am writing to express my thanks to Mr Peter Browne for his published letter
entitled "Organised gambling will only create more poverty and crime." I
find his letter rather intriguing and needless to say I share most his
expressed views on this issue. Incidentally, on the same day Mr Hudson
George's letter ("Organised gambling can erase poverty") was published; the
BBC website published an article entitled "Britain's Streets of Debt." The
sub-header went on: "From the hidden story of the elderly and debt, to the
explosion of online gambling which is causing financial misery to thousands
and the story of the loan sharks and doorstep lenders, BBC one's Britain's
streets of debt explores five stories of individual debt. Personal debt in
the UK is over £1.1 trillion and is growing by £1 million every four
minutes."
From the Caribbean to the UK I have has some experience of what gambling can
do to some of us. In Grenada as a child I had seen people on more than one
occasion running out of a particular gambling establishment with bloody
clothing and others chasing after them with sharp objects; in Trinidad as a
young man; someone I had known in a personal capacity died as a result of
gambling. The Union Park horse racing circuit was not too far away from
where I lived in San Fernando, so I knew a lot of the regular punters; none
of which became better off. They were always short of a dollar or two;
always living from hand to mouth. Same in Britain; some regulars even have
accounts with their local betting shops referred to as the bookies; some
people I have known even have shares in race horses. However, none of these
people are rich or well off. Most, if not all, are living yet again hand to
mouth as we say in Britain. Going back to Mr Browne's article, it is the
misery that organised gambling inflicts on families that one should be aware
of. Some of us believe in the get rich quick philosophy; others are weak and
vulnerable while most people who are hooked on gambling are addicted to it
and cannot help themselves. They borrow as much as they can from credit card
companies; families; friends and loan sharks to feed their gambling habit.
Some even get involve with drug trafficking; breaking and entering into
other people's properties. This spiral escalates to the point where it
causes family and marriage break ups; people loosing their jobs; their
homes; their friends and acquaintances and even their self respect. Too
often in Britain the Social Services; the Volunteer Services sector and the
Welfare Services (all funded by the hard pressed taxpayers) have to pick up
the pieces. Some of the most depressing aspects of this dreadfulness are
where children are involved and in the worst cases they have to be taken
into Social Care for their own welfare and safety as family life
disintegrates. In the UK a lot of thoughts are put into legislation that is
then used to regulate; control; and monitor gambling at almost all levels.
Political parties are generally very nervous about the effects gambling is
likely to have on citizens especially the poor; the weak and vulnerable.
They also work closely with and take notice of the Police Service; Probation
Service; and concerns expressed by various pressure groups. One can say the
gambling industry in the UK is regulated and closely monitored. From time to
time new legislations are passed by parliament to tighten up on what can be
seen as loop holes in existing legislations that control particular parts
the industry. They are also limitation on growth; locations; mix;
operational hours; and a gambling age limit for punters. The legislations
also give local communities the opportunity to voice their concerns through
their local Borough or District Councils who are usually the Planning and
Licensing Authority for the areas concern.

As a business; organised gambling or gambling of various forms for that
matter does provide some sort of employment; they are also spin offs to the
supply and service industries however; one must ask the question. Does the
limited employment it provides for the lucky few erase overall poverty?
In setting up business; the person or persons involve will want to know (a)
is there a market? And (b) how big is it? Then consideration is given to
growth etc.

Before sovereign states in the Caribbean consider passing legislation for
organised gambling, perhaps their governments should, like most business
people, consider (a) who is the market, i.e. who is the target? And (b)
where will the money come from?

Finally, within weeks of the British National Lotteries started operating
they were an outcry from most of the charitable organisations such as the
Red Cross; Oxfam and many others. Their complaints were the shortfall in
financial donation receipts. Apparently, most of the money some volunteers
donated to these charitable organisations was used instead to play the
lottery. You see, in most cases our income remains the same therefore if our
habits or tastes should change for what ever reason something has to give
and this is exactly what Mr Browne meant when he said "organised gambling
will only create more poverty and crime." If our income is spent on
gambling, then our standard of living and our family lifestyle is most
likely to end up in a collapsed state.

Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider is tired of rumors that
she tabled a two-year-old gambling probe to protect families members.
So she's promising to file charges in the next 30 days in the case. She says
she'll also attach whatever information she has, to prove she has nothing to
hide.
The charges stem from a 2005 Super Bowl pool at the Legacy Supper Club in
Grand Chute. Agents with the state Justice Department investigated for six
months, and then turned the case over to Schneider's office. The case
languished there, leading to rumors Schneider was trying to protect
relatives who were pool participants. She says her office was more focused
on homicide cases and felonies, not misdemeanor gambling charges.

Washington State Representative Chris Strow and his House Bill 1243, believe
that online gambling in the United States should be legal in the privacy of
your own home. In 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was
signed into law by President George Bush, which makes online gambling
conducted in the United States a Class C Felony. Chris Strow plans to change
this law after introducing House Bill 1243 to correct what he considers an
inappropriate penalty for an activity responsible adults should be allowed
to do in the privacy of their own home. Strow said, "While I do see the need
for protecting our citizens from online gambling that may be scamming
innocent victims, I do think that there is also a level of accountability,
as an adult, to do as he or she chooses in his or her own home." "Most
certainly choosing to gamble, or play a game of skill such as poker, should
not have been made a crime equivalent to possessing child pornography or
threatening the Governor," he added. Strow made a plea for state residents
to call and write to the Chairman of the House Commerce and Labor Committee,
Representative Steve Conway, to ask him to schedule a hearing for House Bill
1243.

For nearly the past year, Washington State has made it a crime to gamble
online. In fact, doing so is considered a Class C felony, with a punishment
no different than that of child molestation and drug dealing. Until now the
law has not been put into affect other than to harass one popular online
gambling affiliate webmaster residing in the state to remove all links to
internet gambling sites. That site soon plans to block out Washington State
ip addresses. Now the barbaric law is being challenged by Rep. Chris Strow,
R-Whidbey Island. "There's a certain point at which policy can be perceived
as 'nanny stateish.' I think we reached that point with last year's
legislation and I'm aiming to make amends," said Strow, who is appealing to
Washington State citizens, though he would probably like to garner support
from those outside the state as well. Strow announced his legislation, House
Bill 1243, to quash the felony charge language in last year's legislation
addressing in-home internet gambling. "My goal with this legislation is to
correct an element from last year's online gambling bill, Senate Bill 6613,
that made it a Class C Felony to gamble recreationally in one's own home if
it is done online," said Strow. "While I do see the need for protecting our
citizens from online gaming that may be scamming innocent victims, I do
think that there is also a level of accountability, as an adult, to do as he
or she chooses in his or her own home," said Strow. "Most certainly choosing
to gamble, or play a game of skill such as poker, should not have been made
a crime equivalent to possessing child pornography or threatening the
Governor." House Bill 1243 is currently awaiting a hearing in the House
Commerce and Labor Committee.

The United States government has shown a chink in their armor during their
war against online gambling. On Friday they admitted that the WTO had ruled
against them in the most recent stage of their long standing dispute with
Antigua. Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative at
the WTO, said the interim report "did not agree with the United States that
we had taken the necessary steps to comply". Antigua's representative Mark
Mendel said "America's prohibition in the provision of gambling services
from other countries violates the US commitments to the WTO". The US
government considers online gambling to be illegal, however they have
created loop holes that exclude horse racing and various state lotteries.
Antigua accused the United States of protectionism against international
online gambling companies. Antigua is a small Caribbean island that is home
to several online gambling companies. Antigua successfully argued their
case, in front of the WTO, that the United States government allows online
gambling on horse racing, but unfairly forbids international companies from
competing in their market. The final ruling on the case is expected in
March 2007. Once the final ruling is disclosed, Antigua will be able to
introduce sanctions although the US still has the right to appeal. Legal &
Trade Experts do not believe that Antiguan sanctions will help to drive
change in US policies regarding online gambling, however the European Union
could take up the cause. If the EU gets involved, Washington will begin to
listen more intently out of fear of being sanctioned by larger trading
partners. One lucky benefactor of the ruling could be David Carruthers.
Carruthers, the former CEO of BetonSports PLC, is currently on house arrest
awaiting trial in a Missouri Federal Court on money laundering and tax
evasion chargers stemming from his duties with BetonSports. BetonSports was
licensed by Antigua as an online gambling operator. Carruthers, a British
Citizen, was arrested in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport while on a layover
between Costa Rica and the UK back in July 2006. The Carruthers arrest was
one incident that clearly showed the US had no intention of complying with
the WTO ruling. Since then, the online gambling industry has been under
constant siege by the US government. In the middle of the night, the
Republican led congress tacked legislation banning online gambling financial
transactions to a "MUST PASS" Port Security Bill. In November, the
President signed UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006)
into law. UIGEA bars financial institutions from knowingly allowing online
gambling financial transactions.

The most recent blow in the US goverment's war on online gambling came this
month when the Canadian founders of NETeller were arrested on tax evasion
and money laundering charges. NETeller's e-wallet money transfer solution
was widely used by operators to take in deposits and process withdraw
requests. The arrests triggered a ripple effect with other companies such
as Citadel Commerce leaving the US market out of fear of indictment.

Many within the online gambling industry are hoping that the WTO ruling will
help pave the way for regulation in the $15 Billion dollar US market. The
big question is: When will the United States realize that prohibition does
not work?

Driving down Highway 61 from Memphis, Tennessee to Tunica, Mississippi, the
fields are flat, with occasional bursts of swampland, and cotton balls
blowing on the tar. As you edge south, the billboards grow more insistent,
offering endless variations on the notion of chance: "Best cash back!",
"Best dealers", "$10k Fridays". Follow your luck, and you end up riding
towards Mississippi's tallest building, the Gold Strike, and into the
parking lot in front of the old Vegas frontage of the Horseshoe. A vintage
car is marooned between red ropes and the foyer echoes to the sound of "96
Tears". There, I ask a security guard for directions to the historic town of
Tunica. "It's not very historic," he replies. "The old town, then?" "You're
not going to see much there," he says. "Have y'all been up to Memphis to see
all the Elvis Presley stuff?" Traditionally, the traffic along Highway 61
has gone north. Long before Bob Dylan celebrated the roving gamblers of the
road in song, Mississippi's black population was heading out towards Memphis
and Chicago in search of work and freedom, taking their music with them.
That migration spawned soul and rock 'n' roll. But today, if you keep
driving along the casino roads, out past the western facade of Sam's Town,
with its saloon and its bathhouse, and on beyond the RV park, you come to a
point where the tarmac ends in a circle. It is a junction between the
commerce of Tunica's present, and the colour of its recent past. Twenty
years ago, this area would have been nothing but fields; the view across the
levee would have been as it was when the most famous of the delta bluesmen,
Robert Johnson, lived here. The centre of the Johnson myth is the crossroads
where, in exchange for the gift of his talent, he sold his soul to the
devil. The location of this mythical gamble is understandably imprecise, and
several delta crossroads lay claim to it, but Dick Taylor, executive
director of the Tunica Museum, believes the cemetery, out where the
Crosstown Road meets the Bonny Blue Road, has as good a case as any. "If
Robert Johnson's ghost is still walking around his birthplace then he can
look at the casino lights any night," he said. "He was born right there next
to the levee at Robinsonville, and grew up right there. He would see Sam's
Town, looking right across the levee. "I have no iron-clad proof that he
sold his soul to the devil at the Crosstown cemetery but he was very well
acquainted with it, and my experience with the devil is that you don't have
to travel tremendous distances to meet him. All you have to do is express
some kind of desire to see the cloven hooves and the horns and the
pitchfork, and he'll come to you. Crosstown cemetery probably has the best
claim on being the most sincere place that he would have found the devil."

A certain pragmatism on matters of public morality has long been a feature
of life in the Mississippi delta, so it is perhaps not surprising that the
area embraced gambling with evangelistic fervour. The economic impact of
that decision, which crept though the legislature in a little-noticed
amendment to a spending bill in 1991, is as obvious as the statistics of the
"Tunica Miracle" are startling.

In 1985, when the Rev Jesse Jackson visited Sugar Ditch in the town of
Tunica, he proclaimed it a national disgrace, dubbing it "America's
Ethiopia". The mechanisation of agriculture meant that unemployment was
endemic. "Sugar Ditch was as much a mindset as a physical location," said Mr
Taylor. "It was the depths of despair that caused our citizens to say, here
we are and it's hopeless. The influx of casino money and the jobs and
opportunities and the hope that the casinos brought for some people has
broken this never-ending circle of poverty."

When the first casino, Splash, opened at Mhoon Landing in 1992, there was no
indication that gambling would transform the economy. Corporate studies had
detected no appetite for gambling in the delta, and the founders of Splash,
Rick and Ron Schilling, were unable to persuade the power companies to
supply electricity to their converted barge. (A peculiarity of Mississippi
gaming law is that the casinos must be partially built over water).

James Gravenmier, now graphic designer at Sam's Town, worked on the first
advertisements for Splash, and recalls the impact of that casino. "They
opened for about three days, then the gaming commission shut it down for a
couple of days 'cause they had so much money piled up," he said. "Great big
bales - they were putting it in stacks and tying it together. They couldn't
count it fast enough. They made more money than they had any dreams of. They
made $850,000 (£430,000) just on the admission. Ten bucks a head. They made
$150m in their first year."

Mr Taylor added: "People would wait at the Splash for up to eight hours for
the opportunity to come onboard. There was one lady whose job was to welcome
you, and click a little clicker, and when it got to 800 she said, 'Not until
somebody leaves'. Now they did keep you well-oiled while you waited, so it
wasn't a terrible ordeal, but it was a long wait."

The success of Splash alerted the gaming corporations to an untapped market,
and a gambling gold rush followed. The price of land rocketed. "They started
throwing money in here and they went to these landowners and offered 'em so
much money for these cotton fields that they couldn't say no," said Mr
Gravenmier.

Not all the casinos have been successful. Some have closed, and some have
been re-branded. Circus-Circus came and went, and Fitzgerald's is currently
moving upscale with the slogan "gambling just got better".

There are nine supercasinos in Tunica, and each makes a pitch for a
particular market. The ideal visitor to Sam's Town is said to be a cowboy
boot-wearing, Nascar racing fan. Hollywood offers a kind of Hard Rock
proximity to fame; the Batmobile and the DeLorean car from Back to the
Future are parked by the one-armed bandits. The Horseshoe has a blues museum
where you can admire Neil Sedaka's 1998 microphone and one of Albert King's
favourite hats (circa 1986).

No one visits a casino to admire the scenery but the numbers are impressive.
Webster Franklin was president of the local Chamber of Commerce during the
early years of the "Tunica Miracle", and is now president and CEO of the
Convention and Visitors' Bureau. Under his watch, Tunica has gone from being
the poorest county in the US to the country's third biggest gaming centre,
behind Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

"No one ever dreamed, when Splash opened, that 15 years later, this would be
a $1.3bn-a-year industry employing 16,000 people. That's more people than
live in Tunica County. We only have a residential population of 10,000, and
a workforce of 5,500 that live in the county."

Before the casinos came, there wasn't a stop-light in Tunica County. Now
there is a new Interstate, I-69, and the two-lane highways have been
broadened to four. There are new schools, sewers and drains, and the airport
has been expanded.

The casinos pay a 12 per cent gaming tax, with 8 per cent going to the
state, and 4 per cent to the local economy. That 4 per cent comes to $45-50m
a year. In an attempt to diversify the economy, a 2,200-acre site has been
prepared, so the area can tender for industrial projects, such as a proposed
Rolls-Royce aeroplane engine factory. "Never in our wildest dreams would we
have thought of putting Tunica and Rolls-Royce in the same sentence had it
not been for the opportunities created by gaming," said Mr Franklin.

The poverty of Tunica County overrode moral and religious objections to
gambling in a way that was not replicated in neighbouring counties. Clearly,
the benefits have not been shared equally. Despite the casino jobs,
unemployment is still about 10 per cent, and there are some alarming
statistics, such as a 1,600 per cent increase in court cases in the first
five years of legal gambling. Mr Franklin said the crime figures can be
explained by the huge increase in visitor numbers. "I live in the town of
Tunica," he said. "I rarely lock my doors. There is little to no crime.
Sure, the bicycles get stolen, just like any other place."

Mr Taylor said the benefits outweighed the bad side-effects. "Having been
raised as a Baptist, my imagination led me to believe that this was the
worst thing that could happen," he said. "In my mind I could see the bars
and the liquor stores, tattoo parlours and topless dancing ladies, and all
of the vices I associated with gambling and organised crime. None of that
has materialised. We laughed before the casinos came and said if we could
have organised crime at least we'd have some organisation. But that didn't
occur.

"I'm sure there are people that have become habitual gamblers, and perhaps
are addicted to it - and that would weigh on the bad side. But the fact that
we have allowed most of the population to be employable, and we have been
able to improve the basic lot of all of our citizens makes it more good than
bad."

These arguments will be welcomed by the British government as it prepares to
nominate a site for the first British supercasino. But Mr Franklin added a
note of caution. One supercasino isn't enough, he says. Success requires
competition.

"If we had said one casino, or even two or three, could locate here, you
would not have seen the infrastructure improvements, the four-laning of the
roads, the new buildings, the factory-outlet shopping, the golf courses, the
entertainment facilities. You would not have seen an area that has grown
from cotton fields to what it is today."

What would Robert Johnson make of it? In life, he was a gambler. In death,
he has three graves, none of which is guaranteed to house his bones. The
odds are, he isn't spinning in any of them.

Odds are this year's table gambling bill will be introduced Tuesday in the
West Virginia House of Delegates. "We've got one pretty well put together,"
said Delegate Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock, who is expected to introduce
the bill. "It's not out there together yet. We're putting together the final
details.
"I'd say Tuesday is pretty accurate." The table gambling bill, if passed,
would allow officials at the state's four racetracks to petition their
respective county commissions and ask that a referendum to allow table
gambling be placed before the county's voters. The racetracks are located in
Ohio, Hancock, Kanawha and Jefferson counties. This will be the third
consecutive year that table gambling legislation will be introduced in the
West Virginia Legislature, but neither of the first two bills ever came up
for discussion or vote on the House floor. A table gambling bill did pass
the West Virginia Senate in 2005. The 2007 legislation contains some changes
from past table gambling bills. For starters, the amount of state tax placed
on gross proceeds generated by table gambling has been doubled - from 12
percent to 24 percent. It is expected this rate could be as raised to as
high as 34 percent while in the House Finance Committee. Secondly, if a
table gambling referendum were to be approved by a county's voters, the same
voters could petition again five years later to recall the measure if they
find table gambling hasn't been beneficial to their community. What remains
the same in the bill is just who gets to vote on a table gambling
referendum. Opponents to table gambling had asked that any measure
pertaining to the issue go before all voters in the state - not just those
living in counties where the racetracks are located.
The proposed bill continues to carry the provision that a table gambling
vote be by local referendum - one voted on by residents in a specific
county.

"There's been a lot of behind the scenes work," Swartzmiller said.
"Everybody has had a seat at the table to discuss their concerns."

He believes the majority of those in the state think those in racetrack
counties should have the right to decide whether there is table gambling in
their community.

The allure of gambling calls out to Matthew Bowles-Roth wherever he goes.
When he drives on the freeway, casino billboards entice him with riches.
When he buys cigarettes at the convenience store, lottery tickets shine
under the glass counter. When he flips through TV channels, guys his age
appear in high-stakes poker tournaments, beaming like movie stars. Each
time, Matthew pauses. He can't take that path again. He forces himself to
remember what it was like when he did: Lying. Stealing. Dropping out of
college. "There's tons of things that I just wish I had never done," he says
now, four years later. At 22, Matthew has experienced the grip of gambling
in a way most people never will. In just three years, he went from someone
who had never gambled to compulsive gambler to recovering addict. He is part
of an age group that is drawing increasing concern from gambling-addiction
counselors, government regulators and college administrators.
Card playing and Internet gambling have increased among zcollege-age men in
recent years, according to one study in Pennsylvania. And many of them
learned the game in high school. In many cases, "parents are actually
strongly encouraging their kids to play poker," said Jeff Derevensky,
co-director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and
High-Risk Behaviors at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. "They would
prefer them to be in their basements playing poker than doing something
'more dangerous' like drinking and doing drugs." Research is scant about
college-age gambling participation over time. And studies conflict on the
question of whether young people are more susceptible to become problem
gamblers - some studies say yes, others cast doubt on that premise. Still,
researchers are concerned that gambling accessibility could lead to more
problems.

Teenage gambling is a growing problem in Southwestern Ontario, a local
expert says. Though she didn't have hard numbers available, Bonnie Orvidas
said it's clear to everyone involved more young people are seeking addiction
treatment services. "It's in the last two to three years that we have been
hearing from young people. Most of them are males," said Orvidas, the
problem gambling services program co-ordinator for Addiction Services of
Thames Valley. A study released yesterday found that one-third of Ontario
teens aged 15 to 17 are gambling. But other statistics pulled together from
across the province in recent years show that as many as 80 per cent of
teens between the ages of 12 and 17 gambled for money and that young people
spend more time gambling than drinking, smoking or doing illicit drugs. "I
think it's about accessibility for one thing. If you look around
Southwestern Ontario, there are a lot of opportunities to gamble," Orvidas
said. Teens who gamble, even casually, agree there are plenty of avenues. "I
do quite a bit of it," said 16-year-old Johnny Haskett of London, who was
hanging out at the Teen Annex at the London Central Library. His biggest
loss was losing his pet rat in a bet, he said. Haskett said he is no good at
cards, so his gambling involves placing bets with his friends or his
friends' parents on sporting events. Like Haskett, 18-year-old Jerry Shaw
said he bets with his friends "on a weekly basis" and he belongs to a
fantasy basketball league. "Me and my buddies are too young to get into the
casinos," so they find other ways to gamble, he said. "I make a lot. Money's
cool." Shaw said he doesn't have any debts, but he sometimes uses the money
he makes to pay bills. Yesterday's study by the Responsible Gambling Council
also noted that one in five teens gamble because they need money. "What that
says to me is that they have fallen into that cognitive distortion which
problem gamblers have believing that they can make money from gambling,"
Orvidas said. Because of the increase in young people seeking treatment
locally, Orvidas's organization began offering specialized youth services
about three years ago. "I think the young people feel very comfortable when
they come here," said Orvidas, who added that their youngest client to date
was 15. She said gambling starts younger than that for some.

"We've seen some people here who have been gambling since they were the age
of 10 or 12."

Orvidas also said the problem of illegal gambling is escalating in this
region.

"For every $100 spent on legal gambling, $142 is spent on illegal gambling.
The demographic there would be a lot of young men."

Reflecting the findings of the Responsible Gambling Council study, teens in
the Thames Valley area mainly play hold 'em poker and other online gambling
games, Orvidas said.

"Kids can go online and gamble without having to provide any ID," she said.
"It's so accessible with computers at home."

Members of the Organized Crime Section, Illegal Gambling Unit with the
assistance of Windsor Police Service executed a Criminal Code search warrant
at Sai Gon Billiards located at 922 and 926 Wyandotte St. W. in the City of
Windsor on the 24th of Jan 2007. As a result, a number of individuals have
been charged with illegal gambling offences. Acting on a Crime Stoppers tip
regarding illegal Video Gambling Machines, an investigation was commenced by
the Illegal Gambling Unit West team. The investigation confirmed the
existence of the machines where members of the public would attend to play
games of chance. This location was seeking to gain monetarily from the
gambling activity. The OPP Organized Crime Section, Illegal Gambling Unit is
in partnership with eight other police services in Ontario including London,
Toronto, Niagara, Peel, York, Windsor, Hamilton and Ottawa. The partnership
is responsible for the investigation of province-wide illegal gambling
investigations pertaining to Part VII of the Criminal Code, with an emphasis
on Organized Crime.

The historic ban on betting in pubs could be swept away after ministers
announced plans for a gambling free-for-all. Pubs, bars and clubs will be
allowed to stage poker games without a gaming licence. The proposal was
condemned as an "atrocious" encouragement to problem gambling. Experts said
the mix of drinking and betting would be disastrous. Golf clubs, political
parties and working men's clubs will also be able to host betting events in
what amounts to the most radical overhaul of drinking and gambling for four
decades. Under plans outlined by Sports Minister Richard Caborn yesterday,
gamblers will be allowed to join low-stakes poker games, paying £5 to join a
poker or cribbage tournament in pubs and up to £10 in private members'
clubs. MPs claimed the new rules could not possibly be policed effectively,
opening the door to high stakes gambling on the High Street and the prospect
of drunken players losing money long into the night.
Landlords will be allowed to offer poker prizes worth up to £100 a night and
up to £500 a week as long as they do not take a cut of the winnings or
charge gamblers to play. Private members' clubs can offer tournaments paying
£200 a night and up to £1,000 a week. That means pubs could stage a
tournament where 20 people pay £5 to enter, or 100 people pay £1 to enter on
five nights of the week. Crucially, clubs and bars will no longer have to
apply for a formal licence to stage gambling events as they do at present.
Landlords who allow high stakes gaming could be stripped of the right to
host poker tournaments - but would not face the loss of their liquor
licence. Experts expressed dismay at Labour's determination to press ahead
with the liberalisation of the gaming laws and combine them with longer
drinking hours, which have already been blamed for a rise in alcohol-related
violence. "It's appalling, but it is completely in line with everything this
government have been doing," said Dr Emanuel Moran, adviser on pathological
gambling to the Royal College of Psychiatrists. "There is a tremendous
amount of evidence indicating that alcohol interferes with people's
judgment. The combination of alcohol and gambling is liable to be
disastrous." Dr Moran, who helped set up Gamblers Anonymous, added: "The
stakes may be low but people can easily accumulate tremendous debts and then
chase their losses. There is not going to be a council official monitoring
every game."

Tory culture spokesman Hugo Swire warned that the controls on pub gambling
would be too lax. The only body policing the regulations will be the already
overworked local licensing authorities.

"There is no way landlords will be able to control the amounts staked and in
practice these limits will be totally ignored," he said.

Under the plans, which could come into force in September, pubs and clubs
will be allowed to offer bingo but the total prize money that on offer will
be limited for the first time to £2,000 a week.

Casino games which involve a banker or croupier, such as pontoon, blackjack
and roulette, will still be banned. Each pub will still be allowed to have
two slot machines taking stakes of up to 50p and paying out jackpots of up
to £35.

The changes were made after lobbying by the pub industry, which believes the
pull of poker will bring in more customers.

Mr Caborn said: "These proposals set out a comprehensive set of rules
governing gaming in pubs and clubs that will keep it fair, crime-free and
ensure children and the vulnerable are protected.

"Many people have enjoyed low stakes games like bingo, cribbage and dominoes
in clubs and pubs for decades and there is no evidence of an increase in
problem gambling or crime as a result. But we now need clearer rules and
limits on stakes and prizes to keep it that way."

Internet gambling has been on a roller coaster ride since the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed back in October. The Neteller
arrests last week and the following pull outs of all major third party
billing companies has seriously damaged the $12b a year industry. The roller
coaster ride got another twist as a result of the report that follows. The
United States has suffered a new setback in a four-year-old legal battle
with Antigua and Barbuda over U.S. restrictions on Internet gambling, a U.S.
trade official said on Thursday. At issue is an April 2005 World Trade
Organisation ruling against U.S. prohibitions on online horse race betting.
Since then, the U.S. Congress has passed additional legislation to ban
betting over the Internet. Gretchen Hamel, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade
Representative's office, confirmed press reports that a WTO panel "did not
agree with the United States that we had taken the necessary steps to
comply" with that ruling. At the same time, Hamel downplayed the decision
contained in a preliminary, confidential report to the two parties. "The
panel's findings issued today involve a narrow issue of federal law" and the
United States will have opportunity to submit comments to the WTO before it
issues its final, public report in March, Hamel said. "Nothing in the
panel's interim report undermines the broad, favourable results that the
United States obtained from the WTO in April 2005," she said.
The issue is a touchy one for the Bush administration, which supports free
trade but whose conservative allies in Congress pushed through a bill late
last year to ban most forms of Internet gambling. Gretchen Hamel, a
spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, confirmed press
reports that a WTO panel "did not agree with the United States that we had
taken the necessary steps to comply" with that ruling. At the same time,
Hamel downplayed the decision contained in a preliminary, confidential
report to the two parties. "The panel's findings issued today involve a
narrow issue of federal law" and the United States will have opportunity to
submit comments to the WTO before it issues its final, public report in
March, Hamel said. "Nothing in the panel's interim report undermines the
broad, favourable results that the United States obtained from the WTO in
April 2005," she said.

The issue is a touchy one for the Bush administration, which supports free
trade but whose conservative allies in Congress pushed through a bill late
last year to ban most forms of Internet gambling.

Antigua and Barbuda, with few natural resources, has sought to build up an
Internet gambling industry to provide jobs to replace those in its declining
tourist industry.

It argued in a case first brought to the WTO in 2003 that U.S. laws barring
the placing of bets across states lines by electronic means violated WTO
rules.

An April 2005 ruling by the WTO's Appellate Body, which both sides claimed
as vindication, focussed on the narrower issue of horse racing, saying that
foreign betting operators appeared to suffer discrimination.

Antigua and Barbuda complained the United States had not complied with the
decision and the WTO agreed in July 2006 to look into the matter, resulting
in the ruling on Thursday.

The United States will decide after the final panel decision ruling in March
whether to appeal.

The Bush administration may not have to ask Congress to pass new legislation
in any case, Hamel said.

"The panel report clarifies that compliance does not necessarily require new
legislation, but could instead involve other steps, such as administrative
or judicial action," she said.

Macau may have dethroned the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest casino
center, according to figures available Wednesday that show the Chinese
territory's gambling revenue jumped 22 percent to $6.95 billion last year.
The former Portuguese enclave has been booming since the government busted
up a casino monopoly three years ago and began welcoming U.S. gaming
powerhouses like Las Vegas Sands, MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts. The U.S.
companies have been furiously building mega casino and resort projects in
the tiny city - less than one-sixth the size of Washington, D.C. - on
China's southeastern coast. Key to Macau's success will be luring the masses
of high rollers from mainland China, who are growing richer and tend to bet
more at the casino tables than Americans do in Las Vegas. About 3 billion
people - half the world's population - in Asia can get to the city within
five hours by plane, the Sands company says.
The Las Vegas Strip has yet to announce its full-year revenue figures for
2006, but it would have to bring in nearly $1 billion in December alone to
beat Macau's figure, which was posted with no fanfare on the Web site of its
Gaming and Inspection Coordination Bureau. The Las Vegas Strip has said for
the 11 months through November, revenue came to $6.08 billion. If December's
revenue is the same as it was the previous year, the annual total would hit
about $6.57 billion - just behind Macau. Last year, Macau's gambling revenue
totaled 55.88 billion patacas, or $6.95 billion, compared to 45.80 billion
patacas in 2005, the gaming bureau's Web site said. The figure includes
revenue from casinos, lotteries and dog and horse racing. Still, Macau lags
far behind the entire state of Nevada, which raked in $10.66 billion in
2005, according to the Center for Gaming Research at the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas.

