The 2016 US election is still a few months off, but the race to secure party nominations has been ongoing for about five years (or it seems like that, at any rate).
With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump looking likely to head the way for the Democrats and Republicans, online gamblers in the US are thinking: what will a new president mean for me?
Will Hillary come down hard on the land-based casino chains? Will Donald’s historical connections to big casinos in Atlantic City make him anti-online gambling? Let’s take a look at what could be in store for American when they wake up in November after a very long and hard-fought battle.
Read more: www-casino-org/blog/us-presidential-candidates-whos-best-for-online-gambling/
An article posted by The Associated Press recently pointed to the corruption in yet another area of commerce with the resignation of Australian Securities Exchange CEO Elmer Funke Kupper. Funke Kupper has denied any wrong doing after being accused of bribing the family of Cambodia's prime minister to obtain a contract for a gambling enterprise he ran then called Tabcorp.
The resignation was immediate said ASX chairman Rick Holliday-Smith. A report published by Australia's Fairfax newspaper is the given source of the information concerning an alleged $200,000 AUD payment made to a consulting firm with links to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's family back in 2010.
The Australian Federal Police confirmed it is investigating Tabcorp as to whether it contravened any foreign bribery statutes.
Holliday-Smith stated, "The ASX Board accepted that Elmer wanted to direct his full focus to the investigations which may be made into the Tabcorp matter and not have them interfere with the important role of leading the ASX,"
Funke Kupper, has been the CEO of the ASX since 2011, and commented to the Fairfax reporter that he couldn't recall any such payment. Tabcorp was reportedly making an effort to launch an online gambling operation in Cambodia and confirmed that it had explored a business relationship with Cambodia in 2009, but ultimately chose not to pursue the opportunity.
Funke Kupper spoke to the Australian Financial Review about the resignation commenting, "I have not been told I am being investigated," he added, "My job is to take control of the situation. I am not doing this because I have done anything wrong under the law."
Former Tabcorp CEO Online Gambling Bribe Scandal | Online-Casinos-com
The size of the global online gambling market was a ‘mere’ $24.3 billion in 2009. It rose to $35.52 in 2015 and the estimated size for 2018 is $56 billion. That’s more than 100% growth in just 9 years. There are several reasons for this trend. First of all, a lot of people stopped gambling at land-based casinos and switched mostly or even completely to online gambling. It is a lot more convenient and easier to play casino games online and a lot of operators offer better pay-outs online. Many online casinos try and entice people with no deposit bonuses.
The growing trend is obvious and a lot of companies will profit from it. Moreover, whilst in the past online casinos targeted only people in developed countries, primarily UK, Australia, Canada, Europe and to a certain degree United States (due to their more restrictive laws), nowadays a lot of people from emerging countries play casino games online and operators realised that there’s a lot of money to be made there. Experts think that Africa has a lot of potential as an emerging iGaming market.
Some of the emerging countries have quite strict gambling laws, i.e. online gambling is practically forbidden, whereas in others this growing market is completely unregulated. We believe that both of these approaches are wrong and that the economy of an emerging country such as Nigeria could benefit from a more balanced approach. When online gambling is forbidden, or completely limited and there are only few games and few casinos available, people look elsewhere and put their money in foreign operated casinos, even if it is illegal, because the chances of getting caught are relatively small. Even if the person gets caught, the state wouldn’t benefit significantly from the fine that is imposed on the player and sending someone to jail costs money.
Therefore, restrictive gambling laws and online gambling made illegal won’t benefit a country’s economy. If the area is unregulated, again, casinos operating from outside the country would target players, they’ll take their money there, but the state will see no benefit, both from the money their citizens spend and the ones that they earned. Therefore, we advocate for a middle way. Countries should allow their citizens to gamble online, but all tax revenues should go to the country’s budget, instead of leaving this unregulated. Casinos would still offer their services to players from emerging countries such as Nigeria, because there’s a lot of money to be made, since the market is growing.
The Case of UK
There is an interesting example, of a country which is not an emerging economy but a developed country which is still very indicative. The country in question is UK. Britons enjoy gambling online and the online gambling market in the country is quite large. Being part of the EU means that a company that operates anywhere in the EU is allowed to operate within the UK and offer its services to UK players. Casino operators from countries that have a lot more liberal laws concerning online gambling and lower corporate tax, benefited from this.
