Let your mouth speak archive

Political efforts to defend New Jersey’s fledgling Internet gambling industry intensified Tuesday, two days before a test of online betting is to begin in the state. Casinos and their online technology partners did last-minute testing Tuesday, and a pro-gambling state senator tried to rally opposition to Las Vegas billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson’s plan to try to ban online gambling in the United States.

Sen. Ray Lesniak also said he’ll unveil a proposed expansion on Thursday of Internet gambling in New Jersey.

“Adelson has started a campaign to shut down New Jersey’s internet gaming which will cost the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of revenues to Atlantic City’s ailing casinos and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state treasury,” said Lesniak, who sponsored the law that legalized Internet gambling in his state. “We already have given the legal authority for Internet gaming in New Jersey, and state regulators have done a good job in reviewing and authorizing licenses for online gaming businesses. Imposing a federal ban on Internet gambling for New Jersey would be an economic catastrophe.”

The Washington Post reported last week that Adelson is preparing a public campaign to portray online gambling as a danger to children, the poor and others who could be exploited by easy access to Internet betting. In January, Adelson plans to launch an advocacy group, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling.

Adelson was one of the top donors in last year’s presidential elections; he and his wife spent nearly $100 million to help Republicans.

The American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s trade group, also opposed Adelson’s plans.

“In 2012, Americans spent nearly $3 billion gambling with rogue offshore operators,” said Geoff Freeman, the group’s president. “The Internet cannot be forced back into the bottle — nor can market demand. We support pragmatism and strong regulation of online gaming that protects consumers, prevents underage play, ensures the integrity of the games and empowers law enforcement.”

Several Atlantic City casino executives declined to comment on Adelson’s plans Tuesday.

The moves came as Atlantic City casinos and their online partners put the finishing touches on their Internet gambling systems and looked for bugs that still needed to be fixed before the start of a five-day invitation-only trial period of Internet gambling. If all goes well, online gambling will be available statewide Nov. 26.

PartyPoker-com, the signature brand of bwin.party, is partnered with the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. It offered a look Tuesday at its global site, which company officials said is very similar to what New Jersey players will experience starting Thursday.

The site offers live poker in online rooms; card games including blackjack; table games including roulette, and several versions of slot machine games. On Sunday, the site sponsored a $200,000 poker tournament in which 1,139 people played.

“This is the type of featured event we hope to develop in New Jersey,” said Jeffrey Haas, the site’s director of poker.

Once a player registers and funds an account, rapid-fire gambling is just a mouse-click away. In the time it takes for a single roulette game at a casino, where players have to buy chips, place them on the table, then wait until dealers collect chips from losing bets and hand out chips for winnings ones, an online gambler can play a dozen games.

The state is also looking forward to a vote by Nevada casino regulators as soon as Thursday that would legalize multi-state slots jackpots — something New Jersey has long wanted.



NJ Gets Ready for Internet Gambling

With New Jersey now only one week away from launching online gaming, billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is launching a campaign for a federal ban on the industry.

According to the story, “Adelson is preparing a public campaign to portray online gambling as a danger to children, the poor and others who could be exploited by easy access to Internet betting.”

That has produced a reaction, naturally, from supporters of the gaming. That includes state Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, the chief backer of online gaming in the state Legislature in Trenton. Lesniak on Tuesday called on New Jersey’s congressional delegation, the state’s casino industry, public officials and the business community to fight off Adelson’s effort.

“Adelson has started a campaign to shut down New Jersey’s internet gaming, which will [would] cost the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of revenues to Atlantic City’s ailing casinos and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state treasury,” said Senator Lesniak in a statement. “We already have given the legal authority for internet gaming in New Jersey and state regulators have done a good job in reviewing and authorizing licenses for online gaming businesses. Imposing a federal ban on internet gambling for New Jersey would be an economic catastrophe.”

Lesniak said he wrote to every casino CEO in New Jersey, the state’s congressional delegation, the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce, and the head of the casino workers union alerting them to Adelson’s actions and urging them to help stop this attempt by to take away the ability of states to permit online gambling. Adelson has hired high-powered lobbyists and public relations experts in Washington and around the country to pursue his goal of outlawing Internet gaming, Lesniak notes. Those hired include Wellington Webb, the former mayor of Denver; former U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, former New York Governor George Pataki; and the Washington lobbying firms Patton Boggs and Husch Blackwell.

“Mr. Adelson, you should take your campaign and direct it where gambling has the most negative impact – lottery sales,” said Senator Lesniak. “Convenience stores sell lottery tickets right across from low income housing projects. You should put your billions to work helping those folks get good paying jobs and job training and to support preschool education funding. And shame on you, Governor Pataki. You promoted selling lottery tickets to poor people but now that you’re getting paid big money, you’ve ‘gotten religion’ about gambling.”

Nearly all of Adelson’s Las Vegas competitors disagree with his position, according to industry experts, Lesniak said.

The American Gaming Association also took issue with Adelson’s plans on Monday.

Statement by Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO:

“Time and again, government efforts to prohibit use of everyday products have failed. In 2012, Americans spent nearly $3 billion gambling with rogue offshore operators. The Internet cannot be forced back into the bottle – nor can market demand. We support pragmatism and strong regulation of online gaming that protects consumers, prevents underage play, ensures the integrity of the games and empowers law enforcement.

New government efforts to prohibit online gaming will unintentionally strengthen black market providers, create more risk for American consumers, including children, and drive U.S. jobs and potential revenues overseas. We appreciate divergent viewpoints and welcome a healthy discussion on this complex issue.”
- See more at: NJ fights back against proposed online gaming ban | Meadowlands Matters | NorthJersey-com

Australia is a land of opportunity and some entrepreneurs are making the best of the online gambling trends being set in that country. A Perth Australia business man is about to launch a free to play online gambling site which he believes has great potential from a loophole in Facebook’s rules on real money gambling opportunities.

Founder of Virtual Gaming Worlds Laurence Escalante runs Chumba Casino, which offers an online casino with cards and digital poker but not for real money or prizes.

