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Manne wrote:

Online gambling legislation appears to be officially on the watch list in Pennsylvania, as chatter is ramping up regarding action in the state House of Representatives. Online poker and gambling have been on Pennsylvania’s radar for more than a year; that’s when iGaming legislation — HB 649 — was first introduced.

Late last year, that bill morphed into an omnibus gambling expansion bill. It already made it past a committee hearing and to the House floor.

The bill has been dormant ever since, but recent reports — including from bill sponsor Rep. John Payne — indicated it could see action as soon as June.

That timeline might have been accelerated, however. The Poker Players Alliance is attempting to activate players in the commonwealth. Payne had remained optimistic on the iGaming even while the bill wason the shelf, previously. At one point, it was even a part of budget negotiations during a stalemate last year, because of the amount of revenue it could generate.

If the PPA is right, it could be amended and/or voted on as soon as Tuesday.

Despite its inaction, the gambling bill has stayed alive in the House through legislative procedures that kept it active and waiting on the chamber’s docket. So, in theory, and as the PPA intimated, it could be activated for a vote in the House at any time.

And if the bill comes up for a vote in front of the House, that likely means it has the support of House leadership and would get through the roll call with a positive outcome.

In the Senate, however, it faces a more uncertain future, especially if it remains a gambling expansion bill with some potentially unpopular elements. Those include an expansion of locations that could offer video gaming terminals.

Whether daily fantasy sports is eventually included in iGaming discussions in Pennsylvania is also in question now.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board just released its report looking at how the legislature should attempt to regulate the DFS industry. That report specifically mentioned HB 649 and online gambling regulation, saying that it would make sense to handle DFS alongside that effort.

Since the report just came out, it’s unclear if DFS language can or would be inserted into current legislation that quickly.



A Pennsylvania Online Gambling Vote Could Happen Soon

Any rough idea when will the vote happen?
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Manne wrote:

In the past week, we have seen a new point of emphasis in the battle to legalize and regulate online gambling: Consumer protection. First, it came up in California, then again in Michigan.

During hearings in both states, Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas was asked to show — via a live demo on the internet — how easy it is to access offshore sites from the two jurisdictions.

It’s not as if the idea that offshore, unregulated online gambling sites are easily accessible to Americans had never come up previously. But to say that it had been a point of emphasis over other concerns — like revenue that could be generated by states — would be inaccurate.

So why the change from iGaming proponents? And can it help the progress of bills?

Does this give online gambling bills a better chance?

In theory, yes, the consumer protection angle should provide some more hope for iGaming legislation.

First, trying something new when old methods have resulted in little tangible success is a welcome change.

Highlighting the idea that people are playing online poker and casino games anyway — without the benefit of any government oversight or protection — could, and should, be a topic that resonates with those in government. It is one that is clearly resonating with many regarding DFS, which has many of the same concerns in play.

Will a new emphasis on consumer protection help any iGaming bills get to the finish line? It’s too early to tell, but it’s certainly worth a try.



Can Consumer Protection Concerns Help Online Gambling Regulation?

Thank you for sharing the information.
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ashleyjohn wrote:

Any rough idea when will the vote happen?

Any rough idea when will the vote happen?


Pennsylvania's online gambling bill may be enjoying a legislative comeback and could even find itself facing a House vote very soon.
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Greece is forging ahead with plans to impose a 35% flat tax on all online gambling revenue, a move that could help the country’s floundering finances while discouraging new operators from entering the market.

On Sunday, the Greek parliament approved its latest omnibus financial bill, approval of which was necessary in order for the cash-strapped country to release the latest tranche of bailout funds from international lenders.

The gambling portion of the omnibus bill scrapped the existing 30% to 35% variable online gambling tax in favor of a flat 35% rate across all gambling products. The governing Syriza party expects the change, which will be applied retroactively to Jan. 21, 2016, will provide the state’s depleted tax coffers with an annual €54m in tax revenue.

The new regime applies to all 24 online operators to whom Greece issued ‘temporary’ licenses in 2011. The Greek government also intends to proceed with plans to issue permanent online gambling licenses to replace those 24 temporary permits, which will reportedly include upfront fees of €3m for the initial five-year term of each license.

The 35% tax rate already applied to former state-owned betting monopoly OPAP, which is said to have pushed for the increased rate in a bid to discourage new international competition from entering the market.

OPAP has been the beneficiary of numerous preferential rulings by the Greek government over the years, leading several international operators to file unfair trade protests with the European Commission, the status of which remain unresolved.