This hurt the economy of the country, as parts of the disposable incomes of numerous British citizens were spent elsewhere and therefore not a single penny from that money went to the state budget. Therefore the government decided that if an operator wants to offer services to UK citizens, then it would have to register and receive a licence from the UK Gambling Commission. That way, online gambling is still legal and players can even register on websites whose operators are based elsewhere as long as taxes are paid in Britain. This is to the benefit of online casino fans, as they get to choose from a wider range of operators, but it also benefits the state as a lot of tax revenues flow into the state budget. UK’s betting and gaming tax revenues were increased by more than £400 million after the new measures were introduced.
businessdayonline-com/2016/03/taxing-online-gambling-why-emerging-economies-must-regulate/
With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump looking likely to head the way for the Democrats and Republicans, online gamblers in the US are thinking: what will a new president mean for me?
Will Hillary come down hard on the land-based casino chains? Will Donald’s historical connections to big casinos in Atlantic City make him anti-online gambling? Let’s take a look at what could be in store for American when they wake up in November after a very long and hard-fought battle.
Donald Trump (Republican)
Bookies’ Odds: 9/4
Intro: The startling rise of Donald J. Trump has shocked a Republican Party seemingly unable to deal with his popularity. Does the GOP attack the property mogul and risk alienating the grass roots who are voting for him, or does it fall behind a solid alternative candidate who has a chance of derailing him?
At the moment, it looks like no alternative is forthcoming. But could Trump actually pull it off? And if he does, what does it mean for America’s gambling industry?
Any History: The multi-billionaire has made a name out of ambitious property developments in New York and beyond. Trump Towers now graces many of the world’s cities, but he’s been involved in casinos since the early 1980s.
Trump opened the Trump Plaza and Casino in Atlantic City in 1984, and went on to have major stakes in other casinos around the US. The Trump Hotel opened in Las Vegas in 2005, and Tower 1 opened there three years later.
His Atlantic City Trump Taj Mahal casino, meanwhile, enjoyed a 24-year lifespan before going bankrupt in 2014. It was saved from closure in 2015 before being ultimately taken over by Carl Icahn in March this year.
More recently, attempts to get Trump online in partnership with Betfair faltered after Trump Plaza’s demise in New Jersey. The intent to go online, obviously, was there.
Predictions: A history of casino-building means Donald Trump won’t be infringing on any land-based firms if he becomes president. Trump also can count on the backing of governor Chris Christie, who jumped ship from his own nomination bid to put his weight behind him.
But could his interests in land-based properties, like Sheldon Adelson, give him a taste to take on the Internet firms? At the moment, everything is up for grabs.
Key Quote: “This [legalized online gambling] has to happen because many other countries are doing it and like usual the U.S. is just missing out.” (Donald Trump, 2011)
Marco Rubio (Republican)
Bookies’ Odds: 18/1
Perhaps Trump’s closest rival is Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who seems to slip in and out of the race every week.
His state has a long tradition of poker rooms, and recently expanded its laws to include big-stakes action. But Rubio has gone on record in general opposition to “expanding gambling on the Internet.”
However, Rubio has been a big supporter of Adelson’s RAWA, but he does seem in favour of a carve-out for online poker.
Predictions: Rubio – who has enjoyed support from RAWA exponent, Sheldon Adelson – may push for an outright online gaming ban. Realistically, however, if in power he would probably favor the status quo of allowing individual states to go it alone.
Key Quote: “On the issue of Internet poker, the only difference between the poker games and the others [games of chance] is that it involves an element of skill associated with and compared with just a slot machine online.” (Marco Rubio, 2015)
Ted Cruz (Republican)
Bookies’ Odds: 50/1
The Republican long shot did well on Super Tuesday but is unlikely to overtake Trump in the race for the GOP nomination.
Predictions: Cruz is all for supporting the rights of individual states. That means a big ‘Yes’ for intra-state online gambling – if the states want it, and a big fat ‘No’ for anything remotely associated with RAWA.
Hillary Clinton (Democrat)
Bookies’ Odds: 4/7
Hillary Clinton has made no secret of her desire to follow her husband’s footsteps and become the second Clinton to enter the White House.
Clinton’s well-oiled campaign machine is now pushing her well towards the Democrat nomination, and she stormed to win seven states to Bernie Sanders’ four on Super Tuesday. However, her rival still holds a lot of support from young and disillusioned voters.
History: More known for campaigning on healthcare issues and women’s rights, Clinton was secretary of state when the Obama Administration cleared the way, in 2011, for online gambling on an intrastate level.
In 2000, Clinton was in favor of the building of a new casino near Niagara Falls. In 2008, she also supported – having already voted for UIGEA (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), a move towards online gaming regulation. In customary Clinton fashion, proper safeguards to protect children and problem gamblers were also highlighted.
In her failed 2008 bid for the Democrat presidential nomination, she gained plenty of support from top Vegas executives.
