Let your mouth speak archive

Sandra Bullock dropped the F-bomb on stage during her acceptance speech for receiving Best Actress in an Action Movie at the Critics’ Choice Awards in LA.

After the 49-year-old actress thanked Jackie Chan, Jean Claude Van Damme and Sylvester Stallone for teaching her everything she knows, she was momentarily silenced by a prerecorded announcement, News.com.au reported.

The ‘Gravity’ star responded to it with a rather animated “What the F***?” which received a lot of applause from the crowd.

She further joked that she is an action hero and they don’t do that to an action hero.

Ixgames is an international website with readers across the globe. Check with your own local authorities to see if gambling online is legal in your area before beginning to wager online.

As soon as we get a chance we will provide expert advice about how to win big at slots, blackjack, roulette, and poker.



Cheers and have fun!!

Internet gambling is booming and US players account for half of the global market, but, following the introduction of a Bill that would outlaw the industry, the American authorities are getting increasingly exercised about its citizens playing games of chance and wagering bets online. Playing poker on the Web is becoming a political hot potato.~ ~ The Congressional Research Service estimates that 23 million US citizens regularly gamble over the Web and spend US$6 billion a year on their pastime. Indeed, Internet gambling is so popular and pervasive that a tax on it would contribute significantly to federal and local states incomes (estimates are that central government would rake in a handy US$3.3 billion a year whilst individual states would benefit to the tune of $1 billion more), were it not for the fact that the mass of the companies providing online gambling facilities are, with good reason, headquartered well away from the US.~ ~ The complex debate about the control and taxation of Internet gambling is further complicated by vocal input from the neo-Puritans in US society who regard all games of chance as immoral and believe they should be prohibited. Add to this mix the unlikely alliance of self-interested parties as diverse as race-track operators, state lottery officials and crusading Department of Justice officials and the result is a heady brew.~ ~ A clear indication of the way the wind is blowing came yesterday when the FBI charged 11 people with “racketeering and fraud” in accepting and processing online bets from US residents. One of the companies concerned in the actions is BetOnSports, a UK public limited company that is listed on AIM, London’s Alternative Investment Market.~ ~ The US Justice Department intends to distrain on and seek confiscation of $4.5 billion from BetOnSports and three other companies.~ ~ The BetOnSports CEO, David Carruthers, is cited in a 22-count indictment raised in St. Louis, Missouri after an investigation into online gambling was carried out there. It seems that US investigators took on assumed identities and then gambled on the Web to prepare the case against BetOnSports and others.~ ~ Mr Carruthers, who has lived in Costa Rica (where BetOnSports is based) since 2000, was on his way home after attending the company’s AGM in London when G-Men arrested him in transit at Dallas airport, Texas. ~ ~ He has long been an opponent of proposed US moves that would prohibit American banks and credit card companies from processing Internet gambling payments.

He says that online gambling is a fact of life that the US authorities would do better to accept, regulate and tax rather than to try to prohibit.~ ~ Last week the anti-online gambling Bill got the backing of the US House of Representatives but is unlikely to make it onto the statute Books because of a backlog of legislation and pending elections.~ ~ BetOnSports said the move by the US authorities and the arrest of the company’s CEO came out of the blue and that there had been no prior exchanges with federal officers. The company also vowed that trading will continue as normal. In a statement it said, “In particular, the Antigua-licenced gaming activities services in Costa Rica and Kuala Lumpur are operating as usual.”~ ~ Piling on the pressure elsewhere, the US authorities have also filed a civil action requiring that BetOnSports ceases to accept any further bets from US citizens and to return to federal authorities any monies held in any accounts pertaining to US gamblers.~ ~ Accordingly, yesterday evening the company pulled the plug on direct connections with the US, condemning determined punters to route calls through Canada, Mexico and elsewhere if they wish to continue to pursue their pastime.~ ~ Cathrine Hanaway, a St. Louis US attorney said, “This [the indictment] is part of an exercise to punish and seize the profits of those illegally running gaming sites. Illegal commercial gambling across state and international borders is a crime.”~ ~ The legal argument here is based on the provisions of the antiquated 1961 Wire Act. This legislation prohibits gamblers from using wire-based telecoms systems to transmit bets and was enacted decades before the Internet came into being.~ ~ However, Ms. Hanaway, whilst conceding that “this is a tough crime to prosecute” believes she has a cut and dried case because BetOnSports has been using widely-advertised toll-free phone numbers to allow US resident punters to connect with its website. The company claims the service is merely “customer assistance” that permits US citizens to provide the financial wherewithal to allow Costa Ricans to place bets. Attorney Hanaway dismisses this out of hand as “an obvious ploy.”~ ~ Trading in BetOnSports shares on the AIM was suspended yesterday and other Internet gambling companies such as PartyGaming and 888 Holdings saw their shares take a hammering.~ ~ This is a test case that could have far-reaching consequences for the future of online gambling. Interestingly though, the US authorities are also to prosecute BetOnSports for failure to pay federal wagering excise duties on more than $3.3 billion in US bets. In other words, "if we can`t get you one way, we`ll make sure we get you another."~



TelecomTV | News | Internet gambling industry in turmoil after US arrests

The death of a matriarch has revealed a rift in the family of celebrity psychologist Sara Chatwin.