OPAP recently shook up its upper management ranks, naming Damian Cope as its new CEO. Cope, a former managing director international at UK bookies Ladbrokes, replaces former CEO Kamil Ziegler, who was doing double duty as both CEO and chairman. Cope will assume the CEO mantle as of July 1, while Ziegler will carry on as chairman.



Greece Imposes New 35% Tax on Online Gambling Revenue | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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Online gambling sites need to boost their social media presence, offer betting odds that follow the news cycle and cut down on the black-hat SEO shenanigans, according to a new report.

UK-based information technology firm SimilarWeb has followed up its recent Sports Betting UK White Paper with an analysis of global online gambling traffic. Breaking the Taboo: How to Become a Leader in the Online Gambling Industry (viewable here) was compiled in conjunction with SEO analysts Ahrefs and digital marketing agency Bizup.

Gambling websites account for 0.44% of global online traffic, which SimilarWeb dubs “an impressive number,” particularly in light of the many countries across the globe that erect digital roadblocks to prevent their citizens from accessing such sites.

In terms of geographic distribution of traffic, the UK’s mature online gambling industry claimed top spot with 9.1%, while Germany ranked third with just under 6%, followed by Poland (4.9%) and Spain (4.2%).

Perhaps tellingly, the US market ranked second with 8.4%, despite online gambling being legal in only three states and US law enforcement’s demonstrated penchant for targeting internationally licensed operators that continue to serve the US market.

WHERE DOES THE TRAFFIC COME FROM?
The top sources of online gambling traffic are direct (37.2%), referrals (23.7%), display ads (21.5%) and search (17.1%), while social accounted for a mere 1.5%. SimilarWeb says the findings underscore the gambling industry’s reliance on affiliate partnerships.

Only 10% of gambling sites were deemed to have “any relevant presence” on social media channels. Facebook accounted for more than half (53.5%) of gambling sites’ social media sources, with YouTube a distant second at 22.5% and European social network VKontakte even further back (8.8%) but ahead of Twitter (7.4%).

The bulk of social signals derived from Facebook are shares, not comments or likes, a sign that promotions have limited ability to spark “valuable social engagement,” in part because such posts can often violate Facebook’s terms of service.

Reddit accounted for just 2.2% of gambling sites’ social media traffic sources, but SimilarWeb calls it a “very promising social media marketing channel for gambling,” primarily because of its lack of censors. The ‘Gambling’ subreddit ranks among the site’s top-10k at #8,154 and has shown “surprisingly stable growth” in its number of users since launching in 2008.

THE SORRY STATE OF BACKLINKS
SimilarWeb spotlighted an area of concern for gambling sites in that more than half of the industry’s backlinks “do not bring any referral traffic,” which could give Google a reason to flag a site for a manual review.

Less than 12% of gambling industry backlinks came from domains with an above average domain rating. SimilarWeb noted that this problem could be skewed by the large amount of quality links among very big betting brands, meaning websites at the bottom of this ranking “must be absolutely stuffed with unnatural links.”

However, SimilarWeb says it uncovered several cases in which leading online gambling sites had purchased expired domains for the purpose of redirecting links on popular media outlet Examiner-com back to their own sites, a tactic that could also earn Google’s ire.

GETTING MAINSTREAM MEDIA EXPOSURE
Examiner-com ranked highest on the chart of mainstream news sites that publish gambling industry articles, followed by USAToday-com, BleacherReport-com, HuffingtonPost-com and TheGuardian-com.

SimilarWeb notes that “only large, well-known brands” typically get exposure from major news sites. Around 37% of gambling domains have at least one link from a major news site, but only 24% have more than one such link and only 6% have 10 or more links. SimilarWeb believes this is partly due to the gambling sites’ weak social media presence.

If you want to get on a major news site, SimilarWeb says odds and betting stats are the way to go. Mainstream journalists mention gambling sites most often in the context of betting on current events, leading SimilarWeb to suggest betting sites “could get stellar results by simply piggybacking on the news cycle.” First prize for the site that offers a prop on how many of Donald Trump’s penises it would take to cover a Euro 2016 football pitch.