Predictions: If Hillary makes it to the White House – and let’s assume she will finally receive the Democrat nod – she is unlikely to back the rampant RAWA (Restoration of America’s Wire Act) put forward by Republican-backed Sheldon Adelson. Could a federal online gambling bill be next?
Key Quote: “For many places in the country, it [gambling] seems to be an important part of what they are trying to do to revive and maintain an economic base.” (Hillary Clinton, 2008)
Bernie Sanders (Democrat)
Bookies’ Odds: 28/1
The democratic socialist wouldn’t seem to be an ally of gambling, having voted for banning Internet gambling by credit card back in 2003. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act paved the way for UIGEA three years later. He, like Hillary Clinton, voted for UIGEA/SAFE Ports Act to be implemented in 2006.
Pr
Problem gambling is not a bad habit or a moral weakness. It’s a serious condition that responds well to treatment. Anyone can develop a problem with gambling. It can affect men or women of any age, race or religion, regardless of their social status.
Some risk factors, individually or in combination, might make a person more vulnerable:
A stressful life event, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, injury/disability
An early big win while gambling
Pre-existing mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, or alcoholism
Family history of addictions such as alcoholism, compulsive gambling and drug addiction.
There is hope and help for problem gamblers and their loved ones, and many people who seek help do recover. For more information, contact Community Mental Health Center, Inc., at (812) 537-1302, or contact the National Council on Problem Gambling at (800) 522-4700. Community Mental Health Center provides treatment services for problem gambling. For information on Indiana gambling treatment resources, contact the state’s problem gambling referral line at (800) 994-8448. To find out about meetings of Gamblers Anonymous and Gam-Anon, call (866) 442-8621. Information on the Internet can be found on the National Council of Problem Gambling’s website at National Council on Problem Gambling | NCPG.
All CMHC services are provided without regard to race, religion, disability, gender, color, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political belief, status as a veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
The 2016 US election is still a few months off, but the race to secure party nominations has been ongoing for about five years (or it seems like that, at any rate).
With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump looking likely to head the way for the Democrats and Republicans, online gamblers in the US are thinking: what will a new president mean for me?
Will Hillary come down hard on the land-based casino chains? Will Donald’s historical connections to big casinos in Atlantic City make him anti-online gambling? Let’s take a look at what could be in store for American when they wake up in November after a very long and hard-fought battle.
Donald Trump (Republican)
Bookies’ Odds: 9/4
Intro: The startling rise of Donald J. Trump has shocked a Republican Party seemingly unable to deal with his popularity. Does the GOP attack the property mogul and risk alienating the grass roots who are voting for him, or does it fall behind a solid alternative candidate who has a chance of derailing him?
At the moment, it looks like no alternative is forthcoming. But could Trump actually pull it off? And if he does, what does it mean for America’s gambling industry?
Any History: The multi-billionaire has made a name out of ambitious property developments in New York and beyond. Trump Towers now graces many of the world’s cities, but he’s been involved in casinos since the early 1980s.
Trump opened the Trump Plaza and Casino in Atlantic City in 1984, and went on to have major stakes in other casinos around the US. The Trump Hotel opened in Las Vegas in 2005, and Tower 1 opened there three years later.
His Atlantic City Trump Taj Mahal casino, meanwhile, enjoyed a 24-year lifespan before going bankrupt in 2014. It was saved from closure in 2015 before being ultimately taken over by Carl Icahn in March this year.
More recently, attempts to get Trump online in partnership with Betfair faltered after Trump Plaza’s demise in New Jersey. The intent to go online, obviously, was there.
Predictions: A history of casino-building means Donald Trump won’t be infringing on any land-based firms if he becomes president. Trump also can count on the backing of governor Chris Christie, who jumped ship from his own nomination bid to put his weight behind him.
But could his interests in land-based properties, like Sheldon Adelson, give him a taste to take on the Internet firms? At the moment, everything is up for grabs.
Key Quote: “This [legalized online gambling] has to happen because many other countries are doing it and like usual the U.S. is just missing out.” (Donald Trump, 2011)
Marco Rubio (Republican)
Bookies’ Odds: 18/1
Perhaps Trump’s closest rival is Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who seems to slip in and out of the race every week.
His state has a long tradition of poker rooms, and recently expanded its laws to include big-stakes action. But Rubio has gone on record in general opposition to “expanding gambling on the Internet.”
However, Rubio has been a big supporter of Adelson’s RAWA, but he does seem in favour of a carve-out for online poker.
Predictions: Rubio – who has enjoyed support from RAWA exponent, Sheldon Adelson – may push for an outright online gaming ban. Realistically, however, if in power he would probably favor the status quo of allowing individual states to go it alone.