It is a fracture so deep one family member claims security guards prevented him attending the funeral of Sara's mother, Lynne, who died on January 11.

Sara Chatwin sought an injunction to prevent the Herald on Sunday publishing this story.

However, she lost her bid in the High Court in Auckland on Friday.

Chatwin remembered her mother in a death notice published in the New Zealand Herald on Wednesday.

The next day a second death notice, from Sara's brother, Ross, revealed the family conflict.

The reasons for the rift are not known but it appears there has been recent legal action over Lynne Chatwin's family trust that was settled by mediation.

In a statement yesterday Sara said her mother died after a three-day illness and brief hospital stay.

"I have followed and respected her wishes and instructions in regard to her hospital stay and funeral.

"My role has been to support and love and care for my mother and guide my four children through a harrowing time."

Ross Chatwin would not comment.

However, his nephew, Samuel Chatwin, who says he lived with Lynne Chatwin for 10 years, said the notice was "justified".

Samuel is the son of Sara's brother, Mark, who died several years ago. A fourth sibling, Debbie, was also deceased, Samuel said.

The row was the latest instalment in a family spat that began when his grandparents divorced more than 20 years ago, the 28-year-old said.

"Ever since then s**t has just flown in both directions."

Neither he nor his siblings were told their grandmother had died, he said.

"We found out through family friends on Monday. I think my uncle [Ross] found out the same day."

Ross did not attend the funeral at Purewa Crematorium in Meadowbank on Wednesday, but Samuel alleged two security guards stopped him and his two siblings from attending.

"Sara opened the door and said, 'You're not welcome here ... you're not coming in'.

"It was drastic to have security at my grandmother's funeral. [Lynne] was my grandmother and I loved her."

Jonathan Moore, who was married to Sara's late sister Debbie, did not attend the funeral, but complained to Purewa about other family members being barred.

"They said, 'It's a family issue'.

"[I think] it's not Sara Chatwin's day, it's her mother's day."

Moore also claimed no one in the family knew Lynne Chatwin had been in hospital.

Sara Chatwin said she was "saddened" by the comments. .

"Neither Sam nor Jonathan had anything to do with my mother or my family for many years, unless one counts Sam's involvement in recent litigation against my mother in regard to her family trust ...

"Neither I nor my mother have spoken to or seen Jonathan for some 20 years.

"Although I accept that people grieve in very different ways, speaking to the media about private family issues is not helpful.

"I feel in this instance it has been disrespectful to the memory of my mother, who was a fabulous, loving and very private woman."

Samuel said the litigation was not started by him, but he had hired lawyers to defend himself, his siblings and two cousins.

The litigation was related to two family trusts.

He was not chasing money, but "fairness, equality and justice", he said.


Death notices reveal deep rift - Entertainment - NZ Herald News

Internet gambling is off to a slow start in New Jersey, but nearly everyone involved or interested in it expects online betting to gain steam in 2014.

The key question remains: Just how much better will things get?

Figures released last week by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement showed New Jersey’s 15 authorized Internet gambling sites took in $8.4 million between the Nov. 21 launch and the end of the year.

At that rate, Internet gambling would bring in less than $100 million for the year — far less than the $200 million to $300 million many analysts forecast and about 10 percent of the $1 billion in revenue Gov. Chris Christie said he was counting on when he signed the bill legalizing it.

“Everybody needs to take into consideration that this industry is in its infancy,” said Tony Rodio, president of the Tropicana Casino and Resort. “There will be mobile applications, and a lot of the slot content isn’t operational yet.

“I’m encouraged by how many user accounts that people have signed up for and that there’s interest in it,” he said. “You’ll see this grow quickly.”

As of Jan. 12, users had created 155,374 accounts with New Jersey gambling sites, though officials say many users have accounts on more than one site.

Rodio predicted the addition of Internet gambling will be enough to end a seven-year losing streak for Atlantic City’s casinos, whose revenue has fallen every year since 2007, when neighboring Pennsylvania ramped up its own casino industry.

Two companies are dominating the online market in the early going in New Jersey. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, with its Party Poker online brand, took in more than $3.7 million. Caesars Interactive, which runs sites including the WSOP and 888 brands, won nearly $2.4 million.