A report by the group of MPs has suggested that if the games become
classified as lotteries, they could be forced to give 20% of sales to good
causes.
MPs are very clear on what they would like to see happen in the future,
saying: "We believe that call-TV quiz shows generally look and feel like
gambling. It seems to us that call-TV quiz shows should constitute gaming
under the Gambling Act 2005, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
and the Gambling Commission should consider this as a matter of urgency." Up
to 1m people a night watch gaming shows, call a premium rate number and
answer a question in the hope of winning sums up to £100,000. The channels
have been criticised for charging 75p for calls from a landline and even
more from a mobile. MPs have suggested that quiz shows should get
third-party approval on all questions or puzzles before broadcast. They also
suggest that there should be an increased transparency about the chances
callers have of getting through to the studio, which is purely a matter of
luck. The committee suggested showing the odds of getting on air should be
shown clearly onscreen and that Icstis, the premium line regulator, should
make broadcasters clearly show how much it is to call the quiz number.
ITV Play was rapped recently for making answers too obscure for viewers to
guess. Ofcom recently ruled that 'Quizmania' was in breach of broadcasting
rules when viewers complained that the answer to the question "name
something you would you find in a woman's handbag" was too obscure. Answers
included rawlplugs and a balaclava. ITV Play looks set to make £20m this
year through quiz show division ITV Play, which runs shows such as 'The
Mint'. Odds of getting through to the studio are understood to be one in
400.

More than one-third of Ontario teens who participated in the first-ever
study to examine the gambling habits of students aged 15 to 17 are already
gambling, and their ranks will likely double by the time they're 20, the
study's authors say. The study, to be released Thursday, was conducted by
the Responsible Gambling Council, an independent, non-profit organization
dedicated to the prevention of problem gambling. Of the 2,140 teens
surveyed, 34.9 per cent said they're already gambling. Of those, 40 per cent
said poker is their game of choice, while another 36 per cent admitted to
regularly buying raffle tickets, including scratch-and-win lottery tickets.
Sports betting was next at 23 per cent, followed by playing dice at 15 per
cent and online gambling at 10 per cent. Poker is the most popular form of
gambling because of its accessibility, ease of play and recent explosion in
popularity, said Jon Kelly, chief executive of the council, which has
programs funded by the Ontario government. "It's relatively easy to learn,
you could play it at home, you can play it with your friends, you can play
it online, you can watch it on TV . . . so access is an important feature as
well," Kelly said. While the majority of teens surveyed cited entertainment
as their main reason for gambling, 20.7 per cent said they did it because
they needed the money, and 15.3 per cent said it was to win back cash they
had already lost. Thirteen per cent of teens who play poker admitted they
spend more money than they can afford on gambling. Of those respondents who
admitted to gambling, 3.9 per cent said they're already experiencing
gambling problems. That number jumps to 6.9 per cent in the case of gamblers
aged 18 to 24, Kelly said. "When we look at this younger group, then, and
see that more than one-third are gambling, we know that that number's going
to double, that's it's going to be at least two-thirds in three years." The
council is staging a play called "House of Cards" in schools across Ontario
in an effort to educate teens about the perils of gambling. The play is
about a university student who develops a gambling problem while playing
online poker. Two outspoken critics of the gambling industry said Wednesday
it's time for governments and industry alike to better protect consumers and
shield vulnerable youth from the tempting lure of making a quick buck on
games of chance.

Phyllis Vineberg's son Trevor, 25, committed suicide in 1995 following years
of being addicted to video lottery terminals or VLTs.

"It's like a smoker who's hooked on nicotine or you give somebody crack
cocaine: they're going to get hooked," she said. "We didn't understand that,
we didn't have the information and parents today don't have the information
either. They're totally clueless."

"You just have to stand at a lottery booth today and you see people buying
tickets with their kids and they think it's just a game."

Consumer advocate Sol Boxenbaum, who has spent 12 years as a gambling
addiction counsellor in Montreal, said the youngest client he ever treated
was 20 years old. An increase in youth gambling, he said, could signal the
start of a troubling trend.

"Normally, compulsive gamblers don't look for help until they've completely
bottomed out, and young people don't bottom out because they come home to
where rent is paid . . . supper's on the table," Boxenbaum said.

"But it carries forth into later years, when they're married and they get
all the responsibilities, that they end up having to come for help."

The onus should be on the industry, not the underage gambler, to keep those
at risk out of their facilities, he added.

"The responsibility is for them to keep minors out of the casinos, to keep
minors off of slot machines and to have proper self-exclusion programs so
that people that begin to have a problem can be barred from an
establishment."

Lotteries are the biggest source of gambling revenue for the Ontario
government, outpacing casinos and slot machines at racetracks.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation says it sold $2.3 billion in
lottery tickets and instant scratch games in 2004-05.

The province's four commercial casinos pulled in almost $1.6 billion in
revenues in the last fiscal year, while charity casinos and slot machines at
racetracks earned $1.9 billion.

Both Vineberg and Boxenbaum are part of a recently-launched complaint before
the federal Competition Bureau that electronic gaming machines are designed
to entice gamblers into risking too much of their money.

Net revenue from lotteries, VLT's and casion increased from $2.7 billion in
1992 to $11.3 billion in 2002, a growth rate of more than 400 per cent,
according to a 2003 Statistics Canada report.

The son of a deceased West Virginia mobster pleaded guilty in federal court
to playing a role in a multimillion-dollar bookmaker ring. Christopher
Hankish, 44, of Scott Township, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of
conspiracy to conduct an illegal gambling business, federal prosecutors
said. Hankish is the son of Paul Hankish, a Wheeling, W.Va., native who died
in prison in 1998 while serving time for a racketeering and gambling
conviction. Investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police and state
Attorney General's Office said they came across Christopher Hankish while
looking into gambling activity involving former video poker kingpin John
Conley. Prosecutors said Hankish participated in a sports betting gambling
business run by Conley. They said Hankish recruited bettors for Conley's
organization, accepted bets on behalf of the organization and arranged for
collecting debts. According to prosecutors, a wire tap by the state Attorney
General's office and state police captured several telephone calls between
Conley and Hankish in which they discussed various aspects of the gambling
operation. Conley has not been charged, but was sentenced in May to four
years in federal prison for violating his probation by placing sports bets
over the phone last year. He had been released in January 2004 after serving
nine years in prison on a gambling conviction.

Members of the Organized Crime Section, Illegal Gambling Unit with the
assistance of Windsor Police Service executed a Criminal Code search warrant
at Sai Gon Billiards located at 922 and 926 Wyandotte St. W. in the City of
Windsor on the 24th of Jan 2007. As a result, a number of individuals have
been charged with illegal gambling offences. Acting on a Crime Stoppers tip
regarding illegal Video Gambling Machines, an investigation was commenced by
the Illegal Gambling Unit West team. The investigation confirmed the
existence of the machines where members of the public would attend to play
games of chance. This location was seeking to gain monetarily from the
gambling activity. The OPP Organized Crime Section, Illegal Gambling Unit is
in partnership with eight other police services in Ontario including London,
Toronto, Niagara, Peel, York, Windsor, Hamilton and Ottawa. The partnership
is responsible for the investigation of province-wide illegal gambling
investigations pertaining to Part VII of the Criminal Code, with an emphasis
on Organized Crime.

Massillon travel agent Roger Budd was sentenced to another 60 days in jail
Wednesday by Common Pleas Judge John Haas, who also suspended a four-year
prison term. Budd, accused of bilking area residents out of money they paid
for trips to Las Vegas, has already served five months behind bars. Haas
also ordered Budd to get a job immediately upon his release from jail and to
keep it so he can start making restitution payments to his victims. That
could take quite a while, even if Budd devotes all his paychecks to that
effort. He owes $113,000 in restitution, according to Fred Scott, the
assistant prosecutor who brought the case against Budd. And Haas will be
keeping a close eye on Budd, who will become part of the judge's Say Hey
program. Selected non-violent criminals are chosen for regular visits with
Haas on a weekly or monthly basis so he can closely monitor their progress.
The idea is to have a quick chat, to Say Hey, and let them know that someone
personally cares. Haas said he started Say Hey several years ago when the
Stark County Jail and the Regional Correction Facility were overcrowded.
"Sometimes it doesn't work," Haas said, "but the success rate is pretty
good." Haas said his goal in sentencing was to balance the punishment with
what is best for the victims. About half of Budd's victims wanted him to go
away for a long time while the other half favored restitution. "There's no
way to make everyone happy with the sentencing in this case," Haas said.
Haas also noted by suspending four years on the condition of good behavior,
he has leverage to keep Budd on the straight and narrow. That means no
gambling, drugs or alcohol. The fact Budd finally admitted to having a
gambling problem also helped him, said John Frieg, his attorney. "Only the
house wins in Vegas," Frieg said. "Vegas is an entertainment destination.
You have to determine how much you can lose before you go and then walk away
once you hit that figure. Roger couldn't do that. In his mind, he kept
believing he could win and get everyone back their money." Frieg said most
people on Budd's trips had a good time and noted he went on a trip himself.
"Most people still like Roger and he has strong ties to the community," he
said. "I believe he'll try to pay most people back.

A proposed Spokane Tribe of Indians gambling agreement is unfair to other
tribes and represents a major expansion of tribal gaming, skeptical
legislators said.
The Eastern Washington tribe is asking the state and federal government to
end more than a decade of legal challenges and approve the gaming compact,
which would make the Spokanes one of the state's largest casino operators.
Tribal secretary Gerald Nicodemus told lawmakers Tuesday the agreement
allowing as many as 4,700 slot-style machines at five sites would be a good
deal for both the tribe and region. "This compact will be our best chance to
impact our tribe's future in a significant and historic way," Nicodemus told
House and Senate members on Tuesday. The state gambling commission has
scheduled a public hearing on the proposed agreement Feb. 9 in Olympia. The
compact needs approval of the commission, Gov. Chris Gregoire and the
federal government. Lawmakers said the proposal would be a dramatic
expansion of the $1.2 billion Indian gaming industry in the state. The
Spokane tribe is the only gambling tribe that has not negotiated an
agreement with the state. State and federal officials contend Nevada-style
slot machines in the tribe's casinos are illegal. The proposed compact
"rewards illegal operations and encourages a tremendous expansion of
gambling," Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, said. Sen. Margarita Prentice,
D-Renton, predicted that many of the 27 tribes that have gaming compacts
with the state will oppose the Spokanes' compact. "I think they'll be really
angry, because they are now," she said.
The plan is a sign of a "new and positive relationship" between the state
and tribe, Nicodemus said. Casino revenues would pay for better education
for the tribe's children, better health care for its elders and a
diversified reservation economy, he said. Current law allows each tribe to
have a total of 675 slot-style machines. Larger tribes can increase that
number by leasing machines from smaller tribes. The proposed Spokane Tribe
compact, in the works since 2005, would allow as many as 4,700 machines and
includes benefits other tribes haven't gotten in their negotiations. It
would allow cash-fed machines, instead of requiring players to use paper
tickets or plastic cards. It also would allow high-stakes betting at limits
set by the tribe. "I can hear it coming: 'Look what you did for the
Spokanes,'" said Sen. Jim Clements, R-Selah, whose district includes the
Yakama Tribe. Prentice said she doesn't like the high-rollers provision.

"It's still real troublesome that you can leapfrog over (the other tribes)
and have a real juicy plum that other tribes don't have," she said.

In 2004, state voters overwhelmingly rejected an initiative that would have
allowed slot-style machines in nontribal businesses like card rooms and
bars.

The current proposal is the second try at a compact between the state and
tribe in recent years.

In 2005, negotiators reached an agreement that would have allowed up to
7,500 machines, including 4,000 in a single casino. But Gregoire ordered
that version scrapped after some lawmakers balked.

Malibu homeowner John Lefebvre, a Canadian national, was released on a $5
million U.S Bond following his arrest last week on charges of allegedly
laundering billions of dollars in illegal online gambling proceeds. Canadian
Stephen Lawrence was also released on $5 million bail. The two are former
directors of NETeller, a company that transfers money globally for a fee.
Lefebvre and Lawrence are accused of using the Internet payment services
company to facilitate the transfer of billions of dollars of illegal
gambling proceeds from the United States to Internet gambling companies
overseas. A former lawyer, Lefebvre launched NETeller in 2000, which was
essentially a Web database that functioned as the middleman between
companies operating online gambling casinos and offshore bank accounts.
The U.S. Attorney's office stated in a press release that, "According to
NETeller's 2005 annual report, Lawrence and Lefebvre, through NETeller,
provided payment services to more than 80 percent of worldwide gaming
merchants." Lefebvre, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, served as
president of NETeller from 2000 to 2002, and was a member of the Board of
Directors until approximately December 2005. Reuters reported last week that
the company closed its U.S. Internet gambling services on Thursday, causing
it to lose more than 65 percent of its business. Shares in NETeller had
fallen by 60 percent since September, following the passage of the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and the arrests of two British executives
from companies that were involved in online casinos. The anti-online
gambling law makes it illegal for banks, credit card companies and online
payment systems to process payment to online gambling companies. Nearly $8
billion in market value of shares in publicly traded companies such
PartyGaming and Sportingbet were wiped out following the law's passage.
The U.S. Attorney's office reported that in 2005, NETeller processed more
than $7.3 billion in financial transactions, and that, according to reports
issued by NETeller, 95 percent of its revenue came from money transfers
involving Internet gambling companies. In the first half of 2006, NETeller
processed $5.1 billion in financial transactions, prosecutors said. As
charged in the U.S. Attorney's complaint, 85 percent of the company's
revenue from that period came from gamblers in North America, and
approximately 75 percent of its North American revenue was generated in the
United States.

"Internet gambling is a multibillion-dollar industry," stated FBI Assistant
Director Mark Mershon. "A significant portion of that is the illegal
handling of Americans' bets with offshore gaming companies, which amounts to
a colossal criminal enterprise masquerading as legitimate business. There is
ample indication these defendants knew the American market for their
services was illegal. The FBI is adamant about shutting off the flow of
illegal cash."

Since the arrest of two other former online gambling company executives in
September, including Sportingbet chairman, Peter Dicks, most online gambling
executives have been avoiding the U.S. However, this did not deter Lefebvre,
who was arrested at his Malibu home last Tuesday, from staying away from the
States.

In an Oct. 14, 2005 story from the University of Calgary campus newspaper,
Lefebvre's alma mater, he is described as a "man embodying the spirit of a
generation." Lefebvre donated $1.2 million to its fine arts faculty in 2005.

The article goes on to tell the rise, fall and then rise again of Lefebvre.
According to the On Campus Weekly story, Lefebvre was "a lawyer by trade and
a frustrated musician by passion."

Lefebvre's father died when he was 3, writes Tom Maloney, and his mother
raised he and his two siblings while returning to school and earning an
education degree and a master's in counseling. After graduating law school,
Lefebvre ended up running a storefront law clinic and then eventually worked
from home.

"One of the reasons I didn't get dragged into the downtown, upper-crust,
law-circle things is, I never really did concede to working the long hours,
as much as I could have or maybe should have," he is quoted in the U of C
newspaper. "It was always more compelling for me to get home to see my
daughter."

Facing a midlife crisis in his '40s, he quit his job as lawyer and then
begged in the train stations of Calgary for change to buy food, according to
the campus newspaper. He ended returning to legal work to pay back friends
and then met up with a former client, who later became chairman of NETeller,
Stephen Lawrence. Lawrence was operating an online casino in Costa Rica, and
wanted a more efficient money transfer system. Lefebvre worked with a
computer programmer and built NETeller. The company gained a percentage off
each transaction from the casinos, smaller than what the casinos had to pay
credit card companies, and it provided better security against fraud.

Two years ago the company, based on the Isle of Man in the U.K. and listed
on the London Stock Exchange, had a user base of two million customers
worldwide and 1,700 merchant clients, according the U of C newspaper.

Trading of NETeller's shares was temporarily suspended on Jan. 16, following
the arrests of Lefebvre and Lawrence. A press release from the company was
listed on the London Stock Exchange stating that other than as shareholders,
neither of the two have any current position or connection to NETeller.

Malaysian authorities are working to wipe out gambling dens that offer
illegal video game and slot machines, a top police official said Wednesday,
underscoring efforts to boost public confidence in the police. Christopher
Wan, the federal criminal investigations police director, has personally led
high-profile raids on unlicensed gambling outlets in recent weeks, cracking
down on one of the most lucrative businesses for Malaysia's criminal
syndicates. "The target is to shut down all outlets by the end of March,"
Wan told The Associated Press. Wan said there are no official estimates of
how many outlets exist, but public tip-offs indicate that operators of
numerous gambling parlors have recently ceased their activities for fear of
being caught in the police clampdown. "We believe there is a domino effect,"
Wan said. "There could have been thousands of outlets at one point, but we
are confident that the number is now falling to a low level." The raids were
motivated by increasing complaints that illegal gambling was causing people
to become addicted to gambling and amass large debts, Wan said, adding that
many outlets also lure children and encourage them to skip school. "The
problem is a social menace because it is breaking up families," Wan said.
Public support for the crackdown has been substantial because it has assured
people that the police force can effectively perform its duties, Wan said.
The image of Malaysia's police has been tainted over the past decade by
allegations of corruption, abuse of power, poor service and delays in
investigating cases. One recent raid led to the seizure of nearly 250
gambling machines from one location that was within walking distance of the
town's police station. Eleven men were arrested, while town officials were
reprimanded for not having closed down the outlet earlier. Gambling is
forbidden for ethnic Malay Muslims, who comprise nearly two-thirds of
Malaysia's population. It is legal for the ethnic Chinese and Indian
minorities, mainly in the forms of lotteries, horse racing and a legal
casino that is hugely popular with ethnic Chinese.

Call-in quiz television shows border on the fraudulent and should be
reclassified as gambling, MPs have concluded. The Culture, Media and Sport
Select Committee condemned the "unscrupulous practices" of some of the quiz
shows, which have been criticised for misleading viewers. Up to a million
people a night watch shows in which presenters invite viewers to call a
premium-rate number and answer a simple question for rewards of up to
£100,000. The revenue raised from the calls is considerable, with ITV set to
make £20 million in profit this year from its quiz show division, ITV Play.
The committee was told of allegations of shabby practices by producers and
broadcasters, including suggestions that call handling procedures had, in
the past, been manipulated to deny callers a chance to answer. In one
episode of The Mint, an ITV1 show, 400,000 callers phoned over four hours,
but only one in 400 had a chance of getting through. Viewers have also
complained about overly cryptic questions. Ofcom, which is investigating the
shows, recently ruled that Quizmania, on ITV Play, was in breach of the
broadcasting code for posing a question about items commonly found in a
women's handbag. Answers included a balaclava and Rawlplugs. The committee
report, issued today, is expected to conclude that "any practice of
misleading viewers about call volumes or of blocking calls would be more
than unfair: it would be fraudulent and should be punished under criminal
law. It would also be a disgrace to the Call TV quiz industry." It says: "We
believe that Call TV quiz shows generally look and feel like gambling,
whether or not they will fall within the definition of gambling under the
Gambling Act 2005." The committee will urge the Government to examine this
as a matter of urgency. If quizzes are reclassified as lotteries, regulators
could insist on at least 20 per cent of sales going to good causes. The MPs
concluded that there was a lack of transparency in the phone-in process.
They recommended that "viewers must be given more information allowing them
to have a reasonable understanding of the odds of getting through to the
studio". Odds of getting on-air could be displayed on screen, they said,
adding that a study should be made of how addictive the shows were. Some
callers made 60 attempts within eight minutes. Icstis, the premium-line
regulator, should make it a requirement for broadcasters to tell callers how
much they are spending, the MPs said. They also called on Ofcom to "require
broadcasters to inform viewers that solutions may not be as simple as they
seem". Ministers want Ofcom to draw up proposals for a new regulatory
framework. Shaun Woodward, the Broadcasting Minister, said: "There are
serious issues to be addressed." Both he and the committee accepted that the
quizzes were popular with viewers and were likely to become a vital source
of revenue for commercial broadcasters. Yet the committee noted that "it is
doubtful whether anyone would describe them as high-quality programming and
they are certainly not creative television".

With only about a month to go before the provincially licensed Chances
Cowichan gaming centre opens its doors for the first time, gambling
addiction experts are wondering how it will affect those who like to take a
chance. "Right now we have no idea how it will affect the population," said
Ian Gartshore, executive director and chief therapist of Shore Counseling
Society. "I don't think it will destroy the community, however, those
already struggling to stay within their limits will find it harder to do
that. "No one really knows what will happen." That includes the provincial
government, which is currently conducting a multi-year gambling study
involving four lower mainland communities - Surrey, Vancouver, Langley and
Langley Township - with new gaming venues. These facilities are full-blown
casinos, unlike Duncan's gaming centre which is slated to open March 2 and
will feature a large, 350-seat bingo hall and 75 slot machines. While the
results of the study won't be released until the spring, some initial data
has been. In the Langleys, new admissions for problem gambling treatment
increased after the Cascades gaming venue was introduced. The study has not
established a direct correlation between the new gambling joints and the
increased number of betting addicts, but the government does know problem
gambling is becoming more profound in B.C. The Problem Gambling Help Line
took approximately 5,830 calls specifically related to gambling last year -
a 45 per cent increase over the previous year. Across the province, the
number of clients admitted for treatment increased by 25 per cent in the
same time period. And the total number of calls to the Help Line and the
number of clients referred to counseling services has increased ten-fold
since 2000. That has happened while casinos and all three levels of
government cashed in big time. Casino net income for all of B.C. in 2004/05
was $515 million.
Of that amount, $457 million was allocated to the provincial government, $53
million to local host governments and the balance to the feds. B.C.'s Gaming
Policy and Enforcement branch kicks in about $4-million to help gamblers
overcome their habits. Based on provincial numbers, about 2,000 Valley
residents may be problem gamblers who dabble in bingo halls, casinos,
Internet gaming sites, card games, lottery tickets and even the stock market
to get their fix.

On the plus side of the gambling coin, the new 16,200 square-foot building
built by Cowichan Tribes on reserve land will employ about 65 staff and
deliver cash injections into the local economy, including 10 per cent of the
revenue which will go directly to Cowichan Tribes.

The Duncan Dabber Bingo Society which has run the Ink Spot Bingo Hall for
more than 20 years, will be looking after the new gaming centre.

The society is run by 65 non-profit charities, service clubs and sports
teams and has and given more than $20 million to local charities over the
years.

Dave Clark, vice-president of the DDBS, said bingo players dropped about $5
million at the Ink Spot last year.

"A guess is we'll do between 15 and 20 per cent better than that our first
year in the new centre," he said.

The Chances Cowichan gaming centre will be joining other British Columbia
Lottery Corporation-branded gaming centres in Kelowna, Williams Lakes and
Kamloops.

Provincial government spokespeople did not return repeated calls for
interview requests.

Cowichan/Ladysmith NDP MLA Doug Routley said he hopes the good generated by
the new gaming centre will be enough to offset any bad in this, one of the
poorest ridings in Western Canada.

"I have trouble condemning the place because I hope there's enough economic
development so people can have the right opportunities," he said.

"Yes, it's here now and we need to examine how we can make the economic
impact as positive as we can and be sure to make the negative social impacts
as benign as we can."

One of those negatives could be crime.

In Richmond yesterday, cops were investigating crimes where women were
followed from the River Rock casino and robbed at gunpoint for their cash
and casino chips.

"Now, they have to re-examine their security measures around that casino and
we have to investigate those aspects and address them before they become a
problem here," Routley said.

But Clark said those issues have already been looked after.

"We'll have lots of lighting around the parking area and security people on
site who will walk you to your car if you want."

Gartshore said he also sees a positive side to the new gaming centre.

"The forestry and fishing industries haven't been great and tourism isn't
exactly hopping," he said.

"And people who do like to gamble won't have to drive so far to do it, but
nobody really knows what will happen, when it might cross the line from
entertainment to a problem."

Playing gambling games online for the purpose of earning a living or for
just pure excitement is entirely within your potential and it may just be
possible if you learn some easy rules about the various online gambling
games like casino and poker. However, it takes a great combination of
talent, gusto, staying power, respect and the right kind of temper to
succeed in these gambling games online.

Four investment banks have been issued subpoenas in an investigation into
the multibillion-dollar online gambling industry. The Justice Department has
issued subpoenas to at least four Wall Street investment banks as part of a
widening investigation into the multibillion-dollar online gambling
industry, according to people briefed on the investigation. The subpoenas
were issued to firms that had underwritten the initial public offerings of
some of the most popular online gambling sites that operate abroad. The
banks involved in the inquiry include HSBC, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and
Dresdner Kleinwort, these people said. While online gaming sites like
PartyGaming and 888 Holdings operate from Gibraltar and their initial public
offerings were held on the London Stock Exchange, companies that do business
with them and have large bases in United States have come under scrutiny by
regulators in Washington. None of the biggest United States banks like
Goldman Sachs or Citigroup underwrote the initial public offerings in
London, in part because of the legal ambiguity of the sites; they are
illegal in the United States, but still accessible to residents. The
subpoenas, earlier reported by The Sunday Times of London, appeared to be
part of an indirect but aggressive and far-reaching attack by federal
prosecutors on the Internet gambling industry just two weeks before one of
its biggest days of the year, the Super Bowl.
Unable to go directly after the casinos, which are based overseas, they have
sought to prosecute the operations' American partners, marketing arms and
now, possibly, investors. The prosecutors may be emboldened by a law signed
by President Bush last October that explicitly defined the illegality of
running an Internet casino. Even before that law, the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act, was adopted, the government said that Internet
gambling was illegal under a 1961 provision. These offshore casinos,
typically based in Costa Rica or Antigua, allow American bettors to use
their home and office computers to place wagers on a range of contests.

Millions of Americans participate; more than half of all bets placed to
major offshore casinos are from residents of the United States.

The prosecutors' efforts have already taken a toll in the last two years on
offshore casinos, most notably with the arrest last year of David
Carruthers, the chief executive of an Internet sports book, BetonSports. The
company is based in Britain and has operations in Costa Rica, but Mr.
Carruthers was detained at the Dallas airport while traveling through the
United States.

The arrest led to BetonSports' decision to stop taking bets from the United
States, crippling its business.

Several weeks later, agents of the Port Authority of New York arrested Peter
Dicks, the chairman of Sport-ingbet, which offers online sports betting and,
like Mr. Carruthers's company, trades on the London Stock Exchange. Mr.
Dicks was arrested at Kennedy Airport.

Last week, a British online money transfer business, Neteller, said it would
cease handling gambling transactions from United States customers because of
regulatory uncertainty.

"It appears that the Department of Justice is waging a war of intimidation
against Internet gambling," said I. Nelson Rose, a professor of law at
Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., who is an expert on Internet
gambling law.

Another lawyer, Lawrence G. Walters of Altamonte Springs, Fla., said the
development was disconcerting because the prevailing wisdom had been that
investment in a company that is legal and licensed in its jurisdiction was
not grounds for prosecution.

"It would be the first time that that kind of liability has been imposed,"
Mr. Walters said.

Macau may have dethroned the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest casino
center, according to figures available Wednesday that show the Chinese
territory's gambling revenue jumped 22 percent to US$6.95 billion last year.
The former Portuguese enclave has been booming since the government busted
up a casino monopoly three years ago and began welcoming U.S. gaming
powerhouses like Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Mirage Inc. and Wynn Resorts
Ltd.
The American companies have been furiously building mega casino and resort
projects in the tiny city _ less than one-sixth the size of Washington, D.C.
_ on China's southeastern coast. They say they'll do what they did to Las
Vegas: transform a seedy, worn-out, crime-ridden town into one of the
world's best spots for gambling as well as conventions, glitzy shows, dining
and other family entertainment. Key to Macau's success will be luring the
masses of high rollers from mainland China, who are growing richer and tend
to bet more at the casino tables than Americans do in Las Vegas. "Las Vegas
doesn't have the radius of the population that is as anxious to come to
gamble," Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson, ranked No. 3 on Forbes' magazine's
list of the 400 richest Americans, told The Associated Press in a recent
interview. Sands' promotional material makes the point that this city _ the
only place in China where casino gambling is legal _ is located within a
two-hour flight from 1 billion people. About 3 billion people _ half the
world's population _ in Asia can get to the city within five hours by plane,
the company says.
The Las Vegas Strip has yet to announce its full-year revenue figures for
2006, but it would have to bring in nearly US$1 billion in December alone to
beat Macau's figure, which was posted with no fanfare on the Web site of its
Gaming and Inspection Coordination Bureau.

The Las Vegas Strip has said for the 11 months through November, revenue
came to US$6.08 billion. If December's revenue is the same as it was the
previous year, the annual total would hit about US$6.57 billion _ just
behind Macau.

Last year, Macau's gambling revenue totaled 55.88 billion patacas, or
US$6.95 billion, (??5.33 billion), compared to 45.80 billion patacas in
2005, the gaming bureau's Web site said. The figure includes revenue from
casinos, lotteries and dog and horse racing.

Still, Macau lags far behind the entire state of Nevada, which raked in
US$10.66 billion in 2005, according to the Center for Gaming Research at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Despite the recent success, developing Macau is still fraught with many
risks. Analysts say they include an economic meltdown in China, a chronic
labor shortage or a severe outbreak of bird flu or SARS _ severe acute
respiratory syndrome _ which hammered nearby Hong Kong in 2003.

There's also the possibility that a business model that has been wildly
successful in one part of the world fails to take off in a foreign market.
One example is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, which
retreated from Germany after failing to repeat the enormous success it had
in America.

But Adelson insists that Macau is a sure bet: "There is nothing on the
horizon that will interrupt the growth trend that what we in Macau are
experiencing," he said.

His archrival, billionaire Steve Wynn, is just as bullish. "The speed of
development is dizzying," he said recently. "The population that is seeks to
serve is expanding and is economically growing at a rate larger than any
other part of the world."

Late last year, Wynn opened his US$1.2 billion Wynn Macau resort, with 600
rooms, designer boutiques, restaurants, spa and swimming pool. The sleek
building with a sloping roof is surrounded by gardens and a man-made lake
that wows crowds with a musical water shows.

Adelson opened up first in Macau in 2004 with the gleaming Sands Macau,
which has been wildly successful. Now the billionaire is developing Macau's
Cotai Strip _ an area of reclaimed land that connects two islands: Coloane
and Taipa.

He says it will include more than 20 resorts with 60,000 rooms. Adelson's
US$2.4 billion Venetian Macau will be part of it, with 3,000 suites on a
construction site big enough to park 90 Boeing 747 jumbo jets, the company
says. It plans to open later this year.

The next big event in Macau will likely be the opening of the 430-room Grand
Lisboa Hotel and Casino. It's the latest effort by Macau casino kingpin
Stanley Ho, who lost his gaming monopoly in 2002, to open a modern casino
complex that can compete with his Las Vegas rivals. The Grand Lisboa was
expected to open within the next month.

