Let your mouth speak archive

The very great football player and droll media contrarian Duane Thomas once famously said of the Super Bowl: "If it's the ultimate game, how come they're playing it again next year?"

The answer, Duane, is quite simple – because more than 100 million people are expected to watch the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers go head to head next Sunday in New Orleans. Putting a 30-second advertisement in front of all those eyeballs costs around $3.8 million, and CBS, which is broadcasting the game, has already sold out of ad inventory.

There's something else, though – more people are starting to tune in for the halftime show than for the game itself.

Last year, 111 million people watched the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, setting a record for the most-watched television show in U.S. history. Several million more (114 million altogether, the Nielsen Co. reported) checked out Madonna's Cleopatra-entering-Rome-themed halftime show, which delivered the over-the-top pop culture extravaganza we now demand.

The numbers are likely to be even greater when Beyoncé picks up the mike between halves this year (whether she's actually singing live or not).

But it hasn't always been this way. Back when Thomas suited up with the Cowboys for Super Bowl V, the halftime show featured the Southeast Missouri State Indians Marching Band, Anita Bryant and the singing group Up With People. The 1971 game, though played in a sold-out Orange Bowl stadium, was blacked out in Miami under old NFL television rules.

The game has obviously changed since then – and so has the halftime show.

"The Super Bowl is now an unofficial holiday," said Lawrence Randall, NFL Network's director of programming and the NFL's director of entertainment programming, the man overseeing the live performances before the game, including the national anthem, and during halftime.

"The spectacle has grown so huge, and the hype leading up to the game is so great. The halftime show needed to fit into that grand scale," Randall said from his Los Angeles office.

Back when the Super Bowl kicked off more than 40 years ago, halftime shows consisted of acts such as the Grambling State University marching band, Anaheim High School drill team, the University of Texas marching band with Judy Mallett (Miss Texas 1973) on fiddle, the Rockettes, George Burns and Mickey Rooney.

As quaint as those acts sound now (the legendary Up With People performed four times), there were also well-intended, if not oddly placed, tributes to Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and even Motown.

However, things took an unlikely turn: It was the B-list entertainment consortium known as the Wayans family who changed the Super Bowl halftime business, albeit as an obscure footnote for pop-culture historians.

In 1992, Fox Network's "In Living Color," featuring the Wayans brothers, programmed a special episode to run opposite the Super Bowl halftime show. They reportedly pulled 20 million to 25 million viewers from the CBS telecast of Super Bowl XXVI. It likely didn't hurt that they were up against singer Gloria Estefan and Olympic figure skaters Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill.

The NFL realized that they need to up their game, and the next year they went as big as they could go – bringing in the King of Pop himself.

Sports executive Jim Steeg negotiated the deal with Michael Jackson to perform at the 1993 Super Bowl at the Rose Bowl. Steeg is the person most credited with growing the Super Bowl into the weeklong party it has become as he led the NFL Special Events Department from 1979 to 2004, supervising all aspects of the Super Bowl during that time.

"It was originally (NFL Commissioner) Pete Rozelle's vision way back in the '60s to make the Super Bowl bigger and grander than all those other football games you'd seen," Steeg said from his San Diego office. "So you kind of begged, borrowed, stole and adapted from everybody else's ideas."

Steeg said he began shifting the focus of the halftime show from the stadium to the television audience in the early '80s.

"It stayed the same type of spectacle with some celebrities, but not the A-list performer types," Steeg said.

After the 1992 Fox "ambush" and the resulting ratings drop, the focus changed, though Steeg said the transition began a decade earlier in 1982, with Jackson pal Diana Ross singing the national anthem at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Mich.

"That kind of changed how all sporting events treated the national anthem," Steeg said. "Until that time we had the Colgate Five or people like Tom Sullivan – not exactly big stars, you know.

"All of sudden you've got Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, all these celebrities who are performing the anthem, and I think that was really a transformation," he said.

For Steeg to get Jackson to perform at the Super Bowl, he first had to explain to the singer what the Super Bowl was, because Jackson had no clue. None.

"We were talking and I said 'This game will be broadcast in 180 countries' and his response was 'You mean this game will be broadcast in countries where I'll never do a concert?' " Steeg said.

"And we said 'Yes' and at that moment I could see the light went off for Michael and he really got what we were talking about. 'It's bigger than anything else I've done,' he said."