Key Quote: “On the issue of Internet poker, the only difference between the poker games and the others [games of chance] is that it involves an element of skill associated with and compared with just a slot machine online.” (Marco Rubio, 2015)
Ted Cruz (Republican)
Bookies’ Odds: 50/1
The Republican long shot did well on Super Tuesday but is unlikely to overtake Trump in the race for the GOP nomination.
Predictions: Cruz is all for supporting the rights of individual states. That means a big ‘Yes’ for intra-state online gambling – if the states want it, and a big fat ‘No’ for anything remotely associated with RAWA.
Hillary Clinton (Democrat)
Bookies’ Odds: 4/7
Hillary Clinton has made no secret of her desire to follow her husband’s footsteps and become the second Clinton to enter the White House.
Clinton’s well-oiled campaign machine is now pushing her well towards the Democrat nomination, and she stormed to win seven states to Bernie Sanders’ four on Super Tuesday. However, her rival still holds a lot of support from young and disillusioned voters.
History: More known for campaigning on healthcare issues and women’s rights, Clinton was secretary of state when the Obama Administration cleared the way, in 2011, for online gambling on an intrastate level.
In 2000, Clinton was in favor of the building of a new casino near Niagara Falls. In 2008, she also supported – having already voted for UIGEA (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), a move towards online gaming regulation. In customary Clinton fashion, proper safeguards to protect children and problem gamblers were also highlighted.
In her failed 2008 bid for the Democrat presidential nomination, she gained plenty of support from top Vegas executives.
Predictions: If Hillary makes it to the White House – and let’s assume she will finally receive the Democrat nod – she is unlikely to back the rampant RAWA (Restoration of America’s Wire Act) put forward by Republican-backed Sheldon Adelson. Could a federal online gambling bill be next?
Key Quote: “For many places in the country, it [gambling] seems to be an important part of what they are trying to do to revive and maintain an economic base.” (Hillary Clinton, 2008)
Bernie Sanders (Democrat)
Bookies’ Odds: 28/1
The democratic socialist wouldn’t seem to be an ally of gambling, having voted for banning Internet gambling by credit card back in 2003. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act paved the way for UIGEA three years later. He, like Hillary Clinton, voted for UIGEA/SAFE Ports Act to be implemented in 2006.
Pr
The size of the global online gambling market was a ‘mere’ $24.3 billion in 2009. It rose to $35.52 in 2015 and the estimated size for 2018 is $56 billion. That’s more than 100% growth in just 9 years. There are several reasons for this trend. First of all, a lot of people stopped gambling at land-based casinos and switched mostly or even completely to online gambling. It is a lot more convenient and easier to play casino games online and a lot of operators offer better pay-outs online. Many online casinos try and entice people with no deposit bonuses.
The growing trend is obvious and a lot of companies will profit from it. Moreover, whilst in the past online casinos targeted only people in developed countries, primarily UK, Australia, Canada, Europe and to a certain degree United States (due to their more restrictive laws), nowadays a lot of people from emerging countries play casino games online and operators realised that there’s a lot of money to be made there. Experts think that Africa has a lot of potential as an emerging iGaming market.
It seems harmless enough to give those playing for fun more chances of striking the jackpot, but in reality the better odds are being accused of leading to a rise in gambling addiction.
“When it comes to gambling, the easier a game is to understand the worse the odds usually are,” the Wizard of Odds website states. With slots, all the player must do is simply press a button, and that tremendous ease and fast rate of play means “there is no quicker way to lose your money.”
While slots in a physical casino come with the worst odds in the entire building, at online fun money casinos they’re slightly better and might create a false sense of real winning.
www-casino-org/news/online-gambling-win-rate-creates-false-sense-of-real-money-potential-at-land-based-casinos
USA based Repucom is one such service that utilises leading technology and facilities for its market research, media evaluation and commercial auditing. This company has created the industry’s first global, full-service portfolio for sport, entertainment and other events. Repucom has become established as the provider for data, insights and intelligence for over 1,700 of the top rights holders, brands, agencies and broadcasters globally.
It was revealed by Repucom that gambling operator investment in European football jersey sponsorship rose 180% in one year.
The European Football Jersey Report 2015/2016 published by Repucom revealed gambling and lottery firms spent €42m on football shirt deals this current season, up from just €15m in the 2014/2015 report. The gambling sector made the sixth position on the football sponsorship scale, rising from eleventh from last year’s report.
UK & Ireland managing director for Repucom Jon Stainer commented that should the current rate of growth continue, the top six leagues could soon be collectively making over €1b per year from sports shirt advertizing deals. Stainer mentioned the rise of wagering service companies’ sponsorship involvement was “certainly worth noting” and credited investments by Betclic Everest subsidiary bet-at-home, Dafabet and Mansion with driving up the sector’s chart ranking.