Jay Melancon hunkered down in an auditorium chair for his morning psychology
class at the University of Minnesota, flipped open his laptop and logged on.
The instructor yammered on at the front of the room, but Melancon wasn't
listening. He was exhausted from staying up all night playing online poker.
And now, sitting in the back of the class, he was playing again. On his
screen, tiny decks of cards flipped and twisted in cyberspace, and Melancon
placed bets with the click of his mouse. The profits just kept getting
bigger. $1,000. $2,000. $3,000. Dude, check this out, he told his buddy. As
class ended and the other students got up to leave, he checked his total one
more time. In the space of an hour, he'd won just about $4,000. Melancon
closed his laptop and walked out into the cold December air. What am I doing
in school? he wondered. Why don't I just do this all the time? Poker is red
hot on college campuses these days. A small number of students have made it
a full-time job, turning what is a game for most into a profession where
tens of thousands of dollars can come and go in a single night.
Today's college students are among the first to grow up with gambling so
accessible. Credit is easily available. Casinos, once relegated to Las Vegas
and Atlantic City, are now scattered across 37 states. Poker is a regular
feature on cable TV. Going to the casino has become a rite of passage for
students as they turn 18. Freshmen play poker in dorm rooms, fraternities
and bars host Texas Hold 'Em tournaments, and students hold sports betting
pools and use wireless Internet connections to play anytime, anywhere. "I
make a joke that ... the second-best gambling environment in America is the
college dorm," said Ken Winters, a professor at the University of Minnesota
who has studied youth addictions, including gambling. "You've got your
privacy, you've got your high-speed Internet, you have independence from a
parent, you probably now have some credit card money. ... It's like a little
mini casino right in your laptop. ... It's almost too easy."
College-age men, especially, have embraced the poker phenomenon.
Card-playing and Internet gambling have increased among college-age males
over the past five years, the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the
University of Pennsylvania found. About 16 percent of them played cards
weekly in 2006, up from nearly 13 percent in 2005, and nearly 6 percent of
them gambled online weekly, up from 2.3 percent in 2005. At Canterbury Card
Club in Shakopee, Minn., crowds are getting younger, said Kevin Gorg, media
relations manager. "Because of the popularity of poker on TV, it's become,
you know, kind of the cool, in-vogue thing to do."

On that cold December morning in 2005, Melancon, now 21, decided to quit
college. He and a group of friends have since bet their livelihood on cards.
They spend hours at card tables and computers, winning and losing thousands
of dollars at a time. They make fast money from less experienced players who
don't know what they're doing.

They don't want to do this forever, they say, but they're going to ride the
poker train as long as it keeps paying.

By 7:30 p.m. one October Thursday, Melancon's friend Mike Pickett had
already been playing cards for nearly seven hours.

He and more than 400 others had traded an autumn day for the green felt
tables and fluorescent lights of the poker room, hoping to win the $117,000
championship-event prize at the Fall Poker Classic at Canterbury Card Club.

Now, partway through the first day of the two-day tournament, the field was
down to 96 players. Pickett, now 22, was among the youngest. The oversized
hood of his sweatshirt shielded his baby face from his opponents' view.

Bryan Devonshire, another young professional gambler, had lost out early -
they call it "busting out" - and came back to watch Pickett and size up the
competition. "This is quite possibly the weakest field I've seen in a
tournament," he said with satisfaction.

Good players quickly earn reputations in the poker world, and Devonshire,
who stood off to the side spitting chew into an empty beer can, saw few of
them there. "There are one, two, three ... nine people left that can play,
and four of them are sitting right here," he said, pointing to Pickett's
table. "Ah, the nature of poker."

Pickett was on a roll. With each passing hour, he added to the towers of
chips piled up in front of him like tiny skyscrapers. Deal, bet, hope for
the best. Deal, bet, hope for the best. Hour after hour after hour. They
broke briefly for dinner and then got back at it.

In tournaments, chips can't be cashed in; the only money involved is the
entry fee and prize money. But the player with the chip lead has an
advantage at the tables, and some of Pickett's friends were watching his
stacks grow with a special interest. Five of them had formed a team and made
a $5,000 side bet with another team of five. If Pickett outlasted the
remaining player from the other team, he and his buddies would win the cash.

The night wore on. The pool of players continued to dwindle. Pickett
continued to win. Deal, bet, hope for the best.

By 11:30 p.m., some of the players were yawning, struggling to stay alert
after nearly 10 hours at the table.

Pickett, though, was in no mood to rest. Though his stacks of chips had
dwindled a bit during the last few hands, he was feeling like a winner.

"I'm feeling great," he said. "This table's a joke."

But with just over two dozen players left, the tournament organizer called
it a day. Playing would resume at 1 the next afternoon. The dealers started
collecting people's chips and sealing them in labeled bags.

Pickett lingered. "I wish we could keep playing," he said.

Some of his friends suggested they head to a bar. But as they passed a Three
Card Poker table on the way out, a few of them sat down. It was a game they
didn't normally play, but they tossed down some bills anyway.

Devonshire headed for the table, too. "I want in. I don't know how to play,
but I want in," he said.

He slapped down $5 and burst out with a giant, hearty giggle when he won
$150 on the first hand.

"All right! This game is awesome!" he yelled. "The odds of doing that were,
like, 470 to 1."

For this group of young gamblers, betting has become a natural part of life.

Devonshire's favorite bet last fall: whether more tire valve stems would be
pointing up or down when he parked a car. He once made a $1,000 bet with two
friends that none would wager more than $100 on side bets in any 24-hour
period - "a bet to prevent us from betting," he said.

The life of a professional poker player comes with freedom from schedules,
money to invest, travel, and extra cash for bars and restaurants. It's great
as long as the player is good enough to make money and the betting is kept
under control, Devonshire and the others say.

But it's also a tough life. There are grueling, all-night sessions staring
at a screen or sitting at a table, doing the mental math to assess risk in
each hand and trying to outlast opponents. There are giant swings in
fortune, from huge wins to demoralizing losses. And with poker available
around the clock, some feel they need to play around the clock. "I feel like
every time I'm not playing, I'm losing money," Pickett said.

The Minnesota group of friends - more than a dozen, most in their early
20s - is about evenly split between college graduates and college dropouts.
They help each other through the tough times. They exchange advice on
everything: how much money they should keep in their savings for the
downturns, how to play a particular hand, how to invest.

They make a good living, they say. Some drive luxury cars, have giant-screen
TVs and go on poker-playing trips to Las Vegas and the Bahamas. Some have
invested in real estate. One player, Mike Schneider, won $1 million at a
cruise ship poker tournament last spring.

The key is having the willpower to stop playing for a while when their luck
is down, they say. And when it starts feeling too solitary, they sometimes
get together with their laptops. They play individually, but they have the
camaraderie of the group.

They all say they plan to do something else eventually.

Stopping may come sooner rather than later, depending on the effects of a
2006 law designed to shut down online gambling in the United States.

Some veteran gamblers are wary about what a life built around poker might do
to the young guys long-term. "They end up being gamblers with no family, no
life, no nothing," said Dick Hoffman, who was also playing in the Canterbury
tournament. Hoffman has been gambling for 30 years, though not as a
profession. "Poker will be their life. Maybe that's OK, I don't know. But I
wonder."

Devonshire, 25, has already seen some effect.

He grew up in California and came to Minnesota to get married, but he says
late-night poker playing helped kill his marriage in less than a year. He
now lives just outside Las Vegas; a recent text message he sent at 7 p.m.
said, "Just woke up today :-)."

He went broke playing stakes that were too high for him, he said. He worked
his way back when a casino hired him to play poker to entice customers.

A former Christian youth minister, he struggles with how some in the church
might view what he does.

"I'm curious," Devonshire conceded to Hoffman, standing in the card club at
midnight on a Thursday. "In 20 years, what am I going to think about this
period of my life?"

On the second day of the tournament at Canterbury, Pickett continued to
expand his stacks of chips.

By early afternoon, his friends - some still a little bleary-eyed from a
late night - started trickling in to cheer him on.

"Let's go, Mickey!" yelled Andy Fox, a 29-year-old who rents a townhouse a
stone's throw from Canterbury and has been playing professionally for about
four years.

Ten minutes later, the pool of players was down to 10 and Pickett had won
another big hand.

"Way to go, bad boy!" Fox yelped.

With around $300,000 in chips, Pickett was the leader, and his friends were
confident he was on his way to winning the tournament. His towers of gray
and yellow chips loomed tall.

Then came a critical hand.

Checking the two pocket cards the dealer had tossed him, Pickett
nonchalantly flipped in four gray chips - $20,000 worth - for his opening
bet. One of his opponents tossed in a few more chips, re-raising to $70,000.
Pickett re-raised for everything his opponent had: more than $200,000 total.

The other guy didn't even blink.

The room went silent. Pickett's buddies craned their necks to watch.

The opponent flipped over his cards: a pair of kings.

Pickett flipped over his cards: a pair of aces.

"Thatta boy, Mikey P!" one of Pickett's friends yelled from the crowd.

"Yeah!" yelled another.

But Pickett hadn't won yet. His aces were hard to beat, but the deciding
factor would be the five community cards the dealer flipped over next:
Three. King. King. Seven. Jack.

It was the kings that did it; they gave Pickett's opponent four of a kind.

The crowd gasped. Pickett was beat.

In a single hand, his tournament hopes had come crashing down. In a matter
of seconds, he had gone from a likely winner to nearly finished, his stacks
of chips dwindling to a meager $62,000 worth. He'd need a lot more than that
to make a good run for the grand prize.

"That's brutal, man," another player at the table told him, shaking his head
as they got up for a break.

Pickett walked alone to the far corner of the room. His friends stood
helpless.

"He played it absolutely perfect and he got effed by the cards," Devonshire
muttered to the others. "God, that's so frustrating."

They stayed silent as Pickett came back. Another man wandered over, "You
need some Tums or something?"

When the game resumed, Pickett, devoid of the powerful chip lead, quickly
lost out. He finished ninth and won $7,799 - not bad for two days of work.
Days earlier, he won more than $17,000 in another tournament. Still, both
sums were paltry compared with the $117,000 grand prize and recognition he
was hoping for. It had been so close. But that's poker.

When Pickett busted out, it was only 3:30 p.m., too early to go to the bar,
they agreed. Instead they could lick their wounds at Fox's townhouse nearby.

Valets retrieved Pickett's black Mercedes. The license plates read "ANTE
UP."

They piled into the dimly lit townhouse and opened some beer. Nobody talked
about the tournament.

The allure of gambling calls out to Matthew Bowles-Roth wherever he goes.
When he drives on the freeway, casino billboards entice him with riches.
When he buys cigarettes at the convenience store, lottery tickets shine
under the glass counter. When he flips through TV channels, guys his age
appear in high-stakes poker tournaments, beaming like movie stars. Each
time, Matthew pauses. He can't take that path again. He forces himself to
remember what it was like when he did: Lying. Stealing. Dropping out of
college. "There's tons of things that I just wish I had never done," he says
now, four years later. At 22, Matthew has experienced the grip of gambling
in a way most people never will. In just three years, he went from someone
who had never gambled to compulsive gambler to recovering addict. He is part
of an age group that is drawing increasing concern from gambling-addiction
counselors, government regulators and college administrators.
Card playing and Internet gambling have increased among college-age men in
recent years, according to one study in Pennsylvania. And many of them
learned the game in high school. In many cases, "parents are actually
strongly encouraging their kids to play poker," said Jeff Derevensky,
co-director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and
High-Risk Behaviors at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. "They would
prefer them to be in their basements playing poker than doing something
'more dangerous' like drinking and doing drugs." Research is scant about
college-age gambling participation over time. And studies conflict on the
question of whether young people are more susceptible to become problem
gamblers - some studies say yes, others cast doubt on that premise. Still,
researchers are concerned that gambling accessibility could lead to more
problems. At Project Turnabout/Vanguard in Granite Falls, Minn., which has
an inpatient gambling treatment program, the number of clients younger than
25 has gone from about three per year in 1992 to between 20 and 30 per year
now, estimates Sandi Brustuen, gambling program coordinator. "It's just
increasing all the time," she said. The program takes people who are 18 and
older, but "most of them are doing it before then, in their basements and on
the Internet and with their friends." The state of Minnesota has brought a
responsible-gambling campaign to 10 college campuses. Roger Skogman, who was
on the advisory committee, said they wanted to increase awareness after
hearing from high schools and colleges in recent years.

"We've heard from high schools that kids are showing up who haven't been to
bed at night because they've been at the casino all night long," he said.
"You hear stories about parents setting up Texas Hold 'Em nights. ... These
kids are doing side bets and everything else."

Some establishments keep an eye out for trouble. Canterbury Park Racetrack
and Card Club in Shakopee, for instance, has security staff watch for people
who might have gambling problems and tries to connect them to services, said
Kevin Gorg, media relations manager.

While a select few players win enough to earn a living, far more lose money.
And for some, like Matthew, gambling takes over their lives.

Late on a July night, Matthew stood with his friends outside the doors of
Mystic Lake Casino, his driver's license in hand. When the clock ticked past
midnight, he turned 18 and was legally old enough to gamble. He headed for
the blackjack tables.

As he laid his first bet on the table - two $1 chips - his heart raced. At
that moment, nothing else in the world mattered except the cards being
flipped over in front of him. He brushed his hand across the soft felt of
the tabletop. He fingered the chips and was comforted by their sharp
clicking.

"It was instantaneous," he said later. "I fell in love when I got there and
fell deeper in love with every bet."

He walked out into the sunrise with an extra $97 in his pocket.

I could come here and win $100 every night, he thought. Throughout his
senior year at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minn., Matthew had
watched his friends head to the casino to celebrate their 18th birthdays - a
rite of passage for many these days.

Matthew didn't seem a likely risk for developing a gambling problem. The son
of physicians, he grew up in Minneapolis and got good grades in high school.
He played saxophone in the band and acted in high school theater. His
parents, Carolyn Bowles and Craig Roth, said they never gambled. They didn't
like it and discouraged it.

Gambling addiction is an "equal opportunity destroyer," Derevensky said.
"Doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. Doesn't matter if you come from a
good home."

After that first visit, Matthew went back. Again and again - almost every
night after his shift delivering pizzas. He says he broke even by summer's
end, when he went off to college.

At DePaul University in Chicago, he needed to be 21 to go to a casino. So he
didn't gamble, but he thought about it - all the time.

He daydreamed about the mansion he'd buy someday with his winnings. It would
be somewhere warm, and it would have a garage to house the red Porsche and
black Lamborghini he planned to buy. He spent hours playing video games and
card games on his computer, trying to recapture the rush he felt at the
casino.

His classes went on without him. He fell behind and dropped most of them
before the second semester ended.

Back home for the summer, Matthew headed to the casino. On his first trip,
he said, he won big: $4,000.

Gambling replaced his summer job. He made sure he was gone by the time his
parents got home from work, because he knew they would disapprove.

At Mystic Lake, his bets grew bigger. Sometimes, he'd put $200 or $300 down
on a single hand. He was treated like royalty. A valet parked his car. The
casino gave him free meals. Workers brought him free cigarettes.

He sat in the high-roller room and reveled in the fact that people were
watching him play.

A lot of his friends stopped going with him - none of them wanted to stay as
late as he always did. But he still used them as cover, telling his parents
he was staying overnight with them.

He once stayed at Mystic Lake for three days straight, he said. Dealers left
and came back the next day for their shifts. He was still there, he said,
still playing cards.

"No sleep, no eating, no showering, no brushing my teeth," he said. "I
gambled until I was physically unable to gamble anymore."

He finally drove home, unable to see straight, shaky from exhaustion and
falling asleep at the wheel.

By that fall, Matthew said, he had won more than $10,000. But after a
marathon summer at the casino, who could concentrate on school?

Back at DePaul, he spent his winnings. A new computer. Designer clothes. A
Louis Vuitton purse for his girlfriend. Golf accessories for dad. Perfume
for mom.

He dropped his classes within about six weeks but stayed in Chicago for the
rest of the school year. He came home for the summer, broke and depressed.
And with one thought: to get back to the casino.

That summer was a haze of listlessness. He couldn't seem to get ahead at the
blackjack table like the summer before. He kept thinking he just needed a
little more money to make it work.

Matthew's parents were worried. They knew something was very wrong with
their son, but they didn't know what.

They caught him in lies. Money was disappearing from their house. He didn't
have a job. Their bright and motivated son was no longer acting either
bright or motivated.

Matthew maxed out his first credit card. Overdraft envelopes arrived in the
mail. His mother stayed awake at night, combing the Web for clues to his
problem. The only addiction she could find that seemed to fit was gambling.

So she and her husband questioned Matthew. They argued and pleaded with him.
Matthew resisted. Lied. When nothing changed, they eventually kicked him
out.

"We couldn't trust him," Roth said. "It scared us deeply. ... We felt like
we were enabling him to ... live this kind of lifestyle."

For the next month, Matthew crashed at the home of a friend. He slept on the
couch and spent his days watching talk shows and poker tournaments on TV. He
had stopped gambling, but only because he was broke.

"It was almost unbearable," he said recently. "I did absolutely nothing. I
had no interest in anything."

One evening, there was a knock at the door, and in walked his parents. The
parents of another friend were behind them. Matthew looked up, surprised,
from what he was eating.

We think you have a problem, they told him.

They had staged an intervention. One by one, the adults told him what they
had observed: He wasn't hanging out with his friends anymore. He wasn't
talking to his parents anymore. He was spending way too much time on
computer games.

That's not right, Matthew remembers thinking. I've won more than I've lost.
How can I have a problem?

Matthew's parents weren't at all certain they were right. But they were at
the end of their rope. There's a gambling-treatment facility in Granite
Falls, Minn., they told him. We want to take you there.

Matthew thought about it: If he sat through the 30-day program, he'd have 30
days with a roof over his head. And 30 days of food.

OK, he said.

Roth waited while his son packed. In the darkness of an autumn evening, the
two drove west into the countryside.

At the assessment the next morning, Matthew now says he did his best to lie.

Still, the counselors at Project Turnabout/Vanguard found cause for concern.
They admitted him, and for the first two weeks he played along. He learned
the lingo and told them what he thought they wanted to hear. But he still
believed there was nothing wrong with him.

His family drove to Granite Falls to participate in sessions. Halfway
through the program, Roth began to believe his son's problems stemmed from
gambling after all.

Matthew had begun seeing things differently, too. "I had a spiritual
awakening," he says now.

He was ready to confront his addiction.

Two years later, Matthew is a student at Augsburg College's StepUP program
for students with addictions. He checks in regularly with counselors. His
parents help manage his money.

He made a 3.62 GPA last semester, holds a job refereeing youth sports and is
meeting his responsibilities in the treatment programs, he says.

Matthew knows he's lucky that his addiction surfaced when he was young, when
he didn't have a house, a career or a wife to lose.

He is telling his story now, he says, so that others might see in themselves
what he didn't at the time.

From now on, his guard will always be up, he says. When he sees
advertisements for gambling - billboards on the freeway or Powerball tickets
at the convenience store - he plays out in his head what would happen if he
started again. Sometimes he calls a network of people who can help him
through it. Often, he goes to extra treatment meetings to listen, again, to
the horror stories of people whose lives were swallowed up by gambling.

Casinos will be allowed to open 24 hours a day because of a loophole in
Labour's gaming laws. Experts fear this will give problem gamblers the
opportunity to lose money round the clock. They said Culture Secretary Tessa
Jowell had ditched her pledge to protect the vulnerable from the dangers of
casinos. Currently, casinos can open from 2pm until 6am six days a week,
closing at 4am on Sundays. Under the new rules, to come into force in
September, all casinos will be allowed to open from noon until 6am seven
days a week. But crucially, ministers have said any casino can apply to its
local authority to extend its hours - opening the back door to 24-hour
gambling. A Department of Culture document on the new casino hours, seen by
the Daily Mail, says: "No gambling facilities may be offered between 6am and
noon on any day." However, it adds: "All casinos will of course have the
opportunity of asking for the default hours to be changed."
Residents would have the right to object to 24-hour opening - but they are
unlikely to have much chance of success. When rights to open all day were
extended to pubs, just one in 100 complaints against the extension of
opening hours was upheld. Critics believe local authorities will be
powerless to resist requests for 24-hour gambling. Casinos would be able to
argue that staying open throughout the morning would cause fewer noise,
traffic or social problems than in the early hours.
A spokesman for Gamblers Anonymous compared 24-hour gambling to handing
unlimited supplies of heroin to a drug addict. "The more gambling
opportunities there are for people, the more people will become addicted.
"The more people you get through the doors of casino and the longer they
stay open, the faster they will get addicted. If casinos are open 24 hours,
some people will stay there 24 hours." Dr Emanuel Moran, adviser on
pathological gambling to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, helped set up
Gamblers Anonymous. He said casino opening hours should not be left to local
authorities to decide.

"In the 1960s, prior to the Gaming Act, there was a gambling free-for-all
which saw many casinos open 24 hours a day and it had dreadful consequences.

"Casinos have to close each day to ensure gamblers have to take a break. Any
move back towards 24-hour gambling would be a recipe for disaster."

Professor Mark Griffiths, of Nottingham Trent University said: "The fear for
some individuals is that the combination of gambling and drinking is a heady
mix that will exacerbate problem gambling. You are more likely to be
reckless."

The GMB and Transport and General Workers Union, which represent casino
staff, oppose the move to round-the-clock gaming.

The GMB has written to Sports Minister Richard Caborn asking the Government
to restrict the casinos which could operate the extended hours.

It warns: "The extension of the liquor licensing hours recently may be some
sort of indicator of the shape of things to come in the casino industry."

Mick Marklow, of the T&G, accused the Government of "sending very mixed
messages".

He said: "Once the first casino goes 24 hours, others will be under pressure
to follow."

Shadow Culture Secretary Hugo Swire said: "The Government is sending out
completely the wrong messages.

"It will be gambling addicts that are more likely to take advantage of these
longer hours, and often chase their losses.

The results show online casino and poker fans play more for excitement and
entertainment than to win and the typical amount gambled during a gambling
session on the internet is between £15 and £30. The survey also shows a
gender divide as men prefer to play poker while women like to play
blackjack. Professor Leighton Vaughan Williams from the Betting Research
Unit said: "The average online gambler is a cross-section of the population.
"It's the average person in the street, high professionals, manual workers,
it's the same percentage of people who are retired." The study claims that
poker players are mainly young men who spend between one and two hours
online per session and the majority of casino gamblers are middle-aged
women. The majority of those interviewed said they were up or down within a
range of £130 per month.

Guyana's Parliament has approved limited casino gambling in some hotels that
are scheduled to open ahead of this year's cricket World Cup. The proposal,
which passed late Monday, prompted street marches last week by the political
opposition and religious groups who argue it will encourage vice and provide
new opportunities for organized crime. "We have been condemned but we
believe that history will absolve us," Interior Minister Clement Rohee said
of protests from opposition benches in Guyana's 65-member Parliament. The
ruling party said the bill, backed by President Bharrat Jagdeo, was
necessary to help hoteliers recoup investments made ahead of the World Cup.
As many as 100,000 visitors are expected in the region for the tournament,
which runs from March 13 to April 28, with matches in Guyana and eight other
Caribbean countries. The legislation provides for up to 30 gambling licenses
in the South American country. No hotels currently in Guyana would meet the
conditions for a license -- which include having a minimum 250 rooms -- but
two high-end hotels under construction in the capital of Georgetown near a
new cricket stadium would be eligible. Only foreigners would be permitted to
wager in the yet-to-be-built hotels. Deborah Backer, a lawmaker for the main
opposition People's National Congress, said the government had not offered
candid estimates of license costs and other information. "We oppose it on
religious and moral grounds," she said, adding that the country's "fragile
security sector" may not be able to deal with crime that could accompany
casino gambling rooms.

Macao surpassed the Las Vegas Strip to become the world's biggest gambling
center in 2006, measured by total gambling revenue, according to industry
analysts and government figures released today. In the eight years since
Macao, a former Portuguese colony on the coast near Hong Kong, was returned
to Chinese control in 1999, it has experienced a huge boom in casino
investment, and millions of mainland Chinese have been flooding into the
tiny island territory to gamble. As a result, gambling revenue soared by 22
percent in 2006, reaching $6.95 billion, according to figures released by
the local administration today. Las Vegas has not yet released its own
full-year revenue statistics. But its cumulative figures were trailing those
of Macao in the final months of last year, and analysts estimate that the
2006 total will come in around $6.5 billion. Where Macao was once derided
for its seedy gambling dens and endemic organized crime, it is now being
referred to as Asia's Las Vegas, and not just by the locals. Hoping to ride
the gold rush, some of the world's biggest casino operators, including Las
Vegas tycoons like Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn and Kirk Kerkorian, have
agreed to invest more than $20 billion to outfit Macao with new luxury
hotels, giant casinos and V.I.P. suites to cater to the apparently enormous
gambling appetite of the mainland Chinese. Macao is the only place in China
where gambling is legal, and it is only in recent years that many ordinary
Chinese people have been able to get permission to visit the city. Last
year, some 22 million visitors poured in, most of them from China. For
investors, one of the big lures is that, on average, the city's gambling
tables pull in about seven times more money than tables in Las Vegas. The
winnings are a testament to how serious the gamblers are in this part of the
world, despite the fact that income per person in Chinese averages just
$1,700 a year.
Other cities in the region are eyeing Macao's success and rethinking their
tourism strategies. For instance, Singapore is now planning to build its own
casino resort, and Hong Kong officials have talked about allowing casino
gambling. But few rivals will be able to try to match Macao, which already
has 24 casinos and over 2,700 tables in operation. To accommodate even more
visitors, the 10-square mile city of 470,000 residents is expanding its
airport and reclaiming broad tracts of land from the sea. The city's
transformation began in 2002, with the expiration of the Macao billionaire
Stanley Ho's colonial-era 40-year monopoly on gambling in the territory. New
licenses were issued to a handful of competing operators as well as Mr. Ho,
and a construction boom began.

The city now has two giant Las Vegas style casino-hotels, the Sands Macao
and the $1.2 billion Wynn Macau, which opened late last year with 600 guest
rooms and about 200 gambling tables.

Mr. Ho's family of casinos and entertainment palaces are also expanding,
betting that the casino and entertainment pie will keep his profits growing
rapidly enough to further enrich his empire even though it is now shared it
with competitors.

But perhaps no one in Macao has quite the ambitions of Mr. Adelson, who
operates Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Mr. Adelson says he plans to spend $4
billion to build whole Vegas-style strip, including a a 10.5
million-square-foot hotel, casino, shopping mall and entertainment complex
that would include the world's largest casino.

Part of the plan among investors is to transform Macao into more of a
destination for conventions, entertainment and leisure, rather than simply
an arena for hard-core gamblers, many of whom drive across the border from
China and sleep in their cars rather than rent a hotel room.

Some analysts say Macao, ruled by Portugal for 450 years, is an ideal spot
for such a destination because about 2.2 billion people live within five
hours' flying time of the city.

And Macao's growth since 2000 has been spectacular, largely because China
has liberalized its travel policies and allowed more of its citizens to
visit Macao and other parts of the world.

In 2001, for instance, Macao reported about $2 billion in gambling revenues.
Industry analysts expect four times as much in 2007.

Though Macao appears to have overtaken the Las Vegas Strip in 2006, it still
lags far behind the state of Nevada as a whole, which reported close to $12
billion in gambling revenue in 2005.

Still, the Chinese government is not wholeheartedly supportive of the Macao
gambling boom, because the city seems to attract the corrupt as well as the
merely sporting.

Some of Macao's highest rollers have been caught gambling with government
money or with cash siphoned off from state-owned companies rather than their
own funds. In 2005, for instance, Beijing said that more than 8,700 "party
members and cadres" were punished for gambling.

In one publicized case, a married couple embezzled more than $50 million
from the state-run Bank of China to pay off gambling debts in Macao.

Some analysts have also warned about overinvestment and about overly rosy
forecasts of gambling revenue growth. But most analysts and investors have
dismissed such talk and instead have watched the flood of gamblers into
Macao.

In an interview, Mr. Adelson once said that turning Macau into the next Las
Vegas was not rocket science.

"This is a no-brainer," he said. "If you build it, will they come? In my
mind, not only will they come, but they'll come in droves."

A subsidiary of the online gambling software developer Playtech has signed
what is described as "....a significant step" into the land based gambling
sector.
Online gaming software firm Playtech said its subsidiary Videobet has
secured a long-term licensing contract with leading Mexican casino operator,
Entretenimiento De Mexico. Under the terms of the three-year contract, EMex
will add Videobet's server based gaming product to its existing and future
gaming estates, Playtech said in a company statement. Playtech chief
executive Avigur Zmora said, "This deal is the first significant step for
our land-based offering, opening up a whole new market whilst complimenting
and further strengthening our existing portfolio."

Casino advertisements on the giant search engine Google could be a thing of
the past following a decision by Google HQ currently being reported in
marketing media. The reason behind the decision is reportedly that Google
and its rival Yahoo! have allegedly been warned off by the US Justice
Department authorities for promoting gambling indirectly to an underage
audience through advertising pop-ups. The *voluntary* decision applies only
to the United States in the case of Yahoo!, where Justice officials have
been exercising a major crackdown on all aspects of Internet gambling.
However, it is understood that Google plans to extend the ban globally.

"Just a few years ago, a $240-million Powerball jackpot would have drawn
long lines at gas stations and convenience stores across the state. "But
yesterday there was little buzz. And forget about lines. ".Rhode Islanders'
appetite for gambling has lowered. And we're not alone. Elsewhere in the
region, sales of lottery tickets and other forms of gambling are either less
than last year or flat. ".Since July, Rhode Island lottery sales have grown
by less than three-tenths of a percent compared with the same period last
year. Instant scratch tickets are down 2.5 percent, Keno is down less than
half a percent and Powerball is up just 1.9 percent. ".At Lincoln Park,
revenues have been down in seven of the last eight months. Newport Grand has
been down during 16 of the last 20 months."

While the number of drug arrests remained steady last year, Maui police
reported a surge in gambling arrests, most involving cockfighting, in 2006.
The total of 165 gambling arrests, which increased by 79 percent from 92
arrests in 2005, was due largely to 155 cockfighting arrests last year,
according to preliminary police statistics for 2006. At a Maui County Police
Commission meeting Wednesday, Capt. Gerald Matsunaga said the large number
of cockfighting arrests stemmed from police action after developing
intelligence that two organizations were trying to step in to such illegal
operations on Maui. Matsunaga, who heads the Vice Division, said two
organizations that previously ran cockfights on Maui were "totally
dismantled" in 2004 when 35 people were indicted following a yearlong
undercover investigation called "Operation Down The Hatch." The two groups
had organized cockfights involving thousands of dollars in bets at the old
Maui High School campus at Hamakuapoko, Old Maui Block in Waikapu and at the
Kahului end of the drag strip at Maui Raceway Park in Puunene. In 2005,
police reported making 67 cockfighting arrests before the number of arrests
more than doubled last year. Matsunaga said police had information that one
cockfighting group was bringing people from Oahu to Maui and cited "quite a
few arrests of people from the island of Oahu" last year. Maui County police
reported 382 drug arrests last year, about the same as the 386 in 2005. The
amount of crystal methamphetamine seized by police increased from 12.5
pounds in 2005 to 16.25 pounds last year. The seizures included 29 grams of
ice recovered Dec. 19 when Lanai patrol officers and vice officers executed
a search warrant in Lanai City, said police Assistant Chief Wayne Ribao. He
said police also recovered more than $11,000 cash in the search. "For such a
small island, that hopefully will make quite an impact," Ribao said. Nestor
R. Raqueno, 46, of Lanai City was arrested and released after posting
$24,000 bail on charges of two counts each of second-degree methamphetamine
trafficking and possessing drug paraphernalia. Court records show Raqueno
had drug and other charges dismissed in October 2003 after he successfully
completed the Maui Drug Court program of treatment and supervision.

Matsunaga said the amount of drugs seized by police "might not be indicative
of what's happening out on the streets."

While recent news reports have cited an increase in cocaine arrests and
seizures, Matsunaga said the 5.5 pounds of the drug seized in Maui County
last year compared with 10.5 pounds seized in 2005, 3.1 pounds in 2004 and
14.25 pounds in 2003.