Other competitors lagged badly in the online market. The Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and its ucasino brand won $883,000. The Tropicana Casino and Resort won $748,000, Trump Plaza Hotel Casino and its Betfair online brand won $427,000 and the Golden Nugget, whose launch was delayed for weeks by technical problems, won $179,000.

Thomas Winter, the Golden Nugget’s vice president of online gambling, said the casino is pleased with its start and is expecting substantial growth of 20 percent per month this year. Right now the casino accounts for 4 percent of New Jersey’s online market, but it expects to win 7 to 10 percent of the market “over time,” he said.

Winter, like executives at the Borgata, said online gambling doesn’t appear to be cannibalizing the existing land-based casino’s business, at least so far.

“Slightly more than 50 percent of our online customers were not regular customers at the Golden Nugget or were not customers at all,” he said. Long-range estimates envision that 60 to 70 percent of online players will not be regular customers of the physical casino — creating a marketing opportunity to encourage them to do so, Winter said.

Peggy Holloway, senior vice president of Moody’s Investors Service, wrote in a report last week that Internet gambling “will do little to brighten the fortunes of Atlantic City’s beleaguered gaming operators in the near future.”

“While internet gaming is starting off slowly, the pace of growth will accelerate as issues with payment processing and geo-location technology are ironed out and operators ramp-up their marketing spending to educate consumers that online gaming is available,” she wrote, repeating the firm’s estimate that Internet gambling should generate $250 million to $500 million a year.

Chad Beynon, an analyst with Macquarie Capital, called the early numbers disappointing.

“With 7 million adults in New Jersey, and others who may ‘stop in,’ we estimate the market to grow to $200 million to $300m by 2015, cannibalizing $25 million to $50 million of land-based revenues,” he wrote in a report last week. “We do note that it’s early and many of the TV advertisements just recently started.”

David Rebuck, director of the state Gaming Enforcement Division, said he is pleased with how things have gone so far. Problems with geo-location technology, which has wrongly shut out some players whose physical location couldn’t be verified, are being worked on, and the overall technology appears to be working well, he said.

“Internet gaming remains in its infancy in New Jersey,” he said. “From a regulatory perspective, the systems are working as anticipated and we are encouraged by the operations. I am optimistic that we will see continued growth as the properties begin to increase their marketing efforts to attract more customers.”


NJ Predicts Internet Gambling Will Pick Up This Year « CBS Philly

It’s the battle of billionaires.

Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas NV casino magnate & GOP megadonor, is raising the stakes in the battle over online gambling by throwing his financial muscle behind a national crusade to end Internet gambling altogether.

That puts him at odds with a number of fellow billionaires, in addition to Donald Trump, the New York real estate mogul who recently partnered with Ultimate Gaming to offer online wagering in New Jersey.

Mr. Adelson’s crusade moreover pits him against Leon Black, Josh Harris, Marc Rowan & David Bonderman, the hedge fund kingpins who are hoping in that the profits from online gambling can save their investment in Caesars Entertainment, which is deeply in debt.

More billionaires may be entering the fray: Forbes reported this month in that billionaire investors George Soros, John Paulson & Leon Cooperman have stakes in Caesars.

Mr. Adelson has asserted he will spend whatever it takes to emerge victorious — — welcome news for online gambling opponents, who state the deep-pocketed 80-year-old will assist counter the casinos, cash-strapped states & Wall Street bigwigs eager to create what could be a multibillion-dollar industry.

“I think it changes the landscape in in that it puts noteworthy financial resources [behind] the independent evidence in that shows Internet gambling is highly predatory, exploits kids & literally is impossible to regulate at all,” asserted Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling. “I think [Mr. Adelson] has put noteworthy resources in to putting a spotlight on what it means to have a Las Vegas NV casino in every home, office & every smartphone in the country.”

The fight has spilled in to big-time politics, with Capitol Hill & key state governors taking sides.

Mr. Adelson finds himself at odds with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose state began allowing online gambling last year & last week formally announced in that online operators posted $8.4 million in earnings through the 1st five weeks. That was well below the pace needed to meet casinos’ expectations of $1.2 billion in projected revenue this fiscal year — — though the Borgata casino, owned by MGM Resorts International & Boyd Gaming, reported $3.75 million in online gambling revenue, & Caesars Interactive reported nearly $2.4 million in revenue.

Both sides state the profits would increase dramatically if Congress enacts legislation empowering the federal government to license & regulate Internet gambling nationwide.

Legal battle

Online gambling was illegal until 2011, when the Justice Department issued an opinion saying in that the Wire Act of 1961 banned gambling only on sporting events, yet did not bar Internet games. States are allowed to license online gambling, yet only within their own borders or those of other states in that moreover allow it.