Online Gambling Sites Need to Embrace Reddit | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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The online casino industry has grown significantly in the past few years and it keeps on growing. That is an undisputed fact, backed up by analysis, research and studies. Statistical data definitely shows that playing online casino games is quite popular. Well-established online casinos introduce new games and promotion offers in hopes of keeping their regular customers, whereas new casinos try to attract customers by offering more competitive bonuses and exciting games with high return to player percentages. Check out these exclusive bonuses at Casino Cruise. Great Britain is one of the countries where online casino gaming is very popular. The legal framework is quite liberal and Britons have a long standing betting tradition. Some of the betting operators in the country have been in business for over a century. Moreover, bingo and lottery are also very popular. The body in charge of gambling and betting in the country is the UK Gambling Commission.
Changes to Legislation in 2014

All operators that want to offer casino gaming and sports betting services to UK citizens have to apply and obtain a special licence. The UKGC issues these licences. In addition to providing licences and governing gambling and betting in the country, the UKGC publishes frequent reports which contain a lot of useful statistical data related to betting and gambling. Some of the figures in these reports are very indicative. Academics, companies, punters and individuals who are just eager to know more about the industry read and analyze these reports. The latest statistics were published in November 2015 and they cover the period until March 2015. All charts indicate that the gambling industry will keep on growing, especially the online betting and gambling industry.

Before we proceed on to present you the findings of the latest statistics, it should be noted that there was a change in the law in the UK and since October 2014, the UKGC hasn’t recorded any information on gaming services provided by operators which don’t have a UK licence. Since then, all operators are required to have such a licence if they wish to work within the UK. Therefore there is significant growth of the gross gaming yield for the period November 2014 – March 2015, compared to previous years.
Non-Remote Sector

The overall gross gaming yield of the non-remote sector grew slowly, yet steadily. In the period April 2010 – March 2011 the GGY was £4.772bn, the next year it was almost £200 million higher, whereas for the period April 2012 – March 2013 it was just above £5.2bn and by March 2015 it reached £5.444bn. On average the GGY has been growing by around £150 million per year. It should be noted that the GGY of the Arcade and Bingo non-remote sector has not been the highest in the final year. The Bingo sector peaked in the 2012 – 2013 period, whereas the first year saw the highest GGY for Arcades.
Remote Sector

And if we look at the figures for the remote betting, bingo and casino gaming, it has to be noted that the growth is quite significant. The total yield in the period April 2010 – March 2011 was a mere £653mm whereas three years later it reached over £1.1bn. However the largest GGY was registered in the period April 2014 – March 2015, when the new Gambling Act was implemented. The figures for this period show a total yield of over £2.2bn, out of which £753m in the period until 31 October and £1.45bn in the final 5 months, under the new law. The situation is very specific as the legal change is also reflected in the total figures.

However, it has to be stated that regardless of the change of legislative, remote betting, bingo and gaming have been on the rise in the UK. The National Lottery (both remote and non-remote) peaked during the period April 2012 – March 2013 and its yield has been steadily over £3bn, except for the first 12 month period when it was just a bit above £2.84bn.

At the end of March 2015 there were a total of 166,809 gaming machines in the country, not counting the fruit machines in pubs, clubs, family entertainment centres and other business that don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the UKGC. The gross gaming yield for the last 12 month period was just about £2.5bn, an increase of more than £450 million compared to the period April 2012 – March 2011.
Employment and Premises

The gambling industry in the UK is still a major employer. There were 104,869 people working across all gambling sectors at the end of March 2015. That is a decrease of more than 10,000 compared to March 2011. The number of employees has been decreasing by about 3,000 per year. Most notably, the number of workers in the Betting sector fell from 55,411 to 50,809 in 5 years. In the Casino sector, on the other hand, that number grew by more than 1,500, from 13,949 to 15,566. The number of betting shops varied insignificantly, as there were 9,128 in April 2012 and 8,819 in September 2015. In September 2015 there were 615 bingo premises in the country, compared to 695 in March 2011.

The overall number of brick-and-mortar casinos in the UK, pretty much remained the same throughout the period March 2011 – March 2015. There were 149 in 2011 and 148 in 2015. However, the total casino attendance grew from 17.39 million in 2011 to almost 21 million in 2015.
Remote Licences and Number of Customers

As for remote gambling, the changes are a bit more evident. The total number of remote gambling activity licences in 2015 was 719, compared to a mere 305 in 2012. There were only 23 casino licences in March 2012 compared to 176 in September 2015, or more than sevenfold. Only 10 bingo licences have been issued by March 2012. That number grew up to 52 by September 2015. The increase is more than fivefold. The funds held in customer accounts were in the value of over £463m in the period November 2014 – March 2015, compared to only £147m in the period April 2012 – March 2013. There were a total of 15.62m active customers in March 2015 acros
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Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is among the countries in Europe to be the closest to opening its online gaming market to international operators. Earlier this month, lawmakers from the country’s Senate approved a bill that called for foreign iGaming companies based in the European Union or in the European Economic Area to be allowed to provide their services and options in the Czech Republic. At present, there are five online gambling operators to have received licenses from the local gambling authorities.