"In Maui County, we don't think it's on its way back," he said. "We think it
never left."

For the first time, Matsunaga said police saw a decrease in marijuana plants
recovered, largely through Green Harvest operations.

Last year, 44,452 marijuana plants were confiscated, down from 82,332 plants
in 2005. The seizure of processed marijuana increased, however, from 24
pounds in 2005 to 36.5 pounds last year.

In the last few years, Matsunaga said police have seen more marijuana
imported into the county, mostly from the West Coast and Canada. He said the
increase in imported marijuana is probably due to the success of marijuana
eradication efforts.

Police also have seen an increase in indoor marijuana-growing operations,
Matsunaga said. Last year, police found nine indoor-growing operations, up
from one in 2005.

Heroin "might be on its way back," Matsunaga said, citing statistics showing
the seizure of 11.5 ounces of the drug last year, compared with 6 grams in
2005.

In their relentless pursuit of anybody and anything that was responsible for
spreading online gambling in the United States, the US Department of Justice
is reported to have issued subpoenas to a number of high profile UK
investment banks. The Financial Times reports that the subpoenas were issued
from October (after the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act of 2006) by a New York Grand Jury at the request of Michael
Garcia, the US Attorney who was recently at the forefront of the arrests of
the founders and former directors of Neteller plc last week. The FT report
says that the subpoenas are likely to have requested copies of emails,
telephone and banking records going back to 2001 and are concerned with an
investigation of specific gambling companies such as Party Gaming plc and
888 Holdings plc. Companies publicly identified as having received subpoenas
include HSBC, Dresdner Kleinwort, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse. The
report refers to "sources familiar with the probe" who say that these
companies have not been told they are targets and that other advisers to
online gaming floats, including accountants and lawyers, could also be the
subject of subpoenas. The FT report quotes a Columbia University Law
Professor, John Coffee, as saying that sending a company a subpoena
".doesn't automatically mean that they're automatically going to indict a
corporation. They are often gathering information against other people who
will be charged later." The ongoing actions of the US authorities against
online gambling have been controversial since they often target non-US
companies who are conducting business perfectly legally under the laws by
which they are governed in their own countries, but it is clear the US has
taken badly to the amount of money that has left its shores through the
gambling activities of its citizens; that much was made crystal clear by the
Neteller charges that were made public last week. The Sunday Times also
quotes sources in the City of London, one of which is quoted as saying:
"To say the situation is sensitive is the understatement of the decade. The
problem is, even if you know you have done nothing wrong, you have no powers
of resistance. You can quickly go from being a bystander to a target, so
even if you are bomb-proof, you have to assume you are subject to hostility.
The Department of Justice has taken a shotgun, not a rifle approach, in
relation to lots of gaming companies and has just asked everyone to hand
over all the information they have."

A pair of Canadians accused of laundering billions of dollars in illegal
online gambling proceeds originating in the United States are expected to
face a preliminary hearing in New York next month --the first step in
determining whether to proceed with formal charges. John Lefebvre and
Stephen Lawrence, both co-founders and ex-directors of Isle of Man-based
NETeller Plc, have each been released on $5-million US bond following their
arrests last week --Lefebvre in Los Angeles and Lawrence in Virgin
Islands.If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Lefebvre, 55, will have his bail terms reviewed when he appears in Manhattan
Federal Court Wednesday. Lawrence, 46, who appeared in the same court
Friday, saw his bail terms upheld. A judge gave him until Friday to come up
with $1 million US still outstanding after he posted $2.5 million in cash
and $1.5 million against a New York condominium. While a federal judge in
Los Angeles ordered Lefebvre not to leave that city except for making his
Manhattan court appearance, Lawrence has been ordered not to leave New York
before the end of February. Even then, he must not leave the continental
United States, and must provide the court with contact information for each
night he is away from New York. Both men are accused of conspiring to
promote illegal gambling by transferring billions of dollars of cyberspace
bets placed by U.S. citizens with overseas gambling companies. Lefebvre, a
University of Calgary law graduate and well-known philanthropist in the
city, was arrested at his Malibu, Calif., beach house, but also owns a home
on Saltspring Island in British Columbia. Fellow former Calgarian Lawrence's
ties to the city date to the 1990s, when he worked as a principal with
Cavendish Investing Ltd., a Calgary-based private venture capital firm.

NETeller allows users to transfer money to global companies for a fee.

The men are former directors of the company and knowingly broke the law,
according to an FBI special agent based in New York.

"Public filings acknowledge that a large chunk of their business was derived
from handling wagers from American customers," James Margolin said last
week.

"Under U.S. law, gambling is a very tightly regulated industry and the
solicitation of American bettors by offshore companies is illegal."

According to the company's 2005 annual report, payment services were
provided to more than 95 per cent of gaming merchants around the globe,
amounting to roughly $7.3 billion in financial transactions.

In the first half of 2006, the company reported processing $5.1 billion in
transactions.

"There is ample indication these defendants knew the American market for
their services was illegal," Michael Garcia, U.S. attorney for New York,
wrote in the indictment.

A continuance was granted by Municipal Court Judge Timothy L. France for a
trial against a local gas station/convenience store owner who was charged
with allowing gambling. Rich Pica, owner of High Caliber Pit Stop on
Chestnut Street, was charged with the first-degree misdemeanor on Nov. 17,
2006, after plugging in his six Ohio Skill Games' Tic-Tac Fruit machines.
Pica and other game operators in the county were notified to shut down the
games or face charges and confiscation after Attorney Jim Petro issued an
opinion in November that the games were illegal. His trial was to be held
Friday, Jan. 26. On Friday, France granted Prosecutor Robert Skelton's
request for a continuance and set the new court trial for 11 a.m. Friday,
Feb. 9. According to Pica's attorney, Eric Yavitch of Columbus, the reason
for Skelton's request was "the state needs additional time to attempt to
locate an expert in the field of gambling."

A pair of Canadians accused of laundering billions of dollars in illegal
online gambling proceeds originating in the United States are expected to
face a preliminary hearing in New York next month --the first step in
determining whether to proceed with formal charges. John Lefebvre and
Stephen Lawrence, both co-founders and ex-directors of Isle of Man-based
NETeller Plc, have each been released on $5-million US bond following their
arrests last week --Lefebvre in Los Angeles and Lawrence in Virgin Islands.
If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Lefebvre,
55, will have his bail terms reviewed when he appears in Manhattan Federal
Court Wednesday. Lawrence, 46, who appeared in the same court Friday, saw
his bail terms upheld. A judge gave him until Friday to come up with $1
million US still outstanding after he posted $2.5 million in cash and $1.5
million against a New York condominium. While a federal judge in Los Angeles
ordered Lefebvre not to leave that city except for making his Manhattan
court appearance, Lawrence has been ordered not to leave New York before the
end of February. Even then, he must not leave the continental United States,
and must provide the court with contact information for each night he is
away from New York. Both men are accused of conspiring to promote illegal
gambling by transferring billions of dollars of cyberspace bets placed by
U.S. citizens with overseas gambling companies. Lefebvre, a University of
Calgary law graduate and well-known philanthropist in the city, was arrested
at his Malibu, Calif., beach house, but also owns a home on Saltspring
Island in British Columbia. Fellow former Calgarian Lawrence's ties to the
city date to the 1990s, when he worked as a principal with Cavendish
Investing Ltd., a Calgary-based private venture capital firm. NETeller
allows users to transfer money to global companies for a fee.
The men are former directors of the company and knowingly broke the law,
according to an FBI special agent based in New York. "Public filings
acknowledge that a large chunk of their business was derived from handling
wagers from American customers," James Margolin said last week.

"Under U.S. law, gambling is a very tightly regulated industry and the
solicitation of American bettors by offshore companies is illegal."

According to the company's 2005 annual report, payment services were
provided to more than 95 per cent of gaming merchants around the globe,
amounting to roughly $7.3 billion in financial transactions.

In the first half of 2006, the company reported processing $5.1 billion in
transactions.

"There is ample indication these defendants knew the American market for
their services was illegal," Michael Garcia, U.S. attorney for New York,
wrote in the indictment.

"The U.S. is exerting its long arm in an effort to totally stamp out online
gaming in their country, and in this case are pushing as hard as they can"
Michael Lipton, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in gambling law, told
CanWest News Service.

A SHAKE-UP of gambling laws could increase problem gambling, the government
minister in charge of the issue has conceded. The Gambling Act, which was
passed last year, relaxes some restrictions on the industry. For the first
time, Las Vegas-style `supercasinos' will be allowed in Britain. A decision
on the site of the first is due in the next week. It is increasingly seen as
a two-horse race between the favourites - Blackpool and the Millennium Dome
in London - but Manchester is one of seven towns and cities still in the
running. Its bid includes not only a casino with 1,000 unlimited-jackpot
slot machines, but also a multi-purpose arena, hotel and swimming pool.
Critics remain unimpressed however, and claim the vulnerable will be hit
hard by the decision. Asked whether the legislation could lead to a rise in
problem gambling, Richard Caborn said: "Absolutely." But he insisted: "If
there were increases, we would be able to arrest that." But Conservative
spokesman Hugo Swire said it was a `staggering' admission that contradicted
assurances given by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. He said: "It also
completely undermines the supposed aims of their gambling legislation." He
said the Gambling Commission had approved 90 new casinos in Britain in the
last two years - equal to 10 `supercasinos'. Mr Swire said it was evidence
of a `casino con trick' by ministers, after the number of actual
supercasinos initially allowed was restricted to just one. Ms Jowell has
insisted the Act provides `the most protective legislation in the world'.
She said she would move to shut down casinos if it was shown that they were
increasing problem gambling.

Sponsors of a citizen initiative allowing slot machines in Broward and
Miami-Dade counties Monday asked the Florida Supreme Court to delay a trial
on a challenge to the state constitutional amendment until the justices rule
on related issues. Floridians for a Level Playing Field, the group that
sponsored the measure, argues the justices should block the trial until they
resolve questions regarding the gathering of signatures and consider an
appeal from the group on other grounds.
Floridians Against Expanded Gambling, the Humane Society of the United
States and GREY2K USA, a greyhound protection organization, allege slot
backers submitted thousands of forged signatures to get the amendment on the
ballot in 2004. The latter two groups see slots as a way to prop up dog
racing, an industry they oppose.

A SHAKE-UP of gambling laws could increase problem gambling, the government
minister in charge of the issue has conceded. The Gambling Act, which was
passed last year, relaxes some restrictions on the industry. For the first
time, Las Vegas-style `supercasinos' will be allowed in Britain. A decision
on the site of the first is due in the next week. It is increasingly seen as
a two-horse race between the favourites - Blackpool and the Millennium Dome
in London - but Manchester is one of seven towns and cities still in the
running. Its bid includes not only a casino with 1,000 unlimited-jackpot
slot machines, but also a multi-purpose arena, hotel and swimming pool.
Critics remain unimpressed however, and claim the vulnerable will be hit
hard by the decision. Asked whether the legislation could lead to a rise in
problem gambling, Richard Caborn said: "Absolutely." But he insisted: "If
there were increases, we would be able to arrest that." But Conservative
spokesman Hugo Swire said it was a `staggering' admission that contradicted
assurances given by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. He said: "It also
completely undermines the supposed aims of their gambling legislation." He
said the Gambling Commission had approved 90 new casinos in Britain in the
last two years - equal to 10 `supercasinos'. Mr Swire said it was evidence
of a `casino con trick' by ministers, after the number of actual
supercasinos initially allowed was restricted to just one. Ms Jowell has
insisted the Act provides `the most protective legislation in the world'.
She said she would move to shut down casinos if it was shown that they were
increasing problem gambling.

The Justice Department has issued subpoenas to at least four Wall Street
investment banks as part of a widening investigation into the
multibillion-dollar online gambling industry, according to people briefed on
the investigation. The subpoenas were issued to firms that had underwritten
the initial public offerings of some of the most popular online gambling
sites that operate abroad. The banks involved in the inquiry include HSBC,
Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Kleinwort, these people said.
While online gaming sites like PartyGaming and 888 Holdings operate from
Gibraltar and their initial public offerings were held on the London Stock
Exchange, companies that do business with them and have large bases in
United States have come under scrutiny by regulators in Washington.
None of the biggest United States banks like Goldman Sachs or Citigroup
underwrote the initial public offerings in London, in part because of the
legal ambiguity of the sites; they are illegal in the United States, but
still accessible to residents. The subpoenas, earlier reported by The Sunday
Times of London, appeared to be part of an indirect but aggressive and
far-reaching attack by federal prosecutors on the Internet gambling industry
just two weeks before one of its biggest days of the year, the Super Bowl.
Unable to go directly after the casinos, which are based overseas, they have
sought to prosecute the operations' American partners, marketing arms and
now, possibly, investors. The prosecutors may be emboldened by a law signed
by President Bush last October that explicitly defined the illegality of
running an Internet casino. Even before that law, the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act, was adopted, the government said that Internet
gambling was illegal under a 1961 provision. These offshore casinos,
typically based in Costa Rica or Antigua, allow American bettors to use
their home and office computers to place wagers on a range of contests.
Millions of Americans participate; more than half of all bets placed to
major offshore casinos are from residents of the United States. The
prosecutors' efforts have already taken a toll in the last two years on
offshore casinos, most notably with the arrest last year of David
Carruthers, the chief executive of an Internet sports book, BetonSports. The
company is based in Britain and has operations in Costa Rica, but Mr.
Carruthers was detained at the Dallas airport while traveling through the
United States.

The arrest led to BetonSports' decision to stop taking bets from the United
States, crippling its business.

Several weeks later, agents of the Port Authority of New York arrested Peter
Dicks, the chairman of Sport-ingbet, which offers online sports betting and,
like Mr. Carruthers's company, trades on the London Stock Exchange. Mr.
Dicks was arrested at Kennedy Airport.

Last week, a British online money transfer business, Neteller, said it would
cease handling gambling transactions from United States customers because of
regulatory uncertainty.

"It appears that the Department of Justice is waging a war of intimidation
against Internet gambling," said I. Nelson Rose, a professor of law at
Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., who is an expert on Internet
gambling law.

Another lawyer, Lawrence G. Walters of Altamonte Springs, Fla., said the
development was disconcerting because the prevailing wisdom had been that
investment in a company that is legal and licensed in its jurisdiction was
not grounds for prosecution.

"It would be the first time that that kind of liability has been imposed,"
Mr. Walters said.

But he cautioned that the subpoenas could be part of a government
fact-finding effort and might not signal a plan to prosecute banks.

Over the years attempts to legalize casino gambling has repeatedly been
blocked in the Texas Legislature, so casinos across the border have welcomed
Texas gamblers. Gambling interests are making a renewed push for casinos and
they're betting on the 2007 Texas legislature to make it happen. Take a
short drive up to Durant, Oklahoma and you'll find that an overwhelming
majority of the vehicles in the Choctaw Casino parking lot have Texas
plates. Millions of Texas dollars are spent each year just across the
border at Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico casinos. The Texas Gaming
Association argues that gambling is already in Texas - in the form of the
state lottery and race tracks, so what's wrong with adding one more venue to
help provide money for education and other services. Terri Capshaw, a Texas
resident and local convenience store clerk who sells lotto tickets, says
"People will gamble, our tax dollars are going across the river. If they
want to keep it in Texas then Texas does need to step it up. But it does
need to be investigated on what the crime rate does." Texas Democrat Senator
Rodney Ellis is proposing licensing up to 12 casinos across the state,
mainly in major cities and on tourist islands along the gulf coast. Voters
would then have to approve this proposal - by approving a state
constitutional amendment. Then local voters would have to take a vote before
a casino could be built in their cities. Governor Rick Perry says the odds
of legalizing gambling in the state of Texas aren't bad. There are plenty of
people who say they will continue to work toward making it legal.

Survey of UK consumers finds broad public support and little opposition to
government plans to license and regulate online gambling as part of new
Casino Act.
Results show consumers find licensing and regulation of gambling sites are
key in inspiring consumer confidence and trust. 22nd January 2007 -
Controversial government plans to license and regulate online gambling have
strong public support according to a new survey conducted by PKR.com and
YouGov. Even amongst non-gamblers, support for the licensing and regulation
of online gambling was high, with over 50% agreeing with government plans.
Only 14% of non-gambling respondents disagreed. The survey also highlighted
that licensing and regulation plays a major role in consumer decisions about
which online gaming sites they play. Nearly two thirds of those polled (63%)
believe that it is important for an internet gambling site to have a
licence, with only 5% seeing licensing as "not important at all". What's
more, the PKR.com/YouGov poll revealed a strong preference among respondents
for those licences to be issued under British Government regulations. 70%
said they would trust a poker room or casino that is licensed and regulated
in the UK. PKR.com's Chief Executive Officer, Malcolm Graham said, "We've
always known that trust is a major factor when it comes to consumer
decisions about where to gamble online - which is why we would welcome the
introduction of a UK based licensing regime in order to extend an even
greater level of protection to consumers and help them avoid unscrupulous
operators." Graham goes on to add, "I am sure that if the Gambling
Commission adopts a regulatory framework similar to the one that exists in
Alderney, they will attract many license applications."

The Poker UK 2007 report also identifies how poker is increasingly being
seen as an entertainment activity, rather than being viewed as gambling, and
also provides a snapshot showing how new next-generation poker products are
re-invigorating the market.

PKR is a revolutionary new concept in online poker that aims to change both
the way that online poker is played and perceived.

Featuring stunning real-time 3D graphics and a uniquely engaging and
immersive gaming system, PKR brings an unparalleled and previously unseen
level of realism to online poker.

Developed by some of the brightest stars in the video games and poker
industries, PKR was founded in 2005 by President Jez San, one of Europe's
most respected technology entrepreneurs and the first person to ever be
awarded an O.B.E for services to the computer games industry.

PKR's Gaming Licence

PKR is licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC), one of
the stringent gaming jurisdictions in the world.

The successful receipt of an Alderney gaming license requires the operator
to:

submit to independent testing of both gaming software and hardware

ensure that players are over the minimum age required to gamble (18)

provide tools and services to prevent irresponsible or problem gambling

'ring-fence' all money in player's accounts (both winnings and deposits) in
a separate account.

Furthering their investigation into the online gaming industry, the US
Department of Justice (DOJ) has demanded evidence from companies in London
that have had dealings with online gambling companies. Among those caught up
in the inquiry include HSBC, JP Morgan, Investec and Deutsche Bank. It has
also been revealed that subpoenas were sent out to at least 16 banks as far
back as October, just days after President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet
Gaming Enforcement Act. The DOJ is said to have instructed the companies to
hand over all documents, e-mails and telephone records relating to online
gambling companies. Analysts speculate that the DOJ is targeting the
individuals that founded the companies and anyone that has benefited from
the industry, much like NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre
who have been charged with money laundering and face a maximum 20 years in
prison. The move by the U.S has not gone down well with many in the UK,
believing that the U.S is wrongly targeting firms out of desperation as they
seek to step up their crackdown on internet gambling.
"There is growing suspicion that the US Department of Justice is using its
muscle in a highly unpleasant manner, and is targeting financial
institutions beyond their own shores in a way that cannot be justified. I
hope the Department will stop and review its approach so that its behaviour
doesn't sour relations between us," said Alan Duncan, Shadow Trade and
Industry Secretary.

Ladbrokes has acquired their Scandinavian online gambling partner Sponsio
Ltd. in a deal potentially worth £40 million. Sponsio is an online gambling
company with a presence in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland and will
place Ladbrokes in a strong position within the Nordic region. Ladbrokes,
who signed a partnership deal with the company back in 2001, have paid £36
million for Sponsio plus a further £4 million down the line if growth
targets are met. Spending per capita in the Nordic regions is among the
highest levels in Europe and as such Ladbrokes are confident the deal will
prove profitable. "Working with Sponsio has enabled Ladbrokes to become one
of the leading online betting and gaming companies in the Nordic region.
Having benefited from their local expertise, we are now consolidating our
Nordic operations and will continue to drive successful online growth
throughout Scandinavia," said John O'Reilly, Managing Director of Ladbrokes.
Former Sponsio managing director Douglas Roos will head up Ladbrokes'
Scandinavian division.

Though payment processor Neteller PLC is the latest and largest such company
to pull out of the lucrative but illegal U.S. online gambling market,
industry observers said other e-wallet sites would come forward to take its
place. The arrest of its founders Monday on U.S. soil on money laundering
charges and the company's delicate position as a publicly traded British
company forced it to cease handling U.S. betting transfers as of Thursday.
The arrests were the latest in a series of enforcement actions by the U.S.
government against the online gambling industry. The crackdown has targeted
the financial middlemen who sprung up after credit card companies and PayPal
gave in to pressure to stop processing online gambling transactions from
U.S. customers in 2001. Neteller processed $7 billion in transactions in
2005 and $5.1 billion in the first half of 2006, mostly from U.S. clients to
and from online betting sites. By some accounts, that amounted to roughly
half of the global market for online wagers. Many observers said the market
for Internet wagering was too rich for others to pass up, despite a U.S. law
passed in October that prohibited financial transfers to and from such
gambling sites. "What you're finding with the Internet gambling sites is the
publicly traded ones and prominent ones are leaving," said David Stewart, an
online gambling expert and lawyer with Washington, D.C.-based firm Ropes &
Gray LLP. "The entities that are more visible and are more transparent can't
take the heat," he said. "And all the rest of them are still in the
business." Several British-based online gambling operations, including
PartyGaming PLC, Sportingbet PLC, BetOnSports PLC and Leisure & Gaming PLC,
have withdrawn from the U.S. market. Private offshore operators continue to
run such sites as Bodog.com, PokerStars.com and FullTiltPoker.com. The
Federal Reserve and other bank regulators were tasked with coming up with
practical measures to enforce the online gambling prohibition by July. Some
firms had intended to wait until the regulations were developed before
deciding what to do. After the arrests, however, Burnaby, British
Columbia-based payment processor Citadel Commerce Corp. announced Wednesday
that it, too, would withdraw from the U.S. market.

"We were waiting for the regulations," said Mark Bains, the chief financial
officer of Citadel parent ESI Entertainment Systems Inc., which trades on
the Toronto Stock Exchange. "Looks like we're not going to be able to wait."

Avid gamblers were looking for new ways to skirt the law.

UltimateBet.com, the online poker site backed by professional gambler Phil
Hellmuth Jr., sent out an e-mail newsletter Thursday encouraging its players
to use other "safe, secure and similar banking methods already available,"
listing such brands as ePassporte, ATMonline and CLICK2PAY.

"So get UB to the top of your list and let's make some MONEY!" it reads.

Internet blogs also lit up with players discussing the best ways to keep
funding their online gambling accounts.

"Just set up both a click2pay account and a Epassporte one. We'll see how
long this lasts," wrote Bacaluk on poker forum PocketFives.com.

Michael Bolcerek, president of the online poker lobby group, Poker Players
Alliance, said the withdrawal of brand name providers would encourage the
emergence of less trustworthy money dealers.

"People are going to migrate to nonpublic, less transparent methodologies,"
he said.

Poker magazine publisher Eric Morris of Bluff Media LLC said the withdrawal
of PayPal and major credit card companies from the U.S. online gambling
business in 2001 caused a panic that didn't last.

"The industry took a bit of a dive and came back stronger than ever before,"
he said. "The bottom line is that people are going to find a way."

Casino gambling legislation is a means by which criminal elements in Guyana
can conceal their various activities including extra-judicial killings and a
number of other illegal activities. PNCR-IG Leader and Opposition Leader
Robert Corbin levelled this charge when he addressed persons gathered at
Parliament Buildings yesterday following a protest march co-sponsored by his
party. He told persons there that casino gambling would provide a "lovely
smokescreen" for drug lords who have engaged in extra-judicial killings and
promoted phantom squads among other things. Corbin urged that Guyanese not
underestimate what the government plans to do today in Parliament. This is
why, the Opposition Leader said, the party had invited other organizations
to co-sponsor the rally yesterday noting that it was a struggle for not only
certain sectors but for all Guyanese. "If the police cannot control a march
how can they control gangsterism?" Corbin queried. "Tell your bosses," he
said to the police, "that the people at the rally chose to behave
responsibly." Referring to events in Georgia and other places the PNCR
leader reminded his supporters that history has shown that people have power
in their hands to bring the government to its senses. This is a challenge,
he said, presented by a government that has such arrogance that it does what
it likes irrespective of what the people desire. The battle is not won by
those sitting on the sidelines, Corbin said, noting that they had told the
government based on their own research that 16% was too high a rate for the
Value Added Tax (VAT). The opposition is suggesting that VAT be charged at
8%. The PNCR leader recalled that party representative Winston Murray had
met with the government and told it that the rate proposed for VAT would be
unbearable on the poor. "The authorities are not ready for the
implementation of VAT... and they have to get relief or the people of the
country would die," said Corbin.

Private companies seeking to operate the Hoosier Lottery couldn't rely on
expanded gambling to increase profits under a bill filed yesterday. That
might dampen enthusiasm among companies interested in Gov. Mitch Daniels'
plan to lease the lottery to a private operator and use the proceeds to
create scholarships and boost spending on higher education, one gambling
consultant said. A ban on new gambling would "really handicap whoever's
going to do this -- fairly significantly," said Kip Peterson, founder of the
Thorsborg Institute, a gambling consulting company. "But it could still be
done." Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, filed legislation yesterday to
authorize Daniels' lottery proposal. It would require a company to bid at
least $1 billion to operate the lottery for 30 years and pay the state
another $200 million annually, money lawmakers would use to maintain
existing programs. The bill allocates 60 percent of the private firm's
upfront payment to a scholarship fund for the state's brightest students and
the remaining 40 percent to lure top researchers to Indiana universities.
Some lawmakers have been skeptical that any company would be interested in
the deal unless it was permitted to expand the types of games offered by the
lottery. House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, has said a private vendor
would likely launch keno, a fast-paced numbers game that is currently
allowed under state law but has never been introduced.
Or, Bauer said, the operator might want to offer video gambling similar to
slot machines. But Merritt said he opposes any expansion of gambling, and so
his Senate Bill 577 prohibits keno and video lottery games as well as sports
wagering. In fact, the bill authorizes only those games the Hoosier Lottery
already offers or variations of those games approved by the Indiana Gaming
Commission. Yesterday House Majority Whip Dennie Oxley, D-English, said he's
surprised the bill includes the ban. "I think it will certainly hinder the
governor's efforts," said Oxley, who opposes the privatization proposal. "I
think it will make it harder for the state to make any money on the deal."
But Merritt said he's confident a company would still be interested in
bidding to operate the lottery. David Schwartz, director of the Center for
Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, agrees. He said a
private company doesn't need new gambling to improve the efficiency of a
state operation.

"It's the same thing that happens when private companies take over publicly
traded ones," he said. "They prune them and run them more efficiently."

He said a company probably could cut a lottery's operational costs
significantly and therefore reap bigger profits.

But Peterson said Indiana is "asking a lot" of a private vendor. He said a
company already would be taking a risk by signing a 30-year contract that
could be changed by a later state law.

"Whoever puts this money down will want some ironclad agreement," he said.

The Daniels administration is already working to find suitable vendors. It
has issued a request that companies interested in bidding for the eventual
contract become pre-qualified.

Lord Faulkner of Worcester has asked Her Majesty's Government: What
discussions they have had with the Gambling Commission about requiring
betting organisations to conclude information-sharing agreements with sports
governing bodies as a licence condition for accepting bets on those sports.
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, discussions have taken place over a range
of issues relating to sports and the Gambling Act. However, neither the
Government nor the commission believe that enforcing a policy of this nature
is necessary. The licensing arrangements are primarily for the proper
regulation of gambling, not sporting events. Nevertheless, the Government
have put in place statutory and non-statutory arrangements which provide
protections for both sporting events and the betting product. Lord Faulkner
of Worcester: My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply, which I fear
the sports organisations will find rather disappointing. Is he aware that
some very serious allegations have been made against four Premiership
football managers who, according to the allegations and contrary to the
rules of the Football Association, have been placing bets on Premiership
matches amounting to millions of pounds with the Gibraltar-based bookmaker,
Victor Chandler? The Football Association has attempted to investigate the
matter but Victor Chandler flatly refuses to provide the information it
needs in order to do so. Does my noble friend agree that the integrity of
sport is being compromised here and that this state of affairs can be dealt
with only if the Gambling Commission insists as a licence condition that the
betting organisations sign information exchange agreements with sports
governing bodies so that there is complete transparency in the sports
betting world? Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, I am grateful to my noble
friend, who has identified an issue of some concern. But it is for the
Football Association to pursue this issue with rigour. Statutory constraints
would be, and are, not only limited but almost negligible as regards
offshore betting. As my noble friend identified, the company at present
involved in these allegations is based in Gibraltar and outside our
jurisdiction. Lord Clement-Jones: My Lords, that is precisely the point.
Victor Chandler, the Gibraltar-based bookmaker in question, is based
oversees and, therefore, there are considerable issues under the Gambling
Act in being able to exercise any jurisdiction.

In July, the Sports Minister, Mr. Caborn, said:

"While the Gambling Commission has no jurisdiction over betting operators
licensed outside Great Britain, it is continuing to build upon its
co-operative relationships with overseas gambling regulators".

Does that mean anything? What is really happening? What is the Sports
Minister really doing to try to exercise at lease some kind of informal
control over these oversees betting operators?

Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord because he
has identified the constructive position that the Government are adopting.
With our 10-point plan, we are seeking to ensure that behaviour in this
country meets the requirements of disclosure, and we are looking towards
co-operation with other Governments and other gambling regulatory
authorities to ensure that those based overseas meet the same standards as
we expect in this country.

TWO FORMER NETELLER executives who were just passing through the United
States on a flight transfer have been arrested by the FBI.
Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre, who are British and have not broken any
UK law, were arrested in connection with what the FBI claims was laundering
billions of dollars of Internet gambling proceeds. According to
Cardplayer.com, NETELLER allows people to transfer money directly from their
bank accounts to other parties. Online poker players and gamblers use the
service to transfer money in and out of their preferred sites. The US has
been getting its knickers in a twist about online gambling lately, but the
arrest of the pair is a little odd. NETELLER said that while Lawrence and
Lefebvre were still shareholders in the company they do not hold any
positions. They do not run any gambling sites either. The US government had
not bothered to contact the company about the arrest or warn it that it was
breaking any law either.

Though payment processor Neteller PLC is the latest and largest such company
to pull out of the lucrative but illegal U.S. online gambling market,
industry observers said other e-wallet sites would come forward to take its
place. The arrest of its founders Monday on U.S. soil on money laundering
charges and the company's delicate position as a publicly traded British
company forced it to cease handling U.S. betting transfers as of Thursday.
The arrests were the latest in a series of enforcement actions by the U.S.
government against the online gambling industry. The crackdown has targeted
the financial middlemen who sprung up after credit card companies and PayPal
gave in to pressure to stop processing online gambling transactions from
U.S. customers in 2001. Neteller processed $7 billion in transactions in
2005 and $5.1 billion in the first half of 2006, mostly from U.S. clients to
and from online betting sites. By some accounts, that amounted to roughly
half of the global market for online wagers. Many observers said the market
for Internet wagering was too rich for others to pass up, despite a U.S. law
passed in October that prohibited financial transfers to and from such
gambling sites. "What you're finding with the Internet gambling sites is the
publicly traded ones and prominent ones are leaving," said David Stewart, an
online gambling expert and lawyer with Washington, D.C.-based firm Ropes &
Gray LLP. "The entities that are more visible and are more transparent can't
take the heat," he said. "And all the rest of them are still in the
business." Several British-based online gambling operations, including
PartyGaming PLC, Sportingbet PLC, BetOnSports PLC and Leisure & Gaming PLC,
have withdrawn from the U.S. market. Private offshore operators continue to
run such sites as Bodog.com, PokerStars.com and FullTiltPoker.com. The
Federal Reserve and other bank regulators were tasked with coming up with
practical measures to enforce the online gambling prohibition by July. Some
firms had intended to wait until the regulations were developed before
deciding what to do. After the arrests, however, Burnaby, British
Columbia-based payment processor Citadel Commerce Corp. announced Wednesday
that it, too, would withdraw from the U.S. market.