The television ratings spike was huge for Jackson's performance, which included "Billie Jean," "Black or White" and "We Are the World" with a children's choir and stadium-wide audience participation.

After that, stars began lining up for the exposure and subsequent record sales that followed a gig on the Super Bowl stage. Randall said while he was a "kid" at the time of Jackson's show, artists he talks with still mention the significance of that performance.

"Michael Jackson and Prince (in 2007) are the shows people ask about the most," he said. "They want to parse it out and know how we did certain things and how we can make i

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There are stories emerging from the European Union’s news sources indicating that there is definitely trouble in paradise when it comes to online gambling. First there are the accusations that Spain was unconventional in its granting of online gambling licenses to certain companies which paid their back taxes after the cozy relationship between Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro and Spanish land-based gaming operator Codere was revealed. . Montoro’s brother Ricardo was part-owner of Codere before selling his portion of the company last year. Codere’s chairman, Ricardo Martinez Rico, was Montoro’s deputy budget minister between 2003-2004 while another Martinez Rico brother, Felipe, is Montoro’s current chief of staff. If this doesn’t smell just a bit fishy what does? Codere of course denies any and all connection to the dealing that seems to have precipitated some debate among the ethical and high minded individuals watching this spectacle unfold.

Now under scrutiny is the German online gambling industry which has been suggested has a big connection with the mafia. The reasoning behind this sort of inference comes from detractors of regulated online gambling looking for reasons to poison the market. The cause they are saying is the inability of the European Commission to establish clear and precise rules governing the industry. University of Hamburg economist Ingo Fiedler commented, "There is no exchange of information between the countries," Fiedler added, "No one can find out where the money is coming from. But it can be paid out to the casino's owners in a perfectly legal way."

A recent United Nation’s study estimates that organized crime takes in 2.1 billion dollars or 1.56 billion euro per year. Politicians are somewhat sceptical about the facts and figures presented to them on the issue. The police say they are basically powerless to curb the mafia’s influence in Germany, with Sebastian Fiedler of the Federal Union of German detectives, saying, "We do not have any criminal procedure against illegal Internet games. There are no penalties."




European Online Gambling Regulation Needs Review

The picture of a rosy and prosperous online gambling market in Spain and other parts of the Europe Union are a bit off with some of the big and well healed doing alright but for some the scene is less than wonderful.

The recent report the reality for some of Spain’s 53 licensed operators is that they be moving away from the Spanish jurisdiction for similar reasons that online gambling operators did in the French market last year. The fact that a profit is hard to turn in an overregulated, over-taxed market seems to justify withdrawal for some. Regulators can allow the resale of licenses by authorized Spanish subsidiaries. A 25% tax on gross gambling revenue has put a crimp in the profits available to land based gambling operators who also have received an internet wagering license from Spain’s gambling authority.

Eduardo Antoja who is president of the group which represents the country’s land-based gambling firms refers to the 25 % tax as uncompetitive with even the proposed 15% tax in the U.K. posing problems he explained, “ companies are trying to get it down to 10% to prevent people going offshore. It’s a pan-European market; you have to be competitive.”

It appears that the Spanish government isn’t interested in showing any mercy and are sticking to their regime of high taxes and a highly regulated market. As Sapin suffers from the economic downturn with high unemployment at 25 % and a government which is close to a big financial meltdown there is little room to move for the people and the system. Prior to granting licenses to operators the Spanish authorities required operators to fork over four years worth of back taxes in order to qualify for the sought after permission. Spain is striving to improve the €140m in online gambling tax revenue it collected in 2012 by adding an additional €20m to revenues in 2013.




Some Spanish Online Gambling Operators Not Happy

Gamblers in New Jersey may soon be able to enjoy the convenience of internet gambling. Legislation was approved by both the Assembly and Senate in December which would allow gamblers to play casino games for real money on their own computers.

Any bets placed would generate revenue for the casino the player chooses to login to and would also earn club points for the player.

Sean Conner from Gov. Chris Christie’s press office, lawyers are currently examining the bill to see whether it is constitutional, at present the state constitution bans gambling outside Atlantic City without a constitutional amendment.

While Christie vetoed a similar bill in 2011, this one requires all gambling equipment to be located within participating casinos which means a constitutional amendment is unnecessary.

Christie must decide by February 4th whether to veto or sign the bill, if he fails to do either it will automatically become law.

