Let your mouth speak archive

Brazil’s proposed gambling reforms are being fast-tracked through the legislature, as the country seeks to reap the economic benefits of a liberalized gaming regime.

Bill 186/2014 would legalize casino gambling for the first time since 1946, as well as create a regulatory framework for online gambling.

The legislation was ratified by the Senate Commission for Regional Development and Tourism just last week and has now been accelerated to the House of Representatives for approval, side-stepping a legislative process that would normally have taken months.

The House approved a similar bill in July, but it was vetoed by President Dilma Rouseff on the advice of the Ministry of Finance, which claimed it didn’t have time to regulate gambling.

The previous proposal would have required “a more comprehensive regulation, to ensure greater legal and economic security to the sport, adequate levels of fraud control and tax evasion.’ explained Rouseff at the time.

She did, however, approve measures to impose stiff fines on citizens caught gambling in a public place, whether live or online.


Read more: www-casino-org/news/brazil-fast-tracks-bill-to-legalize-online-gambling

The recent congressional hearing into legislation that would ban online gaming couldn't have gone worse for backers of the bill even if they attempted to sabotage the three-hour meeting themselves.

Maybe they did.

Three witnesses who testified in support of a measure that would roll back the Interstate Federal Wire Act to its pre-2011 interpretation came off as uninformed and unprepared.

Republican congressmen trashed the legislation, which has been endorsed by billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, a prolific GOP campaign contributor who has made wiping out Internet gaming a pet project.

Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., a Southern Baptist pastor and conservative radio talk show host who "opposes all forms of gambling," said the Wire Act rollback "flies right in the face" of the U.S. Constitution's 10th amendment, which defines the balance of power between the federal government and the states.

The hearing went downhill from there.

Poker and gaming journalist Steve Ruddock tweeted that Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, lead sponsor of the Wire Act restoration legislation, was "outside digging a grave for (the) RAWA bill."

Chaffetz chaired the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and handpicked the witnesses, including former Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli, who was to be the lone opponent to the bill. Lipparelli, a Republican state senator and gaming consultant, was the only witness armed with data and facts.

He told the committee that regulatory structures for Internet gaming in Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey have defended the activity from money laundering, underage gambling and other nefarious areas. Lipparelli told lawmakers they should focus efforts on stopping illegal, offshore Internet gaming companies.

"Illegal gaming operators need to be put in the spotlight," Lipparelli said.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, FBI Assistant Director Robert Anderson and Douglas County (Nebraska) Attorney Donald Kleine seemed to be making up testimony as the hearing went along.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., bluntly told Wilson and Kleine they lacked any understanding of technology that ensures would-be Internet gamblers can't wager across state lines.

"I'm, sorry, but parts of your testimony are clearly wrong," Lieu said. "The notion that South Carolina citizens are playing online in Nevada or New Jersey has no basis in fact."

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., who isn't a committee member but was allowed to participate, chastised Anderson for not having any hard evidence to back up claims that online gaming supports money laundering. She called the testimony "jabberwocky."

Chaffetz tried to save the hearing at the end, reading into the record a 2007 Washington Post article that said three people used an offshore online casino to fund terrorists.

"I think its naive at best to say you're going to put a wall on the Internet and say we're not going to be able to penetrate this," Chaffetz said.

But the damage was done.

Gambling Compliance reported there was little appetite to added either the House or Senate version of the anti-Internet gaming legislation into an omnibus spending bill that Congress must pass before adjourning.

Online gambling supporters shouldn't take a victory lap just yet. There is still a lot more time on the clock.

U.S. Department of Justice lawyers said the Wire Act, which was written in 1961 and deals with the transmission of wagers, applies only to only to sports betting and not poker and casino-style games.

The opinion didn't open the legal Internet gaming floodgates. Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware are the only three states with online gaming laws on the books. Several states, including California and Pennsylvania, are considering legislation to legalize the activity.

The activity has not been a financial panacea predicted by analysts and industry experts.