"We were waiting for the regulations," said Mark Bains, the chief financial
officer of Citadel parent ESI Entertainment Systems Inc., which trades on
the Toronto Stock Exchange. "Looks like we're not going to be able to wait."

Avid gamblers were looking for new ways to skirt the law.

UltimateBet.com, the online poker site backed by professional gambler Phil
Hellmuth Jr., sent out an e-mail newsletter Thursday encouraging its players
to use other "safe, secure and similar banking methods already available,"
listing such brands as ePassporte, ATMonline and CLICK2PAY.

"So get UB to the top of your list and let's make some MONEY!" it reads.

Internet blogs also lit up with players discussing the best ways to keep
funding their online gambling accounts.

"Just set up both a click2pay account and a Epassporte one. We'll see how
long this lasts," wrote Bacaluk on poker forum PocketFives.com.

Michael Bolcerek, president of the online poker lobby group, Poker Players
Alliance, said the withdrawal of brand name providers would encourage the
emergence of less trustworthy money dealers.

"People are going to migrate to nonpublic, less transparent methodologies,"
he said.

Poker magazine publisher Eric Morris of Bluff Media LLC said the withdrawal
of PayPal and major credit card companies from the U.S. online gambling
business in 2001 caused a panic that didn't last.

"The industry took a bit of a dive and came back stronger than ever before,"
he said. "The bottom line is that people are going to find a way."

Back in the early 1960s, no states ran lotteries, only one -- Nevada --
allowed casinos and Indian tribes had yet to discover bingo or glitzy casino
halls. Today, 42 states operate lotteries, 37 have commercial, Indian or
racetrack casinos and only two -- Utah and Hawaii -- don't allow any form of
gambling. The gaming industry is a billion-dollar business in the United
States, raking in $84.8 billion in 2005 alone. And revenues are rising
steadily. "Gambling has become part of American life," said I. Nelson Rose,
a gambling law expert at Whittier Law School. Much of the industry's growth
is being fueled by Indian gaming, which boosted its revenues by nearly 20
percent in 2005 from the previous year, according to a study released
recently by Casino City Press. The overall gambling industry grew at a
slower pace of 6 percent, according to the industry group's North American
Gaming Almanac. While lotteries and commercial casinos saw modest growth in
2005, race and sports betting continues to decline - a slump some experts
attribute to the growth in Indian gaming. A relatively young business,
Indian gaming has seen its revenues skyrocket in recent years, as more and
more tribes open bigger and better casinos. These casinos now include some
of the largest gambling properties in the country, such as Connecticut's
Mohegan Sun, a 300,000 square-foot casino owned by the Mohegan Tribe. Also
in Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation boasts the largest
casino in the world, Foxwoods, which features 340,000 square feet of
gambling space, dozens of restaurants and nearly 1,500 hotel rooms. "The
industry is only 10 or 15 years old," said Nancy Conrad, a spokeswoman for
the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which operates two casinos in
Southern California. "In many cases, it's ... developing and growing."

Currently, 226 Indian tribes operate about 400 gambling operations in 28
states -- about twice the number of facilities open just a decade ago,
according to the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Gambling is not a new phenomenon in the United States. The first American
colonies were funded by lotteries in England, and the country's early
settlers often sanctioned lotteries to raise money for public works
projects.

Public lotteries have gone in and out of favor since the early 1600s, but
they began a resurgence in the 1960s after New Hampshire became the first
state to launch them again.

Much of the stigma that used to surround gambling has eroded in the past
several decades, after churches began operating bingo halls and state
governments started running their own lotteries in the 1960s, Rose said.

Industry experts say Americans' acceptance of gambling in recent years is
partly fueling the growth in demand. At the same time, Indian casinos such
as the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have become destinations in their own right,
rivaling the best gambling halls on the Las Vegas strip.

Indian casinos also often are closer to home for more Americans across the
country. Only 11 states have commercial casinos, notes Holly Thomsen, a
spokeswoman for the American Gaming Association.

"More people are exposed to native casinos than commercial casinos," Thomsen
said, "The majority of growth has been in that sector."

But that growth could begin to slow as the Indian gaming industry matures,
Rose said. For now, however, he says Indian gaming is the "latest boom
industry."

"The tribes often have terrible locations," he said. "But when they have
good locations, it's often a monopoly or close to it."

NETeller Plc announced the closure of its US online transfer business in the
wake of growing restrictions in the country. The closure follows last week's
arrest of the two founders of the UK-based online money transfer company.
NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence, 46, and John Lefebvre, 55, were arrested
last week in the US and charged of handling billions of dollars in illegal
gambling proceeds. The arrests were part of the US crackdown on online
gambling business. NETeller said it will now focus on its operations in
Europe, Asia and other parts of the Americas. Bloomberg quoted NETeller as
saying that the company's US customers could still use their accounts,
however, for non-gambling transactions.

After losing a pile of money at an Atlantic City casino in July 2004, a
frustrated gambler drove directly to the Casino Control Commission
headquarters and put his name on a list of people banned from the city's
casinos. It's a decision he immediately regretted - even more so when he
learned that in this case, what happens in Atlantic City does not stay in
Atlantic City. The state Casino Control Commission, which is identifying the
man only by his initials, S.D., rejected his bid yesterday to become the
first person allowed to gamble in the state again after placing himself on a
list of people barred for life from casinos. The self-exclusion list was
established in 2001, intended as a way for compulsive gamblers to avoid the
temptation of Atlantic City's casinos. People who ask to be added to the
list can choose to be banned for one year, five years or life. The
commission said that about 525 people are on the voluntary list now - about
half for life. The list is not available to the public, but casino owners
use it to bar those listed from entering casinos they own outside New
Jersey. In an industry dominated by a handful of casino owners, there's
plenty of sharing. S.D. is not a compulsive gambler, one of his lawyers
said, but he was merely impulsive the day he signed onto the list.
"He lost some money that day at one of the casinos," said lawyer Gerard
Quinn, who would not say where his client lives, except that it's within
driving distance of Atlantic City. "He had some other stresses in his life.
He impulsively went and signed up. It took a few minutes." He chose the
lifetime ban. Within an hour of putting himself on the list, Quinn said, his
client was on the phone trying to have his name removed. The commission said
no.

And the news got worse, Quinn said, as S.D. started getting letters from
casinos outside Atlantic City telling him he could no longer play there,
either. That pretty much ruled out family vacations to Las Vegas.

Quinn and attorney Lloyd Levenson yesterday asked the Casino Control
Commission to take their client off the list, arguing that he did not know
when he signed up that casinos outside New Jersey might use it, too. In a
4-0 vote, the commission rejected the effort.

Neteller was by far the most popular online gambling payment method, but
there are many excellent online payment methods now that Neteller has
decided to no longer facilitates gambling transactions...The following
online gambling payment methods will be accessible from the cashier function
in most online casinos, poker rooms and sports books. They are all
alternatives to Neteller for US-based players. Instadebit - Instadebit is a
safe and secure way to make payments online using funds in your bank
account. It operates in much the same way as Neteller Instacash. Click2Pay -
After Neteller, this is probably the most popular online gambling payment
method. Click2Pay allows you to open an online account in minutes and
deposit funds when you need them. It's safe, fast secure, and is a highly
recommended deposit option for players who can't use a credit card! It
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Eight men face more than 100 charges in Wise County for allegedly operating
illegal gambling houses along the town of Appalachia's Main Street.
While the buildings were vacant by day, prosecutors allege, they were a hive
of clandestine activity at night as card players and gamblers looking to
place bets on sporting events made their way to the back rooms. The eight
men were indicted by a special grand jury and more indictments will follow,
said special prosecutor David Childers. "We are going after the organizers,
the bigwigs. We're not going after the patrons." Childers declined to be
specific about how many people frequented the covert gaming houses over the
years, but said, "It was a lot, a very, very lot." According to indictments
handed up late Tuesday, each of the eight men faces a charge of operating a
continuous gambling enterprise. One is accused of running a gaming operation
for nearly five years, from Sept. 11, 2001, to May 6, 2006. Other charges
included in the indictments are money laundering, supervising an illegal
gambling operation, conducting transactions with illegal gambling proceeds
and possessing gaming devices. When authorities shuttered the gambling
houses in May, they seized more than $400,000. Special prosecutors' probe of
illicit gambling in Appalachia (population 1,839) grew out of an
investigation of corruption in the mayor's office and Town Hall. As a result
of that investigation, last month eight town leaders -- including a former
mayor, a former town police captain, a leader of the local rescue squad, a
former Town Hall employee and two uncles of a former town councilman --
pleaded guilty to their roles in stealing the May 2004 town election.

Prosecutors have alleged that former Mayor Ben Cooper and others wanted
control of Town Hall and the police force partly so that the illegal
gambling could continue unchecked. None of those involved in the election
fraud were named in the gambling indictments.

Cooper pleaded guilty to 233 felony counts involving vote fraud and was
convicted by a judge of 10 more. He is to be sentenced today and faces up to
21 years in prison.

Southwest Airlines, the largest U.S. domestic carrier, says it has decided
against luring passengers with in-flight gambling to revive revenue growth.
Other innovations will be tried, the Dallas-based carrier said, but declined
to be specific, the Financial Times reported Thursday. Low-cost airlines
Ryanair and EasyJet are pioneering efforts to introduce onboard gaming and
mobile phone calls. Gary Kelly, Southwest's chief executive, conceded that
revenue growth had slowed in the final quarter though the carrier had its
34th consecutive year of profitability. Southwest's "no-frills" model
by-passes meals and lounges, which rivals have used to boost revenues, and
last year dropped its contract to carry U.S. mail.

The recent arrests of Neteller ex-directors Stephen Lawrence and John
Lefebvre whilst visiting the United States highlights once again that if
American officialdom can get its hands on Internet gaming executives, it is
prepared to bring charges that stride over international boundaries. Anyone
reading the press release from the US Attorney General's office that
reported the arrests can have little doubt from the tone and content that
the officials involved know very well how effective threats and aggression
can be, even in an industry that has hitherto thought itself safe through
companies positioning themselves outside US legal jurisdiction. Apart from
announcing the factual details and allegations of wrongdoing against the
former Neteller execs, who appear to be the unfortunate pawns in a bigger
game to intimidate Isle of Man-based Neteller, the arrest anouncement was
redolent with historical examples of previous enforcement actions and
"we-mean-business" news bytes. Take a look at the following, for example:
"This prosecution is part of the United States Department of Justice's
effort to combat unlawful internet gambling through, among other things, the
implementation of the federal anti-money laundering statutes. "Other recent
examples of the Justice Department's efforts in this regard include the
indictments of two offshore internet gambling companies - Worldwide
Telesports, Inc., (indictment unsealed on May 17, 2006 in the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia) and BetonSports, PLC, a
publicly traded holding company that owns a number of Internet sportsbooks
and casinos, and its founder, Gary Stephen Kaplan (indictment unsealed July
17, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Missouri).
"Additionally, in July 2003, one of Neteller's competitors, PayPal, and its
parent eBay, entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United
States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri to settle
allegations it aided in illegal offshore and on-line gambling activities. As
part of the agreement, PayPal agreed to forfeit $10 million, representing
proceeds derived by PayPal from the processing of illegal gambling
transactions."

and this:

"Mr. GARCIA [the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New
York] stated, 'Internet gambling has become a multibillion-dollar industry
that derives a major portion of its revenues from United States citizens.
STEPHEN ERIC LAWRENCE and JOHN DAVID LEFEBVRE knew when they took their
company public that its activities, as well as those of the internet
gambling companies it assisted, were illegal in the United States. Blatant
violations of U.S. law are not a mere 'risk' to be disclosed to prospective
investors. Criminal prosecutions related to online gambling will be pursued
even in cases where assets and defendants are positioned outside of the
United States.'"

and this:

"FBI Assistant Director MERSHON stated: 'Internet gambling is a
multibillion-dollar industry. A significant portion of that is the illegal
handling of Americans' bets with offshore gaming companies, which amounts to
a colossal criminal enterprise masquerading as legitimate business. There is
ample indication these defendants knew the American market for their
services was illegal. The FBI is adamant about shutting off the flow of
illegal cash.'"

Assistant United States Attorneys TIMOTHY J. TREANOR, CHRISTOPHER P.
CONNIFF, and CHRISTINE MEDING are in charge of the prosecutions, whilst the
FBI Special Agent charged with the responsibility for the investigations is
Maryann Goldman.

The announcement closes with a reminder to all - including the enforcement
officials: "The charges contained in the Complaints are merely accusations,
and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."

The state Supreme Court is hearing arguments today on whether the Catawba
Indian Nation's land settlement with the state allows it to offer video
gambling on its York County reservation. A lower court ruled in favor of the
tribe, but the state is appealing. The Catawbas say their 1993 land deal
allows video gambling, despite South Carolina outlawing it years ago. The
Catawbas are considering using the right to offer the games as a bargaining
chip to get lawmakers to let them build a high stakes bingo parlor near
Santee on Interstate 95. Critics say allowing bingo in Orangeburg County
would open the door to more high-stakes bingo locations in the state.

A lawmaker who supports efforts to legalize and regulate video gambling
machines in taverns and bars says he will not push such legislation this
year - but that doesn't mean the issue is dead. Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort
Wayne, says regulating and taxing illegal video gambling machines, sometimes
called ''Cherry Masters,'' could generate $200 million in tax revenue for
the state. But there was not enough consensus among lawmakers and others on
the bill, Moses said, so he wants to send the issue to a legislative study
committee instead. ''I don't have a majority of people who say they think
that this is a good idea,'' Moses said. ''I have people who are quite
willing to listen, and I have many more than that who are willing to tell me
how to spend the money. But I have no consensus.'' House Speaker Pat Bauer,
D-South Bend, has called legalizing video poker machines a ''long shot'' for
passing the Legislature this session. ''They would be virtually everywhere,
on every city block, and that is a huge problem that I don't think people
fully understand,'' Bauer said last week. ''You triple the gambling you
already have.''
Supporters of the legislation aren't giving up hope that something will pass
this year. ''There's always the possibility,'' said Senate Appropriations
Chairman Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange. ''The session is long and there's a lot
of opportunities.'' Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said
the status quo is unacceptable. He said the state needs to do something this
year - either step up enforcement to truly eliminate the machines or
regulate and tax them. ''They're proliferating like cockroaches. They're
everywhere and there are more of them every day, it seems like,'' Long said.
''It needs to be handled. I don't think we should wink at illegal gambling
any longer. Let's decide what to do with them once and for all.'' The state
has 20,000 to 30,000 illegal video gambling machines, Moses estimated.
Supporters say regulating machines would reduce their numbers while keeping
them in adult establishments such as bars and taverns, instead of places
like convenience stores that children could enter.

The Indiana State Excise Police, the law enforcement division of the Alcohol
and Tobacco Commission, has cracked down on illegal gambling machines in
bars and taverns in recent years. But that has only driven the machines to
other places, like back rooms in gas stations or even the backs of
tractor-trailers, Meeks said.

''It's like prohibition when it just went underground and the only people
who were making profits were the underworld,'' Meeks said. ''By legalizing
them, you limit the number that's available, limit who can play them and can
limit the payout. Besides that, they're taxed. This is a dark crime and it
ought to be regulated, taxed and brought out into the light.''

The Indiana Licensed Beverage Association echoes those comments and has
tried to drum up support to legalize the machines. Executive Director Brad
Klopfenstein said he is still hoping for a bill this session that would
regulate the machines.

''This is a better chance than we've had in the past,'' he said. ''If the
worst thing that happens is we get a study committee, that's still progress.
But we certainly would like to see something go this time around.''

Moses noted that no proposal is truly dead until the legislative session
ends without it passing.

One of the three officers in court this week for having allegedly gambled at
the Chickasha Elks Lodge has been allowed to go free. While Special District
Judge Ken Harris found that there was probable cause that illegal gambling
had occurred at the Elk's Lodge between August of 2005 and September of
2006, Harris did not have sufficient evidence to say that Deputy Delmer
Barthelme committed that crime. The only evidence presented by the
prosecution against Barthelme was video showing him exiting the gambling
room and self-incriminating statements made by Barthelme during interviews.
Those statements were stricken after a ruling on Title 21, Chapter 38,
Section 961 of the Oklahoma State Statutes. Judge Harris informed the
attorneys it was the testimony of Megan Edwards which proved detrimental to
the other two defendants. Edwards, who served as a bartender at the Elks
during the duration of the investigation, testified Friday to having cashed
out defendants Jim Peek and Greg Parks for winning on the machines. Both men
were bound over for trial on the gambling charges. Defendant Jim Peek and
his attorney were absent at the start of the hearing on Thursday, when only
one witness was presented. District Attorney Bret Burns agreed to not hold
any evidence from the testimony of investigator Dusty Dowdle against Peek,
in exchange for combining him with the other two defendants for the duration
of the hearing.
Also testifying Friday in the hearing was ABLE agent Greg Bynum. Bynum
testified the machines in and of themselves were not illegal. It was the
manner in which the games were used by the lodge which made them illegal.
Bynum testified an individual played the games by placing money into the
machine. When they were finished, an attendant was called to cash the
individual out based on the number of points on the machine. The attendant
then cleared the points, either by pressing a switch or making a connection
between two wires to short the system. Since players played with the
anticipation of a possible payout, Bynum declared the use of the machines as
illegal.

On cross-examination, Bynum agreed that an individual who played the
machines without knowing that the Elks would payout winners, and who left
without cashing out, would not have broken the law.

Former DA investigator Carey Rouse testified in the morning to both the
events at the 1995 raid on the Elks Lodge, as well as the 2006 raid.

Rouse said that the machines in 1995 had been confiscated from the Elks
along with cash money following an IRS investigation into gambling and tax
evasion.

Rouse could not state that knew of any warning to the Elks in 1995 that
their machines were illegal, but stated he thought having your machines
confiscated and not returned should suffice as a warning.

Also taking the stand Friday was Hollis Myers, former bar manager for the
Elks. Myers testified that up until 2003 he was responsible for payouts on
the gambling machines and that the money gained from the machines was
accounted for under entertainment, the same fund used for the jukebox, pool
tables, and some dance events.

Myers testified that the machines, which had been in the club since 1968,
were taken in a 1995 raid. He added the lodge replaced the machines in 1997.

Myers said he did not know the machines to be illegal, but said there always
was a doubt in his mind.

According to Myers, all of the law enforcement officers accused in the
scandal were becoming members just as he was leaving the lodge in 2003.

He did not identify any of the three defendants in Friday's case as having
played the machines while he was bar manager.

The preliminary hearing was not without a side show of interest. District
Attorney Burns and defense attorney Steve Buzin had to be physically
separated following one recess by the court.

Tension began prior to the recess, when Buzin claimed he did not receive a
copy of the interview by Megan Edwards. Burns countered that the interview
was on the hard drive provided by his office. Burns said Buzin's office
received the device but had not paid for it.

Buzin claimed to the court that Burns had attempted to make a buck off of
the hearing by overcharging defense council.

Federal prosecutors are keeping up the heat on the two founders of a company
that processes Internet gambling transactions. The two former heads of the
Neteller P.L.C. company have been arrested and charged with laundering
billions of dollars in gambling proceeds. The charges against John David
Lefebvre and Stephen Eric Lawrence are contained in a pair of criminal
complaints unsealed in U.S. District Court this week. Among the claims made
by federal prosecutors is that the men knew when they took their company
public that its activities were illegal. Both men could face up to 20 years
in prison if convicted.

Jeff Coy has been named to another two-year term on Pennsylvania's Gaming
Control Board. Speaker of the House Dennis O'Brien, R-169, signed a letter
reappointing Coy on Friday, and the letter was to be delivered Tuesday to
Coy and gaming board chairman Thomas A. Decker. O'Brien spokesman Bill
Patton says the speaker made the appointment before receiving a letter from
state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-89, that urged O'Brien not to reappoint Coy - a
former 11-term legislator for the 89th District in Franklin County. A
Democrat, Coy served 22 years prior to his controversial retirement in
September 2004 that coincided with his appointment to the gaming control
board by House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese, D-50. The Democrats
helped elect O'Brien speaker Jan. 2 under a deal that gains them significant
power in the House. The Coy appointment appears to be the result of that
power-sharing agreement. Former GOP Rep. Mark McNaughton, originally
appointed to the gaming board by state Rep. John Perzel, R-172, the former
House speaker, is the odd man out.

Two founders of a company that processes Internet gambling transactions were
arrested and charged with funneling billions of dollars in gambling proceeds
to overseas betting operations, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. The
charges mark the latest in a series of crackdowns by the federal government
against the online gambling industry. The charges against the former
Neteller PLC directors, John David Lefebvre, 55, and Stephen Eric Lawrence,
46, both Canadian citizens, were contained in two criminal complaints
unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday, U.S. Atty. Michael
Garcia said. The prosecutor said the men knew when they took their company
public that its activities were illegal. FBI Assistant Director Mark Mershon
said the multibillion-dollar online gambling industry is "a colossal
criminal enterprise masquerading as legitimate business." Neteller is an
Internet payment services company that has grown in popularity as more
credit card companies have begun refusing to accept payments to online
gambling sites. Neteller acts as a middleman between gamblers and offshore
betting operations. A gambler who wants to place bets at offshore sports
books can fund an account with Neteller, which transfers the money to the
sites. Lefebvre was arrested Monday in Malibu, Calif., and was scheduled to
appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Lawrence was
arrested Monday in the U.S. Virgin Islands and will appear in federal court
on Wednesday. Peter Neiman, a lawyer for Lawrence, said he had no comment. A
lawyer for Lefebvre did not immediately return a phone message seeking
comment. Lawrence and Lefebvre were charged with conspiring to transfer
funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling, and could face up to 20
years in prison if convicted.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear yesterday said he wants to
give people a chance to vote next year on whether to legalize expanded
gambling at racetracks and to open some casinos in Kentucky. Beshear said
expanding gaming would generate $500 million a year for the state, help the
horse industry and stop Kentuckians from going to Indiana and other states
that have casinos and slot machines. But he said he strongly opposes
legalizing slot machines at convenience stores, bars and restaurants.
"Allowing expanded gaming in Kentucky will give us the additional revenue
needed for Kentucky to make a giant leap forward and significantly improve
the lives of all Kentucky citizens," Beshear said at a press conference in
Frankfort. But gaming opponents and some other gubernatorial candidates said
Beshear's proposal is either flawed or misguided. "If candidates for
governor really want to show leadership, they would propose a progressive
tax structure adequate to meet our needs in which everyone pays their fair
share -- not a plan that calls for just finding some suckers to pay," said
the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, spokeswoman for Citizens Against Gambling
Expansion. Kemper said expanded gambling would not raise $500 million. Even
if it did, she said, proliferation of gambling would have a negative impact
on the state. Beshear, 62, a Lexington lawyer who was lieutenant governor in
1983 and attorney general in 1979, is running with state Rep. Dan Mongiardo,
D-Hazard. He lost a campaign for governor in 1987. Beshear said he would
work on the proposal with the House and Senate during the 2008 legislative
session if elected. To expand gaming, Kentucky would have to change its
constitution. Three-fifths of both the House and Senate would have to
approve putting the question of a constitutional amendment on the ballot
that November. The measure would require the approval of the majority of
those voting to pass. He said he believes voters would approve the measure.
"They know we need to do significant things in order to move Kentucky up, in
order to improve their lives, in order for them to have better-paying jobs,
better education for their children," he said.

A state lawmaker who favors legalizing and regulating the video gambling
machines now common in bars and social clubs has decided against filing
legislation to make that change. Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, said
yesterday that he instead is seeking to create a committee to study the
issue this summer and consider such matters as how much to tax the machines
and how many should be allowed in a single location and statewide. "It's
very clear this is almost too complex at this time to write a single bill
without more study," Moses said. Brad Klopfenstein, executive director of
the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association, called Moses' move a "hiccup" in
the group's effort to legalize the machines, which many of its members rely
on to make ends meet. But he said he was not disheartened. "We've known for
a while that our primary supporters are in the Senate," Klopfenstein said.
"And if any gambling legislation moves, we'll be part of the discussion."
The decision leaves the General Assembly without a bill to legalize the
machines, although other gambling measures have been proposed. Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Meeks, R-LaGrange, said last month
that he planned to write video-gambling legislation, but he has been
recovering from surgery and has not been able to file bills. Yesterday,
Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said Meeks might be back
in time to file a bill before tomorrow's deadline or the measure could be
amended into a gambling-related House bill later in the session. A House
committee is expected to have a hearing in the coming weeks on legislation
that would legalize slot machines at Indiana racetracks. House Speaker Pat
Bauer, D-South Bend, said that bill would preserve the "destination"
gambling that lawmakers have already established with riverboat casinos.
Bauer dislikes the idea of legalizing the video-gambling machines -- which
often are called Cherry Masters, after the name of one of the games --
because he said it would create mini-casinos on "almost every block." Moses
said Bauer's concern about the video-gambling proposal influenced his
decision not to offer it. Don Marquardt, president of the licensed beverage
association, said bars and restaurants "don't want to be mini-casinos" but
simply want to add video machines to their existing entertainment options.

"This is by far the weakest argument, but for some reason the most widely
used and what seems to be the most effective for those against our
legislation," Marquardt said in a letter responding to Moses' announcement.
"We provide many forms of entertainment to attract customers. Pool tables,
dart boards, juke boxes, pinball, etc. are commonly found in our
establishments."

But Moses said he was frustrated by the inability of supporters in the
alcohol industry to reach compromises with legislators who support the
ideas. The most complicated issues, Moses said, include whether the state or
private entities would own the machines and how to limit their number.

Yesterday, Klopfenstein said that he believed his organization had reached a
compromise with Moses about how the legalization would be structured and
that bar owners remained flexible about other issues.

He said the compromise included permitting five machines for every
for-profit bar or restaurant with an alcohol license and 10 machines each
for social, service or veterans clubs with alcohol licenses. He said the tax
rate would be 25 percent to 30 percent and produce as much as $300 million
in annual revenue for the state.

Long said yesterday that he hopes lawmakers do something about the machines
this year -- either legalize and regulate them or pass stronger enforcement
laws to eliminate them.

The state Supreme Court will hear arguments this morning on whether the
Catawba Indian Nation's land settlement with the state allows it to offer
video gambling on its York County reservation. A lower court ruled in favor
of the tribe, but the state is appealing. The Catawbas say their 1993 land
deal allows video gambling, despite South Carolina outlawing it years ago.
The Catawbas don't necessarily want video gambling. The tribe is considering
using the right to offer the games as a bargaining chip to get lawmakers to
let them build a high stakes bingo parlor near Santee on Interstate 95.
Critics say allowing bingo in Orangeburg County would open the door to more
high-stakes bingo locations in the state. The tribe says the operation would
generate more than 18-hundred jobs.

The two founders of the British "virtual wallet" group Neteller, which
provides gambling accounts to online punters, have been arrested in America
and charged with money laundering offences which carry penalties of up to 20
years in prison. Neteller's former chairman, Steve Lawrence, 46, was
detained in the US Virgin Islands on Monday and his co-founder, John
Lefebvre, 55, was picked up by the US authorities in the millionaires'
playground of Malibu, California. They join a list of companies and
executives to fall foul of a crackdown on internet gambling, which is
illegal in the US. Congress tightened laws on electronic gaming in October,
plunging the industry into confusion. Some gambling companies, including
PartyGaming and 888, have since withdrawn from the US market but Neteller
has remained. Both men are Canadian citizens but they hold stakes of 5.9%
and 5.5% respectively in Neteller, which is listed on London's Alternative
Investment Market and incorporated in the Isle of Man. Trading was suspended
in the company's shares yesterday. The US attorney's office in New York said
the pair were charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to
promote illegal gambling. They are due to appear in court today. It said the
businessmen were well aware that their operation broke American law, and
that they had even warned investors in a prospectus for the company's 2004
flotation that prosecution was a risk.
Prosecutor Michael Garcia said: "Blatant violations of US law are not a mere
'risk' to be disclosed to prospective investors. Criminal prosecutions
related to online gambling will be pursued even in cases where assets and
defendants are positioned outside of the United States." Evidence cited by
Mr Garcia includes a September conference call with City analysts at which
Neteller's chief executive said 85% of the company's business was in North
America, of which 75% concerned US customers. At the US government's behest,
a "co-operating witness" in Florida placed a series of bets on American
football matches using Neteller's system - winning $200 on one wager before
losing $250 on a second.

Neteller's e-wallets are particularly attractive to US punters because they
allow gamblers to open betting accounts which get around laws barring credit
card companies from dealing with gambling websites. Neteller became the
market leader in gambling e-wallets five years ago when PayPal was forced to
close its gambling payments business under the terms of its takeover by
eBay.

The company has continued to dominate in the US since October, providing
services to punters on sites such as Poker Stars and Bodog, which remain
active. At the time, the company said: "Various provisions of the act,
including the obligations of financial transaction providers such as
Neteller, remain unclear."

Mr Lawrence invented the payment software behind Neteller in 1999 and teamed
up with Mr Lefebvre, a lawyer, who helped raise funds. The two shared a
£3.6m windfall when the company floated and they have sold more shares
since, enjoying proceeds of more than £60m.

District attorneys statewide plan to use a recent Supreme Court decision
outlawing a type of video gaming machine at Birmingham's dog track to shut
down adult arcades and casino-like operations across Alabama, a key
prosecutor said Tuesday. The ruling, which overturned a lower court order
that allowed so-called "sweepstakes" machines operated by Birmingham Race
Course owner Milton McGregor, means that nearly any type of video gambling
is illegal, Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber said in an
interview. Barber said he is giving video gaming halls around Birmingham
until Jan. 30 to shut down because that's the day the court's ruling becomes
final, and he expects many other local prosecutors to do the same. "Every DA
in the state is pretty much on the same page. We're going to consider
anything that might be considered a gambling device to be a gambling
device," said Barber, whose office was involved in the case that led to the
decision against McGregor's operation. He said the issue was a major topic
of discussion among district attorneys attending a statewide conference in
Birmingham on Tuesday. McGregor denied that the Supreme Court ruling
extended to anything other than sweepstakes machines. "It's not that broad.
They're only addressing the sweepstakes," he said. "Barber's playing games
and he needs to go back to law school." McGregor's comments came as the
state attorney general's office sent letters to hundreds of sheriffs and
police chiefs explaining the action by the Supreme Court. Last Friday it
refused to reconsider a December decision in which it said the sweepstakes
machines operated at the Race Course violated state gambling laws. Deputy
Attorney General Kenneth Steely said he had received calls from all over the
state asking whether certain types of machines were legal, but "it's up to
the locals" to enforce the law. "The letter is to give them guidance about
what the court's ruling said," Steely said. At Leisure Time Arcade in
Adamsville, attendant Chris Nation collected money from a lunchtime crowd of
a half-dozen people who were playing video machines allowed under a past
ruling by a Jefferson County judge. In their midst, more than two dozen
sweepstakes-style machines sat unplugged, their screens blank.