Escalante says the real profit will come from the ‘social casino’ which will make money from dedicated users, who pay for extra credits and premium play opportunities. Right now the Chumba Casino is a Facebook application but Escalante was granted a licence from the Philippines allowing his firm to accept cash bets on the digital games. The goal is to launch a parallel Chumba Casino outside of Facebook for real money.
There is a catch or loophole in the social online gambling regulations in certain jurisdictions such as the USA. Almost two thirds of the Chumba Casino’s 200,000 monthly active users are located in America. He intends to target them with “sweepstakes” offers on Facebook, which are made possible by a rule that does not define sweepstakes as gambling for some jurisdictions.

Escalante said, participants in the site can purchase virtual credits to gamble on digital poker games, and then, they can cash in those credits for prizes. This type of gambling is not allowed in Australia, ¬especially NSW where the strict rules on sweepstakes are enforced. Escalante is confident he is will be playing by the rules in the USA.

Escalante has some good talent behind the project such as former general manager of Aristocrat Leisure, Steve Parker, who is a director of the start-up. Aristocrat’s ex-studio manager Edgar Pau, who recently designed slot games for US firm Bally, is now Chumba Casino’s head of slot machine design.




Australian Social Online Gambling Sweepstakes

Actress Brittany Murphy, who was declared dead in 2009 owing to acute pneumonia and anaemia, have reportedly been murdered with rat poison, reports claim.

According to an independent report ordered by her father Angelo Bertolotti, the Hollywood star did not die from natural causes, reports mirror.co.uk. It was found that at the time of her death, the "Clueless" star had 10 heavy metals in her body. The amount is several times higher than World Health Organisation high levels.

The metals are found in most rodenticides and insecticides. This has led her family and experts to believe she may have been given rat poison. Murphy's father had fought for years to secure samples of her hair, blood and tissue, which he later submitted for independent testing.

New Jersey casino regulators gave an Internet gaming permit today to the biggest casino operator in Atlantic City, setting the stage for a five-day test run of online gambling in the Garden State that will start Thursday.

Caesars Interactive, a subsidiary of the company that owns four of Atlantic City’s dozen casinos, was licensed today by the state Casino Control Commission as a casino operator.

During a lengthy hearing at the commission’s offices, chief executive Mitch Garber faced questions about his employment history. A report prepared for gaming regulators in Massachusetts recently cast doubt on Caesars’ suitability to be licensed there, in part because of Garber’s involvement in two gaming companies that later faced trouble with the U.S. Justice Department.

Both companies, subsequent to Garber’s departure, entered into non-prosecution agreements to avoid any legal trouble that could have arisen because of their involvement with online poker in the United States.

Garber was never charged with a crime, nor were any of his subordinates, and he maintained today that he never intentionally broke the law. He believed — based on legal advice and the apparent legitimacy of the companies he led — that Internet gaming was not against the law in the United States.

“The law at the time was quite unsettled. There were no laws on the books that would address the Internet because the Internet was new,” he said of the legal advice he was given. “There were a number of open issues that created the environment of uncertainty and unsettled legal situation in Internet gaming at the time.”

As soon as the United States enacted a law that made it a crime to process payments for online gambling transactions, Garber and the board of directors at PartyPoker – the second company he led — stopped offering its product in America. The company lost 80 percent of its business, worth about $8 billion per year, he said.

His explanations satisfied regulators. The three members Casino Control Commission voted unanimously to license the company and its key employees.

“Based upon today’s presentation and the division’s report, I am convinced that (Caesars Interactive) has fully satisfied the criteria for the issuance of a casino license,” Chairman Matthew Levinson said.

Within minutes, the Division of Gaming Enforcement issued the company an Internet gaming permit.

Caesars Interactive, which is working with the online gaming companies 888 Holdings and Amaya, joins five other Atlantic City casino operators that had already received online gaming permits. The company will offer Internet gambling though two of its casinos, Caesars and Bally’s.

It’s unclear if all of the casinos that received permits will be able to participate in the test, set to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday. That will be decided by tomorrow afternoon, according to David Rebuck, the director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement.

That’s also when the state will release the specific websites that will host online gaming. Each casino is allowed up to five different websites, known as “branded skins.”

“Most of them haven’t chosen to go up to five because it’s a slow process, they’re trying to figure out their market,” Rebuck said after the commission hearing, later adding: “Some skins aren’t going to make it. They won’t past testing. They’ll come in later.”

Each casino is allowed up to 500 players during the testing, known as soft-play. The state wants the casinos to reach those limits so the websites can “push the limits” and be sure they’re ready.

The test will be the precursor to a full launch, expected to happen next Tuesday if all goes well.

Asked how confident he is that the state and the operators are ready, Rebuck replied: “I’m optimistic. Very optimistic.”


Largest casino operator in Atlantic City gets online gambling permit | NJ-com

Watch any British commercial TV channel after the watershed these days and you will there is an inordinate number of ads for betting businesses and, more specifically, for online betting businesses.

Many of them are the smaller players in the field. They are desperately fighting to increase their market share ahead of the UK’s introduction of an online betting tax in 12 months. As the costs of operating their websites remain the same, irrespective of customer numbers, the logical response is to recruit as many clients as possible as quickly as possible.

So they have considerably ramped up their marketing spend. Paddy Power chief executive Patrick Kennedy this week said that the bottom 10 per cent of the market is responsible for one third of what is spent on media ads. The net effect is driving up the cost of customer acquisition across the industry as a whole.

Many of them are focused on bingo or casino games, which means that they are all selling the same thing. Blackjack pays 6/4 no matter where you play it; increasing those odds simply wipes out any profit.

These operators will simply disappear in the wave of consolidation that is likely to follow the introduction of the tax.

However, others offer sports betting which broadens their appeal and their scope for incentivising customers. Paddy Power noticed a tightening of margins in football betting this autumn, indicating that competitors were offering more generous odds than usual. It responded in kind and its executives noted yesterday that margins had improved again.

While the competition intensified over the last 12 months, Power “maintained its discipline” and kept its marketing spend to its regular limit of about 20 per cent of net revenues. In the first six months of the year, it increased its number of active UK- based online customers by 15 per cent to 920,000, indicating that sticking to this policy would still pay dividends.