Already there is interest in Atlantic City due to the proposal, the U.K. based PokerStars, one of the internet’s leading poker websites, has put forward an offer to purchase the struggling Atlantic Club Casino hotel so that it can bring online services to Atlantic City.





Atlantic City Waits to Hear on Web Betting Bill - Online Casino Archives

I doubt my ability to do a track stand - that's when you balance your bike at a set of traffic lights without putting a foot on the ground - would impress the Nitro Circus crew much.

It's not really an adrenaline-fuelled move that puts your life at risk. These guys do triple backflips, front flips and other crazy stuff on BMX bikes, scooters, skateboards and FMX bikes.

In Christchurch last night on the second of Nitro Circus' New Zealand tour, the daredevil crew included New Zealanders Luke Smith (FMX) and BMX rider Jed Milden, the first rider in the world to pull off a triple backflip on a BMX bike.

Yes, Nitro's most recognised star Travis Pastrana might not have been there but the Nitro Circus team put on a hell of a show that had the crowd stomping, cheering and clapping as rider after rider launched themselves off the 50-metre high Gigantaramp, and various smaller ramps.

Highlights included the daredevil postie whose letters went flying after he jumped, inline skater Chris Haffey's double backflip followed by a 180 rotation after travelling down the Gigantaramp backwards, Australian Josh Sheehan performing a double back flip and wheelchair athlete Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham's forward flip, which garnered perhaps one of the biggest cheers of the night.

One of the most entertaining tricks was Hole in One, where riders had to try to land in the opening of a Zorb ball. Two performers managed it. Another performer jumped off the Gigantaramp in a pink toy car; still another in a chilly bin.

Nitro Circus Live was a highly entertaining, high-octane show. I'll need some new tricks . . .

International Game Technology (IGT), the online gambling software provider and international gambling group, has clinched a deal with the Belgium based Groupe Circus to bring IGT into the newly regulated Belgian gambling market.

The deal will see IGT provide Groupe Circus with a range of top quality online casino games, allowing the latter to advance its online offering through the country's largest wagering website, Casino777.be.

Groupe Casino is an internationally renowned gambling group, which runs the Casino de Namur and Casino de Spa, among other brands.

The Casino de Spa, for example, was established as far back as 1763 and offers a wide range of table games, such as blackjack, poker and roulette.
IGT Quality Online Casino Games

Some of IGT's hottest online casino games will be rolled out at Casino777.be, including Elvis: A Little More Action slot, Star Trek: Against All Odds slot, Pixies of the Forest slot, Wolf Run slot and Da Vinci's Diamond slot.

The games have already been well received across multiple platforms, and are sure to become a big hit with Belgian gamblers as well.

IGT operates in a number of regulated marked in the world, including Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Italy.
Groupe Circus is Esteemed Land Gambling Operator

The Executive Vice President of Emerging Businesses at International Game Technology, Robert Melendres said about the IGT Belgium gambling market entry: "This agreement strengthens our position as the partner of choice for regulated markets." "We are delighted to have signed this online agreement with such an esteemed land based operator as Groupe Circus," added Melendres.

Also commenting on the newly signed deal was the Online General Manager for Groupe Circus, Jean-Christophe Choffray, who said: "The strength of their content will help us significantly boost our online performance and enhance the player experience."
About IGT and Groupe Circus

The New York listed International Game Technology is considered a global leader of the design, development and manufacture of land and online casino games.

Some of the online industry's hottest games are developed by IGT, which provides them to partner groups who carry these titles in their portfolios.

Groupe Circus, which was established in 1992, is the top gambling group in Belgium and operates multiple gaming venues across the country. These include 15 gambling halls and 2 land based casinos.

The Casino de Spa and Casino de Namur employ over 500 people between them and offer over 1000 gaming machines.








IGT Enters Belgian Online Gambling Market - Gamblingkingz-com

The nation of Antigua and Barbuda on Monday threatened to issue trade sanctions, which could include lifting protections on U.S. copyrights, as retaliation for a U.S. ban on Internet gambling.

Antigua said in a statement that it asked, and was approved by, the World Trade Organization to suspend certain intellectual property obligations and concessions to the U.S.

The authorization follows a 2007 WTO arbitration ruling — which came after Antigua won a WTO dispute over a U.S. ban on online gaming — that allowed Antigua to...

Americans call it piracy. Antiguans call it justice.