The Repucom 2015-2016 report covers jersey advertizing sponsorships in the English Premier League (EPL), Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s Primera Division, Italy’s Serie A plus the Netherlands’ Eredivisie.
The introduction of advertizing on sports jerseys by online gambling operators has given firms such as Australian online bookmaker Sportsbet partnership contract with AFL Brisbane Lions prominent placement for the brand across all of the club’s digital properties, including desktop, mobile, app and email.
Online Gambling Sports Sponsorship Deals Soaring | Online-Casinos-com
On Tuesday, Russian gambling media sources revealed that the Ministry of Finance had okayed amendments to the tax code, under which Russian-licensed online bookmakers will pay a minimum monthly tax of RUB 2.5m to 3m (US $36,600 to $43,900) effective Jan. 1, 2017. Bookies with land-based operations will continue to pay a monthly fee of between RUB 5k and 7k per month for each retail point of sale.
The new tax will reportedly apply for each region in which an online bookmaker does business. For the record, Russia has 12 economic regions, meaning bookies will likely be making some hard choices as to whether it’s economically feasible to maintain a regional presence.
The previous monthly minimum per region had been as low as RUB 25k ($366), making the new rate up to 100x higher. The news came as a shock to Russian bookies, who had previously expressed their dismay at last month’s reports that the government was planning a mere tenfold increase in gambling taxes.
Nikolai Oganezov, chairman of the Bookmakers Self-Regulatory Organization, told Bookmakersrating.ru that government officials appeared intent on cutting open the betting industry goose in order to get all the golden eggs at once. Oganezov also expressed regret at the government’s lack of openness in imposing the new tax without any dialogue with the industry.
Oleg Zhuravsky, president of rival betting association First SRO, took an altogether different stance, saying local governments needed the income and the new tax wouldn’t deter any serious betting operator from pursuing online operations.
Oganezov criticized Zhuravsky’s comments, saying they would only encourage Russian politicians to push for an online tax 200x higher next time. Oganezov said he’d reached out to Zhuravsky’s group in the hope of presenting a united front to the government, but had received no answer.
The new online tax comes just one week after Russia confirmed that bookies would be required to remit 5% of their betting revenue to individual Russian sports federations, with minimum quarterly payments of RUB 3m to each federation, with a minimum total contribution of RUB 60m ($880k) per year.
Russia Gov’t Imposes 100x Rise in Online Betting Duties | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
"A substantially high proportion of young people are gambling in general, and mostly in unregulated forms, like in a dare or a game of pool, which are accessible to youth," said first author of the study Tara Elton-Marshall, scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada.
"The high proportion of teens who are gambling in any form is concerning because there is research to suggest that the earlier people start to gamble, the more likely it is to be an issue later on," Elton-Marshall noted.
The research, published in the journal BMC Public Health, comes from 10,035 students in grades nine to 12 (aged 13 to 19) who completed the 2012-2013 Youth Gambling Survey in schools in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The researcher found that nearly 10 per cent of teenagers in the three Canadian provinces said they had gambled online in the past three months.
It is the first Canadian-based study to find such high levels of online gambling among youth, the researchers said.
Of all adolescents surveyed, 42 per cent reported that they had gambled money or something of value in offline (land-based) gambling or online gambling.
Popular gambling activities included a dare or challenge (22 percent), instant-win or scratch tickets (14 percent), games of skill, such as pool or darts (12 percent), offline sports pools ( nine percent), and cards, such as poker and black jack (9 percent).
Most adolescents participating in many forms of gambling, with the exception of gambling on lottery tickets and instant-win or scratch tickets, were not of legal age to gamble.
The study, the first to use a problem gambling scale created specifically for adolescents, showed potential reasons for concern, particularly related to adolescents who were gambling both online and offline.
Among these adolescents, 36 percent had a score indicating a potential gambling problem on a scale measuring problem gambling, versus eight percent among offline-only gamblers.
Problem gambling severity scores were calculated based on responses to nine questions, such as how often teenagers missed activities such as team sports or band due to gambling/betting.
Online gambling growing among teenagers: Study | Business Standard News
The report set out to understand people’s participation in gambling, perceptions of gambling and rates of problem gambling in the country.
The poll surveyed 4,000 people via telephone during 2015 and went on to discover information on how people actually gamble online. This extended to finding out: what devices they use to gamble, where they gamble and the number of accounts they use.
stats at a glance
The stand out figures in the report was the fact the the participation in gambling has actually fallen in the UK since 2012, going from 57% in 2012 to 45% in 2015.