Among other things, the proposed iGaming measure contains provisions for the introduction of a 35% tax on online casino games and of a 23% one on sports betting. The proposal is also concerned with another important matter – the protection of residents from problem gambling behavior and gambling addiction. Under the bill, a national exclusion database is to be set, allowing individual customers to block themselves from gambling online.

As any other such legislation, the one proposed by Czech lawmakers also contains provisions regarding the way the country is to deal with unlicensed operators, once and if the bill comes into effect. The Czech Ministry of Finance would be given the authority and responsibility to prevent any such operators from providing their services by blocking their websites. What is more, payments from and to unlicensed websites would be banned.

The proposed measure now has to be backed by President Miloš Zeman in order to be signed into law. If approved by the official, it is not expected to come into effect before January 1, 2017.



Poland


Regulatory efforts have also been introduced in Poland. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin has recently come up with a proposal for the legalization and regulation of online poker offering within the country’s borders. At present, residents can only play the popular game at brick-and-mortar casinos. Private home tournaments and Internet poker options are strictly prohibited and are subject to heavy fines and imprisonment in certain cases.

According to Minister Gowin certain changes should be implemented in Poland’s current regulatory framework regarding the provision of Internet gambling as this would help the country prevent its gaming market from being ruled by the so-called ‘grey’ operators.

Apart from the legalization of online poker activities, the proposed legislation also calls for the replacement of the current 12% tax on sports betting options with a 20% one. Thus, according to Minister Gowin, more than PLN200 million (€50 million) would annually be contributed to the country’s coffers.

It is hard to predict whether the proposed bill would be welcomed by the government as Paweł Szałamacha, who is currently taking the post of a Minister of Finance, has formerly said that gambling expansion was not on lawmakers’ agenda this year. This is why it would not be such a big surprise if no further action on the legislation is taken.



France



Earlier in May, there were regulatory news from France as well. The country’s Senate has approved three important amendments to the French online gambling law or else known as Digital Bill. One of the amendments called for the local gambling regulator – ARJEL, to be authorized to ink partnership agreements with other European Union member states and jurisdictions within the European Economic Area in order to be able to share liquidity for online poker.

If the proposed changes come into effect, ARJEL would be given the authority to provide gambling operators with Article 21 gaming licenses with the opportunity to allow their players to take part in verified circle games of poker with fellow players from countries within the EU and the EEA. Under the French online gaming law, Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker variants are the only two verified circle games in France.

Although the proposal is aimed at boosting proceeds from online poker operations, certain obstacles may prevent the success of any future shared liquidity agreements due to the fact that the French tax system differs in certain aspects from the ones in other EU and EEA countries. For instance, taxes from cash games are deducted pre-flop and on the flop, the turn, and the river.

Although the proposed changes seem to be favored by the French Senate, they need to overcome a number of other legislative hurdles in order to come into effect. People with knowledge of the matter have suggested that if the amendments are signed as part of the country’s gambling law by the end of 2016, the first shared liquidity agreements could be inked early in 2017. What is more, Portugal and Spain are the first countries with regulated markets that may express interest in sharing online poker liquidity with France.



Greece



Tax changes have always been among the regulatory amendments to create the biggest controversies. Last month, the Greek government voted in favor of the latest proposed financial bill, which included changes in the way online gambling operators were taxed.

At present, the country’s online gambling tax is a variable one and depends on the type of gambling activity. It ranges from 30% to 35%. Lawmakers proposed a fixed 35% rate on all kinds of Internet gaming activities provided within the country’s borders. The proposed change is expected to result in the amount of €54 million to be annually contributed to Greece’s coffers.

It is also important to note that the new tax system would apply to all 24 temporary licensees to be operating within the country. What is more, the temporary licenses of the 24 international gambling operators are to be replaced by permanent ones. Reportedly, the companies would have to pay €3 million in upfront fees for the initial five-year validity of their new gaming licenses.

It has also been reported that Greek gambling operator OPAP, which had fo
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SPAIN´S online gambling market grew by almost one third in the first quarter of 2016, following last summer’s legalisation for online slots play.

Gross gaming revenue in the same period totaled €102.3m, up nearly 8% from the previous quarter, and up a staggering 32.1% from the same period last year.

Sports betting continued to dominate, capturing 50% of all online turnover and 57.3% of all revenue.


Team ixgames
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A bill currently moving through the New Jersey legislature would require all Atlantic City land-based casinos involved in online gambling to clearly display the name of the host casino on each online gaming website operating under its license. It also requires the same disclosure in all advertisements.

The bill, A2811, passed the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee on Thursday by a 6-0 vote. A2811 is sponsored by Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, who chairs the committee.

Caputo is an interesting voice to be leading on this issue, as the Essex assemblyman is historically opposed to online gambling; Caputo was one of five assembly members who voted against online gambling legalization back in 2013.