The islands of Antigua and Barbuda are threatening to strip intellectual property protections from American goods as part of a long-running trade dispute over the U.S. embargo on the tiny Caribbean nation's online gambling industry.

U.S. officials say the proposed copyright haven - whose broad outlines were approved Monday at the World Trade Organization in Geneva - amounts to "government-authorized piracy." But Antiguans, who've won a series of legal victories against the U.S. at the international trade body, reject any suggestion that they're pirates.

"We have followed the rules and procedures of the WTO to the letter," Antigua's high commissioner to London, Carl Roberts, said in a statement Monday. "Our little country is doing precisely what it has earned the right to do under international agreements."

The U.S. and Antigua have been tussling for years over the ability of Americans to use online casinos based in the Caribbean nation. U.S. laws have long been interpreted to mean that Internet gambling is illegal if it crosses state lines.

The World Trade Organization, however, has come down on Antigua's side. In 2007, it allowed the islands to draw $21 million a year's worth of "nullification or impairments" from the United States as a penalty for the continuing refusal of the U.S. to allow American customers to place their online bets in Antigua.

Antiguan officials say they could make up the money through the operation of a copyright haven, although what that might look like and what its scope would be remains unclear. Antiguan officials have kept details vague and the move has little precedent.

Observers have suggested, for example, a subscription service to access copyright-free American music, or a pay-per-download site that charges pennies for Hollywood hits.

Mendel cautioned that whatever ends up being set up, it wouldn't be an Antiguan version of The Pirate Bay, the free-for-all file sharing site whose name has become synonymous with illegal downloads.

"We aren't going to be flaunting the rules," he said in a telephone interview last week. "It's not piracy if you have the right to do it."

The proposed copyright haven may still never see the light of day; Mendel said Antigua's goal remains a negotiated settlement with U.S. authorities over the gambling dispute.

Even if such a haven were set up, international fans of free downloads may want to exercise caution. Antiguans may be allowed to download legally, but for those outside the country the legal regime remains murky.

Nevertheless, the notion of a country of 89,000 people standing up to the powerful United States on intellectual property matters has caught the imagination of many - especially those who believe that U.S. copyright rules are too restrictive.

"It's time for small countries to be treated fairly in these organizations," said Mendel.

Read more: Antigua, Barbuda, threatening U.S. copyright battle over online gambling dispute

Middle class women are sending online gambling revenue climbing, according to a Daily Mail report.

The National Centre for Social Research said the number of women gambling has increased by a third, the report said.

Gambling online offers women the chance to gamble without the social stigma that land based gambling creates, the Daily Mail report pointed out.

A decision was made by the 3rd Circuit Court a while back which has basically gone unreported in the gambling industry. A few years ago iMEGA launched a court case at the 3rd Circuit Court in Philadelphia challenging the constitutionality of the UIGEA. iMEGA's main argument was that the UIGEA was unconstitutionally vague in that it lacks an ascertainable and workable description of where and when an online bet is placed. Does an online bet take place at the person's computer, the company's server or somewhere in cyberspace? iMEGA suggested that without that determination it was impossible to deem whether an online bet is legal or not. The court finally reached a ruling dismissing all of iMEGA's arguments and in the process said that what constitutes a legal bet is up to the discretion of the state. So, one state can argue that the bet takes place at the server and another can argue it takes place at the click of a mouse. Bill Pascrell of the PPAG and similar institutions revisited that decision recently and gave the opinion that if servers were placed in Atlantic City then the state can deem that all online bets in New Jersey take place at the server and not where the mouse is clicked. Consequently a bet placed in Trenton would actually be a bet in Atlantic City and hence constitutional.