Nevada had three online poker websites until Station Casinos pulled the plug on Ultimate Gaming in November 2014. Only once did the three sites combine for more $1 million in monthly gaming revenue. New Jersey was predicted to bring in $1 billion in Internet gaming revenue its first year. The actual figure was $122 million.

Adelson has just one high-profile backer in his opposition to Internet gaming — Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chairman Steve Wynn.

Station Casinos Senior Vice President Mike Sloan said that "changes in technology since the Wire Act was passed probably warrants a review to make sure we fully understand what is legal."

Nevada's two U.S. senators don't support Internet gaming as a whole but back poker.

Neal Patel, spokesman for Sen. Dean Heller, said the Republican's position has not changed. "He believes that a significant expansion of gambling, that would bring slot machines and other games of chance into every computer and home in America, is bad for Nevada and the country," Patel said. "Senator Heller supports restoration of the Wire Act and feels there should be an exemption for online poker since it is a game of skill."

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid spokeswoman Kristen Orthman said the Democrat "has long said he would support shutting down Internet slots and other games of chance but we should seek a path forward for Internet poker."



Inside Gaming: Wire Act hearing a disaster for online gambling opponents

In an effort to protect consumers, Armenia voted to prohibit online gambling adverts to prevent gambling addiction

A strong presence with online gambling in Armenia has been attracting the interest of many. With operators, gaming developers and players expressing attention with the market worldwide, some new forms of legislation have gone into effect including the ban of online gambling advertisements.

In November, Yerevan hosted the Armenian Gaming Forum, the First Gaming congress which covered every aspect of online gaming. It was then announced that all online gambling advertising would be banned in the market. Many ask why when the online market is showing success. A spokesman for the Government of Armenia said that the unified tactic to ban adverts is to protect consumers.

Legislators voted in favor of banning advertising by 91 votes. Government officials feel that if online advertisements are disallowed then they can prevent problems such as addictive gambling.

With the prohibition of the adverts, operators will be given less incentives to join the Armenian marketplace. As of now, the only advertising allowed will be at hotels which are 4 stars and higher, entry points to the Republic of Armenia, and gaming centers. The ban will be in effect until the government sees fit to lift and allow for further advertisements.



Armenia Bans Online Gambling Ads | Asbarez-com

Las Vegas police are investigating an allegation of battery against R&B singer Chris Brown. Lt. Jeff Goodwin said authorities received a call shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday about the alleged battery at the Palms Casino Resort. A police statement Saturday evening said an altercation took place in a room at the resort when the victim went to take a picture of Brown.

Police say the victim said she was struck by Brown and that he had taken her cellphone. Detectives tried to speak with Brown at his hotel room, but the singer left before police had arrived.

Police say a crime report has been taken for misdemeanour theft and misdemeanour battery listing Brown as a suspect.

A spokeswoman for the singer strongly denied the accusation.

Brown was freed from felony probation last year, more than six years after he attacked then-girlfriend Rihanna. The singer pleaded guilty to felony assault against the pop star in that case.

The singer performed Friday at Drai's nightclub at The Cromwell Las Vegas, where he appears regularly.


Chris Brown being investigated for battery - Arts & Entertainment - CBC News

It is pretty clear for anyone to see why Bitcoin payments are far superior compared to traditional options. Even though credit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal are convenient t most users, they are are also bound by local regulation and taxation. No one likes to pay up to 3.5% in fees per card transaction, especially not if that applies to both deposits and withdrawals.

Banks transfers are subject to high costs as well, but they suffer from another drawback that makes this option far less favorable for all parties involved. Sending and receiving bank transfers takes days, or even weeks, and waiting for funds to clear is a time-consuming hassle that people would rather not deal with.

PayPal unifies both of these payment tools into one solution, yet faces inherent problems of its own. There is no other payment method based on credit cards that has such high fraud and chargeback rates as PayPal. Their internal checks randomly freeze accounts for certain transactions that may look suspicious, and online gambling or sports betting has always been a bit of a grey area.