Supporters want the federal government to license online gambling on a nationwide basis. Opponents want to restore the original, restrictive interpretation of the Wire Act.

“Make no mistake: Online gaming is here to stay,” Geoff Freeman, president of the American Gaming Association, told a House subcommittee last month. “The government cannot put the Internet back in the bottle. As we saw with Blockbuster & the advent of online movies, industries must adapt to consumers or be left in their wake.”



Billionaires brawl over the future of online gambling | Las Vegas Nv Blog

In the Garden State of New Jersey, online gaming is back in a major way — Interestingly, Chris Christie’s state just released numbers that show that from November 21 through the end of 2013, there was $8.4 million in online gambling according to the first data released by the State of New Jersey. Online – LEGAL – gambling is here to stay. Interestingly, this is the seventh year in a row that Atlantic City, N.J., casinos brought in less revenue than years past. And indeed, as businesses’ evolve, its interesting that New Jersey now allows online gambling — but one has to be within the State borders.

Caesars Entertainment has taken the lead collecting nearly $2.4 million in online gaming in the first few weeks of operations. Moody’s Investor Service gaming analyst Peggy Holloway recently said that “While Internet gaming is starting off slowly, the pace of growth will accelerate.”

CaesarsCasino-com has bonuses for New Jersey residents — until January 31, all participants can earn entries into the Live Like Caesar Giveaway for all online casino play. The grand prize includes first-class air travel for two to Rome, upscale hotel accommodations for six nights, and $1,000 in spending money. The glory of Rome awaits – and as great as the rebuilt Jersey Shore is, how much greater is Italy?



Online Gambling: Progress in New Jersey

Jay Leno will close out his 22-year run as host of NBC's the "Tonight" show with a nod to the future and to the past.

His heir apparent, Jimmy Fallon, will kick off Leno's final week with a guest appearance on Feb. 3. Fallon is taking over the gig after hosting NBC's "Late Night" since 2009.

Leno's final night, on Feb. 6, will feature Billy Crystal, who was Leno's first guest in May 1992 when he succeeded Johnny Carson. Country superstar Garth Brooks will also appear.

Leno's last week will also include Betty White, Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, country singer Blake Shelton, musician Lyle Lovett and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.

Fallon starts his run on Feb. 17 during the second week of the network's Olympics coverage. As a result, the "Tonight" show will air at midnight following the nightly games coverage from Sochi, Russia. On Feb. 24, the show will revert to its regular 11:35 p.m. slot.

Leno left the show in 2009 to host a prime time talk show, with Conan O'Brien replacing him on "Tonight." After six months of poor ratings for both men, O'Brien was out at "Tonight" and Leno returned to his old gig.

NBC Entertainment president Robert Greenblatt is hoping to continue the network's relationship with Leno after he leaves late night.

"I would love him to do specials with us, and we've got ideas about other sorts of shows he can host," Greenblatt said Sunday at the Television Critics Association meeting. "As he told me recently, NBC has really been his only home."

He said Leno didn't want to discuss his future until he finished his final week.


Fallon and Crystal among Leno's final guests : Entertainment

The Virgin Group is poised to launch its online casino gambling site in New Jersey.

The virgincasino-com site is due to launch Friday.

The site was one of 15 approved last fall by New Jersey gambling regulators. But it chose to delay its launch while problems affecting numerous online sites involving login problems, payment issues and software glitches were worked out.

Virgin is partnered with online game maker Gamesys, which also runs the Tropicana online casino site. Virgin says it plans to make New Jersey its online gambling headquarters.

New Jersey's Internet gambling sites took in $8.4 million between the Nov. 21 launch and the end of the year.

Analysts expect the state to take in between $200 to $500 million this year in online gambling revenue.


Virgin Group to launch N.J. online gambling site this week | NJ-com

Last week, the fourth informal meeting of online gambling regulators took place in Rome, Italy, and a lot was covered.

According to a press release from the Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies (AAMS), which is Italy’s regulator, representatives from the authorities of France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom converged to talk about “a further improvement of the information sharing and good practices exchange among the regulators and developing advice to feed into the European Commission Expert Group.”

The participants shared their views on a plethora of topics, including: regulatory evolution of domestic markets, EU ongoing work on online gambling, the different control systems, the exchange of standardized market data, the role of game suppliers, the technical standards and skill games and the legal issues linked to the exchange of personal data.

A notable absence from the topics was sharing online gambling liquidity across Europe.

The next meeting will be held next fall in Germany.


European Online Gambling Regulators Meet

Finally, you can go to Atlantic City and not actually have to leave your hotel room.

The Virgin Group—founded by everyone’s favorite British kajillinoaire, Richard Branson—has partnered with Gamesys to open Virgin Casino, a new, legal online gambling site for people in the Garden State.

