Group items tagged

"Nevada and the District of Columbia have already taken steps to authorize online poker, and state officials in Iowa have been studying the issue closely. Lawmakers in New Jersey and California are redoubling their efforts to legalize it, bolstered by a recent Department of Justice decision that reversed the federal government's long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey spoke this month of making his state an "epicenter" of the online gambling industry. "

When California State Senator Roderick Wright attempted to legalize online poker with SB 1463, he sold it as a way to help patch up California's busted budget , which is indeed in dire trouble. Surprisingly, the strongest resistance came not from the ever-more-irrelevant anti-gambling moralists, but from powerful pro-gaming special interests clinging to lucrative state-granted privilege.   "There's no way that we can do something that might be the death knell for our industry," says David Quintana, lobbyist for the California Tribal Business Alliance, which opposes any form of online poker legalization on the grounds that it could negatively affect the economic activity of California's Indian tribes. 

"Boom… Prior to 2006, Internet-based gambling was effectively legal in the United States. Although the Federal Wire Act from 1961 prohibited transmission of sports betting information using telecommunications services, in 2002 a U.S. appeals court ruled that the sports-related provisions in the Wire Act did not preclude Internet gambling. Although some states and jurisdictions did have laws on the books specifically prohibiting online gambling, many did not - and so started a bit of an online gold rush as online gambling companies tried to capture chunks of the lucrative U.S. market."

Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA)'s attempts to enter real-money gambling may be held back by US laws, which favor existing casinos, according to Bloomberg. So far, 3 US states, including New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware, have passed laws that will allow online gambling games to be played on their territories, but it looks like the conditions will benefit casinos which dominate the gambling scene. This could create problems for the social gaming giant, which is looking to reduce its dependence on its current business model, including bolstering growth and business transactions by offering real-money games. At present, Zynga (ZNGA) has employed a 'free to play' business model, which was started by multiplayer online games like Jagex Games Studio' RuneScape. It allow players to play games free of cost but with the choice to spend real money on virtual items or other in-game advantages. These in-games purchases are called "micro-transactions".

"Borgata's vice-president of information technology John Forelli demonstrates in-room gaming at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, N.J., Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City said it's the first casino in the United States to let guests gamble over hotel room TV sets. Gambling from a home computer is the next step in convenience gambling, after legislation legalizing online gambling was recently signed into law. (AP Photo/The Press of Atlantic City, Michael Ein)"

If you love gambling and live in Delaware, you'll soon be able to legally play slots and games such as roulette and poker online. The state hopes to launch online gambling in 2013 and intends to make betting available on a variety of digital devices, including smartphones and tablets. The new gambling offerings will generate $7.75M in fiscal 2013.

888, one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers, has today announced, as part of its online US strategy, an alliance with WMS Gaming Inc., a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of games, gaming content and gaming machines in the United States.

Operators traditionally associated with online casino sites, including Europe's largest operator, Bwin.Party, as well as leading casino software developer Playtech, have expressed an interest in expanding into the social media arena. Conversely, leading lights of social gaming, Zynga, who created Farmville and Cityville, are looking to expand into the gambling sector. Zynga recently appointed two lobbyists to their ranks, Justin McCarthy and Jeffrey Peck, known for their support of the legalisation and regulation of online casino gaming in the United States

Nearly 130,000 Australians are playing illegal internet poker games, with United States operators raking in $68 million in one year, according to new research. Online casino games, including poker, are currently illegal in Australia. But in May the federal government released an interim review of interactive gaming laws that recommended legalising internet poker games, as part of overall liberalising of industry. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/illegal-online-poker-is-costing-australians-68m-20120705-21kdg.html#ixzz1znVbSn89

"While Zynga waits to make a move into the online gambling space, other Internet casinos are all in - and have been for more than a decade. This infographic shows how much the industry has grown since 1998, from online bingo and poker sites to national and state lotteries."

"The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Zynga is working hard to try and push online gambling in the United States. The company has spent as much as $75,000 to lobbying policy which would make online gambling legal in the US."

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that poker is more a game of skill than chance and cannot be prosecuted under a law created to stop organized crime families from making millions of dollars from gambling. The decision by Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn was embraced by advocates of card games pushing to legalize Internet poker in the United States. The judge relied extensively on the findings of a defense expert who analyzed online poker games.

"The only item relevant to Meadowlands Matters, though, is filed under, "Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods." That addresses online gaming, an issue that has won the ongoing support of the New Jersey legislature at the state level - though Governor Christie has yet to be convinced that the wagering wouldn't run afoul of Atlantic City's monopoly on table games."

Mark Pincus, chief executive of Zynga, said in a conference call with analysts today that the company will launch its first real-money online gambling poker game in the first half of 2013. The game will likely be launched outside the U.S., since real-money online gambling is still illegal in the vast majority of states. There are regulatory roadblocks in many countries, but Europe is pretty open. Pincus said the launch will be subject to online gambling regulatory reviews. Zynga's non-real-money poker game, Zynga Poker, accounted for 18 percent of revenue. In that game, users purchase poker chips with real money, but they cannot cash out any winnings

Online poker could be just months away in Nevada, and Gov. Brian Sandoval said he's comfortable state regulators are taking appropriate steps to license operators while protecting the public.

" New Jersey is deadly serious about making sure anyone who gambles online once Internet betting begins this week is physically within the state. And the technology designed to ensure it may freeze some bettors out of the action unless they move farther away from the state's borders."