With that ruling and Christie's obvious toning down of his opposition to gambling expansion in New Jersey given the PASPA challenge, the Senate and Assembly of New Jersey amended their online gambling bill A2578/S1565 and passed it overwhelmingly in December. That bill is now back on Governor Christie's desk for consideration. Christie's concern over the constitutionality of the bill, (one of the reasons he gave for vetoing it before), was now a non-issue if Pascrell and others are right. But if New Jersey does indeed pass the bill and allow remote betting in the state because they deem the "server is where the bet takes place and not where the mouse is clicked," it opens up a can of worms. While the decision was not federal law, the implications are still important if other states take note. For years, companies in offshore gambling jurisdictions have claimed that the U.S. complaints against them were unfounded because the bets occur at the server and not where the bet actually is placed. In the late 1990s Janet Reno, Attorney General under Bill Clinton issued warrants against several American offshore operators claiming they were violating the Wire Act. "You can't hide offshore and you can't hide online," became a well known comment. Most of those charged returned to the U.S. and pled guilty but Jay Cohen, founder of World Sports Exchange came back to the U.S. to fight the charges on the exact grounds that he was not "hiding" but was rather operating legally in a jurisdiction which allowed him to take bets worldwide. The crux of the defense was that a bet doesn't occur where the mouse is clicked but rather where the bet is accepted. And in the case of Cohen, that bet was accepted on a server in Antigua. The federal courts effectively dismissed Cohen's defense as nonsense, since the bet "clearly takes place at the point where the mouse is clicked" and the judge suggested to the jury that the line of defense regarding where a bet takes place was a red herring and should be ignored when making their decision. The jury found Cohen guilty and he spent some time in a U.S. prison as a result. But if New Jersey and possibly other states allow remote gambling to a server in a location that "is legal", then that action flies completely in the face of the court that convicted Jay Cohen and their whole argument is hypocritical.

Countries like Antigua, Costa Rica and Belize as well as the Native reserve in Kahnawake have issued licenses to online gambling companies which allow them to cater to players anywhere in the world. The United States has maintained that these licenses are irrelevant because U.S. law supersedes the law of the country where the server is located and anyone taking bets from Americans outside of an American land-based casino or race track is breaking U.S. law. This decision by the 3rd Circuit clearly contradicts that and provides fodder for all those countries in international courts. After all, if it's ok for New Jersey to deem that a server in Atlantic City is a legal remote location then what international court would rule that Kahnawake doesn't have the right to declare that a server on their reserve is just as legal a remote location? More importantly, if New Jersey indeed allows remote gambling in Atlantic City, it gives Antigua fodder to challenge the WTO's compensation amount of $21 million because it would show that the USTR's "morals" was disingenuous. As many will recall the WTO was leery of the United States' morals claim but gave them the benefit of the doubt and only awarded Antigua $21 million a year in compensation which was what the WTO courts estimated Antigua was entitled to as a result of the Interstate Horse Racing Act which allowed remote gambling on horse racing in the U.S. But if New Jersey allows remote gambling from Atlantic City then all forms of casino gambling and poker would be legal in the U.S. which made up the bulk of Antiguan gambling businesses. A settlement in the hundreds of millions would have been more realistic if poker and casino gambling was included.

No doubt many will suggest that the argument is irrelevant because the remote gambling takes place intrastate but the U.S. always suggested that Internet gambling went against their morals, not the fact it was between jurisdictions. Perhaps it would be easier to understand this if the issue involved, say, Chinese toys that used cat pelts. Even if there was a free trade agreement in place that required the United States to purchase toys from China, the U.S. could probably appeal to the WTO on moral grounds claiming that in the United States cats are pets and it would harm their children if a produ

International Game Technology has entered the online gambling market in Belgium by partnering with well established and well respected terrestrial casino operator Groupe Circus. The Belgium located, internationally known Groupe Casino operates The Casino de Spa, which was established a long time ago in 1763 and offers a variety of table games, including blackjack, poker and roulette. IGT will be able to offer its products via the country's largest betting website, Casino777.be. Some of IGT's most popular online casino games will be launched at Casino777.be, including Elvis: A Little More Action slot, Star Trek: Against All Odds slot, Pixies of the Forest slot, Wolf Run slot and Da Vinci's Diamond slot. IGT operates in many regulated markets around the world, including Denmark, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom with Belgium now on their list.

Robert Melendres, the Executive Vice President of Emerging Businesses at International Game Technology, commented on the expansion plans, "This agreement strengthens our position as the partner of choice for regulated markets." Melendres continued, "We are delighted to have signed this online agreement with such an esteemed land based operator as Groupe Circus," New York stock exchange listed International Game Technology is a leading developer of online and land based games for gambling.

Groupe Circus, was established in 1992, and is the leading gambling group in Belgium, operating multiple gaming venues in the Belgium including 15 gambling halls and 2 land based casinos. Groupe Casino keeps the Casino de Spa and Casino de Namur operational employing over 500 people and offering over 1000 gaming machines. Christophe Choffray, the Online General Manager for Groupe Circus also commented on the arrange the two companies have come to, "The strength of their content will help us significantly boost our online performance and enhance the player experience."