(In case you haven’t been avidly following New Jersey’s virtual casino news, online gambling was legalized in the state last November.)

Though online gambling (or, at least, legal online gambling) has been off to a pretty slow start in New Jersey, Gamesys COO Lee Fenton seemed pretty sure that people are going to (virtually) flock to Virgin’s new online enterprise.

“There’s a lot of games on there that are tried and trusted from the casino floor, but there’s also a load of unique content—slot content or jackpot content that you can’t find in any brick-and-mortar casino,” Gamesys COO Lee Fenton told Betabeat.

True to Virgin’s c-c-craaaaaazy reputation, the Virgin Casino will apparently be giving out a butt ton of money. With a much-hyped communal jackpot feature, any time a user wins $10,000, another $10,000 will be split amongst all the other users currently logged into the site—and Mr. Fenton said we can expect the jackpots’ values to get even higher in the future.

And more good, #relevant news: Mr. Fenton assured us that users won’t have to worry about their personal data being leaked to some sketchy Russian mafia peeps.

“We’re certainly not worried about data leaks,” he said. “All of our technology is state of the art….We look at multiple different databases to verify the player is who they say they are, and make sure that they are of a legal age, and make sure the player is physically in New Jersey when they wager.” Cool.


Read more at Richard Branson’s Virgin Group Sets Up Online Casino in N.J. | Betabeat
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Jan. 19–It’s the battle of billionaires.

Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas NV casino magnate & Republican Party megadonor, is raising the stakes in the battle over online gambling by throwing his financial muscle behind a national crusade to end Internet gambling altogether.

That puts him at odds with a number of fellow billionaires, in addition to Donald Trump, the New York real estate mogul who recently partnered with Ultimate Gaming to offer online wagering in New Jersey.

Mr. Adelson’s crusade moreover pits him against Leon Black, Josh Harris, Marc Rowan & David Bonderman, the hedge fund kingpins who are hoping in that the profits from online gambling can save their investment in Caesars Entertainment, which is deeply in debt.

More billionaires may be entering the fray: Forbes reported this month in that billionaire investors George Soros, John Paulson & Leon Cooperman have stakes in Caesars.

Mr. Adelson has asserted he will spend whatever it takes to emerge victorious — welcome news for online gambling opponents, who state the deep-pocketed 80-year-old will assist counter the casinos, cash-strapped states & Wall Street bigwigs eager to create what could be a multibillion-dollar industry.

“I think it changes the landscape in in that it puts noteworthy financial resources [behind] the independent evidence in that shows Internet gambling is highly predatory, exploits kids & literally is impossible to regulate at all,” asserted Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling. “I think [Mr. Adelson] has put noteworthy resources in to putting a spotlight on what it means to have a Las Vegas NV casino in every home, office & every smartphone in the country.”

The fight has spilled in to big-time politics, with Capitol Hill & key state governors taking sides.

Mr. Adelson finds himself at odds with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose state began allowing online gambling last year & last week formally announced in that online operators posted $8.4 million in earnings through the 1st five weeks. That was well below the pace needed to meet casinos’ expectations of $1.2 billion in projected revenue this fiscal year — though the Borgata casino, owned by MGM Resorts International & Boyd Gaming, reported $3.75 million in online gambling revenue, & Caesars Interactive reported nearly $2.4 million in revenue.

Both sides state the profits would increase dramatically if Congress enacts legislation empowering the federal government to license & regulate Internet gambling nationwide.

Legal battle

Online gambling was illegal until 2011, when the Justice Department issued an opinion saying in that the Wire Act of 1961 banned gambling only on sporting events, yet didn’t bar Internet games.

States are allowed to license online gambling, yet only within their own borders or those of other states in that moreover allow it.

Supporters want the federal government to license online gambling on a nationwide basis. Opponents want to restore the original, restrictive interpretation of the Wire Act.

“Make no mistake: Online gaming is here to stay,” Geoff Freeman, president of the American Gaming Association, told a House subcommittee last month. “The government cannot put the Internet back in the bottle. As we saw with Blockbuster & the advent of online movies, industries must adapt to consumers or be left in their wake.”

The two sides of the debate have hired huge guns to assist them work with state authorities & with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.



Billionaires Battle Over Online Gambling | Las Vegas Nv Blog

Hollywood actor Johnny Depp and actress Amber Heard are engaged to be married, People magazine reported.

“They couldn’t be happier to be engaged and excited to share the rest of their lives together. Amber has really taken well to the kids and really enjoys spending time with them,” the People report said, citing an unnamed source.

Representatives for Depp, 50, and Heard, 27, did not immediately confirm the report.