This overall decline has been attributed to waining popularity of the National Lottery, a state-franchised lottery that started in the UK back in 1994. Unlike in the US, all prizes are tax-free with 50% of all money spent on National Lottery games going to the prize fund and 28% going to “good causes” that are set out by the British Parliament.
The report showed that participation in the National Lottery dropped from 46% to 32% in the same period (2012-2016) and yet it still remains the most popular gambling activity undertaken by Brits. Other lotteries in the UK along with scratchcards come in close behind it.
A Look Online
When looking at online gambling trends the report clearly shows that the most popular place to gamble is the home. 97% of the 8,000* people polled said they have placed bets at home which will be music to the online gaming operators ears.
When it comes to online gambling it is unsurprising that laptops came out on top as the preferred gambling device followed by mobiles or tablets, with 50% of all 23-34 year olds having used such devices to gamble on.
“Vital to monitor gambling trends”
Gambling Commission programme director, Paul Hope said “it’s vital that we monitor gambling trends and behaviour across society. Reports such as these are essential for us when developing regulations and for the Government when developing public policies on gambling.”
Understanding and analysing these trends will allow regulators to see who are the high risk demographics that are likely to get a gambling addiction. For instance the report found that 18-24 year old are at the most at risk group meaning that the Gambling Commissions will now know that this a group needs educating on the risks of gambling.
Online gambling operators are also doing their part. Several companies are providing information on responsible gambling for their customers making it easier for them to identify gambling addiction and take steps to reduce the likelyhood of problem gambling occurring.
British Gambling Trends Recorded For The First Time | Pokerfuse Online Poker News
Illinois became the first US state lottery to offer online sales of draw tickets in 2012 after state pols approved a four-year pilot program. That program expired on March 25 and a budget squabble between the governor and state Democrats meant legislation that would have extended the program didn’t get done on time.
Last Friday, the Lottery issued a statement saying it “will continue to operate online.” Communications director Steve Rossi said the Lottery had conducted “a detailed review of the relevant policies, rules and laws” at the request of Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr., the sponsor of the pilot program extension bill, and that this review had concluded that “continued internet ticket sales are permissible by law.”
At present, only Illinois, Georgia and Michigan are offering some form of online lottery in the US. The Minnesota Lottery had blazed the trail for online scratch ticket sales, but angry Minnesota legislators shut down all online lottery activity last fall based on their belief that Lottery officials had exceeded their authority.
MASSACHUSETTS LOTTERY OVERWHELMED WITH ONLINE RESPONSES
The three online states may soon be joined by Massachusetts, which announced in December that it was looking for proposals for an “iLottery system” that could incorporate everything from digital versions of existing lottery games to social gaming to daily fantasy sports options.
This week, the Massachusetts Lottery announced that it had received 20 responses to its request, twice the number Lottery exec director Michael Sweeney had expected. State treasurer Deborah Goldberg told the State House News Service that a careful review of the responses would help determine “what’s best in the long term for the Lottery.”
Among the 20 respondents were current Lottery partners Scientific Games, along with other lottery notables IGT, Camelot and Intralot. Also submitting a response was Canada’s Amaya Gaming, who last year pulled its StarsDraft daily fantasy sports product from all but four states, one of which was Massachusetts.
A number of lesser known fantasy sports operators – including Alphastreak, Sports Draft Daily, Flower City Gaming (Star Fantasy Leagues), Stratmish, Third Screen Sports (FanHalf) and Top 3 Fantasy Sports – also submitted responses. Fast Strike Games, a Boston-based fantasy operator, threw its hat into the ring, while Boston-based DraftKings did not (nor did rival FanDuel).
At present, Massachusetts law doesn’t permit its Lottery to conduct online business. But in January, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission delivered a white paper which suggested legislators craft a forward-looking omnibus online bill that would allow the possible introduction of any number of digital gaming services.
Illinois Lottery To Stay Online Despite Program’s Expiration | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
The study surveyed 10,035 teens in the provinces of Ontario, Newfoundland, and Labrador, Saskatchewan. The data was gathered through the 2012-2013 Youth Gambling Survey (YGS) supplement that was given to participants of grades 9 to 12 and who are between the ages of 13 and 19.
The researchers found out that 42 percent of the surveyed adolescents gambled for money or bet something valuable in both land-based offline gambling venues or online gambling.
Parents must be knowledgeable on the effects of gambling and must try to get involved in their children's activities. Talking to teens and telling the consequences of their actions presently and in the future, could make them understand and avoid gambling altogether.
It is also best to replace gambling activities at home with better and friendly games that can help cognitive and social development within your family.
Parents should also lead an example by not getting involved in any gambling modes. A father who gambles will most likely have a son who gambles, too.