Paddy Power and established rivals such as William Hill, Ladbrokes and Boyles, are well equipped to deal with increased competition. It is the smaller players who are rolling the dice, as some of them will lose out. The established bookies will win in the end, the question is how long will it take to reach that end?


What odds on online gambling surviving? - Retail News | Service Industry News | The Irish Times - Thu, Nov 21, 2013

Online gambling is here to stay. That is the reality.

In fact, last year — before a single state had legalized it — Americans spent nearly $3 billion gambling online. All of it took place outside the law, in the unregulated, treacherous world of illegal offshore operators. Some Americans are being cheated. Money has disappeared. Minors and problem gamblers are unprotected. Jobs and potential tax revenue are driven overseas. And U.S. law enforcement does not have the tools it needs to combat the perpetrators.

The solution to these problems is effective regulation. Pretending we can eliminate online gambling only places Americans at continued risk.

Those who argue in favor of prohibition would do well to remember the last time our country outlawed a popular consumer product. Alcohol prohibition increased criminal activity, enabled a dangerous black market that grew out of control and often put unsafe products in consumers' hands.

Sound familiar?

Fortunately, lawmakers fixed the problems they created by instating regulations that have been effective for the better part of a century, creating a major economic force and jobs in the process.

Ignoring the lessons of history and pretending that outlawing something — despite market demand — will make it disappear leads to negative consequences.

Opponents of online gambling will go to any length, coming up with outrageous claims that would lead us to believe that regulated online gaming will suddenly cause the sky to fall. One even expressed fear of an "al-Qaeda poker network," which is patently absurd.

Americans will always gamble — offline, online or in whatever new form will be created tomorrow. And, as countless studies show, 99% will do so in a responsible manner. Let's do the right thing and work toward a pragmatic solution that protects customers, prevents underage play and empowers law enforcement to crack down on shady operators.

Strong regulation, rather than pretend prohibition, of online gambling is the only way to achieve our shared goal of protecting consumers.


American Gaming Association: No pretend prohibition

A company accused of submitting its unaware customers to a Bitcoin mining army has settled with a New Jersey's attorney and will pay a settlement of $1 million.

Online video game company E-Sports Entertainment has been accused of infecting thousands of computers belonging to customers to illegally mine Bitcoins.

E-Sports was established in 2006 and charges subscribers $6.95 per month for its game subscription service. Malware was injected within users' computers through software that was necessary to play games through the subscription service. Once downloaded and installed, the digital currency was mined without user consent.

Court documents state that malicious code was installed within the software by two employees, co-founder Eric Thunberg and engineer Sean Hunczak. In a press release, US lawmakers said that thousands of computers were infected when users signed up for its anti-cheat online games service.

According to the complaint, the malware also allowed E-Sports to monitor computers even when users were not signed in to the Commack, N.Y.-based company's services. In addition, prosecutors estimate that the botnet, which connected the computers and allowed them to mine for bitcoins illegally, took control of 14,000 computers in New Jersey and across the nation in only two weeks. It further generated approximately $3,500 in the virtual currency. Prosecutors said the malware could detect computer mouse movement and would mine Bitcoins only when users were away from their computers.

Acting Attorney General Hoffman said:

"This is an important settlement for New Jersey consumers. These defendants illegally hijacked thousands of people's personal computers without their knowledge or consent, and in doing so gained the ability to monitor their activities, mine for virtual currency that had real dollar value, and otherwise invade and damage their computers.

This case should serve as a message that we are committed to protecting New Jersey consumers, and that we will hold accountable anyone who seeks to exploit them through misleading claims, deceptive practices, or the invasion of their computer privacy."


In addition to paying $1 million to settle the complaint, E-Sport Entertainment also has agreed to stop deploying software code that downloads to consumers' computers without their knowledge and authorization, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. Moreover, the company will submit itself to a 10-year compliance program and create a dedicated page on the Internet that explains what type of data it collects, the manner in which it is collected, and how it is used. E-Sports Entertainment must pay $325,000 to the state immediately, and the rest is suspended for now. If the company behaves itself, then the rest of the fine will be written off after 10 years.

You live in The Garden State and you like to gamble, rejoice.

For the first time, people in New Jersey will be able to click a mouse or swipe a screen to gamble online.

A five-day trial period of Internet gambling begins at 6 p.m. Thursday when players invited by casinos to test their systems make real-money bets online.

The test period was established to determine whether sophisticated technology designed to ensure that all gamblers are within New Jersey and that they are 21 or older works correctly. The test also will evaluate electronic payment technology and the integrity and functionality of the casino games.

“This trial phase is going to be a big success. These companies have been doing business for years,” State Sen. Raymond Lesniak told WCBS 880.

If all goes well, Internet gambling will be available to gamblers within New Jersey starting Tuesday. The only other states to offer online gambling are Nevada and Delaware.

As WCBS 880′s Levon Putney reported, some involved with the Internet betting are looking forward to the trial run turning into a permanent fixture for gamblers. “You’ll be able to roulette, you’ll be able to play blackjack and you’ll be able to play a whole range of slots games,” Betfair digital director Ben Carter told Putney.

Betfair is a British company which has teamed with the Trump Plaza Hotel Casino to run the site.

The Trump Casino will feature more than 50 online gaming options.

“It was very much about revitalizing Atlantic City,” Carter said. “We’re not saying to people don’t go to casinos anymore, but we’re saying with Betfair you’ll be able to play 24/7 wherever you are within New Jersey.”

Online betting will mark the biggest expansion of gambling in New Jersey since casino gambling began in 1978.

“This is a very exciting time for Atlantic City and for the gaming industry,” said Alisa Cooper, a commissioner with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

“With the dawn of Internet gaming, we are on the cusp of perhaps the biggest change — and challenge — since the first casino opened here,” Cooper said.

Hours before the test was to begin, a state lawmaker unveiled a proposal to lure foreign online gambling companies. Lesniak’s bill would entice foreign betting firms to set up shop in the state — even though they could only take bets from overseas gamblers — and be subject to New Jersey’s famously tough casino regulation.