Nation said all the machines would soon be operating again after workers
removed their sweepstakes circuit boards and replaced them with another
type.

"They're coming in here tomorrow to switch the boards," said Nation.

But Barber said that won't be enough under his interpretation of the court's
action.

"As far as I'm concerned, they're all illegal," he said. "I think the
Supreme Court spoke loud and clear."

McGregor shut down his sweepstakes operation at the Race Court after the
Supreme Court ruled last week, and some smaller sweepstakes arcades also
closed.

At McGregor's Quincy's MegaSweeps, customers bought computer time on an
electronic card. Customers received sweepstakes entries for their purchase
of Internet time, and winners were revealed using computerized card readers
that resembled slot machines.

A lower court ruled that the operation was nothing more than a sham casino
and was allowed under state law, but the Supreme Court disagreed.

Two founders of a company that processes Internet gambling transactions were
arrested and charged with funneling billions of US dollars in gambling
proceeds to overseas betting operations, federal prosecutors announced
Tuesday. The charges mark the latest in a series of crackdowns by the
federal government against the online gambling industry. The charges against
the former Neteller PLC directors, John David Lefebvre, 55, and Stephen Eric
Lawrence, 46, both Canadian citizens, were contained in two criminal
complaints unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday, U.S.
Attorney Michael Garcia said in a statement.
The prosecutor said the men knew when they took their company public that
its activities were illegal. FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon said the
multibillion-dollar online gambling industry is "a colossal criminal
enterprise masquerading as legitimate business." Neteller is an Internet
payment services company that has grown in popularity as an increasing
number of credit card companies have begun refusing to accept payments to
online gambling sites. Neteller essentially acts as a middleman between
gamblers and offshore betting operations. For example, a gambler who wants
to place bets at offshore sports books can fund an account with Neteller,
which in turn will transfer the money to the betting sites. Prosecutors say
Neteller facilitated the transfer of billions of US dollars of illegal
gambling proceeds. Lefebvre was arrested Monday in Malibu, Calif., and was
scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Lawrence, who lives in the Bahamas, was arrested Monday in the U.S. Virgin
Islands and will appear in federal court on Wednesday. Peter Neiman, a
lawyer for Lawrence, said he had no comment. A lawyer for Lefebvre did not
immediately return a telephone message seeking comment. In 1999, the men
founded Neteller, which is based in the Isle of Man and is publicly traded
in the United Kingdom. The company began processing Internet gambling
transactions in 2000. Lawrence left the company's board of directors in
October, while Lefebvre left in December 2005, prosecutors said. Together,
the men owned as much as 35 percent of the company's outstanding shares.
Prosecutors cited Neteller's 2005 annual report in saying that Lawrence and
Lefebvre enabled the company to provide payment services to more than 80
percent of worldwide gaming merchants. Garcia noted that the company
acknowledged when it went public that U.S. law prohibited people from
promoting certain forms of gambling, including Internet gambling and
transmitting funds that are known to have been derived from criminal
activity. Lefebvre and Lawrence also conceded in the company's offering
documents that they were risking prosecution by the U.S. government, he
said. Prosecutors said Neteller in 2005 alone processed more than $7.3
billion in financial transactions, 95 percent of which was derived from
money transfers involving Internet gambling. Lawrence and Lefebvre were
charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal
gambling, and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

This recommendation is part of a tough set of proposals aimed at helping
healthcare professionals deal effectively with the growing problem of
gambling addiction in the UK. The report is timely given the 2005 Gambling
Act is due to come into force this September. The new UK legislation will
increase gambling facilities and subsequently problem gambling may rise
too - health professionals must be prepared for this. The BMA is
particularly worried about adolescent problem gamblers and the report is
calling for a review on whether slot machine gambling should be prohibited
to anyone under 18. Fruit machine addiction can lead to behavioural problems
such as truanting, stealing and aggressive behaviour. Studies have shown
that gambling among young people often goes hand in hand with other
addictive activities such as drug taking and alcohol abuse and has been
linked to juvenile crime. Dr Colin Hamilton, Chairman of the BMA's Public
Health Committee in Northern Ireland, said today: "We know that gambling is
a persistent problem in Northern Ireland and one that is increasing amongst
young men. Evidence shows that this group of people are not only using
gaming machines but moving to gambling online. "Gamblers Anonymous in
Northern Ireland does a excellent job in helping addicts but we do need to
make treatment available on the NHS, similar to the drug and alcohol
services currently provided."` The BMA Head of Science and Ethics, Dr
Vivienne Nathanson, said: "Problem gambling is associated with a number of
health problems and the BMA is concerned that there are insufficient
treatment facilities available. Psychological problems can include anxiety,
depression, guilt and suicidal thoughts. Relationships with family and
friends can also be affected by gambling, sometimes leading to separation
and divorce.

"There needs to be treatment for problem gambling available on the NHS
similar to drug and alcohol services. The BMA is calling on the Gaming
Industry to pay at least £10m per annum via the Responsibility in Gambling
Trust to fund research, prevention and intervention programmes."

Contributing author of the report, Professor Mark Griffiths of the
International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, sees
remote gambling as another cause for concern. This includes gambling via the
internet, mobile phone and interactive television gambling. He said that:
"Online gambling in the UK has doubled since 2001 and further research in
this area should be seen as a priority."

The manager of a 23,000-member private card club in London was convicted
today of violating Britain's gambling laws after a jury decided poker is a
game of chance, not pure skill. Derek Kelly argued that he didn't need a
gambling license to take a share of profits from players at his club because
the U.K.'s Gaming Act 1968 covers games like roulette, not skill- based
games like poker or chess. The jury disagreed, and convicted Kelly of
illegally taking profits of as much as 10 percent from players on two
occasions at the Gutshot club. A not guilty verdict ``could have caused
enormous problems for the gaming industry because then you have the green
light in some people's eyes for unregulated poker,'' Justice Simon Wilkinson
said in court. Prosecutor Graham Trembath QC had argued that shuffling a
deck of cards was enough to make poker both a game of significant chance and
significant skill, which falls under the U.K. government's interpretation of
``chance.'' Kelly, who the judge said is unlikely to get a prison sentence,
faces a fine at a Feb. 16 hearing. He said he is considering an appeal. ``It
is important that we take time, take stock, and go down to Gutshot to
rearrange what we do, but we are not closing,'' Kelly said in an interview
after the decision. Worldwide Revenue The verdict issued after more than two
hours of deliberations has been watched by London's 26 poker clubs, tens of
thousands of players and online poker operators worldwide that generate
revenue ``in excess of $100 million a day,'' according to Kelly. PokerStars,
an Isle-of-Man based Internet site that has dealt 6 billion hands, said in
October it would keep taking bets from American players because a U.S.
federal law passed last year doesn't apply to skill-based games like poker.
For the last week, Kelly's competitors, reporters and men in pinstripe suits
who described themselves only as ``interested parties'' jockeyed for a seat
at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London to hear expert players discuss the
skills needed to play poker games like ``Texas Holdem.''

Today's ruling helps clarify U.K. law as Britain gears up to license online
casinos for the first time Sept. 1.

The online gaming industry has been in turmoil since the U.S. passed
legislation last year that prevented credit-card companies from collecting
payments in online bets. The U.S. law wiped $7 billion off the market value
of companies such as Sportingbet Plc.

The Gutshot case is running parallel to the St. Louis case of David
Carruthers, founder of British Internet bookmaker BetonSports Plc, who
pleaded not guilty Jan. 11 in the U.S. to using telephone lines to place
bets from state to state.

A key state lawmaker says he won't push for legalization of video gambling
machines this year. Fort Wayne Democratic Representative Win Moses says
regulating and taxing the state's 20 to 30,000 illegal video gambling
machines could bring the state 200 million dollars in tax revenue. The
Indiana Licensed Beverage Association has tried to drum up support for the
legalization of the machines, sometimes known as "Cherry Masters." Moses
says he's sending the bill to a legislative study committee because there's
not yet a consensus on the bill. House Speaker Pat Bauer has called
legalization of video poker machines a "long shot" for passing the
Legislature this session.

gambling addict who swindled a Chicago bank out of millions of dollars to
feed his obsession and ended up driving it out of business was sentenced
Tuesday to more than three years in federal prison. Adam B. Resnick, 34, of
suburban Buffalo Grove also was ordered by federal Judge Wayne R. Andersen
to pay $10.4 million in restitution for losses stemming from the failure of
the Universal Federal Savings Bank. "Whatever you do to help recover the
money, I hope that you do it in a completely honest way that does not
involve manipulation of people or any kind of deceit or preying on their
weaknesses," Andersen told Resnick. Andersen ordered Resnick to start
serving his sentence Jan. 29, expressing concern the admitted con artist
might get into more trouble if he were allowed to remain free for a longer
period of time. Resnick pleaded guilty to a single wire fraud count. He
admitted that he engaged in a check kiting scheme at Universal to get cash
for gambling. An officer of the now defunct bank, Antonette Navarro, 38,
also was sentenced to more than three years in prison last September after
she admitted falsifying records to hide the fact that Resnick was kiting
checks - writing them on an account that lack sufficient funds to cover
them. The account was registered to an accounting firm once operated by her
brother, Terrence Navarro, who also pleaded guilty to charges in the case.
Since his arrest, Resnick has been preaching to school groups and others
about the dangers of gambling addiction. He said he is writing a book about
his life that will serve as "a cautionary tale" for gamblers.
Last August, he told the NBC television program "Dateline" he was so
addicted to gambling that he once played two blackjack games at once at an
Indiana casino and at one point had raked in $5 million worth of chips. In
return for his guilty plea to one wire fraud count, prosecutors dropped four
other charges against him.

As part of his signed plea agreement with the government, he admitted
engineering a so-called ponzi scheme under which nine individuals were
swindled. He was not charged with a crime involving that scheme but those
who lost cash will be entitled to a share of any restitution paid.

Resnick said he expects to pay the entire restitution amount.

He said that when he was gambling heavily he actually was working only four
to six days a year and yet managed to make a substantial amount of money
honestly. He said he believes he will be able to make honest money again
once he gets out of prison and use it to pay off the restitution.

"Christchurch is off to a bad start in 2007, defending its dubious title as
the gambling-related crime capital of New Zealand," says John Stansfield,
CEO for the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (PGF). "Yet again, a
business has been run to the ground and its customers left out of pocket
because of a gambling problem," says Mr Stansfield. "The Christchurch
community and its businesses are suffering because of people committing
fraud and theft to fund their gambling and it is costing them significant
amounts of money," says David Coom, PGF's South Island Regional Manager.
"From cases reported in the media, we know of over $4.7 million that has
been embezzled or stolen which the gambling industry has gladly taken," says
Mr Coom. "These are only the cases where a clear link between the amount of
money stolen and a gambling problem is reported. We believe that the
relationship between crime and gambling goes much deeper," says Mr Coom. "If
only $4.7 million was reported as being criminally obtained in Christchurch,
I would hate to think what the real figure is both in Christchurch and
nationally," says Stansfield. "The other question we should be asking is,
how much unreported crime is the result of problem gambling?" says
Stansfield.

The American authorities have swooped on the founding shareholders of
NETeller, the company which specialises in money transfers between online
gambling sites and players. Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre, both former
directors of the firm, were detained in the US yesterday, while travelling
separately. NETeller called for a suspension of trading in its shares as it
revealed the shock development this morning. The online payment group said
neither Mr Lawrence nor Mr Lefebvre has any current position with or
connection to NETeller, other than as shareholders.

A new survey, commissioned by consultancy firm Morse, claims that online
gambling while at work is costing English firms more than £300m every year
in lost productivity. The research reveals that 30 percent had used an
online casino, bought a lottery ticket or made a bet while on office time -
or new someone who had. The survey suggested that such employees would
accumulate 13 hours gambling on the Internet over a year. According to the
firm conducting the study, such quick bets amass to a substantial dent in
company productivity. The rise in popularity of online casinos and other
internet gambling outlets, matched with unmonitored Internet provided at the
majority of workplaces, is blamed for tempting employees with less than a
fully sustained focus in the office. The survey, which quizzed 664 office
workers nationwide, showed that 38 percent of men admitted to online
gambling at work, compared with 21 percent of women. Regional spread was
also revealed: 35 percent of those in Northern England were making bets on
company time, compared with 29 percent in the South and 27 percent, the
least, in the Midlands.

Despite the strengthening of legal barriers to its development in the US,
prospects for the development of the global mobile gambling market remain
strong, according to Juniper Research. In new forecasts for the mobile
gambling market, Juniper predicts that the global market for all forms of
mobile gambling (casinos, lotteries and sports betting) will grow from $1.35
billion in 2006 to $16.6 billion by 2011 in terms of gross value of bets
placed. "Juniper Research published its last full report on mobile gambling
in June 2006. Following the tightening of legal barriers to all forms of
online gambling in the USA we decided to revisit our market forecasts as
clearly the environment had changed," author Bruce Gibson commented. "The
new forecasts confirm that there is still great potential for mobile
gambling services where legislation permits. However, we have certainly
dramatically cut back forecasts for the development of the North American
market." Europe is currently seen to be the largest market for mobile
gambling, with an estimated $665 million in bets placed in 2006. However, it
is forecast to be overtaken by the rapidly expanding Asia Pacific market by
2008. The Asian market is expected to reach over $6.7 billion by 2011, in
terms of value of bets placed. Bruce Gibson goes on to say: "The downgrading
of forecasts for the North American market increases the focus on the key
markets of Europe and Asia Pacific. These two markets are now expected to
contribute over 80% of the value of bets placed through to 2011." Sports
betting is currently estimated to be the largest sector in mobile gambling,
opening up a valuable additional channel to existing gamblers as well as
creating opportunities in new markets. Lotteries currently represents the
second largest sector, but is forecast to take the top spot by 2010 as
lotteries and related games, such as bingo, exploit the mass market mobile
channel.

NETeller Founders John Lefebvre and Steve Lawrence were detained in the
United States on Monday, January 15th, 2006. The news of their detainment,
which was originally reported by Gambling911.com late Monday evening, sent
shockwaves through the online gambling industry immediately. NETeller, based
out of the Isle of Man, is publicly traded on the London exchange (AIM) and
states on their website they are "the world's largest independent money
transfer business". The most recent annual report states that the company
took in revenues of $172.1 Million. Sources from Costa Rica have reported to
Point-Spreads.com that John Lefebvre's wife was from Southern California and
that may have been the residence were he was apprehended. Steve Lawrence was
the Chairmen of NETeller up until October 13th, 2005 and reports have him
being apprehended in New York. Some reports have both Lawrence and Lefebvre
still working with the company up until November 2005. When we originally
contacted NETeller by phone at 12:05 AM EST Tuesday we were told: After
waiting on hold due to "extremely high call volumes" for 1 hour, we finally
got a CS representative on the phone again at 2:05 AM EST Tuesday and were
told: "They were detained but no charges have been filed at this time." The
besieged online gambling industry has been hit hard over the last six
months. In July, the DoJ arrested BetonSports PLC CEO David Carruthers.
Carruthers was on a layover between Costa Rica and the United Kingdom in the
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and is currently out on house arrest awaiting
trial in Missouri on money laundering and tax evasion. BetonSports Founders
Gary Kaplan and Tom "Norm" Miller are still at large. Approximately one
month after the arrest of Carruthers, the US Congress passed the UIGEA
(Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), which made it illegal
for financial companies to knowingly process internet gambling transactions.
UIGEA was signed into law by President George W. Bush in November 2006.

AIM-listed mobile phone gambling specialist Probability PLC said it has
launched a pilot of Lady Luck's, its proprietary mobile phone gambling
service, in South Africa following a successful technical and marketing
trial in 2006.The service offers South Africa's 34 mln adult mobile phone
owners the ability to play the full range of Probability's Bingo, Slots and
Casino games including Roulette, Blackjack and Video Poker, on their mobile
phones.

The Kaieteur News article captioned "Govt MP blasts church on opposition to
'casino' legislation" (Jan., 12, 2007) reported the Rev. Alphonso Porter as
saying, "...the church was not against casino gambling from a theological
standpoint, but was against it on moral grounds and also based on studies
done in other Third World countries." If this is indeed what the good
reverend uttered, and not misreporting on the part of the newspaper, then it
is revealing. Is Rev. Porter tacitly admitting that there is no theology
against gambling? If morality is not based on theology, then on what is it
based? Moral relativism? Studies done in other Third World countries? To
strengthen his case, the good churchman should have quoted the chapters and
verses that prohibit gambling. Sadly, there is none. From my extensive
reading of the Bible, I know that the casting of lots - admittedly a form of
gambling - to make important life-decisions was an ancient practice. When
Joshua entered the land of the Canaanites, he cast lots before God to divide
the land among the Israelites. At the crucifixion, the Roman soldiers cast
lots for Jesus' garments, and it was called a fulfilment of scripture. To
find a replacement for Judas Iscariot, lots were cast and Matthias' lot was
drawn. Unfortunately though, the Bible is silent on the casting of lots as a
form of entertainment or as a means of financial gain, and thus gives no
guidance on the matter. So it would seem that the good brother is right to
say that the church is not against casino gambling from a theological
standpoint, since there is no biblical point upon which it can stand. This
is not to say that gambling should be encouraged, but that arguments against
it must be based on non-theological, i.e., logical, grounds. I do not gamble
for one simple reason: it is unprofitable. I only take part in financial
ventures in which the probability of making a profit is more than fifty
percent. This means that I can make a profit more than fifty percent of the
time. By definition and by practice, in gambling the chance of winning is
less than fifty percent. Therefore, you have a greater chance of losing more
often than winning. Take the Lotto, for example. The probability of winning
the jackpot with one ticket is 1 in 736,281, that's about 0.00014 percent.
Only a very lucky person can win it; often no one does. So instead of
wasting $100 on a Lotto ticket, I prefer to buy a Sunday newspaper and read
about the arguments for and against casino gambling, and let the chips fall
where they may. Who knows? Maybe God does play dice with the Universe.

Gambling addicts should be able to get treatment for their condition
routinely on the National Health Service, doctors said on Monday. The
British Medical Association said a relaxation of restrictions on slot
machines and casino building later this year could lead to rising numbers
suffering from gambling problems.
It noted that the liberalisation was coming at the same time as a growth in
Internet gambling. In a report on gambling addiction the BMA said there were
believed to be at least 300,000 people with gambling problems in Britain at
present. It said it was particularly concerned about adolescent gamblers and
called for a review of whether slot machine gambling -- popular among
teenagers -- should be banned to anyone under 18. "Problem gambling is
associated with a number of health problems and the BMA is concerned that
there are insufficient treatment facilities available," said Vivienne
Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics. Gambling addiction can lead
to anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, as well as truanting and
stealing among adolescent addicts.

According to market analysts Juniper Research, the global market for all
forms of mobile gambling (casinos, lotteries and sports betting) reached
more than $1.35bn in 2006. Looking ahead, the firm expects the industry to
grow by about 1130 per cent to $16.6bn by 2011. Report author Bruce Gibson
said: "We published our last full report on mobile gambling in June 2006.
"Following the tightening of legal barriers to all forms of online gambling
in the US we decided to revisit our market forecasts as clearly the
environment had changed. "The new forecasts confirm that there is still
great potential for mobile gambling services where legislation permits.
"However, we have certainly dramatically cut back forecasts for the
development of the North American market." Europe is currently the largest
market for mobile gambling, with an estimated $665m in bets placed in 2006.
However, it is expected to be overtaken by the rapidly expanding Asia
Pacific market by 2008. The Asian market is expected to reach over $6.7bn by
2011, Juniper Research said in their latest report. Gibson added: "The
downgrading of forecasts for the North American market increases the focus
on the key markets of Europe and Asia Pacific. "These two markets are now
expected to contribute over 80 per cent of the value of bets placed through
to 2011."

Back in the early 1960s, no states ran lotteries, only one -- Nevada --
allowed casinos, and Indian tribes had yet to discover bingo or glitzy
casino halls. Today, 42 states operate lotteries, 37 have commercial, Indian
or racetrack casinos and only two -- Utah and Hawaii -- don't allow any form
of gambling. The gaming industry is a billion-dollar business in the United
States, raking in $84.8 billion in 2005 alone. And revenues are rising
steadily. "Gambling has become part of American life," said I. Nelson Rose,
a gambling law expert at Whittier Law School. Much of the industry's growth
is being fueled by Indian gaming, which boosted its revenues by nearly 20
percent in 2005 from the previous year, according to a study released last
week by Casino City Press. The overall gambling industry grew at a slower
pace of 6 percent, according to the industry group's North American Gaming
Almanac. While lotteries and commercial casinos saw modest growth in 2005,
race and sports betting continues to decline -- a slump some experts
attribute to the growth in Indian gaming. A relatively young business,
Indian gaming has seen its revenues skyrocket in recent years, as more and
more tribes open bigger and better casinos. These casinos now include some
of the largest gambling properties in the country, such as Connecticut's
Mohegan Sun, a 300,000 square-foot casino owned by the Mohegan Tribe. Also
in Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation boasts the largest
casino in the world, Foxwoods, with 340,000 square feet of gambling space,
dozens of restaurants and nearly 1,500 hotel rooms. "The industry is only 10
or 15 years old," said Nancy Conrad, a spokeswoman for the Agua Caliente
Band of Cahuilla Indians, which operates two casinos in Southern California.
"In many cases, it's ... developing and growing." Currently, 226 Indian
tribes operate about 400 gambling operations in 28 states -- about twice the
number of facilities open just a decade ago, according to the National
Indian Gaming Commission. Gambling is not a new phenomenon in the United
States. The first American colonies were funded by lotteries in England, and
the country's early settlers often sanctioned lotteries to raise money for
public works projects.

Public lotteries have gone in and out of favor since the early 1600s, but
they began a resurgence in the 1960s after New Hampshire became the first
state to launch them again.

Much of the stigma that used to surround gambling has eroded in the past
several decades, after churches began operating bingo halls and state
governments started running their own lotteries in the 1960s, Rose said.

Industry experts say Americans' acceptance of gambling in recent years is
partly fueling the growth in demand. At the same time, Indian casinos such
as the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have become destinations in their own right,
rivaling the best gambling halls on the Las Vegas strip.

Indian casinos also are often closer to home for more Americans across the
country. Only 11 states have commercial casinos, notes Holly Thomsen, a
spokeswoman for the American Gaming Association.

"More people are exposed to native casinos than commercial casinos," Thomsen
said, "The majority of growth has been in that sector."

But that growth could begin to slow as the Indian gaming industry matures,
Rose said. For now, however, he says Indian gaming is the "latest boom
industry."

Commenting on the British Medical Association's call for gambling addiction
to be treated on the NHS, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport
Secretary, Don Foster MP said: "This report highlights just how inadequate
the Government's approach to services for gambling addiction has been. "Not
only is funding for problem gambling in the UK well below that of other
countries but the gambling industry has made a woefully inadequate attempt
to meet the targets they were set. "Tessa Jowell told us that this
legislation would have failed if problem gambling increased, yet the
Government still has no idea how many people are currently being treated.
"The Government has allowed the industry to neglect its responsibilities in
funding these services and must now consider using its power under the
Gambling Act to impose a statutory levy to ensure these services are
properly funded."

Good news for the online gambling industry. Online gambling and online poker
is getting legalized in more and more countries According to and interesting
online gambling article from casinogamblingweb: After the Unlawful internet
Gambling Act was passed for US poker site and casino players, many Mac users
found all their favorite rooms were closing up shop. In light of all the
changes Compatiblepoker decided to add US flags to casinos and poker rooms
where US players could join. The casino site was hit the hardest. There are
now only a few Mac online casino sites that allow US players. The big
problem came when Golden Palace and Casino on Net dropped their US friends.
This is where the majority of players sought Mac online blackjack and Mac
online slot games. It is now over 3 months past the signing of the bill
which made it illegal for banks to operate transactions with gambling sites.
While many have found sites which still take players from the United States
players fear this may be coming to an end. The regulations are now being
formulated on how to properly enforced and regulate the internet gaming
businesses from accepting US based transactions. The timeframe was 270 days
but many hope the US government will exceed the allotted time allowed.
Many of the Mac poker gamers are in bad shape. Some have even started
turning to PC dual booting to operate popular sites on their Mac. When Party
Poker and Poker Room stopped taking US players there was a huge exodus of
Macintosh users from these sites. Players have since found alternative sites
to play at with the new lists at Compatiblepoker. So what do
onlinecasino.org think will be next step? Will other countries start to ban
or legalize online gambling and online poker? The answer to that is more and
more countries will decide to legalize online gambling. Very big countries
like Italy, Spain, UK, and Singapore, Ireland, Belgium, South Africa have
all just decided to legalize and open up for online gambling.

In light of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), as one
would expect, the online gambling industry has indeed shifted its focus to
non-US countries. In addition, the UK has taken steps to make it more
complex to use its services illegitimately. Meanwhile, although it may not
be quite as harsh as the UIGEA, Turkey has begun to issue new restrictions
on its own online gambling sites. Apparently, the UK and Spain seek to
advance their online gambling enterprises. In extension of their
developmental plans, the UK based Bookmaker Ladbrokes has made a joint
venture with the Spanish Corporation Cirsca Slot, as both parties have the
mutual goal of generating a sports betting business for the Spanish market.
Furthermore, Betbull, a UK-based chief European bookmaker that seeks to
secure a prominent role in Italy's betting has recently received four
Italian betting licenses for Como and Milano. Evidently, the goal of
gambling enterprises in the UK is not only to expand, but to do so in a
manner that complicates the illegitimate use of their services. Betbbrokers
proclaimed an arrangement between themselves and GB Group, an identity
management specialist to use their identity verification service. This
web-based electronic service, URU, is the UK's new method of verifying the
identification of new clientele in order to intercept potential cases of
identity fraud, money laundering and underage gambling.
Contrastingly, a Turkish newspaper relates the new binding regulations that
Turkey has placed on online gambling sites and the punishments that will
befall perpetrators.

The British Medical Association report is warning that the forthcoming
relaxation in the laws may prompt a rise in problem gamblers. Doctors said
therapy was patchy with many addiction services not screening people for
gambling and the industry must invest £10m a year into research. But the
government said NHS services had a long history of helping people with
gambling addictions. The Gambling Act is due to come into force in
September, which paves the way for a host of new casinos, including the
controversial "super-casino". Seven in 10 adults gamble each year, helping
to sustain a £9bn industry. Research has shown that there are 300,000
problem gamblers, where their addiction can have an impact on their physical
and mental health, employment, finances and relationships. The report said
it was particularly worried about adolescent problem gamblers and the report
is calling for a review on whether slot machine gambling should be
prohibited to anyone under 18. It said fruit machine addiction can lead to
behavioural problems such as truanting, stealing and aggressive behaviour.
Studies have shown that gambling among young people often goes hand-in-hand
with other addictive activities such as drug taking and alcohol abuse and
has been linked to juvenile crime.
The BMA said at the moment treatment services were patchy with many services
not offering gambling support. Doctors said people going through drug and
alcohol addiction services should be routinely offered gambling screening
and tailored services if necessary. The BMA also called for the industry to
pay at least £10m per year through the Responsibility in Gambling Trust to
fund research, prevention and treatment programmes and warn customers of the
risk of addition.
BMA head of science and ethics Dr Vivienne Nathanson said: "Problem gambling
is associated with a number of health problems and the BMA is concerned that
there are insufficient treatment facilities available. "Psychological
problems can include anxiety, depression, guilt and suicidal thoughts.
"Relationships with family and friends can also be affected by gambling,
sometimes leading to separation and divorce.

Supercasinos will cause a crime wave and an epidemic of problem gambling,
two reports have warned. A leaked police study on the Government's
controversial plans to introduce Las Vegasstyle casinos found they could
attract organised crime and encourage children to bet. And doctors will warn
this week that more Health Service money will be needed to treat the
increasing numbers of gambling addicts. Police chiefs have so far held back
from any criticism of the Gambling Act, which will come into force in
September. But the secret report, by a Metropolitan Police gambling expert,
found that the Millennium Dome's conversion into a casino could cause
"increased access to gambling for children and vulnerable groups". The Dome
in South-East London is tipped to win the race to become Britain's only
supercasino when the first generation of licences is announced this month.
Its American owner, Philip Anschutz of AEG - who famously gave John Prescott
a cowboy outfit - has already ploughed £700 million into turning the site
into an "entertainment complex". It was suggested last night that David
Beckham's staggering £128 million deal to play for the AEGowned LA Galaxy
football club will lead to him becoming an ambassador for the supercasino.
Football pundits have been trying for days to square the scale of his pay
with tiny American soccer audiences and likely merchandise sales for his new
club. But football has been one of the great drivers of the betting boom of
the last six years. The addition of the Beckham name to the Dome project - a
London football academy named after him is already operating next door -
could attract millions in revenue. A source close to Beckham said: "People
have been asking how a club like Galaxy with a 20,000-seater stadium can
make David £128 million. "It's because the club is only a fraction of the
deal David is signing up for. It's all about AEG. "What David does not yet
probably realise is that he will have to work very hard to earn every penny
of that £128 million by promoting all the rest of Anschutz's businesses."
That AEG has hired a footballer with such a huge fanbase among teenagers and
women will add to concerns about the effect of a Dome supercasino on
families.

A British Medical Association report to be published tomorrow will say that
more money will be needed for NHS treatment centres as gambling addiction
takes its toll on adults and begins to affect more teenagers.

It also points to the rise in popularity of gambling among women - adding
that as "entertainment complexes", supercasinos will be attractive to women
in a way that betting shops of the past were not.

In the Met report, Detective Inspector Darren Warner of the Gaming Unit
warned there will be "increased access to gambling for children and
vulnerable groups".

He added: "This is what will happen as it is in every developer's manifesto.

"The 'destination casinos' are offering other family-oriented activities.
Children will be taken to a gambling resort even if they are kept 50 yards
away in another type of play room."

The document, leaked to Channel Four's Dispatches programme, was written
last year for consultants advising the Dome's local council in Greenwich. In
it, Mr Warner added: "I would not be so naive as to say money laundering
will not occur at a regional casino."

He also said that staff would be likely to be recruited from Eastern Europe
and their backgrounds could not be checked.

His report warned that a Dome supercasino would have nightclubs and bars
close by, risking disorder.

"Is there antisocial behaviour around nightclubs?" it asked. "Well, yes,
both inside and out." Opposition MPs reacted with fury to the contents of
the leaked report.

Tory culture spokesman Hugo Swire said: "Inspector Warner raises concerns
about increases in crime, problem gambling and an increase in teenage
gambling, all issues that the Government's gambling reforms were supposed to
address."

He added: "It is astonishing that such a vital report should have been
suppressed.

"It is essential that this report is made available to the Casino Advisory
Panel and that the panel comments on its explosive content."

Under the Gambling Act, the Casino Advisory Panel quango will report by the
end of the month on where the supercasino licence should go, as well as
deciding on 16 licences for smaller casinos. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell
will then take the final decision.

The reports came as another study found businesses are losing more than £300
million a year because of employees gambling on the Internet when they
should be working.