Caputo is also on record as vehemently against PokerStars, and as such tried to pass a bill in December 2014 that would have dealt with what he believes to be lax licensing requirements for online gaming platform providers.

Caputo sees his current bill as a way to promote visitation to Atlantic City and its remaining casinos.

“We should use every opportunity available to promote the casinos still standing and remind potential customers that there is still plenty to see and do in Atlantic City,” the Press of Atlantic City quoted Caputo as saying.

Beyond this, Caputo’s bill could have some other, unintended benefits.



Read more: New Bill Would Require All Regulated NJ Online Gambling Sites To Display Atlantic City Casino Branding Information
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The Online Gambling Industry has always been in constant development. But now with the advent of digital currency, a new revolution is bound to shake the boundaries of every online business. The Bitcoin gambling Industry is growing faster than ever before. From what before was considered to be a tool for illegal activities, Bitcoin is today on the verge of completely disrupting the online space, and the online gambling industry seems to be the first industry where this is already happening.

The online gambling world has been preparing to accept Bitcoin and take the industry to a next level. The online gambling industry has been the subject of relentless persecution by regulators all around the world, so online gambling is still illegal in many parts of the world. Bitcoin means gambling sites can circumvent certain restrictions and regulations and still be able to offer gamblers the chance of freely enjoying online casino gambling.

From the simple Bitcoin gambling site to the magnificent and complex world of Dragon’s Tale, the online gambling industry is re-inventing itself with the help of the digital currency technology. And it’s not only financial businesses that have recognized the popularity and huge utility of Bitcoin, the online gambling industry is also one of the most influential industries when it comes to put digital currency to good use. Every day we have been watching new gambling sites popping up and offering digital currency users all over the world the chance of freely enjoying online casinos once again.

With Bitcoin gambling, casinos pay-out instantly so players don’t have to wait to enjoy their earnings. Aside from streamlining all the funding process, for the first time players are able to determine whether or not a casino offers fair odds and verify its behavior through the blockchain.

Whether it is poker, sports or other casino gambling styles, digital currency has been a vehicle for change in the industry. Of course, that much of this change came from new outside enterprises, however, now the traditional online gambling industry is slowly starting to recognize the true value and utility of bitcoin.



Bitcoin will Take the Online Gambling Industry to the Next Level - NEWSBTC
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Manne wrote:

The Online Gambling Industry has always been in constant development. But now with the advent of digital currency, a new revolution is bound to shake the boundaries of every online business. The Bitcoin gambling Industry is growing faster than ever before. From what before was considered to be a tool for illegal activities, Bitcoin is today on the verge of completely disrupting the online space, and the online gambling industry seems to be the first industry where this is already happening.

The online gambling world has been preparing to accept Bitcoin and take the industry to a next level. The online gambling industry has been the subject of relentless persecution by regulators all around the world, so online gambling is still illegal in many parts of the world. Bitcoin means gambling sites can circumvent certain restrictions and regulations and still be able to offer gamblers the chance of freely enjoying online casino gambling.

From the simple Bitcoin gambling site to the magnificent and complex world of Dragon’s Tale, the online gambling industry is re-inventing itself with the help of the digital currency technology. And it’s not only financial businesses that have recognized the popularity and huge utility of Bitcoin, the online gambling industry is also one of the most influential industries when it comes to put digital currency to good use. Every day we have been watching new gambling sites popping up and offering digital currency users all over the world the chance of freely enjoying online casinos once again.

With Bitcoin gambling, casinos pay-out instantly so players don’t have to wait to enjoy their earnings. Aside from streamlining all the funding process, for the first time players are able to determine whether or not a casino offers fair odds and verify its behavior through the blockchain.

Whether it is poker, sports or other casino gambling styles, digital currency has been a vehicle for change in the industry. Of course, that much of this change came from new outside enterprises, however, now the traditional online gambling industry is slowly starting to recognize the true value and utility of bitcoin.



Bitcoin will Take the Online Gambling Industry to the Next Level - NEWSBTC

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Regards team ixgames-com
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The so-called King of Online Gambling is on a losing streak.

David Baazov, the 34-year-old CEO of Montreal-based Internet gaming company Amaya, Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA), came under investigation last month in Quebec for alleged insider trading. The news sent Amaya’s stock plummeting 22% on March 23, which, in turn, led Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP to file a securities class-action lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court on March 25. Pomerantz LLP and Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP filed related complaints within a week.
Gambling with his freedom

The release of the Panama Papers on April 4 has brought fresh troubles for Baazov. Gambling news site CalvinAyre-com reports the following:

( Among the companies listed in the Panama Papers is Zhapa Holdings Inc, a British Virgin Islands business whose master client is listed as IMF Network, a company based in Amaya’s corporate home of Montreal, Quebec. Among Zhapa’s listed shareholders are Goulissa Baazov, whom Canada’s Globe & Mail newspaper identified as the sister of David and his older brother Ofer Baazov aka Josh Baazov.