Bitcoin solves all of these problems, as digital currency payments are subject to far lower fees. On top of that. Bitcoin transactions complete in a matter of minutes, making them more favorable compared to bank transfers. Furthermore, there are no chargebacks with Bitcoin transaction, making them superior to credit card transactions.

It should come as no surprise to find out various gambling websites are accepting Bitcoin payments already, simply because of these reasons. However, more and more people are becoming aware of the benefits of Bitcoin for their business, and it only seems to be a matter of time until more gambling websites accept digital currency payments.




Bitcoin Offers Many Advantages to Online Gambling And Sports Betting Website Owners - The Merkle

They are reliable i used them.

A new tax proposal in the Netherlands may have thrown a monkey wrench into plans to regulate the country’s online gambling market.

On Tuesday, Dutch media reported that members of the ruling parliamentary coalition had introduced amendments to the proposed Remote Gaming Bill that would tax online gambling operators at 29% of gross gaming revenue, the same rate levied on land-based operators such as Holland Casino.

This proposal runs counter to the government’s stated plan of taxing online operators at 20% of gambling revenue. The government had justified this lower rate as being necessary to encourage a majority of Dutch punters to choose to wager with Dutch-licensed sites rather than seek out more cost-competitive options from internationally licensed operators.

The Telegraaf newspaper reported that members of the VVD and PvdA coalition parties jointly submitted the new tax proposals to the legislature’s lower house, the Tweede Kamer. The legislators argue that if the government is correct about the regulated market’s ability to boost gambling revenue, the online tax rate would be reduced to 25% three years after the market liberalizes.

Progress on passing the Remote Gaming Bill has been glacially slow, but the Tweede Kamer was expected to schedule a vote sometime in Q1 2016, although the surprise tax amendment could further gum up the works. Online lobby groups have already gone on record as saying the 20% tax was too high to ensure operators a reasonable rate of return.

Despite these concerns, the government has reportedly received expressions of interest from numerous online operators apparently eager to avoid the punitive fines being levied against international operators by Dutch gaming regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA). A recent survey suggested the Dutch online gambling market was worth far more than previous estimates.


Dutch Pols Seek Higher Online Gambling Tax Rate | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com

With 2016 on the horizon, people on both sides of the online gambling issue are wondering what the new year will have in store. It’s been two years since three states legalized online gambling within their borders: Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. It was expected that more would follow suit, but try as they might, the states that were interested just didn’t manage to pass the bills.

What Is Holding States Back?

Some say that because 2016 is an election year, states will not want to pass laws about online gambling, as lawmakers tend to stay away from controversial issues in election years.

Others say that what's holding other states back is the fact that Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware are not exactly rolling in cash from all their online gambling revenue. They are bringing in money - just not as much as they anticipated.

Another reason why states might find it hard to push for online gambling in the coming year is that other issues, such as daily fantasy sports and sports betting, might demand more of their attention first. On the other hand, if daily fantasy sports are regulated, that might end up making it easier to regulate online casinos.

RAWA, the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, is a federal bill that could potentially put a halt to any state’s consideration of legalizing online gambling. RAWA, backed by Sheldon Adelson, would ban online gambling at a federal level, which means that even states that have regulated it would have to stop their operations. While RAWA did not get approved in 2015, the very possibility that it could pass in 2016 may act as a deterrent for other states thinking of legalizing online gambling.

Which States Are Most Likely to Tackle Online Gambling in 2016?

States that previously considered passing online gambling regulations are more likely to approach the issue again this year. These states include California, Pennsylvania, New York, Mississippi, Massachusetts, and Washington. New potentials to add to the list are Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island and West Virginia.



What Does 2016 Hold for US Online Gambling? | Online Casino Reports

Our country need money it's time to legalise online gambling. It will happen sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.