THE SIGNAL sent by the Guyana Government that it plans to legalise casino
gambling for Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 and beyond, has led to a number of
Christian groups in that country closing ranks against any such move. The
government does not seem prepared to back down on its plans but the church
groups have been strident in their calls for the matter to be dropped,
stressing that they are "unalterably opposed" to the government's proposal.
Such talk is intended to indicate that there is nothing to discuss for where
people are "unalterably opposed" to any matter it follows that they do not
intend to give ground even if a reasonable argument can be presented by
those they opposed. Yet if we give thought to how a Christian community like
The Bahamas has managed to benefit from casino gambling, we might realise
that casino gambling is something that deserves to be discussed. The glaring
irony is that while a number of Christians draw a line at casino gambling,
claiming that it always attracts the worst elements like prostitutes and
gangsters, it could be instructive to find out why it is not so in The
Bahamas. We also must realise that while voices in the Christian Church are
raised against casino gambling, they have remained most silent about other
forms of gambling in most of the countries where they were prone to raise
objections. We only have to look around the Caribbean to see that where
there are no gambling casinos, gambling still goes on in a multiplicity of
organised ways. The church might well be embarrassed over its ambivalence on
the gambling issue, even more so when it is seen organising gaming to raise
funds. At the same time, it is debateable that the presence of casinos in a
country like Guyana will suddenly lead to a crime spiral given the existing
crime scene. In contrast, The Bahamas still has a lower crime rate than most
of those Caribbean countries that do not have casinos.
Guyana, while claiming it is a community where 57 per cent of the country is
Christian, will have to consider the other 43 per cent, including those who
follow other religions and who might not be opposed to gambling in any form.
It cannot be denied that casino gambling centring around the Cricket World
Cup 2007 in Guyana comes over as an act of expediency by a government doing
its utmost to cash in where it can. We all know that the country needs all
the money it can get. For all we know once the decision-makers had cast
their eyes to the north where The Bahamas has been prospering with its
tourism along with casino gambling being a major attraction for visitors,
they suddenly might have realised that they could in a short time have a
structure in place to profit from casino gambling as well.

What is certain is that whether or not the Guyana gambling project succeeds,
it is not the last time we will be hearing about issues pertaining to casino
gambling in the region. It will come as no surprise if other governments in
the English-speaking Caribbean begin considering the possibility of doing
what Guyana is hoping to do, not necessarily for Cricket World Cup 2007 but
later.

The Catawba Indian Nation will argue before the state's high court on
Wednesday that its 13-year-old land settlement with the state allows it to
offer video gambling on its York County reservation. The tribe won in a
lower court, but the state is appealing. The state outlawed video gambling
years ago and does not want to see the tribe bring it back. The tribe's
lawyer, Jay Bender, says the tribe doesn't actually want to run a video
gambling operation. It would rather open a high-stakes bingo game near
Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County. A favorable ruling in the video gambling
case would give the Catawbas leverage in getting lawmakers to let them open
the bingo parlor. Opponents, however, worry that allowing a bingo operation
in Orangeburg would open the door to more high-stakes bingo locations
elsewhere in the state.

On a Monday afternoon last month, five men and a woman sat with their backs
to a checkout counter at an Interstate 65 truck stop in Southern Indiana,
sliding $10 and $20 bills into a row of Cherry Master gambling machines.
It's hardly an unusual sight. Each year in Indiana -- and Kentucky --
millions of dollars flow into such gambling machines, which are illegal.
Though Indiana launched a limited crackdown in early 2005, it has served
only to drive the machines from many bars and fraternal clubs while leaving
them to thrive in places like the I-65 truck stop in Clark County. But if an
alcoholic-beverage trade group has its way, all that could change. This
month the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association, a tavern owners' group, is
preparing for what appears to be a long-shot legislative push to legalize
the slots-style gambling machines -- but only in bars and restaurants.
They're selling the approach as a way to generate $300 million in tax
revenue for the state and tighten prohibitions on gambling at such places as
truck stops and convenience stores where the activity is often available to
anyone, including youngsters.
A Courier-Journal series two years ago documented widespread illegal video
gambling in Kentucky and Indiana, where spotty law enforcement has allowed
the activity to flourish. Indiana officials estimated then that there were
up to 30,000 illegal machines statewide, pulling in $300 million to $500
million a year. A spot check by the newspaper along I-75 in Kentucky found
more than 130 machines at 19 truck stops, convenience stores and fast-food
restaurants. If Indiana eventually legalizes the machines, it would join
only six other states that permit video gambling in multiple locations
outside casinos and racetracks.

And even in those states, questions remain about whether legalization is
good policy.

In West Virginia, for example, where nearly 9,000 video-lottery terminals
generate about $361 million a year to shore up the state budget and provide
college scholarships, some lawmakers and many residents decry the state's
grab for easy tax revenues from gambling.

"No matter how much money the state makes, it's never enough. The appetite
is never satisfied," said Kelli Sobonya, a two-term Republican in the
state's House of Delegates and a gambling critic.

An effort by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to take 5 percent of
slot-machine revenues to finance regulation of the new gambling industry has
been stopped in its tracks by protests from casino owners and legislators.
With the board just several weeks away from running out of the money loaned
to it by the state last summer, board officials and Gov. Ed Rendell's
administration are trying to craft a more acceptable way to fund the board.
By law, the gaming board is allowed to tap into slots revenues to fund
casino regulation. However, the size of such a surcharge raised two primary
concerns. One was that the assessment rate was far higher than what other
states charge for the same purpose, including four times as much as New
Jersey's. Another was that slots parlors that open earlier would pay more
than licensees that open their doors months or years down the road. A 5
percent charge would pile on top of Pennsylvania's already comparatively
high 52 percent base tax rate on gambling revenues. Joseph Lashinger, a
partner in Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack, called the gaming board's
original plan "heavy and onerous."

The main opposition party said Friday it is planning large demonstrations to
protest a new sales tax and legislation that would allow limited gambling in
Guyana.
Aubrey Norton, a lawmaker from the People's National Congress, said the
party was appealing for people to swarm Georgetown's commercial center and
block roads leading to the capital next week in a two-day protest. The
administration of President Bharrat Jagdeo introduced a bill in parliament
Thursday that would allow a few yet-to-be-built hotels to qualify for
gambling licenses. The ruling party expects its majority will approve the
bill, which could allow gambling in hotels near a new stadium being readied
for the 2007 cricket World Cup. Opponents argue drug traffickers and
organized crime could gain more power in the South American country by
exerting influence over casinos. The country lacks the regulatory and
judicial systems needed to oversee the gambling industry, they argue.
"It is clear to us that we are heading for chaos," Norton said. "The
legislation is being tailored solely for friends of the government." Only
foreigners would be permitted to wager in proposed casinos, but religious
groups have argued the measure would encourage vice. Protesters outside
parliament Thursday carried signs that said casino gambling increases
poverty and hurts families. Norton said opposition parties are also outraged
by confusion surrounding a new 16 percent sales tax, which was designed to
replace a more complex tax scheme when it took effect Jan. 1. Despite
government assurances that prices would fall in many cases, vendors and
supermarkets have applied the tax to exempted items, leading to cost
increases for food and other items.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the law on gambling business.
The law lays down "the legal foundations for organizing the gambling
business in Kazakhstan," the presidential press service said. As of April 1,
2007, the gambling will be permitted in Kazakhstan only at two special
places: the Shchuchinsko-Borovskaya resort area (Akmolinsk region) and on
the right bank of the Kapshagai water reservoir (Almaty region). Meanwhile,
all gambling houses should be equipped with video surveillance systems, and
the whole recorded information should be kept for seven days. A gambling
house will get a license only, if the owner has its own building, gambling
equipment and the service, which can guarantee the personal security of
clients and workers of the gambling establishment. At least 20 green cloths
and 50 slot machines should be installed in each casino.

Mark McNaughton, a Republican who left the House after 10 years representing
part of Dauphin County, was named by since-ousted House Speaker John Perzel
on the last day of the 2005-06 legislative session. On Thursday, House
Republican leader Sam Smith of Jefferson County told McNaughton he will not
choose him, Smith's spokesman said. While Smith has not decided whom to
appoint, he is looking to find someone from outside "the political box,"
spokesman Steve Miskin said. The new House speaker, Rep. Dennis O'Brien,
R-Philadelphia, has not said whether he will choose McNaughton. However,
House Democrats, who hold a slim majority, say they expect O'Brien will
acknowledge the chamber's unusual power structure by reappointing their
selection for the board, former Democratic Rep. Jeffrey Coy of Franklin
County. The emergence of a Democratic majority in the House with a speaker
from the Republican minority has created a situation unprecedented for at
least a century and one that was not envisioned by the 2004 bill that
legalized slot-machine gambling. The law divided responsibility for
appointing the gambling regulators among the governor and selected leaders
of the Legislature. In the House, those are the House speaker and the House
minority leader. McNaughton did not immediately return a telephone message
left by The Associated Press on Friday, but he told WHTM-TV in Harrisburg
that he was disappointed. "I think I would've done a good job on the board,"
he told the station. By law, the terms of all four legislative appointees on
the board expire next week. Without a full complement of legislative
appointees, the seven-member gaming board cannot take any votes.

McNaughton's selection had been rocky.

In December, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that McNaughton, who opposed
the slots law, won more than $15,000 at casinos in recent years, but had not
reported the winnings on his state ethics forms.

Last week, Perzel, R-Philadelphia, was ousted from the speakership, throwing
McNaughton's candidacy into doubt. On Monday, the top attorney for the
Pennsylvania State Department questioned the constitutionality of
McNaughton's appointment, and recommended that he not be sworn in.

The lawyer, Albert H. Masland, sent a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell and
legislative leaders saying McNaughton's appointment violates a
constitutional prohibition against legislators being appointed to any
salaried civil office in Pennsylvania during their terms in office.

McNaughton was named by Perzel on Nov. 30, also McNaughton's final day in
office.

Masland also questioned whether the 2004 slots law allowed Perzel to fill a
board position that had not yet been vacated.

Perzel had tapped McNaughton to replace his first appointee, Joseph W.
"Chip" Marshall III, the chief executive of the Temple University Health
System, who resigned from the gaming board Dec. 27.

What goes hand and hand with sports and money?? Well Gambling ofcourse!!
Throw a few bucks on the games call it a day right? How would everyone feel
If they had the ability to use their Protrade Portfolio money to place bets
on NBA, NFL and MLB games??? It would have to be controled ofcourse.. Max
bets maybe $1000 per bet. Parlays, Props, Futures.... I think I would be a
great addition to the site... I know that I'd be into it.... We could really
put that protrade PIMP to the test By doing weekly challenges AGAINST it!

Roberta police seized thousands of dollars Thursday night after raiding
three Roberta covenenience stores allegedly paying cash illegally for video
game winnings.
"We hit all three at once," Roberta Police Chief Jackie Cooper said this
morning. "They're paying off in cash so they're gambling machines."
Officers, working in conjunction with the Fort Valley Police Department,
seized money from more than a dozen machines operating at three stores on
U.S. 341 in downtown, Cooper said. Haddock's, the A.U.M. store and Bob's
Magic Mart were raided shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday after the department
had been receiving complaints over the past year, Cooper said. No one has
been arrested, but charges could be pending a review of the law, Cooper
said.

The early odds of passing the General Assembly are uncertain, but the
latest, yearly push to authorize slot machines at horse-racing venues in
Indiana will at least get a chance of clearing the gate this session. House
Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Thursday that at least one
proposal for slots at the tracks would get a hearing before the House Public
Policy Committee. He did not guarantee that a committee vote to advance such
a plan would be made, but the issue is clearly in play now. Indiana's two
pari-mutuel tracks have struggled financially and their owners have warned
lawmakers that they cannot stay in business much longer without more help.
They say additional revenue from slots would allow them to boost purses,
which would attract better horses and therefore more bettors. The tracks
also would reap millions of dollars in profits, and the state would
potentially take in tens of millions in wagering taxes. "The horse-racing
industry is in deep trouble in this state because both tracks appear to be
going broke, and I think we're open to looking at some way of helping them,"
Bauer said. At least two bills have been filed by House Democrats that would
allow slots at horse racing venues, with one allowing up to 2,500 machines
at each track. The tracks and industry currently share $27 million a year in
subsidies from riverboat gambling revenue to help prop them up. Numerous
attempts to allow slot machines or similar devices at horse tracks and
off-track betting parlors have failed to pass the General Assembly over the
past several years. One proposal passed a Democrat-controlled House in 2004,
but it was killed in the Republican-controlled Senate under the leadership
of then Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus. Garton was
generally opposed to expansions of gambling and helped block previous
attempts to allow slots at horse-racing venues, saying they would only make
a few rich people richer. But Garton was defeated in the May primary, and
the GOP-ruled Senate is now led by Sen. David Long of Fort Wayne. Long said
Thursday that he "was not a fan of gambling or expanding it in this state,"
but if a slot bill passed the House, he would let his caucus decide whether
it got a committee hearing and a chance to advance.

Jane Jankowski, press secretary to Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, noted
Thursday that the governor has often said that he does not favor an
expansion of gambling.

One bill by Rep. Scott Reske, D-Pendleton, would allow up to 2,500 slot
machines at each of the two tracks, as well as jointly owned OTBs in Fort
Wayne and Indianapolis. The licenses would be awarded to the owners of the
tracks.

Louisville, Ky.-based Churchill Downs has been the primary owner of Hoosier
Park, but announced last month that it was selling its remaining interest to
its minority partner, Indiana-based Centaur Inc. Indiana Downs is largely
owned by a group of Indiana investors.

Reske's bill, which is being co-sponsored by Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson,
would impose a 32.5 percent state wagering tax on the first $150 million in
annual adjusted gross receipts from the slot machines, and a 37.5 percent
rate on proceeds above that. The tax revenue would be dedicated to full-day
kindergarten and health initiatives, among other things.

Bauer said whatever bill was considered would limit slots to two sites, and
Austin has a separate bill that would only allow slots at the two tracks.
The licenses also would go to the track owners.

Austin's bill would impose a 32 percent state wagering tax and a 5 percent
local wagering tax, with revenue from the latter going to cities and towns
in Madison and Shelby counties where the tracks are located.

Austin estimated that her bill would generate $200 million in annual state
tax revenue, with $150 million going to full-day kindergarten and the rest
divided between other education and economic development initiatives.

Democrats control the House 51-49 and in recent years they generally have
been more receptive to expanding gambling. But there are not clearly defined
partisan lines on the issue.

House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said one might find 40
opinions on slots at the tracks among the 49 members of his caucus.

"There will be some who believe it's a great thing and an addition to our
state's economy addressing both the ag and racing industries," he said. "You
will find others here that find it too large of an expansion of gaming - and
probably all points in between."

Since 1998, Pinnacle Sports has been doing online business with US citizens
who enjoy gambling, but when American gamblers signed onto their accounts
this morning, they were informed they could no longer place bets with this
sports book located in Curacao. Pinnacle's "main man" gave EOG an exclusive
interview this morning and here is some of what he had to say: "It is with
sadness that we have chosen to leave the US market, but we are so grateful
for all the customers we've acquired throughout the years" When asked why
Pinnacle Sports elected not to give any advance notice, he stated the
following: "We didn't want anyone to have time to take shots at us." He
started to reflect at this point: "When the U.S. focuses on something and
says 'enough,' and when they go to 'war,' no individual company can possibly
win in a fight of this nature." "Since the Internet Gambling Bill went into
effect, we have lost the ability to do business with many quality banks."
"Fortunately, 35-40% of our current gambling business is non US driven, and
perhaps more importantly, we are experiencing stronger growth in Europe and
Asia, than we are in the United States."

Whether it's on a real boat, a fake boat or dry land, gambling is gambling.
People play games, they bet money. Many, many lose. A few win. Floating down
a river or across a lake, standing in a pond and pretending to be on a real
boat or being planted on dry ground does not change the bottom-line fact.
It's pretty much too late to debate whether gambling should make itself at
home in Indiana. That was taken care of years ago. But it's not too late to
debate how much money the state wastes chasing some fantasy about
wherepeople gamble. Gambling is here. The debate now is how much gambling
the state is going to allow, and what the gambling profits should pay for.
There has been talk that the Indiana Gaming Commission might change its
construction standards and allow casino-style machines in bars, restuarants
and clubs - an expansion of gambling in the state. According to news
reports, operators of the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City want to build
more casinos without pretending they are building boats. They don't want
their casinos to have to have motors, captains and crews, sea-going safety
equipment and inspections for seaworthiness when the boat will never weigh
anchor. (The odds may be better that you could win on the boat than that the
boat will actually set sail.) The operators say the extra cost would amount
to $40 million. But the question is not whether to continue the fantasy of
water-borne gambling. The question is whether the state wants to increase
its dependence on people's willingness to throw their money away.

Despite mounting pressure from the religious community, Guyana's Home
Affairs Minister Clement Rohee was due to table the controversial Gambling
Prevention (Amendment) Bill 2006 in Parliament seeking to permit casino
gambling. Religious groups have warned about the adverse effects of
legitimising casino gambling and pledged to derail the passage of the Bill.
The groups said that the legislation will lead to money laundering,
increased crime and a disintegration of societal values.
Some members of the group accused the Jagdeo administration of fulfilling
promises made to suspected drug lords. However, while religious groups were
airing television advertisements to gather support for a street protest
planned for Parliament, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds held a rushed press
briefing to drive home the benefits of casinos to the tourism sector. The
Prime Minister was the government's appointee to hold consultations with
various groups. He said that it would be difficult to have every group agree
on the introduction of casino gambling, but he assured that government will
put systems in place to prevent widespread gambling.
"We have weighed the pros and cons and we find that there are tremendous
benefits to be had for the tourism industry. Job creation and influx of
tourists are clearcut advantages," Prime Minister Hinds stated. The
government is hoping to use the upcoming Cricket World Cup (CWC) event to
shock the South American nation's tourism industry into becoming a major
revenue earner. Prime Minister Hinds stated that casino gambling will also
help to boost tourism, especially after CWC. The Amendment Bill will bar
existing hotels and resorts from establishing casinos on their premises and
stipulates that no more than 30 casino licenses will be issued.

Prime Minister Hinds said that no person other than workers and guests of
the hotels or resorts shall be admitted to the casinos.

Breach of the casino regulations carry on a summary conviction a fine of not
less than US$100,000 and imprisonment of not less than six months and not
more than two years.

The Bill gives the Minister the power to set up any administrative body for
the administration of the casino legislation, and also gives him the control
to prescribe fees payable for the application for a licence and for the
issue of any licence.

According to the Bill, the Minister may make regulations to establish a
Gaming Authority which could regulate the issue only through specific types
of licences to allow casino gambling.

New laws for licensing gambling are to be introduced in the borough of Great
Yarmouth - and affected businesses can get their applications in from May.
The new national gambling licensing regime, to be administered in Great
Yarmouth by the Borough Council, will come into effect from September 1.
Applications can be submitted from May onwards for premises licences and
permits. The Gambling Act 2005, regulations made under the Act and advice
from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport provide the framework for
the new regulatory system. Local authority staff are already gearing
themselves up for additional work and Great Yarmouth Council is providing
training to other councils in Norfolk and Suffolk. The council is also
arranging training sessions in the early New Year for local solicitors, and
for people connected with the gambling industry. Chris Skinner, head of
member and legal services, said: "This is a major new responsibility for the
Borough Council. "Because we have so many gambling businesses in the borough
there is a lot for staff to get to grips with. Not many councils have our
mix of a horse racing track, a dog track, casinos, amusement arcades betting
shops and bingo halls." The introduction of the new arrangements follows
hard on the heels of the implementation of the new licensing regime for
pubs, clubs and entertainment premises in late 2005. "The new system was
introduced smoothly in Great Yarmouth and both licensees and the public have
quickly got used to it. We hope that by providing training sessions for
people involved in the gambling trade, whether they be arcade or betting
shop owners, or people wanting gaming machines in their pubs, it will help
us all to implement the new regime successfully."

Pinnacle Sports, an offshore gambling enterprise located in Curacao, has
stopped taking bets from residents of the United States. Pinnacle officials
said the move is tied to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act,
which prohibits the use of credit for illegal gambling. "After careful
consideration, Pinnacle Sports has chosen to voluntarily exit the American
market," the company said on its Web site. "Accordingly, wagers will no
longer be accepted from clients located in the United States as of (Jan.
11)." The company said it would continue to service clients in Canada and
other countries. It also said the balances of U.S. customers would have to
be cashed out. Pinnacle officials said that since passage of the legislation
last year, the company has had trouble doing business with banks. The
company said about 40% of its business comes from outside the U.S., with
Europe and Asia the growth markets. On its Web site, Pinnacle lists about 20
racetracks on which it would take bets Jan. 12. The company also listed
proposition wagers on several races.

The Christian community is urging the government not to legalise casino
gambling for Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 or at any time; to defer
discussions on the draft legislation until after CWC and to learn from
experiences based on research. Church leaders have also begun a number of
activities aiming at sensitising the public to the dangers of casino
gambling and said they feel legal action might also be an option. The draft
legislation, entitled the Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Bill 2006, to
legalise casino gambling is due for its first reading in Parliament today.
And Alliance For Change MP Sheila Holder will also lead a motion in
Parliament for a study to be conducted to determine whether casino gambling
would add to the country's tourism product or aggravate the crime situation.
At a joint press conference called by representatives of the Guyana Council
of Churches (GCC), Guyana Evangelical Fellowship (GEF) and the Georgetown
Ministers' Fellowship (GMF) at the National Library Annexe yesterday, Pastor
Marlon Hestick said the Christian community, which he said represents 57% of
the population, was "unalterably opposed" to the government's proposal to
license persons or institutions to engage in casino gambling for CWC 2007
and beyond.
Reading from a prepared statement, Hestick said the church leaders are also
proposing alternative means of economic activities, particularly as it
relates to tourism development through cultural entertainment and the
performing arts, which they described as a win-win situation in the tourism
industry. They are also willing to discuss with the government strategies on
the country's economic and social development. Urging Muslims and Hindus to
fully engage in the discussions on the issue, the statement said there was
also still time for redress on the part of the government. The statement
said the government's approach on the issue so far has illustrated little
regard for Sections 13 and 50 of the Constitution of Guyana having not
involved civil society in any meaningful consultation, nor engaged
Parliament in any form of discussion. 3Asked whether they had met President
Bharrat Jagdeo to express their concerns, Hestick said that in March last
year they had met the President at State House and expressed their concerns.
The President had told them then that there was going to be widespread
consultations on the issue. Since then there had been no further
interaction. However, the GCC received an invitation dated December 6, 2006
from Prime Minister Sam Hinds to a meeting to be held on December 8. The
Chairman of the GCC, to whom it was addressed, was out of the country on GCC
business at the time and did not receive the invitation until after the date
of the meeting.

The government has also not offered any study to show the social impact of
legalised gambling in Guyana. Instead, the statement said, "there exists a
lot of evidence to show that, with our weak law enforcement, judicial,
legislative and social infrastructure, the advent of casino gambling could
see Guyana moving from a 'Jurisdiction of Concern' in the USA State
Department's money-laundering list, to a 'Jurisdiction of Primary Concern'."
The statement pointed to the US State Department website that dealt with the
International Narcotics Strategy Control Report for 2006.

Some of the deleterious effects the statement listed were the creation of
false values including the get-rich-quick illusion; discouragement of
thrift, honest enterprise and a productive work ethic; promotion of greed;
temptation to weak-willed persons who frequently develop an addiction to
gambling; family neglect and domestic violence and undermining the family
unit; wasting of money that could be used for productive purposes;
enrichment of a few and impoverishment for the majority; an increase in
crime to obtain money to gamble; pauperization of the gamblers; and
promotion of opportunities for illegal activity including money laundering
as well as corruption in the public and private sectors.

Stating that Guyanese would not have any type of tourism at any cost, the
Christian leaders said, "Government cannot and must not be held to ransom by
any stakeholder because it facilitated investors' efforts to benefit from
tourism and CWC 2007."

The leaders produced a draft document entitled 'Legal, Moral, Social and
Constitutional Considerations in Addressing the Responsibilities of
Government with regard to Casino Gambling in Guyana,' which the statement
said is a research paper that "elucidates the concerns of the Guyanese
people" and outlines "Guyana's perilous descent at the level of governance
and constitutional issues."

As a maturing democracy, they said, the implications of the findings cannot
be ignored. They have begun to distribute this document to a number of
stakeholders.

Expressing the GMF's position on the draft legislation, Pastor Loris Heywood
said that apart from the moral principles, a number of violent crimes
engulfed the Guyanese society over the past three to four years. Research,
he said, shows that narco-crime is associated with casino gambling in
laundering money and excessive and wanton violence, the use of deadly
weaponry, utter disregard for the sanctity of life, trans-border crime with
linkages to international networks and it also corrupts systems and
structures of the government including the judiciary.

The legalisation of casino gambling, Heywood said, was not just a matter of
accommodating Buddy's International Hotel or Cricket World Cup but that the
provision for the licensing of the minimum of three casinos in each of the
country's ten administrative regions was a "strategic evil" given the
country's porous borders and transnational crime.

Quoting from last year's US State Department report which stated that drug
trafficking and money laundering appear to be propping up the Guyana economy
and known drug traffickers have acquired substantial land and investment in
large properties, he said that as a patriotic Guyanese and Caribbean person
he felt uncomfortable relying on the US report "to tell us what we already
know."

Rev Ellsworth Williams of the GEF said he would have preferred if the
government had called the religious community together to discuss some
development strategy paper in terms of job creation, how to help the poor,
and how to find solutions for the country's ills instead of rushing the bill
through Parliament to legalise casino gambling.

Chairman of the GCC Rev Alphonso Porter said gambling was morally wrong in
principle because it involves misuse of money and it was not in exchange for
goods and services.

It was an appeal to chance where the gains of the winners represent the
accumulated loss of the losers.

He reiterated that casino gambling is used as a cover for many criminal
activities adding that the government was promoting these social diseases at
a time when HIV was on the increase and the law enforcement agencies were
unable to solve high-profile murders. He said this was disturbing since it
created additional burdens.

The GCC, he said, does not believe that the government should seek to
justify casino legislation because of revenue generation because it could
also bring tragic social consequences to the nation.

The GCC represents the Anglican Diocese, Roman Catholic Diocese, the Church
of the Nazarene, Outreach Ministries International, the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, the African Metho-dist Episcopal Zion Church, Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Guyana, the Guyana Presbyterian Church, Presbytery of
Guyana, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Moravian Church, the Salvation
Army, the Congregational Union of Guyana, the Methodist Church of Guyana and
the Guyana Missionary Baptist Church.

With the Legislature likely to debate expanded gambling this year, gambling
opponents drew more than 100 legislators and lobbyists to a Concord
presentation yesterday, urging lawmakers to swiftly kill any bills that
would turn to slot machines or casinos to raise money for the state. The
Legislature has consistently defeated similar measures in the past. But
expected decreases in state revenue and continued uncertainty over education
funding have gambling opponents worried that lawmakers might reconsider
gambling this year, given widespread opposition to a sales or income tax.
"As everyone in this room knows, you will face unprecedented pressure in
this upcoming legislative session to find tough solutions to very, very
intractable problems - and the siren song of easy, quick money," said
Katrina Swett, a former Democratic congressional candidate from Bow and the
co-chairwoman of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling.
Gambling supporters say video slots or casinos would plug budget deficits
and bring tourists to the state. They also say the expansion would be modest
step in a state that already offers a variety of lottery games, including
$20 scratch tickets. Opponents say gambling would exacerbate crime, harm the
state's image and drain money from lower-income residents, not out-of-state
vacationers. Swett called the allure of expanded gambling "the ultimate
mirage and the ultimate bait-and-switch tactic." The anti-gambling coalition
held a luncheon for lawmakers in the basement of St. Paul's Church
yesterday, hoping to draw a crowd of about 75. Instead, they attracted a
standing-room audience of roughly 125 people to listen to presentations from
local and national anti-gambling advocates, including a New York billionaire
and a Massachusetts lawmaker, who warned against the social and political
ills of expanded gambling. But while many in the room signed pledges
afterward to oppose legalizing video slots or casinos, others were
expanded-gaming supporters who wanted to hear the opposition's argument.

Proponents and opponents of gambling are preparing to square off again this
year as the new Legislature gears up to decide if slot machines should be
allowed in places other than the Hollywood Slots parlor that opened in
Bangor in 2005. Three state legislators are drafting four bills that, if
approved, would allow casino gambling in Maine, create another so-called
"racino" with slots and harness racing, and allow two of Maine's Indian
tribes -- the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe -- to install
slots on tribal lands. At the same time, Gov. John Baldacci has renewed his
opposition to more gambling in Maine, suggesting that supporters may have an
uphill fight. The flurry of legislative activity comes as supporters and
opponents of gambling continue their efforts to place citizen-initiated
referendums on the ballot to let voters decide such issues. It also follows
heated, and unsuccessful, drives in the last Legislature to either allow a
racino in Washington County or to let the voters settle that issue. Backers
of a Washington County racino hope to learn later next month if they
collected enough valid signatures to force a November vote on their plan.
Meanwhile, a referendum campaign to outlaw slot machines in Maine and a
competing referendum drive to allow a casino in Oxford County have yet to
submit their petitions to the state. Seth Carey, an organizer of the Oxford
County casino campaign, said Wednesday he has abandoned plans to get that
proposal on the ballot this year and hopes to collect enough signatures to
schedule a referendum in 2008. It was not clear Wednesday if the group that
wants voters to outlaw slot machines will meet the state's Jan. 25 deadline
for submitting petitions in time to schedule a referendum this year.
The looming legislative battle centers on bills filed by Democratic Rep.
Deborah Simpson of Auburn, Passamaquoddy Tribe Rep. Donald Soctomah and
Penobscot Nation Rep. Donna Loring. None of their bills has been drafted
yet, but interviews with all three lawmakers confirm that they hope to
expand gambling in Maine.

Simpson, who supported a failed 2003 referendum that would have allowed a
tribal casino in Maine, said Wednesday her bill would order the state to
find a developer to build, operate and own a casino somewhere in southern
Maine, possibly in cooperation with one or more Indian tribes. The host
community would have to approve the plan before a casino could be built, she
said.

A casino would be "more of a resort destination" than a slots parlor or a
racino, Simpson said, because it would include a hotel and a conference
center that would "bring people in from away." Such a facility, she said,
would create jobs, boost state revenues and help in the transition from an
economy that relied heavily on manufacturing.

Soctomah said one of his bills would serve as a backup in case the
initiative campaign for a referendum on a Washington County racino falls
short of the 50,519 voter signatures needed to force a public vote.
Soctomah's bill would have the Legislature schedule a referendum on the
issue if the initiative campaign fails.

On another front, both Soctomah and Loring have bills that would allow slot
machines on their respective tribal reservations, in conjunction with
high-stakes bingo.

Loring said the Penobscot Nation wants 400 of the 1,500 slot machines
currently allowed by state law because the Hollywood Slots parlor in Bangor
has cut into the tribe's revenues from high-stakes bingo on Indian Island.
Soctomah said the Passamaquoddy Tribe wants to install a combined total of
200 slots at its two reservations.

Hollywood Slots now has 479 slot machines in a temporary facility and plans
to have 1,000 to 1,500 slots in a permanent facility that should open in mid
2008.

"They're spending their money at Hollywood Slots rather than at our
facility," said Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation. As a result, he
said, the tribe's bingo operation is now breaking even instead of providing
what had been "thousands of dollars" in revenue for the tribe.