Also listed as a Zhapa shareholder is Isam Mansour, one of the 13 individuals whose stock trading privileges were revoked by the AMF after it identified suspicious trading patterns related to multiple Amaya business transactions dating back to 2010.)


Although Baazov and Amaya have denied the insider trading allegations, Baazov has taken an indefinite paid leave “to avoid a distraction for the company while he responds to certain allegations made against him by the Autorité des marchés financiers, the securities regulatory authority in Quebec,” the company said in a press release. So far, Baazov hasn’t commented on Zhapa Holdings, and the AMF hasn’t indicated whether the offshore company will figure in its insider trading investigation.




www-fwdforensics-com/fraud/online-gambling-panama-papers/
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The Italian online gambling industry made forward strides in May 2016 after posting strong financial results. For May, the industry benefitted from a 30.3% revenue increase to €34.7 million. That positivity contributed to a larger trend in which revenue during the 2016’s first five months were €175 million, which represented a 35.6% increase on the first five months of 2015.

Leading Operators in Italy

Within the industry, there are five online gambling operators accounting for more than 40% of all revenue. Lottomatica is the undisputed leader with a 12.2% share, coming in ahead of Sisal on 9.2%. The shares are closer among the next three operators, with William Hill on 6.9%, Eurobet on 6.1%, and PokerStars on 5.8%.

Online Poker Growth

Online poker was a promising sector within the financial results, as there was 7.7% growth to reach €4.4 million for May 2016. However, this was offset slightly by an 18.6% increase in tournament earnings to €38.4 million compared to May 2015. But this did result in a 9.6% decline in cash game revenues, which were valued ay €5.9 million.

PokerStars Dominating Sector

PokerStars is the clear leader in online poker, considering the operator held a 72.8% revenue share as of May 2016. For cash game earnings, PokerStars was credited with a smaller 47.6% share. Another key development was PokerStars’ launch of casino games, which contributed to the brand placing as the fifth largest online gambling operator in Italy.

Closed Poker Market

A curious aspect of the Italian online gambling industry is that poker is run as a closed market, making it possible for an operator of PokerStars’ scale to rise to such a dominant position. Basically, this restriction means that Italian sites are not permitted share their player pools with other countries, such as the UK. This is similar to the markets in France and Spain.




Revenue Increases for Italy’s Online Gambling Industry in May 2016 | Online Casino Reports
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New Jersey gaming regulators have okayed GVC Holdings to continue operating its Bwin.party brands in the state’s regulated online gambling market.

On Monday, the UK-listed GVC announced that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) had concluded its preliminary investigation into GVC’s suitability to continue operating Bwin.party’s NJ-facing brands following GVC’s takeover of the company.

GVC quoted the DGE saying that a study of GVC’s business operations had led investigators to conclude that “GVC and its individual qualifiers possess the requisite good character, honesty and integrity should it file for a transactional waiver” in the state.

Furthermore, the DGE determined that GVC didn’t actually need to pursue a transactional waiver to ensure the continued operation of its existing NJ-facing operations.

GVC CEO Kenny Alexander expressed delight that the DGE ‘has confirmed that GVC meets its stringent regulatory requirements.” Alexander called the ruling “an important development for GVC and one that places the enlarged Group in a strong position should further regulated opportunities in the US arise.”

PROTECTIONISM MASQUERADING AS REGULATION?
The DGE’s thumbs-up had appeared far from a given, and doubts about GVC’s ability to pass muster with the DGE were widely believed to have prompted the decision by GVC’s land-based NJ partner the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa to ink a real-money technology deal with GAN as a possible fallback position should GVC be rejected.

The likelihood of rejection appeared to grow more likely after GVC’s February announcement that PartyPoker would be re-entering 21 grey/black markets Bwin.party had exited prior to receiving its New Jersey license, which had been widely construed as Bwin.party’s bid to clean its regulatory act while its NJ-license was being considered.

GVC’s decision to re-enter these markets was followed by the DGE’s publication of an advisory bulletin that attempted to clarify its stance on just how ‘grey’ a market could get before becoming ‘black’ and therefore a problem for a DGE licensee.

Given that many of the markets GVC re-entered take an extremely dim view of online gambling, it certainly appears the DGE’s definition of ‘black’ can more accurately be read as ‘red, white and blue.’

