite suffering from severe pharyngitis, an inflammation of the throat. For several years Smith had been addicted to painkillers after using them to deal with gout.
Tributes have been paid to the performer from some of the leading figures in television. Peter Fincham, the ITV director who was the business partner of Smith and Jones at Talkback, as well as their agent, said: "He had extraordinary natural talent with the rare gift of wearing it lightly.
"Mel and Griff were one of the great comedy acts and it's hard to imagine that one of them is no longer with us." Tony Hall, the BBC's director general, said: "Mel Smith's contribution to British comedy cannot be overstated. On screen he helped to define a new style of comedy from the late 1970s that continues to influence people to this day."
The Senate Commerce Committee says online gambling opens the door to illegal money laundering, terrorism, and puts gambling in easy reach of gambling addicts.
Senator Roy Blunt, a member of the committee says Congress passed a law in 2006 that solved the problem, until the passage of the Wire Act, which he says creates a wild west atmosphere for sports betting and the like.
Senator Claire McCaskill who also serves on the committee, says what works on the floor of a casino may not work in the virtual world of online gambling.
She and Blunt agree that more federal oversight is necessary.
Efforts being made in the U.S. Senate to review the need for effective regulation of online gambling have been applauded by the American Gaming Association (AGA).
“Internet poker is a reality that is here to stay,” said Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO.
“The question is whether Congress will ensure minimum regulatory standards of online poker, protect consumers, exclude bad actors from the American market and provide Native American tribes with an appropriate regulatory framework,” he said.
A recent Senate subcommittee hearing raised numerous issues regarding the legalization of online gambling, including the need to modernize federal laws.
Online gambling regulation efforts applauded by AGA :: GamingToday-com
Michael Jackson's mother has testified in her wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live.
Katherine Jackson, 83, said under cross-examination that she and her family had heard rumours that the singer was abusing pain medications but never saw him under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the final years of his life.
"I told him I heard that he was using prescription drugs," the Jackson family matriarch told jurors in her second day on the stand in the trial in which she and Jackson's children are suing AEG Live over the singer's death.
AEG has argued that Jackson had prescription drug and addiction problems for years before entering into any agreement with the company.
The King of Pop died at age 50 in June 2009 in Los Angeles from an overdose of the surgical anaesthetic propofol while preparing for his This Is It series of comeback shows in London.
The lawsuit alleges that privately held AEG Live hired Dr Conrad Murray as Jackson's personal physician. Murray was caring for the singer as he rehearsed for the shows and the doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for administering the propofol that killed Jackson.
Katherine Jackson, dressed in a purple and white coat and a dark pink top, said she confronted her son about the rumours at his Las Vegas residence, where he lived from 2006 to 2008. She did not say exactly when she brought up her concerns.
"He didn't want me to worry," Jackson said when questioned by AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam about whether she knew he would deny the rumours.
"He's my son," she added. "I didn't think it was that serious. When a child respects his mother and doesn't want her to think it's that bad, he'll deny it." Putnam said he will call Jackson back to the stand and hopes to convince the jury that she and Michael's siblings knew of his addiction and hid it.
"No one had a closer relationship than she did. She did everything to ensure the world didn't know," Putnam told reporters outside court.
'No deep discussion'
Katherine Jackson, who said that was the only time she confronted her son about drugs on her own, acknowledged that she knew her famous son was taking prescription medication for head and back pains but said she did not believe he was abusing them.
Jackson's mother, who grew frustrated at times with Putnam's questioning, said that she and her children together asked the singer about his rumoured addictions in 2002, believing that her presence would have a stronger impact on him.
"We just saw that he was OK and he was upset," she said of the family's intervention. "So we didn't talk about it. ... There was no deep discussion."
Katherine Jackson concluded her testimony tearfully reiterating earlier statements from Friday that AEG Live failed to get her son proper medical attention or reach out to his family when he fell ill while preparing for his comeback tour.
"I wanted to hear what happened to my son," she said when asked why she initiated the lawsuit.
Jackson cried when her attorney, Brian Panish, showed a photo of the pop singer appearing gaunt and sleep-deprived shortly before his death.
AEG Live has said it did not hire or supervise Murray and could not have foreseen that Murray posed a danger to Jackson. Putnam said he does not plan to call Murray to testify but he will call "many, many, many doctors" Jackson saw over the years.
AEG Live began its defence on Monday by calling former executive John Meglen to the stand shortly before court was adjourned.
Michael's oldest son, Prince, 16, has already testified. The younger children Paris, 15, and 11-year-old Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket, were not expected to testify.
Michael's nephews T.J. and Taj Jackson, sons of brother Tito Jackson, have also testified.
The trial, which started in April and was supposed to last three months, is expected to conclude in September.
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