Groupe Circus IGT Partner for Online Gambling In Belgium

Mike Novak, one of Detroit's top entertainment attorneys, died Sunday of a heart attack at his Grosse Pointe Shores home. He was 57.

Novak was Bob Seger's attorney for decades, and the singer was hit hard by the loss.

"I never knew a better guy," Seger said Monday, "and I know a lot of people. Just a truly good, good guy. He was always positive, my lawyer forever, and one of my best friends. He should have had a lot more years. Life isn't fair."

Novak was a clerk for Seger's attorney Patrick Freydl in the 1980s. When Freydl moved to California, Novak started working directly with Seger and his manager Punch Andrews.

"He's always been like a little brother to me. I mean, the guy was in our office every other day," Seger said. "He was our consigliere. We asked him about everything."

Novak also represented many radio clients as an attorney/agent, including WRIF-FM's morning team Drew and Mike.

The lifelong Detroiter attended Our Lady Queen of Heaven school in Detroit and was president of the class of 1973 at Detroit's Osborn High School. He received a bachelor's degree in film studies from New York University and, in 1980, earned his law degree from Wayne State University.

Film publicist Ken Droz met Novak when he was the attorney for Detroit promoter Brass Ring Productions in the 1980s. Droz remembered him as "a really fine attorney; he would never try to poach a client. Very high integrity."

"He was a true mensch," Droz said. "Always offering to help someone if he could, be it a musician, filmmaker, journalist, artist, friend or whatever."

In the 1970s, before he went to law school, Novak played drums in several blues bands, including the Progressive Blues Band, alongside former Detroit News reporter Lowell Cauffiel. Cauffiel recalled Novak's generosity.

"He never sent a bill to me when I was struggling," said Cauffiel, a writer/producer in Los Angeles. "My son Johnny got an offer for a two-record deal for his band, and Mike handled it without charge. He would just say, 'Catch me later, when you hit the big time.'"

For many of his clients, there would never be a big time, but Novak worked on their behalf anyway.

The attorney had many enthusiasms, including golf. "I loved playing golf with him," Seger said. "He turned me on to every course I play! The one I play down in Florida, he told me about that one. He's so interwoven into my whole life."

Along with his independent practice, Novak was counsel with the Troy firm Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton P.C.

He is survived by his wife, Loretta Ames, a sister and two brothers.

Visitation will be 2-9 p.m. Thursday at Verheyden Funeral Home, 16300 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe Park.

On Friday, visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. and a funeral mass will follow at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul's on the Lake Catholic Church, 157 Lakeshore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms.

From The Detroit News: Entertainment attorney Mike Novak dies at 57 | The Detroit News | detroitnews-com

I hope they make something cool

An unusual twist in a Caribbean gambling fight now involves America's entire media industry.

The tiny islands of Antigua and Barbuda are threatening to strip copyright protections from American media. It's part of a long-running dispute over the U.S. blocking Americans from gambling in Antigua's online casinos. Hollywood is furious, calling the potential move government-sponsored piracy.

But leaders of the island nation see things differently from their shores.

"Officials in Antigua and Barbuda do believe that the gaming issue has run on for too long and that it's time to take some assertive action," said Brenton Henry, a reporter with the Antigua Observer. "They're saying that this is one of the options that they've laid on the table."

"Prior to the U.S. crackdown, about a decade ago, there were at least 4,000 people employed both directly and indirectly in the gaming sector," said Henry.

But Henry said Antiguan officials also recognize that relatiating against the ban might be a gamble in itself. If the move antagonizes the U.S., it could just lead to more trade disputes.

"Officials here have said that they are proceeding with caution," said Henry. "They are very careful with how they make statements publicly, not wanting to offend America, not wanting to say things that would undermine the ongoing negotiations that they say are taking place."

U.S. slot machine maker International Game Technology should consider strategic alternatives for the social gaming unit it bought for $500 million a year ago and focus instead on growing Asian markets, an investor in the company said.

Jason Ader, whose investment firm is leading a group seeking representation on the board of IGT, said he believed the company had lost its focus by venturing into online gaming.