Online materials such as computers and laptops can be placed in common areas so that parents can monitor their teen's activities.
A Canadian study revealed that more teens are gambling online. Experts are alarmed by the significant increase in gambling rate among teens as this can lead to later issues in their lives.
The study surveyed 10,035 teens in the provinces of Ontario, Newfoundland, and Labrador, Saskatchewan. The data was gathered through the 2012-2013 Youth Gambling Survey (YGS) supplement that was given to participants of grades 9 to 12 and who are between the ages of 13 and 19.
The researchers found out that 42 percent of the surveyed adolescents gambled for money or bet something valuable in both land-based offline gambling venues or online gambling.
Parents must be knowledgeable on the effects of gambling and must try to get involved in their children's activities. Talking to teens and telling the consequences of their actions presently and in the future, could make them understand and avoid gambling altogether.
It is also best to replace gambling activities at home with better and friendly games that can help cognitive and social development within your family.
Parents should also lead an example by not getting involved in any gambling modes. A father who gambles will most likely have a son who gambles, too.
Online materials such as computers and laptops can be placed in common areas so that parents can monitor their teen's activities.
They know where the money is what's the problem. Let them making some bucks!!
The purpose of the meeting was to engage various stakeholders and partners so as to facilitate smooth implementation and enforcement of the new legislation.
Top of the operators’ list of challenges is how they are supposed to exclude people under 21 years of age from participating in virtual lotteries and gambling activities.
According to the chief executive officer of the Gambling Authority, Tulisizwe Johnson the operators need to fulfill the rules and regulations set by the authority in order for them to get a licence to continue running online competitions.
“Anybody under the age of 21 is not allowed to gamble even on an online medium, which includes SMS. Advertising gambling must always be directed at age compliant potential gamblers to avoid over stimulation desire for the under age,” said Johnson.
He added that even though the operators will continue using the licences they have, they are required to get new ones for their promotions and competitions, which should demonstrate how they are going to exclude people under age.
“We cannot cancel your licence, but an operator has to comply with the new rules. Operators need to review their act and give us a plan that will show us how they are going to exclude them, that’s when we can approve,” he
added.
Johnson added that effective of April 1, any operator who will be running a competition without their approval will be breaching the law.
At the meeting, operators felt that it was going to be a challenge on their side to ascertain a person’s age, especially on the online competitions while the authority is adamant that operators should demonstrate how they will exclude under 21s, which failure to do so would result in revocation of the licence.
Earlier this year, Online Competitions run by mobile operators have been put on hold until they abide by the new laws set by the authority. However, this has affected their businesses as the competitions contribute immensely to their revenue.
The new requirements are meant to curb illegal gambling and protect the licensed operators who do not only pay tax, but also have jobs to protect. Under the new regulations, casinos will pay P250,000 for registration while betting horses will need P50,000, bingos and national lotteries will pay P10,000 and P1 million.
The Gambling Authority is taking over the role played by Casino Control Board, which predominantly regulated operations of casinos. Under the new regulations, not only will a gambling operation require to be licensed first, but also betting premises, gambling machines as well as key personnel.
The Gambling Authority’s mandate is to effectively and efficiently control the gambling industry, account for revenue from the industry as well as contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
- See more at: Mmegi Online :: Gambling operators rattled by new regulations
According to figures from the Delaware Lottery, online gaming revenue this January was $190,829.29, compared to the $132,074.84 in January 2015. February, which had an extra day this year, produced $229,789.82 in revenue, up from February 2015’s $143,101.39.
The February revenue this year was the most since April 2014’s $240,762.63. It was also just the third time since the state’s online gaming industry launched in 2013 that I-gaming win broke $200,000.
Delaware’s online gaming industry won roughly $1.8 million off of gamblers in 2015, down from more than $2 million won in 2014.
The state’s three I-gaming operators are Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway.
Delaware's Online Gambling Market Rebounding In 2016
Since banking rules typically classify digital wallet transactions as electronic money rather than as regular merchant transactions, users are also prevented from earning undue chargebacks The best digital wallet solutions tokenise cardholder information upon application in the digital wallet, thus injecting additional security into the transaction activity. Tokenisation replaces the consumer’s original cardholder data with a randomly generated virtual card number, or ‘token’, bundled with business rules for its exact use – where, when, and by whom.
Digital wallets don’t resolve all of gaming companies’ risk factors, but they significantly lower gaming platforms’ vulnerability to fraud. So much so, in fact, that white-labelling an e-wallet solution into their sites can put operators in a stronger position to lower processing fees or renegotiate contracts with other third parties.