Depp, a veteran whose diverse career includes “Edward Scissorhands,” and the recent “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, was previously in a 14-year relationship with French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis.

They have two children and were not married, ending their relationship in 2012.

When the couple separated, entertainment media speculated Depp may have had a relationship with Heard, at the time a co-star in the film “The Rum Diary.”

Heard is known for the film “Zombieland.” She has spoken of her bisexuality and was recently in a four-year relationship with photographer Tasya van Ree. They split in 2012 around the same time as Depp and Paradis.

Depp was married in the 1980s to Lori Anne Allison. He also dated actress Winona Ryder and British supermodel Kate Moss.

Depp and Heard are starring in the upcoming film “London Fields.”

Virgin Group will become the latest company to enter New Jersey’s online gambling industry with the launch Friday of virgincasino-com.

Virgin Casino will launch in partnership with Gamesys, the online gambling partner of Tropicana Casino & Resort. The website will be one of 15 sites approved for play in New Jersey.

The site began testing during New Jersey’s soft launch in November, but opted to hold off on a full launch to allow more time to address issues with geolocation and payment processing, said Gamesys COO Lee Fenton. Gamesys was founded in 2001. Currently operating in the United Kingdom, its leading brand Jackpotjoy has more than 4 million players.

“We wanted to refine the experience and make sure it was as good as it could possibility be for the customer,” Fenton said.

The casino will offer more than 30 games, including blackjack, roulette, baccarat and slots. It also offers a community jackpot, which awards $20,000 even after a player hits the grand prize.

“We hope to provide New Jersey players with a globally leading, safe, fun and rewarding online gambling experience,” Virgin Group founder Richard Branson said.

Players must be within the state’s borders to access online gaming. Companies initially experienced some difficulties with geolocation technology, akin to an invisible fence surrounding the state, and keeping out players from outside of New Jersey.

Under New Jersey law, online gambling companies must team with an Atlantic City casino to offer online gaming in the state. Currently seven of Atlantic City’s 11 casinos have online gambling permits.

Data released earlier this month show that New Jersey saw $8.4 million in online gambling revenue from the Nov. 21 soft launch through Dec. 31. Casinos said they were satisfied with that result and expect the numbers to grow.

Still, legislators have said it’s a near impossibility that New Jersey will meet Gov. Chris Christie’s projection of $1 billion in online revenue by the end of the fiscal year.


Virgin Group partners with Gamesys to offer online gambling through Tropicana - pressofAtlanticCity-com: Business

Legalization of Internet betting in several U.S. states is turning the gaming industry on its head and turning some states, like New Jersey, into a case study for the promise and pitfalls inherent in Internet disruption of status quo businesses. New Jersey's gaming companies have emerged as pioneers in online gaming—Nevada and Delaware are the only competition—but the Garden State's big online bet is still stuck somewhere between cutting-edge technology and desperation in what has been a slowly dying market.

Many casinos never fully recovered from the Great Recession. A report released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board last week showed the state's largest casinos are $1.35 billion in the red for the most recent fiscal year—a loss for the fifth straight year.

But for New Jersey's Atlantic City, the downturn was compounded by Tropical Storm Sandy. Gaming industry leaders are eager to come up with innovative ways to generate new revenue. "I believe that online gaming will evolve to become a major part of the American gaming industry," said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. "I see it as a shift in the way that people gamble, comparable to the change from table games to slot machines, which happened in the 1970s and 1980s."

The early results from New Jersey's entrance into online gaming are, not surprisingly, inconclusive, showing a struggling industry overall and a boost from online revenue that is modest. Atlantic City casinos reported a loss for the seventh straight year, with revenue falling below $3 billion in 2013 for the first time in 22 years, according to a report last week from New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Internet gambling revenue totaled $8.4 million in New Jersey from Nov. 21, 2013, when it began, through the end of December, according to the report. That's much less than the amount deemed necessary to reach the state's ambitious forecast of $1.2 billion by the end of the fiscal year, or even its more conservative forecast of $300 million. "Operators and suppliers are going to have to reinvest capital and come up with new games and new ways to attract players to the New Jersey gaming market," said Lisa Spengler, spokesperson for the New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement.

"The industry needs to stay aggressive to attract new customers both to land-based casinos as well as to Internet game play," said Spengler.

In the lead
There are a few clear winners in New Jersey's online gaming push.

The Borgata, which took in more than $3.7 million of online gambling revenue in the first month of operation, attracted the largest pool of players.

"On a combined basis, online and land-based poker revenue at Borgata was up more than 40 percent from our land-based play in December 2012," said Keith Smith, president and CEO of Boyd Gaming, which owns half of the Borgata. "Clearly, online gaming is complementary to our land-based business, not competitive."