"IGT needs to get back to basics in developing games for its casino customers in the U.S. and Asia," Ader, an industry veteran who is also on the board of Las Vegas Sands Corp, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Ader's group, which controls about 3 percent of IGT's stock, is looking to nominate three directors to the company's board, including former Chief Executive Charles Mathewson.

In a letter to IGT shareholders on Monday, the group criticized the board for losing focus on its core business and said that DoubleDown, one of the biggest providers of games on Facebook Inc, was an "incredibly expensive" acquisition.

IGT bought DoubleDown, which offers free-to-play online games such as poker and blackjack, in January 2012. Shares of Las Vegas, Nevada-based IGT have lost 13 percent of their value since the acquisition.

Asked to comment on the letter, company spokeswoman Mariya Barnes said IGT was preparing a response to be issued this week. The company, which has a market value of about $4 billion, has scheduled its annual shareholder meeting for March 5.

IGT Chief Executive Patti Hart said in November that the company's social gaming unit was growing faster than expected. Interactive gaming contributed about 7 percent of overall revenue in 2012, up from 2 percent in 2011.

John Miller of Ariel Investments LLC, which controls about 4 percent of IGT, said social gaming acquisitions were a long-term strategy for many gaming companies and could "almost be viewed as an R&D expenditure".

DoubleDown gives IGT an opportunity to put some of its content on another distribution medium, which should increase the popularity of that content, Miller, a senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Ariel, told Reuters.

ONLINE GAMBLE

DoubleDown generates revenue from the sale of virtual gaming chips, rather than from customers betting with real money, which is prohibited across most of the United States.

But online gambling is now legal in Nevada and Delaware, while a number of other U.S. states are moving toward legalizing it after the Justice Department ruled in 2011 that only online betting on sporting contests was unlawful.

So far, the pace has been slow due partly to legislative delays and opposition, including from some big gaming industry players like Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson, who has said he is morally opposed to online gambling.

Ader, who heads Ader Investment Management LP, said Asia was a potential growth market for IGT. Macau, the world's largest casino market, generated $38 billion in annual gambling revenue in 2012, up from 13.5 percent a year earlier.

"There is a big opportunity to pursue growth in Macau and the Philippines in the electronic table games segment," he said.

He said he believed the DoubleDown acquisition put IGT in competition with some slot machine and systems customers, such as Caesars Entertainment Corp, MGM Resorts International and Station Casinos Inc.

Ader also said that IGT had compared DoubleDown to social gaming company Zynga Inc. In the letter, he wrote that Zynga's enterprise value had declined by more than 80 percent in the 12 months since IGT acquired DoubleDown.

(This story is fixed to correct paragraph 7 to say annual meeting is scheduled for March 5, not March 13)









Investor urges IGT to rethink online gaming move | Reuters

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email]ftsales-support@ft-com[/email] to buy additional rights. William Hill boosted by online gambling - FT-com

Surging demand for online gambling has boosted profits by a fifth at William Hill, as the gambling company warned that regulatory difficulties could see it withdraw from Germany.

The bookmaker said it would consider closing its German business – worth about £6m per year in operating profit – after a stricter gambling regime prompted it to close its sports betting website there last year. High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email]ftsales-support@ft-com[/email] to buy additional rights. William Hill boosted by online gambling - FT-com

The announcement came as the company said operating profits grew by 20 per cent to £330m in the 53 weeks to January 1 compared with last year, bolstered by a 12 per cent rise in group net revenues.

Online net revenue grew by 27 per cent year-on-year while revenues from the company’s retail shops grew by 6 per cent.

Ralph Topping, William Hill’s chief executive, said the company had benefited from a run of sporting wins in its favour.

“Performance was robust in retail and profits continued to grow strongly in online, with sporting results going in our favour in both channels,” he said. “It was a year in which we have made substantial strategic progress [with] both the pending acquisition of Sportingbet’s online business in Australia and the current Playtech call option process expected to conclude during early 2013.”

In December William Hill tabled a long-awaited formal offer for Sportingbet and described the deal as laying the foundation for its betting operations “for the next 30 years”.

Mr Topping said the £485m cash and shares deal that the group had put together with GVC Holdings would deliver higher-quality earnings, less exposure to the UK market and more exposure to regulated online revenues.

Separately, the company is considering a buyout of its online gambling joint-venture with Playtech. William Hill said the valuation done by three banks – one appointed by William Hill, another by Playtech and an independent – would be finished by the end of February.