Ultimately, now that the iGaming market is two decades old, it needs to start acting like it. In more mature markets, the participants not only comply with overarching laws and regulations – they also self-regulate by consistently investing in tools and strategies to mitigate their risk factors and protect their bottom lines. It’s time for iGaming companies to do the same. By investing in better technological protections, online gambling companies can show the world that they take financial crime prevention – and themselves – seriously, elevating the credibility of the overall iGaming space in the process.
Read more: Online gambling: Operators need to invest in technological protection | ITProPortal-com
So how can it be, therefore, that “offshore” operators accept Canadian facing business without suffering any legal consequences, unlike several of them did a few years back in the United States? The answer is simple – by way of the “Foreign Operators Principle”. The Foreign Operators Principle provides that as long there are no substantial links with Canada, whatsoever, (referred to as a “nexus” by Canadian courts), Canadian authorities have no jurisdiction over these offshore operators, and therefore, cannot enforce Canadian law, permitting them to continue to operate and earn revenues that, in the eyes of the various provincial governments, belong to Canada.
Seeing the success that many of the world’s largest gaming sites were experiencing and without any ability to stop it, or at the very least, slow it down, several Canadian provinces sought out to run their own provincial online gaming websites – like the old saying goes, “if you can’t beat them, join them” – and in 2010, the Quebec government announced its plans to open the very first government-run online gaming site, www-EspaceJeux-com, in hopes of earning a piece of the billion dollar gaming industry.
Despite their efforts in attempting to operate an online gaming platform, Canada’s provinces continue to face three major problems:
1. As an operator rather than a regulator, provincial governments compete with offshore operators that have been around for nearly two decades and that have far more knowledge, know-how, tools and experience, then they do, but above all else, have a large and unrestricted player base to draw from;
2. As an operator rather than a regulator, provincial governments must “take the heat” for any and all complications arising from play on their site, rather than condemning a privately-run offshore operator thus avoiding any negative publicity; and
3. Even though they are operating as a business, at the end of the day, they are still a government, and therefore must operate within the confines of their budgets, whereas offshore operators, being private entities, do not have these same limitations. This results in far inferior marketing campaigns, and also in not being able to attract some of the industry’s leading experts.
It is no surprise that Canada’s provincial governments are well aware of the monetary benefits of online gaming; however, the billion dollar question remains as to whether they should recognize the legitimacy of this industry and strictly regulate it, or continue on as operators.
Many Quebecers, including politicians, were against the launch of www-EspaceJeux-com as they felt it would only lead to societal issues. As a result, not really knowing much about online gaming, then Quebec Minister of Finance, Mr. Raymond Bachand, created the Working Group on Online Gambling tasked with the mandate of (i) examining the social impact that online gaming has in Quebec, (ii) analysing the measures used to block illegal gaming operations, and (iii) consulting with industry experts to learn more about the always-evolving online gaming industry, all to determine whether the online launch would be better or worse for the province – additional revenues and stricter responsible gambling programs vs. creation of new problem-gamblers.
Canada’s federal government also realized there was a problem with offshore operators, but to them, it wasn’t based on social concern, rather financial. In September of 2011, Senator Joe Comartin introduced Private Member’s Bill C-290, which sought to abolish the “parlay-system” and allow for “single-sport betting”, to compete with the offshore operators that were operating pursuant to the Foreign Operators Principle; it was said that the Canadian provinces were losing out on approximately ten billion dollars worth of revenues that were being wagered offshore.[1]
Unfortunately, Bill C-290 never made it passed the goal line, and the provinces continue to compete with offshore sportsbooks.
In the summer of 2014, following the acquisition of Rational Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the parent company of Poker Stars and Full Tilt, by Montreal-based Amaya Gaming Group for $4.9b, rumors started circulating that Quebec was in fact leaning towards a regulated framework that would result in the issuance of interactive gaming licenses to private operators. It wasn’t until November of 2014, that this rumor started to look and feel more like an actuality, when Mr. Bachand’s commission released their report, “Online Gambling: When the Reality of the Virtual Catches Up with Us”,[2] whose most significant recommendations called for the Criminal Code of Canada to be amended to allow for the issuance of interactive gaming licenses to private operators, as well as the restriction of Loto-Quebec’s mandate to the management of gambling operators, while leaving the oversight of public health and socioeconomic/legal questions to an autonomous body.[3]
Shortly after releasing the report, the Province of Ontario also stated that they too were suffering financial hardships with their online gaming website, www-PlayOLG-com, as a result of the presence of offshore operators, but would be waiting patiently on the sidelines to see if and how Quebec responds to the recommendations made by the Working Group on Online Gambling, before they take any such measures.
Whether or not Quebec and Ontario will lead