The payoff to New Jersey would be a 15 percent tax on their winnings, plus payments into a fund to raise $20 million a year for three years for New Jersey’s struggling horse racing industry. Lesniak said the foreign companies want the stamp of approval that strict New Jersey regulation would bring.

Thursday afternoon, the state was to release a list of gambling websites that had passed rigorous testing and would be permitted to go live at 6 p.m. for the test.

Regulators say from 500 to several thousand people could be online at any one time during the test period. David Rebuck, director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, said he hopes to push the system and test its capacity.

He said all indications so far suggest the system should work as designed to meet strict regulation and protect players.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “Testing has been going on for months. I don’t think there is any online gaming anywhere in the world that is going to be monitored as closely and protect the integrity of the games and players’ money as well these will.”



New Jersey Becoming 3rd State To Offer Internet Gambling « CBS New York

Gambling is the new black in America. There was a time when a person would have to fly to Las Vegas or take a bus to Atlantic City to indulge any desire they may have to throw their money down the proverbial toilet. These days, with all but two states having some form of legalized gambling and new casinos popping up everywhere, there's no shortage of opportunities for gambling enthusiasts to enrich the casino magnates who are only too happy to facilitate them. As laws and attitudes around gambling get even more relaxed, pretty soon anyone who feels the need to burn a hole in their pocket won't even have to make the trek to the nearest casino or slot machine, they will be able to do so from the comfort of their own home.

Internet gambling (or "gaming" as its' profiteers prefer to call it) is the latest way to help gamblers part with their money, and its' rise is being promoted by cash-strapped states who are growing increasingly addicted to gambling revenue. Nevada and Delaware have already legalized online gambling, New Jersey is poised to go live with its' casino-affiliated system this week and at least twelve other states are expected to follow suit next year. The burning question, however, is whether any state can really afford to rely on a morally bankrupt revenue stream, especially when they will also be required to pick up the tab for the social ills that generate it?

Until 2011, online gambling was banned by the federal government, and it may not have been such a bad thing. There are approximately 6 to 8 million Americans who are considered to be "problem gamblers" – the kind who would be at risk of burning through their life savings to feed their addiction the way an alcoholic will corrode his own liver with excessive boozing. Obviously not everyone who gambles has a problem, but the indications are that the greater the access a person has to gambling opportunities the greater the likelihood is that they will develop a problem.

A study that was published in 2005 by John W Welte of the University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions found that a person living within 10 miles of a casino has a 50% greater chance of becoming a problem gambler than a person living 10 or more miles away. In an interview with Chicago's Daily Herald about a follow up study, Welte told the newspaper that all the new gambling opportunities springing up around the country are making gambling more convenient. He said: And if it's more convenient, more people are going to be getting into trouble.

No one knows yet just how many more people will get into trouble when they don't even have to travel beyond their own bedroom to indulge their gambling habit, but many experts in the field are understandably worried.

At the moment, all eyes are on New Jersey to see how things pan out once internet betting takes off. According to the Council for Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ), there are already a whopping 350,000 problem gamblers in the state, and that number is expected to rise. To the state's credit, it has put some mechanisms in place to deal with the anticipated upsurge in problem gambling – every new casino that offers online betting will have to pay an annual fee of $250,000 to help fund treatment and prevention programs. Jeffrey Beck, CCGNJ's Assistant Director for Clinical Services, Treatment and Research says:

This is a welcome move. Insurance programs don't cover gambling addictions and gamblers who need help usually have no money left, so we need to be able to offer free treatment.

It may seem a little cynical for a state to be creating new funds to pay for damages arising from behavior it is both encouraging and making money off of, but the real problem is that the damage control efforts are not nearly expansive enough.

We all know gambling, like other potentially harmful behaviors, is here to stay. As states make gambling more accessible, they really need to be putting adequate safeguards in place to mitigate the negative effects. So far, according to Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), states have failed miserably to do this:

Our biggest criticism to date is that as states decide to go into the gambling business, either through lotteries, casinos and now the internet, they have absolutely failed to adequately address the current social costs of gambling addiction or to expand funding for education or prevention programs before more problems arise.

Many states actually slashed funding for treatment and prevention programs even as they were opening their doors to more gambling generated revenue. As of 2010, the total amount of public funding allocated for problem gambling services was $58.4m (pdf). That's a rather tiny share of the estimated $95bn (and rising) in revenue generated last year. The NCPG recommend allocating at least 1% of gambling revenue for treatment and prevention services. At the moment only a tiny percentage of problem or at-risk gamblers get treatment, even as their exposure to risk is increasing.

It's interesting to note that the most vocal (and powerful) opponent of online gambling is billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, owner of several upscale resorts on the Las Vegas strip and elsewhere. Adelson has denounced online gaming as a danger to society that provides new opportunities to exploit children, the poor and other vulnerable groups. While his motives may be questionable (considering how he has earned his billions), he may not be entirely wrong on this issue. For now, however, we should expect to see states fall like dominos due to the allure of the virtual casino and the riches it promises. Whether this easy money will be enough to cover the social costs it will inevitably engender remains to be seen.


[url=www-theguardian-com/commentisfree/2013/nov/20/online-gambling-state-revenue-social-costs]Online gambling is the new black in America. It's anything

New Jersey’s Internet gambling five-day soft launch is underway, and the failure of banks and credit card companies to process transactions has proven to be an early hurdle. After the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was enacted in 2006, many institutions implemented systems to reject gambling transactions, but now that individual states are legalizing online gaming, banks and credit card companies must adapt once again.

Bloomberg originally reported that Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., American Express Co., and Paypal refuse to allow online gaming transactions due to previously established guidelines or out of fear that they could be held liable for underage gamblers and those who might be able to bypass geolocation restrictions.


Here’s a look as various online gaming stances as reported by Bloomberg:

Visa and MasterCard allows transactions in states where online gaming is legal, but the ultimate decision lies with the card issuers. “Visa has updated its procedures to code newly legalized Internet gambling transactions so that financial institutions can identify and process them in states where they are allowed,” said Visa spokeswoman Rosetta Jones.
Bank of America doesn’t allow transactions, but is reviewing on whether to permit the in the future.
American Express doesn’t allow its cards to be used for gambling.
Neither Wells Fargo nor Discover Financial Services allow transactions citing federal compliance issues.
Internal policies, which could change in the near future, prevent Paypal from processing gambling transactions.