Greece has confirmed that it will proceed with plans to revise its online gambling licensing regime to ensure new revenue streams for the cash-strapped government.

On Thursday, Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis (pictured) informed parliament that the government intended to proceed with its plans to issue new online gambling licenses, 10 months after first announcing the plans.

Alexiadis said the government had finally had enough of the old licensing regime, under which the previous administration had issued 24 temporary licenses in 2011. These licenses were revoked the following year in what was perceived as a shameless attempt to boost the value of the government’s one-third stake in the OPAP betting monopoly before flogging that stake on the open market.

The botched licensing regime has been the subject of much legal wrangling between spurned operators, the Greek government and the European Commission. Not surprisingly, these 24 operators haven’t felt much responsibility to ante up a share of their Greek market revenue to the government. Alexiadis told parliament that the government’s total take from these operators has been less than €60k over the past three years.

In announcing its intention to revamp its online licensing regime, Greece estimated that the plan could generate up to €500m per year for the government, which is struggling to repay the €240b bailout it received from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in 2011 after the country’s economy imploded.

Greece envisioned a system in which online licenses would cost €3m for a five-year term. Operators would have to prepay minimum tax of €1m per year although the precise rate of tax has yet to be determined.

Also unspecified is what range of products operators would be able to offer. In November, the government proposed preserving OPAP’s monopoly of online random number generator casino games, which would likely produce still more legal challenges by aggrieved international license applicants.




Greece to Proceed with Online Gambling Licensing Plans | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com

By all estimates and calculations, it seems that 2016 will be a formative year for online gambling legislation in the United States. With Pennsylvania on the verge of passing a well-received bill to regulate online gambling and California legislators putting forth good-faith efforts only days into the new year, either or both of those states could lead a snowball effect of pro-online poker and gambling laws in various states.

The positivity is not without its background of failed efforts and dashed hopes, though. Since New Jersey followed Nevada and Delaware into the industry several years ago, legislation in numerous states has given hope for poker fans and then snatched it away.

How can states avoid some of that pain and push forward with successful pro-Internet gambling bills in 2016?


It can be done. New Jersey can be used as an example of a successful and growing industry. States must be made to see that online gambling is the future of the gaming industry, and being at the forefront of it will provide numerous short- and long-term benefits.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has delivered its promised White Paper on the legal and regulatory challenges posed by daily fantasy sports.

The MGC announced plans to compile the White Paper (read it here) at a public hearing on the issue in October. The report’s release comes one day before state Attorney General Maura Healey holds a public hearing on the DFS consumer protection recommendations she unveiled in November.

The MGC notes that, on its face, DFS appears to be illegal under the state’s pool betting laws, which make no distinction between games of skill or chance. The state’s lottery laws may also hold potential pitfalls for DFS. That said, the MGC suggests that “the balance of Massachusetts law may make that reading illogical.”

The MGC also acknowledges that authorizing DFS could contravene the federal PASPA sports betting prohibition but suggests that the state might want to go ahead and take “clear and decisive state action” and “let the others react as they see fit.”

The White Paper keenly observes that the state’s existing public policy position is that “gambling is bad/illegal, except when it is not.” The dividing line between bad and not bad gambling is regulation and the public has “largely come to accept gambling as a legitimate form of economic activity, entertainment and public or philanthropic revenue generation … under certain regulatory conditions.”

The MGC believes “the issue of ‘whether to regulate DFS’ is largely settled … The real issue is not ‘is DFS legal’ but ‘do we want DFS to be legal, and if so, under what conditions?” As such, the challenge facing state legislators is “to define gambling clearly and carefully, and then regulate accordingly.”

The MGC suggests that dealing with DFS alone – while ignoring online gambling, social gaming, eSports, prediction markets, sports betting, etc. – would be regulatory tunnel vision. Instead, the MGC believes a strategy “broad enough and flexible enough to adapt to any and all of these proliferating games may be worth serious consideration.”