It will then have to decide whether to activate a call option for Playtech’s 29 per cent shareholding of William Hill Online, one of the biggest online gambling operations in Europe. Analysts said the decision will hang on the price. Their estimates have ranged from £300m to £493m.

William Hill shares rose 2 per cent to 374p.

Mississippi State last week re-introduced an online gambling bill under a new name. The Mississippi Lawful Internet Gaming Act, or House Bill 254, is really the same one introduced last year, which was known as 2012 Mississippi Online Poker Bill. The former bill had failed to pass the committee stage. Bobby Moak, who has sponsored the re-introduced bill, expects it to reach the voting stage.

Both bills open with the same statement and cite the memo the Department of Justice released on December 23, 2011. The “new” bill also states that the gaming laws in Mississippi and the bill provide legal exemption from UIGEA. According to the bill, the cited memo authorizes the state even more to legitimize online poker.

According to the bill, Mississippi Gaming Commission must license anyone who wants to host online gambling. The licenses issued, whose fees have not been revised from last year, are valid for five years.

Any Web site that wants to host online poker will pay $200,000 for license and deposit the same amount of money every year, which will be divided between the General Fund in the state and a special Gaming Commission Fund that focuses on combating criminal activities.

That is not all it will cost to host online poker in Mississippi. There is another license fee imposed on online wagering gross revenues every calendar month, which is equivalent to five percent of the revenues generated.

The provisions regarding player accounts are the same as those in last year’s bill. According to the provisions, a player must be:

• at least 21 years old
• provide two ID forms to prove age
• provide both e-mail and physical address
• sign a penalty of perjury form

It is illegal for casino employees to play on the sites that their employers own.

Many residents in Mississippi State are opposed to online poker. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether the bill will pass the committee stage this time. Only Delaware and Nevada have so far passed online gambling bills. However, neither of the states has started providing games. A similar bill has already been passed in New Jersey but Gov. Christie has not yet appended the signature required to make it a law.





Sponsored Post from Online Gambling-com.au: Another Attempt at Introducing Online Gambling Bill in Mississippi | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

The use of the internet for gambling has caused a few governments around the world to challenge their old laws and realize the interpretation of rules and regulations regarding online gambling need serious examination. The international ramifications of the USA shredding of the internet wagering industry back in 2006 has created a field day for lawyers who argue for and against jurisdictional supremacy.

The USA has been the can of worms or Pandora’s box for the regulators of web wagering that position themselves in places other than America and challenge the constitutional law in place there. A recent decision by a court in the 3rd Circuit Court in Philadelphia puts even more confusion on the internet gambling table in America.

iMEGA or the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association launched a lawsuit a few years ago challenging the constitutionality of the USA’s introduction of the UIGEA. IMEGA’s efforts to foster cooperation between the online gaming industry and government and to promote innovation, openness and freedom on the Internet was reason enough for the group to bring this issue to the courts for a decision once and for all. The essential argument contended that the UIGEA was unconstitutionally vague in that it lacked an ascertainable and workable description of where and when an online wager is made. The question was asked, is the wager actually placed at the computer of the player, the location of the actual server or somewhere in the cloud? The court dismissed the arguments and said that what constitutes a legal bet is up to the discretion of the state. That means the individual states have the power to make their own determination where they house the servers and call it legal creating another layer of legal confusion.

New Jersey is a great example of fence sitting with regards to the legalization of online betting in ailing Atlantic City. The Pandora’s box has been opened and the reversal of legal arguments has just begun to take effect. Whether America will finally pay Antigua and keep to its WTO commitments remains to be seen.





US Court Ruling Confuses Legal Online Gambling Issue

Olly Murs has revealed he's staying realistic about his chances of making it in the US.

The Xtra Factor presenter is hoping to crack the stateside market after a British invasion from the likes of One Direction, The Wanted and Adele.

But he told The Daily Star: "Whatever happens with this US adventure, I'm never going to be disappointed. Of course I want success in America, but I love being the underdog.

"Troublemaker [Olly's single] has sold 100,000 already and is No 34 in the US iTunes chart. In the UK those sales would get you a No 1 record.

"But you can't put yourself up against One Direction or Adele and say, 'I want that.' I'm realistic that it'll take time."

Olly will also make an appearance in the US TV show 90210, which is set to air in April.

"In 90210 I'm playing myself in a scene performing for a girl who likes me," he revealed.