Legalized Online Gaming Must Clear Bank and Credit Card Hurdles | PokerNews

The morning after Jennifer Lawrence famously tripped over her Dior gown when accepting this year's Oscar for Best Actress, it was business as usual for the 23-year-old.

With no time to bask in the glory of the evening's success, she hopped on a plane to the Hawaiian set of Catching Fire, the second instalment of the Hunger Games trilogy, to resume her day job as the kick-ass teenage warrior Katniss. "Yes, I left Hollywood and returned to death, war and destruction," she says. "When I got back to the set there were new rules. No one was allowed to make eye contact with me and they were to refer to me as 'Ms Lawrence'," she jokes about her supposed post-Oscars elevation in status. "No, everybody kind of made fun of me, actually. If anything, it just makes you more of a target."

Though she is unmistakably charming, Lawrence is definitely a little more guarded, a little less effusive than she was a year ago.

"Well, I'm embarrassed to say this but last year when I was doing interviews I was a bit all over the place and said things that maybe I shouldn't have.

"Everybody liked it at first but I know how fickle people are and I'm afraid I'm going to start becoming annoying. I would probably annoy me, and so I get it. So, I've been trying to make a conscious effort while doing press for Catching Fire to be more calm, mature and cool so nobody gets sick of me, but it seems that I can't."

She grew up with her two older brothers in Louisville, where her parents run a children's camp and her duties were to help as an assistant nurse.

A precocious child, she had decided on an acting career by 14, and her parents helped find a talent agent. Television appearances followed on such shows as Cold Case, Medium, and Monk. Then came a few small roles on the big screen, and in 2008, at 18, she won the Marcello Mastroianni award at the Venice Film Festival for her role in The Burning Plain, in which she starred opposite Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger.

Life changed course when she starred in the independent hit Winter's Bone in 2010, and came away with an Academy Award nomination, among other accolades. It was a taste of what was to come three years later during her award-winning season for Silver Linings Playbook.

"My career has definitely benefited from the Academy Award and I am so grateful for it, but I am pleased to say that nothing in my personal life has changed at all. I mean, I don't go to Beverly Hills and not expect to create a stampede. Certain things changed, but I wouldn't say my day-to-day life has changed."

But being a role model must make somewhat of an impact?

"Well, becoming a role model isn't something you choose, it's something you inherit and it happens without your consent. So yes, I have to be aware of it and be careful about the example I'm setting to young girls. I remember being that age and how much I would pay attention to what people in the spotlight would say, what they'd wear, how they'd carry themselves. I don't want to do anything to upset anyone. Or if I am doing something, I try to make sure no one's parent finds out about it. It's definitely a responsibility that I try to adhere by."

But it seems her mild offscreen behaviour in which she eschews the nightclub life in favour of sitting on her couch watching reality television won't lend itself to any headline-grabbing. "No, I've never found going out to nightclubs or any of the Hollywood parties very enticing," she says. "I'm happy at home."

But she has made headlines of a different sort. Her new pixie-style haircut has been a major topic all over the world. "I didn't read any of that stuff," she sighs. "Just hearing about people making a big deal about it is just so stupid. You know, I just had a haircut. I didn't mean to make a national statement with it."


In her romantic life, she has been in an on-again-off-again relationship with British actor and fellow X-Men star Nicholas Hoult, for the past couple of years, although she remains tight-lipped on this subject. "I'd rather not discuss that. I'm not a relationship leader, just a straight-up actor."

The young blonde is fortunate indeed. The Hunger Games generated US$691 million ($831 million) worldwide and the sequel is expected to eclipse its predecessor's box-office (the third and fourth movies, Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 are scheduled for release in November 2014 and 2015.

The first film was directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) but because of scheduling conflicts he didn't return for Catching Fire. Instead, Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) helmed the sequel. The original budget of US$78 million was upped to US$130 million. The budget ballooned because of additional special effects, Imax cameras and Lawrence's payday, now a hefty US$10 million, an impressive hike from US$500,000 (plus box-office bonuses) she received for the first movie.

The movies are adapted from the best-selling novels by Suzanne Collins that address socio-political issues and contain a strong anti-war message for young adults.

Philip Seymour Hoffman joins the cast as head gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee, while the returning cast includes Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Donald Sutherland and Elizabeth Banks.

Despite Lawrence's realistic portrayal of Katniss Everdeen, a revolutionary and fearless leader, she confesses she is more worrier than she is warrior.

"I would never call myself a rebel because I have too much anxiety. I mean, I rebel against rude people; I can't stand that, or bad drivers. But I worry too much about getting into trouble to be a revolutionary. I'm also scared of everything: elevators, snakes, ghosts.

"Shooting in Hawaii, I was constantly scared of something, whether it be spiders or other insects."

She will next star in American Hustle, in which she reteams with Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell and co-star Bradley Cooper, as well as C

Online gambling has been launched in the state of New Jersey, a sign that the US may slowly be opening up to the multibillion-dollar industry.

Unlike in many countries, online gambling remains prohibited by the US government because of legislation passed in 1961.

Individual states may allow online gambling if it does not cross borders.

A test is under way in New Jersey to make sure only people within the state can play.

Until now, only two of the country's 50 states, Nevada and Delaware, allowed online gambling and heavy restrictions are in place.

Geolocation technology, which checks where a person is logging on, is typically used to lock out gamblers from further afield.

In New Jersey, people taking part in the test have suggested the restrictions have been overbearing.

One user told the Associated Press news agency that he drove 30 miles further into the state to log on, but was still getting locked out because the system failed to recognise he was within New Jersey.

Despite these troubles, gambling in the state is expected to launch in full next week, with 14 websites on offer.
State-to-state

Although the US gave the world the glitz of Las Vegas and the bright lights of Atlantic City, the federal government has for the most part rejected the online gambling industry. The 1961 Wire Act means a state can decide to allow online gambling, but only if sites and players are based within its borders.