Striking a conspiratorial tone, the MGC suggests that if the state were to pass omnibus internet gaming legislation that “does not specifically mention DFS, it runs less chance of any outright PASPA challenge.” The MGC also suggests that the pro sports leagues’ existing business ties to DFS operators would make them less willing to engage in a New Jersey-style PASPA legal fight.

The MGC believes that, by themselves, the consumer protections proposed by AG Healey “may be inadequate to the regulatory need” as “decision-making may lag far behind the activity itself.” The MGC suggests either designating regulatory responsibility to an existing body or establishing a “single, nimble Internet gaming regulatory body” rather than parcel out responsibility for some digital products to one body and some to another.



Massachusetts Mulls Omnibus Online Gaming Legislation | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com

B2C lottery betting site Lottoland has received a license to operate in Australia, offering Aussie punters a shot at Wednesday’s record $1.4b Powerball lottery drawing in the US.

The Gibraltar-based Lottoland was recently granted a five-year license from the Northern Territory’s Racing Commission. Former Betfred/Centrebet exec Luke Brill has been tapped to run Lottoland’s Aussie operations, which are already underway via the lottoland-com.au domain.

Lottoland is the first lottery betting site to receive an Aussie license, meaning Australians are getting their first shot at betting on the results of international lottery draws from the comfort of their own home. Previously, local residents would have to physically travel to foreign countries to be able to participate in non-Australian lottery drawings.

Wednesday’s Powerball drawing will likely top $1.5b or more thanks to the frenzied last-minute rush of overly optimistic people willing to defy the 1 in 292m odds of snagging the top prize. We’re secretly praying that the prize goes to someone in Syria, much like the Iraqi who in December claimed a $6.4m Oregon Lottery prize he’d legally purchased from an online reseller, because something like that would really set Donald Trump off on a tirade.

Things could get even more fugly if a Canadian wins the big prize. While Powerball’s rules allow foreigners to purchase tickets, a little known facet of US law prohibits foreigners from purchasing a ticket in the US, taking it back to their home country, then attempting to bring it back to the US to claim their winnings.

US Code Title 19 section 1305 prohibits people from importing “any lottery ticket, or any printed paper that may be used as a lottery ticket, or any advertisement of any lottery” into the US from a foreign country. The law exempts lottery tickets “printed in Canada for use in connection with a lottery conducted in the United States.”

So buying a ticket online from a reseller appears okay, while buying a ticket on a day trip to the US, bringing it back to Canada and then bringing it back to the US to claim your winnings is off limits.

CTV News quoted some Canucks who were recently lectured by border guards on this very prohibition, so it appears some memo must have come down from on high. Geez, you burn down one White House two centuries ago and they still haven’t gotten over it…



Lottoland Wins Australia’s First Online Lottery Betting License | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com

All states will soon or later having online gaming legislation! It's just a matter of time and time goes quickly.

I don’t like online gambling. There are a lot of risks involved in it. I prefer
going to bingo halls instead.

I don't think online gambling should be legalized as it is quite risky.

When the Australian Open begins on Monday and the ads and live bets start pouring in, pressure will mount on the Turnbull government to release its response to a politically sensitive report into interactive gambling.

From the second the grand slam tennis tournament begins, international betting giant William Hill, which is run by Tom Waterhouse in Australia, will leverage its sponsorship of the global event to boost its turnover and profile.

Its sponsorship, which is speculated to have cost at least $4 million, raised eyebrows when it was announced in October as it not only made William Hill the first bookmaker in the world to sponsor a grand slam tennis event, it came weeks after the launch of a federal government inquiry into interactive gambling, which will clarify whether online in-play betting is legal or illegal.

When it bagged the sponsorship – eight months after launching as a brand in Australia - the UK-based company said it would use the sponsorship as a key component of its global in-play betting strategy.