The Garden State has already become the top destination for Internet betting, with 150,000 registered online gambling accounts, according to the state's Division of Gaming Enforcement—far more than Nevada or Delaware. Last week the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia 76ers announced a deal with partypoker.com, the first American major professional sports organizations to partner with an Internet gambling company.

If online gambling proves to be a hit, the Garden state could become a model in online gambling in the U.S.—or at least in getting more states to legalize it.

"The whole interest is in getting more tax revenue. … If you can legalize it and tax it, then the government's interest is in it," said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business, a business advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Experts said one advantage New Jersey has that not all states could leverage is a large population and economy.

"When you look at smaller states and you look at games such as poker, you need liquidity for those games to work," said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA). "In states like Nevada and Delaware, that liquidity may not be there at this point in time."

Figures for the entire 2013 fiscal year for Delaware's gaming industry have not been released, but casino slot revenue was down more than 47 million in the first five months of 2013 compared to 2012.

Not all of the gaming industry's heavyweights are endorsing the Internet migration. Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., has been outspoken about his moral objections to online gambling. "'Click your mouse and lose your house' isn't a marketing slogan for advocates of legalized online gambling. But it should be," he wrote in Forbes earlier this year.

When the slot machine was new
Many gaming experts believe online gambling will prove to be profitable in the long run.

"If you were looking at monthly numbers trying to gauge the potential of slot machines in, say, 1965, you'd be at a loss, but ultimately that new technology had a big impact," Schwartz said.

Caesars Entertainment Corp., the largest casino company in the world, spun off its online gaming ventures as a separate publicly traded company, Caesars Acquisition, in November. This move was in conjunction with existing private equity partners Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital.

"My guess is that online gambling will continue to expand and most states will approve it and it will continue to grow," Dunkelberg said. "Online gambling will increase the total volume of gambling revenues that happens, because people who want the ambiance will still fly to Vegas and go to Atlantic City or go to some casino in Philadelphia," he said.

And there may be a better early indicator of online gambling's potential than New Jersey's initial numbers. Internet gaming thrived on the black market after Congress passed t

21 January 2014

Greek gambling monopoly OPAP has unveiled a shortlist of online gaming providers ahead of the launch of its igaming product this year.

According to the Capital.gr website, the shortlist includes the likes of online casino software supplier Playtech, online gambling operator 888 and online gaming software provider Openbet.

The website also reported that OPAP is likely to confirm its internet provider within the next few days.

The announcement would speed up the launch of OPAP’s online sportsbook ahead of the 2014 World Cup national football tournament this summer.


OPAP unveils shortlist for online gaming providers | iGaming Business

When Geoff Freeman was selected as the new head of the American Gaming Association back in April of 2013, the organization was at a crossroads.

The U.S. commercial gambling industry faced existential threats from the economy and unregulated competitors, not to mention the unsettled question of how best to handle the controversial topic of online gambling.

Fast-forward just under a year and Freeman has, by all accounts, charted a path through those challenges. He’s staked out a clear position on iGaming, contracted Obama campaign guru Jim Messina for a grassroots boost and injected a formidable dose of talent into the AGA’s roster.

Freeman recently gave the keynote speech at the 2014 Winter Meeting of the National Council of Legislators From Gaming States (NCLGS). That’s where Marco Valerio conducted an exclusive interview covering online gambling regulation, Freeman’s larger vision for the AGA and why he’s preparing to do battle with the Magic Kingdom.

Marco Valerio: Good to see you here at the NCLGS winter meeting. What are you looking to get out of this conference, other than delivering the keynote address?

Geoff Freeman: This is my first time coming to NCLGS. I’ve heard great things about the attendees, the type of folks who are here. I think it’s important that the AGA begin to build a strong rapport with the gaming legislators, regulators and others who are here in attendance.

My goal is to position the AGA as a very collaborative and transparent organization, and here at this conference, it’s a great opportunity to start.

Valerio: We’ve heard a lot about the significant staff shake-ups at the AGA lately. You’ve hired a very impressive roster. What’s the plan?

Freeman: I’m really excited about the team that we’re beginning to put in place at the AGA. I’m really looking for people who have strong gaming experience and a lot of political savvy.

We have a campaign-oriented mentality. We need to run the best campaign this industry has ever seen about the value of gaming. And the team that we’re putting in place at the AGA is getting us in a better position to do that.

We still got a few more hires to go, but whether it’s Sara, Chaka, Allie, Virginia, Elizabeth… We’ve brought in some great talent, and it’s going to help take the industry to the next level.

Valerio: Where may one apply for one of those more hires to go?

Freeman: [Chuckles] We’ve got job openings on our website. More to come. We’re looking for varied talent, we’re looking for people who are passionate about the industry, who recognize what needs to be done.