The gambling industry is pressing for the federal government to greatly relax its stance, bringing it into line with other markets, such as the UK.

"A federal law, should it come in the future, would allow for a customer in California to play poker against a citizen in New Jersey," said Mark Jordan, a director at accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, who has researched the online gaming market extensively.

"At the moment you cannot do that. That's prohibited. What a lot of the operators are hoping is that as the states prove this can be done, and that it's safe, that the federal laws will change to allow state-to-state gaming."
Massive potential

The UK's online gambling industry is far less restricted, Mr Jordan told the BBC, and is envied by those looking to expand into the US.

"The UK gaming industry is one of the market leaders in the world," he said. "We are very well serviced here." The value of the UK industry is put at around the $2bn (£1.2bn) mark. The US offers staggering possibilities in comparison.

"The estimates for New Jersey alone run somewhere between $250m and $1.2bn," Mr Jordan said.

"That market has got a huge broad range - it all depends on customer uptake and the quality of the product."
Illegal sites

Despite the illegality, some websites operating offshore have been able to offer gambling to people in the US.

Technology-savvy users have got around location restrictions by using proxy servers, which can fabricate a user's location.

But difficulties in receiving winnings have meant online gambling with offshore sites is too troublesome for all but a few determined users.

Furthermore, major innovations to create more sophisticated and life-like gaming environments are mostly the preserve of the major companies that do business in the UK.


BBC News - Online gambling in New Jersey signals US expansion

Justin Bieber became the first Belieber when he was born on March 1, 1994 in London. No not that London, the one in Ontario. Yes, the poor fellow is Canadian. This embarrassment hasn't held him back. After learning piano, drums, guitar, trumpet and hairstyling by age 12, he was discovered by an American talent scout, who became the second Belieber after seeing YouTube clips of a teeny-tiny Bieber singing and looking cute.

In the five years since, young Justin has had many hits, a number of tattoos, three different haircuts and - excitingly for non-Beliebers - many controversies, beginning in March 2011 when he made an "obscene gesture" at photographer outside his 17th birthday party.

This was the first of many gestures. In July 2012 he was pulled over for speeding. In January this year a photo of him allegedly smoking dope was published, while in March, after allegedly threatening to kill one of his LA neighbours, he flew to Germany with a pet monkey which, because he had no papers for it, was confiscated by Customs. German officials later accused him of abandoning the monkey.

The same month Bieber had to be stopped by a bodyguard from attacking a photographer. The same week he was two hours late for his own show at London's O2 Arena. He was later photographed wearing, for reasons still mysterious, a gas mask.

The following month he visited Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and said he hoped Frank, who died in a concentration camp at 15, "would have been a Belieber". In July footage of him peeing in a bucket and dissing Bill Clinton was leaked.

This month, during a South American tour, he walked off stage in Sao Paulo in Brazil after being hit by a water bottle, was later accused of graffiti-ing a wall and allegedly disrespected the Argentinian flag.

Welcome to Auckland, Justin!

America is poised to take a significant step towards permitting online gambling this week when New Jersey tests the waters by liberalising strict laws governing internet poker, blackjack and slot machines.

A new wave of officially sanctioned online gambling sites will be opened up to the public on Tuesday, ending years of controversy over rogue offshore websites flouting warnings from federal authorities that their US activities were illegal.

While New Jersey is not the first state to legalise and license online gambling – Nevada and Delaware already have licensed operators – it is seen as the first with a population of a scale likely to attract the critical mass of players needed by large, profitable sites.

More than 9 million people live in the east coast state, and governor Chris Christie, seen as a possible Republican White House contender for 2016, hopes to make it a hub for gambling regulation across America.

Christie, who is forecasting game-changing tax dollars to flood in from the liberalised industry, is already pushing federal authorities for further liberalising measures, specifically around illegal sports betting.

France, Italy and Spain have all introduced similar licensing and taxation regimes for online gambling. Britain, the biggest European market, is also considering reforms in this area.

Online gambling operators hope the success of poker sites in New Jersey will galvanise nearby populous states to follow suit. On the west coast, meanwhile, Californian politicians are also considering moves to open a market for licensed online poker. "That's the real brass ring we're all looking to capture," said one official at a leading poker website.

Another official at a second poker site said: "The US tried prohibition [from 1920 to 1933] … it didn't work. Even today, the black market is worth about $3bn."

The New Jersey move will mean the return to the US market of PartyPoker, which had been the biggest site in the world until it quit the US overnight in 2006 following George Bush's Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), losing FTSE 100 parent group PartyGaming more than three-quarters of its revenues at a stroke.

It is not the first time New Jersey has turned to the gambling industry to boost local investment and taxes. Rundown Atlantic City was transformed into a casino resort in the 1970s, bringing a much-needed economic boost – though not without opponents who argued it was very much a mixed blessing. In recent years, however, the draw of the remaining dozen or so casinos on New Jersey's Broadwalk has been fast fading, in part as neighbouring states such as Pennsylvania and New York have opened up rival gambling resorts.

Conspicuously absent from the list of websites approved to start operating this week in New Jersey is Isle of Man-based PokerStars, the world's biggest poker site.

It became market leader after refusing to leave the US in 2006 following the passing of UIGEA. In the following five years, together with Alderney-based Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars ran a near-duopoly in America, to the fury of the federal authorities.

But in 2011, both sites were shut down by the US department of justice after the FBI discovered a complex network of bogus retailing websites the two poker sites were using to ensure credit card companies could not detect that transactions were linked to illegal gambling.

The revelations finally led to US authorities successfully blocking the last two major rogue operators. They also exposed a $350m (£215m) black hole in Full Tilt's books, effectively pushing the business into bankruptcy. The brand has since been taken over by PokerStars.

Full Tilt founder Ray Bitar, who is in poor health, returned to the US last year and in April pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to illegal gambling.

Isai Scheinberg of PokerStars is wanted by the FBI on charges linked to bank fraud, money-laundering and online gambling offences.

The company has said he has stepped down as a director but his family still owns the business.

In numbers:

The value of UK online gambling is put at around £1.2bn annually.