Read more: Turnbull government must be game to overhaul online gambling | afr-com
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The recently announced retirements of two key assembly members in Pennsylvania is causing a heightened sense of urgency when it comes to passing online gambling bill in 2016. Assembly Gaming Oversight Committee Chairman John Payne, as well as the GO Committee’s Democratic Chairman Nick Kotick have both announced they will not seek reelection in 2016.

Payne’s announcement was made on January 8, when the seven-term representative of 106th District stated that even though, “I will miss many aspects of this job, I have decided it’s time to begin a new chapter in my life; one that includes more time spent with my family.”

Kotick, who represents the 45th District in Pennsylvania, announced his retirement just three days after Payne’s declaration. Kotick was elected to the state legislature the same year as Payne, in 2003.

“As I prepare for retirement from public service, I would be remiss if I didn’t first say ‘thank you’ to all the fine people of the 45th Legislative District,” Kotick said. “It is my hope that, even in the smallest form, I did my part to better shape the future of those I held the privilege to represent in the most humble of forms.”

The two retirements leave a vacuum in the leadership of what will likely be one of the state’s most important committees over the next several years.

Read more: Impending Retirement Of Key PA Lawmakers Adds Urgency To Online Gambling Legislation

Ave you ever read the Terms & Conditions page at your favorite online casino? If not, you should spend the time and do so. T&C are often overlooked because they are usually long texts that some people find daunting to read. Generally, the information covered is critical to fully understand so you do not miss out on valuable information regarding your potential winnings, and whether or not one can even legally play in ones country of residence.

This report will highlight the three main types of Terms & Conditions as written by some of the leading online casinos, and will make clear some of the grey areas of online gambling geographic laws.

Terms & Conditions are essentially rules that players must agree to, if they want to play at a certain online casino. If you are to “use” the services of a brand, the Terms & Conditions are legally binding and must be followed and more often than not, they explain the countries in which the casino can be played. There are generally three types of Terms & Conditions texts, which explain the legality of using a casinos service depending on where you live, or are travelling.


Read more: Special: Online Gambling Terms & Conditions | Online Casino Reports

Ireland’s National Lottery has become the latest gambling operator to be hit with a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

While nowhere near the recent $1.6b Powerball jackpot in the US, Wednesday’s €12m prize was the biggest the Irish Lottery had offered in 18 months. But unknown hackers knocked the Lottery’s website offline for two hours on the day of the draw.

Interestingly, the attack not only affected the website, but also lottery terminals in retail locations. The attack began at roughly 11:20am on Wednesday but retail systems were back in operation within 90 minutes while the website took about a half hour longer to restore. That night’s draw went ahead as scheduled.

Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), which operates the National Lottery, issued a statement saying the attack had been blunted by the company’s anti-DDoS systems, “limiting disruption and restoring all operations within two hours.” PLI stressed that “at no point was the National Lottery gaming system or player data affected.”

PLI didn’t specify whether it had received a ransom demand, the kind that online sportsbooks and other gambling sites receive when under DDoS attack. Sportsbooks are usually hit prior to major sporting events, i.e. when demand for their services is highest and every minute’s delay is costing the site money. The Lottery attack fits this pattern, given the size of Wednesday’s jackpot.

PLI said the incident is still under investigation. There were no winners for Wednesday’s jackpot, so the Lottery is likely bracing for a repeat occurrence during the run-up to Saturday’s €14m draw. Visiting the site on Friday showed the site was using the CloudFlare DDoS mitigation service to prescreen visitor’s computers for signs of malicious intent.

Earlier this month, Europol arrested two key members of a notorious Bitcoin-based DDoS extortion group based in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the latest Security State of the Internet report from Akamai showed that the UK was the top originating country for DDoS attack traffic in Q3 2015.

According to Akamai, the UK was the source of 25.6% of all DDoS attacks in Q3, beating out China’s 20.7%. The UK was third on the originating country list in Q2 and wasn’t even in the top-10 in 2014, so something has clearly gone rotten in England.



Irish National Lottery Site Hit by DDoS Attack | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com