Valerio: Lots is happening with the gaming industry nowadays, especially with respect to online gaming. What is it you are most currently engaged in at the moment?

Freeman: You know, my job is to take the temperature of this industry, to do my due diligence, get a sense of what the industry is looking for, and then get out there and be the best advocate the industry can have on those issues.

I’ve spoken with just about everybody in the industry who’s relevant to our board and our organization, gathered a sense of what they’re looking for, and that’s really what’s driving the AGA’s activity.

The one thing that I know just about all our members agree on – with the obvious exception of Las Vegas Sands and the important work that they’re doing – our members agree that the prohibition of online gaming is the wrong approach, and we’re going to make sure that prohibition does not happen. We’re going to fight that as strongly as we need to.

I’m very concerned that those who promote prohibition will make headway in Washington. They’re already beginning to make some headway. We’ve got our work cut out for us to make sure it doesn’t happen.

I’ll ask your readers and listeners to engage, to work through the Poker Players’ Alliance and other organizations to make sure prohibition does not take place.

Valerio: When I saw the AGA had hired Jim Messina’s group to work on more “grassroots” initiatives, I did remark that it looked like you were going to have something in common with the PPA. Is that a similarity that you see taking place?

Freeman: When I look at the AGA, I see no reason why we can’t be the champion of the player as well. We obviously represent the companies, but what’s good for the players is usually good for the companies as well.

So I see some opportunities to work together, to work with the Poker Players’ Alliance, to work with other grassroots organizations, and develop our own grassroots capabilities as well. There’s no reason why we can’t work more closely for those players and be their champions.

Valerio: You encourage the player community to work with the Poker Players’ Alliance, but the PPA is also substantially backed and funded by PokerStars, a company that the AGA has expressed its disapproval of. How do you reconcile those two attitudes?

Freeman: We don’t hold the PPA’s willingness to work with a company that flouted American law against them. The fact is that there are a lot of passionate players out there who believe in the need for regulation. And it’s that playing community that’s very important right now.

It’s very important to making sure that prohibition does not take place. I see opportunities to work with a lot of different folks. We don’t agree with state lotteries on everything, we certainly don’t agree with the PPA on everything, and there are a lot of others we don’t agree with on various issues.

That doesn’t mean we can’t work together where our interests align, and that’s what I’m focused on finding.

The AGA is an organization – and I can’t stress this enough – that is looking to work with others. Whether it be the PPA, whether it be the folks here at NCLGS, whether it be the players, we’re looking to be a collaborative organization where we can all take the gaming industry to the next level.

Valerio: Earlier you described the work that Sheldon Adelson is doing a

Legendary Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao passed away in the early hours today after battling cancer for several months. He was 91.

A Dada Saheb Phalke award winner, Rao, who acted in all times hits like Tenali Rama Krishna, Devdas, Maya Bazaar and Missamma, died in his sleep, his actor son Nagarjuna said here.

Roa is survived by three daughters and two sons.

The body will be taken to Annapurna studios owned by the family to enable his fans and film personalities to pay their last tributes.

In a carrier spanning almost seven decades Nageswara Rao acted in around 250 films. He was currently acting in a film titled "Manam" which casts three generations of actors of his family.

It works to me.....

You may not know it but inside the U.K. Facebook (FB_) is in the online gambling business. Facebook added real money gambling a little over a year ago. Up until recently it was limited to bingo and online slots but now, through a partnership with Zynga (ZNGA_), Facebook users in the U.K. can play online poker for real money.

None of the games are available in the U.S. yet. Legal hurdles including the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 have, until recently, kept almost all forms of online gambling outside of lottery ticket sales underground and offshore. After the U.S. Department of Justice clarified (essentially reversed) its stance on Internet gaming, states started testing the waters with intrastate licenses.

Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have passed legislation to allow some forms of commercial online gambling. Because the licenses are for intrastate only, all the players have to be physically located within their respective state borders to play. Geo location software is used to determine the players' location.

Surprisingly, Nevada, as open as it is for physical gambling and casinos, is highly restrictive in the virtual world and only allows for online poker with real money. New Jersey, on the other hand, allows greater diversity of types of games and is off to a slow, albeit better start.

The two main players in New Jersey are Borgata Hotel Casino owned by Boyd Gaming (BYD_) and MGM Resorts (MGM_), and Caesars Interactive (CACQ_). Borgata Hotel Casino uses the same software vendor bwin.party Digital Entertainment to provide the poker platform as Zynga in the U.K. Because bwin.party is licensed in New Jersey and working with Zynga -- and by proxy Facebook -- there's little reason to believe the trio will be delayed from entering other markets including the United States.



Facebook and Zynga Increase Online Gambling Bet - TheStreet