$32.8 billion: size of online gambling globally in 2012

New Jersey casinos have seen revenues fall from $5.2 billion in 2006 to just over $3 billion last year.




New Jersey relaxes online gambling laws in test case for America | Society | theguardian-com

Some were locked out by software that didn’t believe they were in New Jersey. Others had their credit cards rejected, their Social Security numbers questioned and their utility bills requested.

But despite the initial glitches as New Jersey’s Internet gambling era got underway last week, many gamblers say they’re optimistic the kinks will get worked out and the fledgling industry will take off as online gambling gets opened up to the entire state as soon as Tuesday.

“I’ll definitely be back; it was awesome,” said Chris Choy of East Brunswick, who registered at the World Series Of Poker site, one of five run by Caesars Atlantic City and the site that got the most positive reviews on opening night of the five-day trial period. “I was approved within 45 minutes and got $1,000 in there with no problems. It was pretty smooth sailing.”

He would end up $99 ahead at the end of the night.

Michael Gagliano, a poker coach from Glen Gardner, also gave high marks to the WSOP site. He quickly registered Thursday night and played for hours.

“I deposited without any problems, and it went into my account instantly, and I was playing right away,” he said.

He said he didn’t fare as well on two other sites, Party Poker and Ultimate Poker, but said he expects them to be ready soon.

“I play a lot of poker, so I’ll definitely be playing on a lot of these sites,” he said.

Matt Katz, CEO of CAMS LLC, an online partner for several casinos, said his clients experienced a 6 percent approval rate of transactions using a Visa card over the first 18 hours of the test period.

Others had nothing but problems as the test period began Thursday. Many players were shut out of the action by geolocation software designed to ensure that a player is within New Jersey’s boundaries. But because individual casinos set their electronic recognition borders somewhat inland from the state’s actual borders to ensure that out-of-state players weren’t allowed to gamble, legitimate gamblers inside New Jersey — sometimes as far as 15 miles inland— were blocked.

David Rebuck, director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, said he is not overly concerned by the startup issues, and expects them to be worked out soon.

Casino executives and their online technology partners were continuing to test and tinker with their systems during the trial period in hopes of being ready for an anticipated statewide launch Tuesday. That, however, could be delayed if regulators feel the system is not ready for heavy use.

New Jersey approved online gambling as a way to help the struggling Atlantic City casinos, which have seen their collective revenue fall from $5.2 billion in 2006 to just over $3 billion last year as casinos continue to open in states all around them. The casinos plan to market heavily and encourage Internet players to come to the brick-and-mortar casinos with offers of free meals, hotel rooms or concert tickets, along other perks.



Gamblers Optimistic For NJ Internet Betting « CBS Philly

There is an ongoing battle in the European Union regarding some member country’s attitude toward the free e-commerce agreement they opted for when becoming an E.U. participant. There are countries that are not compliant with guidelines set out by the European Parliament requiring member states to allow operators to enter their internet wagering market.

The European Commission has launched formal infringement proceedings against the online gambling legislation of six member countries and has issued two ‘reasoned opinions’ against Sweden for failing to comply with the EU laws.

The European Commission recently moved from a rather reactive to a more pro-active infringement policy in general. The Commission recently reacted to the European Parliament repeatedly asking the Commission to do something to protect the rights of members who have complied with the clear message that the online gambling industry is being compromised by the lack of action by the Commission and how the Treaty applies to gambling legislation. The Commission sent letters of formal notice to Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Belgium, regarding the restriction of the supply of online gambling services.

There hasn’t been any real movement in the cases against France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and the Netherlands which are still under investigation and are awaiting formal decision. The slow to act Commission has heard many complaints from organizations representing internet gambling operators in the European jurisdiction. The Court of Justice has made it apparent that more has to been done to curtail the abuse of the system.
Once countries amend their gambling legislation to comply with the Court of Justice guidelines such as in the case of Finland then the infringement proceeding are dropped. Sweden, which has been to an infringement proceeding has two-months to reply to the Commission’s request.
Anyone may lodge a complaint with the European Commission against a Member State about any measure (law, regulation or administrative action) or practice which they consider incompatible with Community law.



E. C. Acts on Online Gambling Legislation

Taylor Swift's fans have done it again, voting her the American Music Awards artist of the year for a third time.

Swift won the night's top honor, giving her a leading four trophies as fans celebrated the women of pop music.

She didn't perform, but she was a constant presence on stage and the camera alighted on her as she danced to stars like Kendrick Lamar and Luke Bryan. Her win came after Katy Perry dazzled with her show-opening performance, Lady Gaga found another inventive way to grab your attention, Rihanna starred with her mother and Miley Cyrus closed the performances with the assistance of a giant lip-syncing CGI kitty on her song Wrecking Ball.

"I'm really out of breath," Swift said after taking the stage in a sequined mini-dress. "I was really going hard with the Wrecking Ball thing."

The 23-year-old pop star also won country album of the year for Red and favorite female country artist and pop/rock artist. She spoke directly to her fans as she picked up her final award of the night.

"My lucky number is 13, and so far you guys have made 2013 the most magical year of my life so far," she said.

"I cannot thank you enough. This validates that if you voted for this that we are heartbroken the same way and we fall in love the same way and we're happy the same way. And the fact that you would listen to my music means ... we're pretty much in it together, aren't we?"

In a victory for fun, liberty and sound fiscal policy, New Jersey will tomorrow let most of its residents gamble online. All Americans should be so (dare we say it?) lucky.

New Jersey is the third state, after Delaware and Nevada, to permit online gambling within its borders, and a dozen or so others will consider doing so next year. By 2023, according to a forecast by Bloomberg Industries, annual online gambling revenue could reach $23 billion nationwide. In a just world, it would be legal nationwide, too.

Practical problems abound with a state-by-state approach. For one thing, a game such as poker requires significant pools of liquidity -- also known as “a big pot” -- to work well, which is a challenge in small states. Joining forces in regional gambling blocks, as some states are considering, would expand the market, but it could quickly become a mess if they all have conflicting regulations. Banks and payment processors are turning down perfectly legal gambling transactions for fear that they’d be enabling out-of-state or underage bettors.