Case in point: while any number of international markets could qualify as black under the DGE’s definitions, the only concrete action the DGE has taken to date against its licensees for operations outside the Garden State was to prohibit NJ-licensed affiliates from having relationships with gambling sites serving customers in other US states.

Last October, the New York Times quoted a DGE spokesperson saying that the agency wouldn’t hesitate to “commence regulatory proceedings” against any NJ-licensed service provider that knowingly did business with ‘illegal’ gambling operators. Fearless prediction: when the DGE does eventually lower the boom, the ‘illegality’ will undoubtedly be linked to US-facing operations.




New Jersey’s ‘Black’ Markets More Like ‘Red, White & Blue’ | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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Pennsylvania House Republicans are counting votes to see whether there is enough support to revive legislation to expand casino-style gambling to airports, bars, off-track betting parlors and casino-run websites.

Republicans said Wednesday that another floor vote could happen next week. The legislation was defeated last month.

Republicans tout the legislation as a way to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new gambling taxes to help plug a state government budget deficit without raising taxes.

The legislation would make Pennsylvania the fourth state to allow online casino-style gambling, while allowing Pennsylvania's casinos to station slot machines at six international airports and some of the state's 10 licensed off-track betting parlors.

One provision would allow gambling on video terminals at bars and other locations. Prospects in the Senate are unclear.




House eyes new vote to expand gambling to internet, bars
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Gambling technology supplier NYX Gaming Group has received a new gambling license in Romania.

On Friday, the Toronto-listed NYX announced it had been issued a Class 2 license from Romania’s Oficiul National Pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN), allowing it to supply its Open Gaming System (OGS) platform to current and future Romanian gaming licensees.

Earlier this week, NYX announced it had inked a memorandum of understanding with Solverde S.A., which operates five brick-and-mortar casinos in Portugal. The casino operator has expressed an interest in participating in the newly regulated Portuguese online gambling market.

In addition to using NYX’s Open Platform System (OPS), Solverde will also incorporate the online slots and scratch card titles of NYX subsidiary NextGen Gaming. Solverde director Americo Loureiro said NYX had won the job based on its “demonstrated capacity, quality of service presented and, above all, the client portfolio it already holds.”

Last week, the Luckia Gaming Group, Spain’s third-largest gaming group, announced it had chosen NYX to expand its domestic business while pursuing new business in Latin American markets. Like Solverde, Luckia intends to use both NYX’s OPS and its NextGen titles.

Luckia operates four brick-and-mortar casinos and 76 other gaming venues in Spain. Luckia also has operations in Croatia, Chile, Peru, Panama and Colombia, and wants NYX to help it expand its online business in these markets, as well as its land-based portfolio of café’s and casinos.




NYX Gaming Group Wins Romanian License | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com
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ashleyjohn wrote:

Thank you for sharing the information.

Thank you for sharing the information.


That's our job 😄
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Final results are in from the two separate legislative battles being waged in New York over online gambling, regarding the respective legalization of daily fantasy sports (DFS) and online poker. DFS interests won out on Friday, the last day in New York’s legislative session: A bill legalizing DFS play passed both the state’s Assembly and Senate, moving on to the desk of NY Governor Andrew Cuoma, while an online-poker legalization bill that passed the state’s Senate on Tuesday night failed to be included in any other last-minute legislation.

The DFS bill’s passage likely clears the way for the eventual re-entry of New York into a DFS market that still includes most US states, and still features DFS giants DraftKings and FanDuel. Several elements of a multi-charge action brought by NY Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman have been settled, though fraud and misrepresentation charges still remain, and a settlement on those remaining counts just might be hastened a bit if Cuomo indeed signs the DFS bill.

As for online poker in New York state, it’s more a tale of back to the drawing board… again. The S5302 measure of State Sen. John Bonacic that passed overwhelming last week on a 53-5 vote indeed failed to reach a similar call to a vote in the state’s Assembly, as acknowledged by Rep. Gary Pretlow. Pretlow, according to in-state media reports, simply could not muster enough support for the bill. The bill’s failure there represents a small setback for the state’s existing casino and parimutuel facilities, many of whom had already announced tentative plans to launch online-poker offerings had the poker measure made it into law.

Pretlow and Bonacic both cited the possible benefits the online-poker authorization would have brought to the state’s online gambling industry as part of the impetus behind the bills, in addition to consumer-protection benefits. Said Sen. Bonacic, to LoHud-com, “These are policy decisions. I was trying to help the racinos and the casinos. Had that been approved, it would have been private-job creation. I thought it was a good thing for New York.”