These are symptoms of a larger incoherence. Online gambling, like everything else on the Internet, is inherently interstate commerce. That makes federal regulation more sensible.

Two bills in Congress are on the right track. One would legalize all forms of online gambling, except sports, and create an oversight office at the Treasury Department. It would also allow states to opt out. The other proposes a 4 percent federal tax on operators, and allows states to collect an additional 8 percent. Combined, they offer the outline of rational federal approach.

Of course, there will be plenty of objections. Sheldon Adelson, who made his zillion-dollar fortune separating casino-goers from their money, has recently discovered moral objections to gambling (online, anyway). He should stop whining. Casinos -- like every other industry, from music to media to retail -- will have to adjust to the Internet’s ruthless disruption. Casinos could capitalize on their brands, regulatory knowledge and customer-service skills to compete for online action, and they could use loyalty programs and promotions to lure their new Web-savvy patrons to the house. They can also offer benefits the Internet can’t: cash transactions, anonymity, exotic entertainment, free cocktails.

Some states may not like the idea, either. They might depend on tax revenue from casinos to shore up their budgets, for instance, or they might object on moral grounds. Neither is a good reason to oppose these laws. States will be able to raise substantial new revenue from online wagering, and traditional casinos will still be producing cash for a long time to come. If state officials find gambling sinful, they could always opt out.

At any rate, problem gambling and other harmful side effects will probably be easier to prevent online. If would-be punters are required to open an account and have their identities verified, imposing loss limits should be fairly easy from a technical perspective. (As with most things digital, convenience comes at the expense of privacy.) Compulsive gamblers might still get around such safeguards, but doing so would certainly be harder than at a casino, where you can plow through chips as long as you like. Online operators could also more easily comply with anti-money-laundering laws and prohibitions against underage gambling. Again, it wouldn’t be foolproof, but neither are real-life casinos.

Finally, a federally regulated system would help move the online gambling action away from the shady offshore shops that currently prevail and toward licensed -- and taxed -- domestic operators. Gamblers could be assured that their financial transactions are safe and legal, and that the games aren’t rigged. Public officials, meanwhile, would be rewarded with a windfall: Taxing online wagers could lead to as much as $41 billion in new revenue over 10 years.

People clearly like gambling. Letting them do so where they want would make them happy. Regulating it properly would keep them safe. And taxing it all will make lawmakers smile. A decent trifecta, you might say.


U.S. Should Go All In With Online Gambling - Bloomberg

A "soft play" period in New Jersey aimed to test the state's new Internet gambling systems; it turned out there were plenty of bugs that needed to be worked out. One of the main culprits in gamblers' issues was the sophisticated tech designed to ensure that gamblers are actually within New Jersey's borders. It seemed to work too well.

Joseph Brennen traveled 30 miles and three hours to different locations but still wasn't able to part with any of his money as New Jersey began a five-day test of its new Internet gambling systems.

The so-called "soft play" period that began Thursday was to shake out bugs before the anticipated statewide launch of online betting next Tuesday. And for Brennen there were plenty of bugs that needed shaking.

One of the main culprits in his -- and other gamblers' -- initial encounter with legal Internet gambling was the sophisticated technology designed to ensure that gamblers are actually within New Jersey's borders. In several cases, it appeared to have worked too well.

It was a possible scenario detailed by The Associated Press in a weekend story quoting online gambling officials who said they moved their "online fences" away from the state's borders to ensure players from other states couldn't get online to gamble. The result was no-play zones that far exceeded the narrow strips foreseen by online technology experts last week.

It was not immediately clear why the technology locked out users who were 10 to 15 miles from the border.

"It's frustrating knowing you're in the jurisdiction and you can't get anywhere," said Brennen, who vowed not to give up. The 33-year-old unemployed bartender from Ventnor began his quest to bet online in a seat near the men's room at a McDonald's in Atlantic City, the shining Boardwalk casinos glittering in the background. He kept getting security Relevant Products/Services messages from different gambling web sites saying they either didn't know where he was, or didn't believe he was in New Jersey.

So he got in his car and drove 5 miles inland and 5 miles north to a highway rest stop, where he still had difficulty getting online with the gambling sites. Back into the car again, he drove another 10 miles west, to a chain restaurant. Surely, he thought this was far enough inland to let him connect.

Wrong. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and five sites run by Caesars Entertainment didn't believe he was in New Jersey. Others let him register to gamble but insisted on more proof of residency that he couldn't immediately provide, like a utility bill.

In addition to the Borgata, the casinos that participated in the rollout were: the Tropicana Casino and Resort; Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino; the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort; Bally's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City, along with the Golden Nugget. The casinos, approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, collectively offered 14 Web sites where customers can -- eventually -- make real-money bets.

Tina Gonzalez, of Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, tried to set up an account with the Borgata but wound up in a 40-minute call-center purgatory, then set up an account with Caesars and watched her computer crash.

"I made a small deposit, but when I tried to play they said I wasn't in New Jersey," she said. "I'm afraid that when they try to do this statewide on the 26th it's going to be mayhem."

She used the Twitter hash tag (hash)softlaunchfromhell to describe her experience.

Others also took to social media to air their own grievances, including a man in western Monmouth County who was locked out by location technology that also didn't believe he was in the state, when he was a good 10 to 15 miles away from the border.

Joe Lupo, senior vice president of the Borgata, said the casino never intended to go online Thursday, and said it was still testing its systems.

The Tropicana set up an interview for a reporter with one of its customers Thursday, then canceled it, saying it hadn't yet gotten the go-ahead from its information technology partners to launch the system.

The test period was established to determine whether technology designed to ensure all gamblers are in New Jersey and at least 21 years old works correctly. The test also will evaluate electronic payment technology and the integrity and functionality of the casino games.

Online betting will mark the biggest expansion of gambling in New Jersey since casino gambling began in 1978.

Brennen, who played online poker years ago when its legality was murkier, expected to be patient with the new technology.

"The Borgata has always run top-notch since the day it opened, so I'm sure they'll be fine," he said. "When you're about to do something again you haven't been able to for years, you can wait a little longer."


Glitches Mar Online Betting's Start in NJ | Sci-Tech Today