MGM’s support for the online-poker bill in New York had already made separate headlines, though the state’s racetracks were also onboard. According to Jeffrey Gural, the chairman of American Racing, which operators the Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs racetracks and racinos, Tioga Downs would likely have launched an online poker site of its own, had the poker bill been signed into law.

Speaking to Syracuse-com, Gural said, “I think [the online poker] is a good idea. The daily fantasy sports doesn’€™t generate money for the state. But the poker would generate real money.” Gural also noted that many New Yorkers continue to play on offshore sites as well. “You might as well make it legal,” he added.

The triumph of the attention-grabbing but non-revenue-generating DFS concerns over those of a future online-poker market also foiled the eleventh-hour efforts of the Poker Players Alliance to weld the two pushes together. The PPA launched an energetic but ultimately unsuccessful consumer-action push this week, urging its New York-based members to contact various NY legislative members and show support for the online-poker bill.

However, the real fate of the bills may have resided with Assemblyman Pretlow, who was an energetic supporter of the DFS measure, and who appears to have prioritized that over the Assembly version of the poker measure that he also sponsored. Did Pretlow gauge that he could only get one online-gambling bill passed in the session’s final days? And did he perhaps throw online poker under the bus a little bit in order to cater to the headline-grabbing DFS topic? Those are questions that New Yorkers will continue to ask. Meanwhile, it’s better luck next session, regarding online poker in New York.



New York Online Gambling Scoreboard: DFS 2, Poker 1 -
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Johannesburg - The first two online Limpopo gambling licences were issued in a bid to boost revenue and create jobs opportunities in the province, the provincial licensing board said yesterday.

The Limpopo Gambling Board said it had issued two bingo licences to Senwabarana and Musina towns after operators bid to operate the online gambling ventures.

The board’s chief executive Serobi Maja said the two licences were part of seven scheduled to be issued to cover areas without casinos and other gambling facilities.

“The introduction of two Bingo gambling facilities will help boost revenue and create further jobs,” said Maja.
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The state House on Wednesday approved legislation to legalize online gambling and daily fantasy sports, after pulling a provision that would have allowed video gambling terminals in bars and clubs that was the target of heavy lobbying by casinos.

The vote to approve iGaming and fantasy sports was 115-80. The bill will be reviewed for fiscal impact on Thursday and won't be put immediately before the full House for final approval.

The state's 12 casinos united in their efforts to kill video terminals.

In a blow to GOP leadership, the proposal that included video terminals was defeated 116-79. Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Marshall, and Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana County, voted for that amendment, proposed by Rep. George Dunbar, R-Westmoreland.

Miskin disputed it was a blow because “there was no push to get people to vote.”

House Republican leadership is driving the expansion of gambling as an alternative to raising taxes.

“It will be held pending further budget talks,” said Steve Miskin, a House GOP spokesman.

By law the budget is due June 30.

Dunbar predicted that all of the initiatives in his defeated amendment—including video terminals—would have brought in more than $500 million the first year.

A breakdown shows 59 Republicans voted for it and 56 opposed it. Three were excused. Among Democrats, 60 were opposed, 20 in favor and one excused.

The pared amendment proposed by Rep. Rosita Youngblood, D-Philadelphia, won approval without debate. It provides iGaming and adds slots at airports and at off-track betting parlors. Miskin said this version would garner about $200 million in new revenue.

Video terminal supporters say the machines are a high-tech version of now-illegal “video poker” machines used for wagering.

“Illegal gaming is going on in every one of our districts,” said Rep. Paul Costa, D-Wilkins.

The terminals would have replaced up to 40,000 machines widely in use and appeal to a vastly different clientele than casino patrons, Costa said.

Five terminals would have been available at each tavern, club or fire hall.

But Rep. Flo Fabrizio, D-Erie, said the legislation would have established “9,000 mini-casinos across the state.”

Terminal opponents cited Department of Revenue estimates that lottery proceeds could have been lowered by 2 percent to 5 percent. Casinos said their revenue would be hurt.

“I say that's nonsense,” said Rep. Bill Kortz, D-Dravosburg. The machines are there and operating now in taverns, VFW's and legions, he said.

An estimated 21,000 terminals would have been available in bars, private clubs, and fire halls, said Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, a key supporter. Opponents said it could be three times higher.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said he is willing to look at expanded gaming but he wants to make sure the “revenue is real and recurring,” his spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan said.

Pennsylvania's casinos have churned $12.2 billion in after-tax revenue since 2006. A share of the taxes go to property tax reductions. The lottery pays for senior citizen programs.





House OKs legalization of online gambling, daily fantasy sports but not club, bar video terminals | TribLIVE
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