Soctomah said the Passamaquoddy Tribe has not ruled out legislation
authorizing a tribal casino, but he said the bills he has introduced so far
do not seek a casino. He said the Bangor slots parlor has failed to produce
the crime and social ills that opponents predicted, so Washington County
should be allowed to expand its revenue base with a racino or slots parlors.

Baldacci spokeswoman Joy Leach said in an e-mailed response to questions
about the governor's reaction to the bills that "the governor's position on
the expansion of gambling has not changed; he continues to oppose such
expansions."

She said Baldacci "agrees with the (state) Gambling Control Board that a
moratorium should be in place until a report or review with recommendations
on gambling is completed."

"This is exactly what we worried about" when Hollywood Slots opened its
doors, said Dennis Bailey of Casinos No!, an anti-gambling group. "Once you
open the door a little bit, you're going to be in this fight year after year
after year."

Predicting that the Legislature will be "very pro slot machines," Bailey
said the outcome may hinge on whether Baldacci holds firm in his opposition.

Proponents and opponents of gambling are preparing to square off again this
year as the new Legislature considers whether slot machines should be
allowed in places other than the Hollywood Slots parlor in Bangor. Three
state legislators are drafting four bills that, if approved, would allow
casino gambling in Maine, create another so-called racino with slots and
harness racing, and allow two of Maine's Indian tribes ­ the Penobscot
Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe ­ to operate slots on tribal land. At the
same time, Gov. John Baldacci has renewed his opposition to more gambling in
Maine, suggesting that supporters may have an uphill fight. Meanwhile,
supporters and opponents of gambling are continuing their efforts to place
citizen-initiated referendums on the ballot to let voters decide such
issues. It all follows heated, and unsuccessful, drives in the last
Legislature to either allow a racino in Washington County or let voters
settle that issue. The Legislature passed both Washington County bills in
2005, but Baldacci vetoed them. Backers of a racino in Washington County
hope to learn later this month whether they collected enough valid
signatures to force a November vote on their plan. A referendum campaign to
outlaw slot machines in Maine and a competing referendum drive to allow a
casino in Oxford County have yet to submit their petitions to the state.
Seth Carey, an organizer of the Oxford County casino campaign, said on
Wednesday that he has abandoned plans to get that proposal on the ballot
this year and hopes to collect enough signatures to schedule a vote in 2008.
It was not clear on Wednesday whether the group that wants voters to outlaw
slot machines will meet the state's Jan. 25 deadline for submitting
petitions for a referendum this year. Organizer George Rodrigues could not
be reached for comment. The looming legislative battle centers on bills from
Democratic Rep. Deborah Simpson of Auburn, Passamaquoddy Tribe Rep. Donald
Soctomah and Penobscot Nation Rep. Donna Loring. None of their bills has
been drafted yet, but interviews with all three lawmakers confirm that they
hope to expand gambling in Maine. Simpson, who supported a failed 2003
referendum that would have allowed a tribal casino in Maine, said on
Wednesday that her bill would order the state to find a developer to build,
operate and own a casino somewhere in southern Maine, possibly in
cooperation with one or more Indian tribes. The host community would have to
approve the plan before a casino could be built, she said. A casino would be
"more of a resort destination" than a slots parlor or a racino, Simpson
said, because it would include a hotel and a conference center that would
"bring people in from away." Such a facility, she said, would create jobs,
boost state revenue and help in the transition from an economy that relied
heavily on manufacturing. Soctomah said one of his bills would be a backup
in case the campaign for a referendum on a Washington County racino falls
short of the required 50,519 voter signatures. The bill would have the
Legislature schedule a referendum on the issue if the initiative campaign
fails.

Both Soctomah and Loring have bills that would allow slot machines on their
respective tribal reservations, in conjunction with high-stakes bingo.
Loring said the Penobscot Nation wants 400 of the 1,500 slot machines now
allowed by state law because the Hollywood Slots parlor has cut into the
tribe's revenue from high-stakes bingo on Indian Island.

Soctomah said the Passamaquoddy Tribe wants to install a total of 200 slots
at its two reservations. Hollywood Slots now has 479 slot machines in a
temporary facility. It plans to have 1,000 to 1,500 slots in a permanent
facility that it expects to open in mid-2008.

"They're spending their money at Hollywood Slots rather than at our
facility," said Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation.
As a result, he said, the tribe's bingo operation is now breaking even
instead of providing what had been "thousands of dollars" for the tribe.

Soctomah said the Passamaquoddy Tribe has not ruled out legislation
authorizing a tribal casino, but he said the bills he has introduced so far
do not seek a casino. He said the Bangor slots parlor has not produced the
crime and social ills that opponents predicted, so Washington County should
be allowed to expand its revenue base with a racino or slots parlors.

Baldacci's spokeswoman Joy Leach said in an e-mailed response to questions
about the governor's reaction to the bills that "the governor's position on
the expansion of gambling has not changed; he continues to oppose such
expansions."

She said Baldacci "agrees with the (state) Gambling Control Board that a
moratorium should be in place until a report or review with recommendations
on gambling is completed."

"This is exactly what we worried about" when Hollywood Slots opened, said
Dennis Bailey of Casinos No!, an anti-gambling group. "Once you open the
door a little bit, you're going to be in this fight year after year after
year."

Since 1998, Pinnacle Sports has been doing online business with US citizens
who enjoy gambling, but when American gamblers signed onto their accounts
this morning, they were informed they could no longer place bets with this
sports book located in Curacao. Pinnacle's "main man" gave EOG an exclusive
interview this morning and here is some of what he had to say: "It is with
sadness that we have chosen to leave the US market, but we are so grateful
for all the customers we've acquired throughout the years" When asked why
Pinnacle Sports elected not to give any advance notice, he stated the
following: "We didn't want anyone to have time to take shots at us." He
started to reflect at this point: "When the U.S. focuses on something and
says 'enough," and when they go to 'war,' no individual company can possibly
win in a fight of this nature." "Since the Internet Gambling Bill went into
effect, we have lost the ability to do business with many quality banks."
"Fortunately, 35-40% of our current gambling business is non US driven, and
perhaps more importantly, we are experiencing stronger growth in Europe and
Asia, than we are in the United States."

Tic Tac Fruit could turn out to be a lemon for Ohioans if state legislators
fail to do something about it and similar ''games of chance.'' Tic Tac Fruit
is familiar to many in Trumbull County. It is a video gaming machine that
looks and operates much like a video gambling machine. It gained popularity
last year because its promoters, claiming it was not subject to the state's
laws against gambling, opened up parlors with Tic Tac Fruit and similar
machines in many areas of the state, including ours. Now, Treasure Island
parlors in Warren, Austintown and Boardman, and other parlors in Lordstown,
Cortland, Masury and Weathersfield house Tic Tac Fruit and similar games.
The machines' promoters say they are not gambling devices because players
affect the outcome - whether they win or lose. But late last year, a judge
in Franklin County Common Pleas Court ruled that Tic Tac Fruit is a gambling
device. He noted that the machines are programmed to guarantee that
operators will make profits of 5 percent of the amount of money pumped into
each device. That means that player skill is not the critical factor, the
judge ruled. His ruling backs up the state Liquor Control Commission, which
has banned Tic Tac Fruit and similar games in licensed bars. But the judge
warned that new gaming machines - all designed to rake in money in large
quantities from players - will be designed. That may make it more difficult
for the courts to rule that such devices are illegal gambling machines, he
said. Ohio Skill Games attorney Kurt Gearhiser said the company has already
made improvements so that the games are more skill-based. Therefore, he
said, the Columbus court ruling is irrelevant. That is why the legislature,
not the court, needs to address the issue.
Also, there are multiple versions of these games because manufacturers are
constantly upgrading the machines. Officials must make certain they only
seize versions that the court determined to be illegal. Again, the
legislature could intervene and make all of them illegal. In November, Ohio
voters said ''no'' to legalized machine gambling at racetracks and a few
other locations. We believe they also want to prohibit electronic one-armed
(or one-buttoned) bandits from masquerading as games. That makes it
essential for legislators to take another look at Ohio's gambling laws and
close loopholes that allow devices such as Tic Tac Fruit.

An added attraction for Cricket World Cup visitors to Guyana will be casino
gambling, that is if a bill scheduled to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow is
passed. Prime Minister Sam Hinds has confirmed the move to facilitate casino
gambling for guests during the Cricket World Cup 2007. The motion will be
moved in the National Assembly on January 11, by Minister of Home Affairs,
Clement Rohee following which debates will be held on January 18 and 19.
Prime Minister Hinds said that in light of reservations by some religious
groups government is prepared to take prudent measures to prevent the
activity from becoming widespread, according to a release from the
state-owned news agency GINA. Concerns among the religious community include
theological grounds which prohibit gambling.
The Prime Minister said while government is aware of the possible dangers
associated with casino gambling, mechanisms are being discussed to address
these.
The Bill gives the Minister the power to set up any administrative body for
the administration of the casino legislation, and also gives him the control
to prescribe fees payable for the application and issuance of any licence.
Among the issues under consideration are gambling addictions, prostitution
and increased money laundering. Prime Minister Hinds noted that while
legitimate arguments surround the prevention of the legislation, gambling
does exist in Guyana and takes a number of forms among which are
sweepstakes, lotteries and raffles. The Minister under the Act could also
prescribe conditions for, and restrictions on, the issuing of any licence.
According to the Bill, the Minister may make regulations to establish a
Gaming Authority which could regulate the issue only through specific types
of licences to allow casino gambling.

Jim Chanos of New York's Kynikos Associates was bearish on internet gambling
sights long before Senate majority leader Bill Frist "ambushed" the industry
with a bill making most internet gambling illegal. Contrary to claims
detailed on a website yesterday, it didn't take an elaborate scheme of
inside information about the Senate's legislative schedule to tip Chanos off
on the dangers to internet gambling. For Chanos, the writing was on the
wall, in the online gaming companies' prospectuses and already built into
various state laws. "We were floored when the Senate bill came up and passed
in the middle of the night," Chanos told DealBreaker in an interview this
morning. On September 30, 2006, the US Senate passed the port security
improvement act of 2006 by unanimous consent. The bill included an amendment
preventing financial entities from processing credit cards, checks and
similar transactions in connection with Internet gambling. Despite the fact
that similar measures had passed in the House, many were caught off-guard by
the inclusion of the anti-online gambling provisions in the Senate Bill.
Indeed, some commentators had speculated that the Senate lacked time on the
legislative schedule to pass the bill.

Kazakhstan has taken drastic steps to fight the nation's gambling craze by
ordering all gambling halls and Casinos to move to just two lakeside towns.
The government measure took effect on 1 January 2007, although construction
is far from finished in both towns. The new resorts - outside the main
cities of Almaty and Astana - have been dubbed the Las Vegas of Central
Asia. There seems to be plenty of discontent among the country's gamblers,
but it is not expressed openly. President Nursultan Nazarbayev is behind the
idea, and in Kazakhstan nobody argues with him. Kazakhstan's new oil wealth
has brought along a desire to spend - and a major gambling boom. From
poorly-lit amusement arcades to high-class casinos, there are more than
2,000 gambling halls in the country. That is almost as many as in the United
States, although Kazakhstan's population is about 20 times smaller. But now
President Nazarbayev wants to clean up Kazakhstan's gambling industry. As of
January, all of the country's casinos, roulette tables, bookmakers and
amusement arcades had to pack up to operate in the new sites.
Kazakhstan's finance minister says the move will help to fight the harmful
effects of what she called the country's gambling mania.

A girlfriend and I often argue about which is better? Online gaming or going
to the Brick and Mortar casino? For years I have been an online girl. But,
it is the silly season, so I decided to jump into the car with her and
settle in my own head once and for all the answer to what has been a great
debate since online gambling took the world by storm in the last five years.
What is more important? The speed and comfort of online gambling at home or
the glamor and glitz of live gaming at a casino? Firstly there was the drive
there - I don't recall it ever taking so long to get to my compute. I can
start an online gambling session within minutes, this drive would take
hours! One point to online. When we arrived in Las Vegas she started
pointing out how much choice you have, what with casinos as far as the eye
could see. Yes, it does look nice, but as choice goes, there are more online
casinos on my desktop then on the entire Las Vegas strip! I still think
online gambling is the big winner when it comes to variety. So we get to our
casino of choice and decide to start playing. She wants to play blackjack
but I successfully drag her to the roulette wheel. I change up some cash and
I quickly realise that if I were depositing cash online there would be a
deposit bonus coming my way! I looked around, there was nowhere that I could
enter a bonus code at all. Seems like free money is something only the savvy
online casino player can enjoy! This is by no means the worst of it though -
we were silly enough to be there on a Saturday night. The place was packed.
There were people everywhere - as far as the eye can see. Every time I tried
to place a chip down on the roulette table I was mobbed from every angle by
people trying to put their bets on. It felt more like a Bon Jovi concert
than a casino! It wasn't just the roulette wheel that was like this though.
We tried several games: slots, craps, and blackjack. We played all of my
favorite online casino games, but every table was just too busy. The whole
casino was just full of loud people who cared more about being heard than
focusing on the game in front of them. Not to mention the people who didn't
even know how to play the game! Tourists, in town for a holiday, who figured
they would give gambling a try whilst they were there. This slowed
everything down so much. I worked out that with the faster speed of online
gambling, I could play more hands in four hours than I played in one hour at
this casino.

Sensing I was uncomfortable with all the activity that was happening, my
girlfriend tried to sway my thinking towards her love of brick & mortar
gaming, telling me that I would love the room that she booked for us! To be
frank, I love my own bedroom more than I will ever love any hotel room. One
of the great features of online casino is that you can just sink into bed
within five minutes of finishing your blackjack session.

Now, so I don't seem too biased, I will say that the food was very nice (if
you ignore the hoards of people stuffing their faces) and Las Vegas looks
spectacular as you drive down the Strip. But as far as I'm concerned, give
me the comfort of my own home any day. My favorite chair at my trusty
computer. Quiet, peaceful, relaxing.

Combine this with the quickness of hands being turned over, the deposit
bonuses that all great online casinos offer you and the money and time you
save by not having to pay for travel and accomodation expenses and you have
a no-brainer. The best bet that you can make is to do all your gaming
online.

Children are buying knives, alcohol, tobacco, and pornographic films on the
internet, a report has warned. They are using debit cards issued by banks to
children as young as 11 to buy items they would be denied on the high
street. Some even use the cards for internet gambling. Children's charities
raised the alarm about this illegal trade in a report to a parliamentary
inquiry into personal internet security. They said many parents were
ignorant of how their children were using the internet, putting the
youngsters at greater risk from online dangers including paedophiles. The
Children's Charities Coalition on Internet Safety said debit cards such as
NatWest's Solo were being issued to children as young as 11. "These can be
used to make online payments," the group's chairman John Carr told the Lords
Select Committee on Science and Technology. He said a "reliable visual check
of a person's age" was practically impossible on the internet, meaning
children could access agerestricted goods or services. "They have been able
to gamble, buy knives, alcohol or tobacco, or adult videos," he added. "
Children and other young people have also been victims of online fraud." Mr
Carr, new technology adviser to NCH (National Children's Homes), said it had
received calls from parents with children as young as 12 who had been
gambling online. Cases of internet under age sales of knives, alcohol,
tobacco, and pornography had been reported to the Trading Standards
Institute, he added.

A South Hall gambling raid has resulted in the arrests of 24 people. The
bust followed an investigation into complaints from people about a house in
the 4200 block of Winder Highway. Lt. Scott Ware, MANS commander, said
agents received additional information "from several cooperating sources"
and were able to confirm through their own surveillances a large number of
vehicles parked at the house a couple of nights a week. Agents went to the
house around 11:00 Tuesday night with a search warrant. Inside, officers say
they found found each room set up with poker playing tables, a food buffet
and snacks, tobacco and alcoholic beverages. They say there 26 people in the
house and 24 of them were arrested. Lt. Ware says agents seized two
firearms, two personal computers, four large flat screen televisions,
numerous poker playing apparatus such as playing cards, tables, chips and an
electric currency counter. Also seized was about $13,000 from players and
dealers. Ware says more arrests are expected. Agencies participating in the
raid were the Hall County Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, the Gainesville-Hall
County Gang Task Force, the Hall County Sheriff's Office, and the federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

SUPERCASINO opponents say the proposed gambling venue in Greenwich would
mean an increase in crime. South and East London Against the Casino (SELAC)
has launched a petition and website opposing plans for Britain's first
regional casino to be opened at the former Millennium Dome -now called The
O2.
Pressure group activists spent months studying reports and statistics about
similar "resort-sized" casinos opened in different countries around the
world. Greenwich resident Rachel Mawhood is one of SELAC's four founding
members. She said: "Ten months ago a lot was said in papers about the
potential negative effects of a proposed supercasino.

Twenty counselors from Wyoming Valley Alcohol and Drug Services were due to
complete training Wednesday to treat possible slot-machine gambling
addictions, said Carmen Ambrosino, the agency's chief executive officer.
Ambrosino said he had already received three requests for assistance from
gambling addicts, though none were related to the state's first slot-machine
casino, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The early requests related to horse
betting, sports betting and slot machine gambling in Atlantic City, he said.
Statewide, about 100 counselors have started the 30-hour gambling addiction
training set up last year after a survey of counselors revealed that few
were certified in gambling addiction, said Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for
the state Department of Health. The state will collect at least $1.5 million
a year from gambling establishments to help pay for gambling addiction
counseling, McGarvey said. Robert Soper, president of Mohegan Sun at Pocono
Downs, said the casino presented a check to United Way of Wyoming for
$42,500 to help create a local program to supplement the state's efforts.

Officials have found that age limits on the use of gambling machines are
rarely enforced in Finland. Finnish law forbids children under the age of 15
from using slot machines. Young players are rarely asked how old they are,
and it is even rarer for them to be asked to prove their age. It is very
unusual for anyone to stop a child from playing fruit machines, video poker,
or other types of gambling machines. More than half of Finnish children aged
12 to 17 surveyed had spent money on gambling of some kind in the previous
year. Over half of all 14-year-olds had gambled, and more than a third of
those younger than that also said that they had played. Gambling machines
were the favourite game of chance. These are followed by scratch cards and
the weekly Lotto lottery. One in five play at least once a week. The
gambling habits of young Finns and the poor monitoring of age limits were
revealed in two separate studies conducted by the Taloustutkimus market
research company on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. In
one study, children over the age of 15 who look younger than their years
were recruited to buy lottery tickets and play slot machines, and to observe
other young people playing the games. Only seven percent said that they had
been asked their age. Boys were asked for an ID much more frequently than
girls. Enquiries were made most frequently in kiosks, and those asking the
questions were usually personnel on the premises. The other study involved
telephone interviews to examine the gambling practices of children aged 12
to 17, the amounts of money that were spent on games, and opinions on
compulsive gambling. One in four of the young people surveyed said that they
had friends who gambled to the point of having a problem. The study
concluded that about 1.3 per cent of children aged 12 to 17 belonged to a
high-risk group of heavy gamblers. It is in this group that potential
compulsive gamblers can be found, for whom the habit can bring social,
economic, and health problems. One in ten young people in the study said
that they would like stop gambling, but felt that it might be difficult.

Our government has an-nounced its plan to legalise casino gambling ahead of
the much-anticipated 2007 Cricket World Cup. The proposed legislation has
been promoted on the basis that it will improve tourism and bring the
financial benefits that are associated with increased tourist activity.
While casino gambling should only be available to non-Guyanese, the draft
bill appears to leave the door open for our nationals as well. As a Guyanese
who has chosen to remain in the country of my birth, I too dream of a Guyana
which is doing well economically and whose citizens enjoy the benefits of a
strong and vibrant economy. However, it is my firm belief that the moral and
spiritual health of the nation should not be sacrificed for increased
national income. The moral health and well-being of any society are things
for which no amount of money can ever compensate. The ills of casino
gambling are well-known and have long been recognized. It was Blackstone who
many years ago said that gambling promotes public idleness, theft and
debauchery, often leading to the sudden ruin and desolation of ancient and
opulent families.
Another writer, Paterson, alluded to the fact that gambling produces social
slackers. He noted that a wagerer often becomes a social parasite. Idleness,
referred to earlier leads to "vice and the impoverishment of the loser
entails misery and into consequence crime". Guyana cannot afford to make the
mistake that other countries have made. There is already too much vice and
crime - much more than our small population can afford. Our children,
youths, senior citizens and the society as a whole have endured enough. I
would like to urge our Parliamentarians to give the children of this
beautiful and blessed land the same benefits they enjoyed during their
childhood: the opportunity to live in a society known for its natural beauty
and not the multiple ills of casino gambling.

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Over the years, funds from Spring Grove American Legion charitable gambling
have benefited the community and others in various ways. The Legion Post
#249 has generated income through weekly bingo playing, and also from
selling tip boards and pull tabs at the club bar. Through the years,
gambling managers have included Clarence Johnson, Oren Landsverk, Lucille
Wilhelmson and Richard Myhre. Ron Dix is the current manager. Wilhelmson
recalled that selling tip boards started before bingo. "The Legion Post
started bingo in 1964," Donald Ellestad stated. "We had people playing bingo
both upstairs and downstairs. Bud Kemp and I were the callers. "Pull tabs
started much later," Ellestad added. The State of Minnesota Gaming
Commission started regulating charitable gambling in the early 1980s,
Wilhelmson figured. Currently, with Dix as manager, bingo workers include
Pauleen Bratland, Lorraine Hagen, Shirley Droivold, Harold Jetson and Gary
Buxengard. Bingo is played every Friday night in the front room of the
Legion. The doors open at 5 p.m. and calling starts at 7 p.m. Players come
from the tri-state area. Average attendance is 70, with higher numbers when
the number of calls for the blackout game is higher. "We started Mega Bingo
here the end of October," Dix explained about a statewide game that is
played electronically. "We now conduct one link bingo with 17 other bingo
halls across the state. Someone won it here once in the amount of $2,301.
The prize is determined by the amount of bingo sheets sold." Distribution of
funds In 2006, Spring Grove Legion Charitable Gambling funds paid out a
total of $29,123.92 for lawful purpose. Of that amount, some of the monies
were distributed to support the following: Locally: city of Spring Grove -
Syttende Mai Fest, $600; Homecoming Festival, $2,000; Music in the Park,
$750; Bike Safety class, $500; Boy Scout Troop 55, $500; Cub Scout Pack 55,
$300; Spring Grove Ambulance, $400; Spring Grove Community Task Force for
Post Prom Night, $500; Spring Grove Fire Department, $500; Spring Grove
Library, $25; Spring Grove United Fund, $250; School crossing guards to
Minnesota Twins game, $312; noon meal for high school students at County
Government Day, $39; Sunrise Care Facility, $300; groceries for Bloodmobile,
$300.20; flowers for funerals of legionnaires, $109.82; Legion Boys State,
$225 plus $55 for bus; Girls State, $250 plus $55 for bus; and American
flags for veterans cemetery plots, $253.65. Houston County: Care & Share,
$800; Agricultural Society for Salute to Veterans event at the fair, $500;
Semcac Food Shelf, $500; and Camp Winnebago for campership, $250. For Legion
programs: American Legion Hospital Program, $250; Fisher House Minneapolis,
$500; Veterans on the Lake, $500; and Hospitalized Vets Pheasant Dinners,
$28.

For others: American Cancer Society, $2,000; Eagles Cancer Telethon, $2,000
(years 2005 and 2006).

In year 2005, charitable gambling funds totaled $24,452.62. Of that amount,
$18,101 was distributed to various charitable causes.

Some of the larger contributions included: the city swimming pool, $5,000;
Semcac Senior Dining, $2,500; and American Cancer Society, $2,000.

The largest ever online gambling survey commissioned by eCOGRA has some
surprising results. With over 10 000 participants from countries all over
the world, this survey will represent the clearest picture about the online
gambling industry from a players perspective. The results of the survey are
expected to be revealed at the upcoming ICE exhibition which takes place on
the 23rd of January 2007. The report named "The Global Online Gambler
Report", was initiated by the Nottingham Trent University gambling research
team. They have been aided by the University of Nevada which is the Las
Vegas based university. The teams constitute leading minds in the field of
gambling. The report is expected to highlight such areas as player
protection, player preferences, gambling portals and their value, favourite
casino games and most importantly, responsible gambling. Draft versions of
the report have indicated that surprises can be expected.
Online Gambling Insider will provide detailed analysis of the reports as
soon as it is released.

A Scottish MP has called for credit card companies to place a limit on the
amount that online players can spend on Internet gambling. Mike Weir, the
Scottish National Party (SNP) MP for Angus, called for a limit to be set at
£1,000 a week, and also called sites to limit players to using one credit
card each. The plea comes after a spate of cases where players, suspected to
have a gambling addiction have spent thousands of pounds using other
people's
cards. APACS, which represents the card industry, and Partygaming, say there
are significant problems with the idea and see the solution in treating the
player's addiction at their source.
The average online gambler in the UK is in debt to the tune of £25,000,
while the gambling industry already pays £3 million a year into a trust to
deal with the issue of problem gambling.

A local tavern owner was cited late Sunday evening after detectives with the
Zanesville City Police Department learned he was allowing customers to use a
Tic Tac Fruit game in his establishment. David M. Pierce, 58, of 2180
Licking Road and owner of The Putnam Tavern on Putnam Avenue, was cited
around 11 p.m. when officers entered the tavern and saw a woman playing on
one of the four gaming machines in the bar. Lt. Tony Coury said he had
received word that gambling was going on at the bar, and when he walked in
that evening, he noticed the woman playing. The unidentified woman was not
arrested or cited, Coury said, since she immediately stopped playing the
machine when asked. Pierce appeared before Municipal Court Judge William
Joseph early Monday morning and entered a not guilty plea to one count of
operating a gambling house. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb.
16. Pierce could not be reached for comment. The machines have been ordered
out of the county by Muskingum County Sheriff Bob Stephenson and Prosecuting
Attorney Michael Haddox late last year and then Ohio Attorney General, Jim
Petro, said they were illegal last November. That's when Zanesville Police
Chief Eric Lambes and Law Director Scott Hillis ordered them out of the
city. Then on Dec. 18, a Franklin County Court of Common Pleas ruling said
the games do not fall within the statutory exception for skill-based
machines. One local gaming parlor owner, Ed Alexander, has decided to fight
the issue. Alexander was cited and 10 of his machines were confiscated last
December when Alexander reopened his business, Aces High on Maple Avenue.
Alexander has a court hearing this Friday to suppress evidence confiscated
that day. His Ashland attorney, Bob De Santo, who has been defending skill
game owners across Ohio, maintains the law remains unclear and no one should
be arrested or have their business shut down because of it. De Santo has
said the games are skill-based and have been changed to remain legal.

Faith-based groups charge that government has failed to "count the social
cost of this misadventure" and said they will stage the protest as part of
their mass campaign to help force legislators to back off from the
controversial measure. "The saddest part of this may well be that a
complicit media largely ignored or marginalised the submissions by the
church ... and were deliberately silent while our children's futures were
pawned off to business enterprise," the groups said in a letter to the
media. Research findings The groups argue that according to research
findings in developed countries, casino gambling spawn increased
bankruptcies, suicides, gaming addictions, divorces, child abuse and child
neglect, domestic violence and generalised crime. The Gambling Prevention
(Amendment) Bill which will be tabled by Home Affairs Minister, Clement
Rohee Thursday, will seek to legalise casino gambling in Guyana, but "will
not allow widespread gambling," Government Information Agency (GINA)
reasoned. "According to the amendment bill, it will bar existing hotels and
resorts from establishing casinos on their premises. No more than three
casino licences will be issued in each administrative region," meaning there
will be 30 casino gambling establish-ments in Guyana, GINA said. Under
Section 30 of the measure, "no person other than workers and guests of the
hotels or resorts shall be admitted to the casinos". Government already held
several consultations with the community and President Bharrat Jagdeo said
consultative process is an important period. He made it clear that once the
bill is legislated, only tourists would be allowed to engage in casino
gambling. Casino gambling spawn increased bankruptcies, suicides, gaming
addictions, divorces, child abuse and child neglect, domestic violence and
generalised crime.

I support Mr. Christopher Ram who has given some highlights of the global
scourge of casino gambling in his letter captioned "Casinos are widely
favoured by drug interests as laundries" (07.01.06). If the intention to
introduce casino gambling to Guyana is the result of the president's
economic plan for the boosting of tourism then he needs to go to the
following web address for more on the malaise and corruption that he seeks
to legalise: The US $445 billion spent annually on tourism can have Guyana
included as a destination of prominence to those who spend lavishly on
adventure and ecotourism, the kind that Guyana is naturally blessed with
perpetually, and needs to develop, at 5-star rating. Casino gambling will
not contribute to the prosperity of Guyana and those who are in constant
fear for their lives from the gun-toting criminal elements so prevalent in
the society today. Eco-tourism should be the spine of economic activity
since the natural beauty of the country and the fact that we are unique as
the only "English speaking" country on the block and the gateway to the
continent is begging for attention. Hospitality, the fundamentals of which
should be part of the curriculum for secondary schools and UG should be the
first step in training for a world class act of the tourist trade, since the
staffing is the most important aspect of any enterprise, but moreso the
hospitality industry. I have stayed at most of the hotels on my many visits
to my homeland, including the one referred to by the President as
"atrocious". What I feel he meant was the quality of service and this is the
case of most if not all the hotels and inns. Tourists, besides comfort and
rest and recreation, expect to be pampered, and the only way this can be
given to them is by the teaching of the rudiments of the hospitality trade
to the staff, and that includes the shift manager down to the plumber and
the landscape team. Essential too are the maids and laundry staff, in
general all personnel involved with the care and safety of their guests and
their personal belongings. Along with this comes intelligent and courteous
responses to the needs of the guests which can be demanding but at the same
time very rewarding not only for the owner/s of the establishment but for
the staff as well, whose honesty is paramount to the overall success of the
daily and sometimes hectic running of such an enterprise. Once I stayed at a
hotel in Georgetown (name given) where there were Brazilian guests and I
happened to be in the office of the receptionist where this Brazilian guest
was telling the receptionist that she locked herself out of her room and
would like a pass key to get in. The receptionist whose English was barely
up to 3rd standard was listening as though she understood Portuguese which
was being spoken to her and was responding with "yes" all the time until I
told her what the woman was saying to her. My brother his wife and I ran the
hotel, restaurant and bar in Boa Vista called Lua Nova, New Moon, in 79. I
left after his tragic death in the same year.

After months of work around the world, what is arguably the biggest survey
yet of online player attitudes and opinions is due to be presented at the
International Casino Exhibition in London at a media conference scheduled
for the 23 January. The Global Online Gambler Report was devised by leading
gambling research teams at Nottingham Trent University supported by the
University of Nevada (Las Vegas), and features views gleaned from the US,
UK, Asia, Canada, Germany and Sweden. The report covers areas such as online
poker rooms and casinos, player protection and preferences, use of
information portals, game favourites, responsible gambling and luck, with
almost 11 000 people in a number of countries taking part in both
qualitative focus group and general response research projects. eCOGRA CEO
Andrew Beveridge said this week: ""Early indications are that there will be
some surprises in the report. We think it will be very revealing for both
industry insiders and a wider public."

Gambling group Ladbrokes, which operates Ladbrokes Online Casino, is
expanding its European operations by targeting the Spanish market. The
British bookmaker is starting an alliance with Spanish slot machine firm
Cirsa Slot, whose machines are found in bars and arcades. The new alliance
will apply initially for a betting licence in Madrid, which comes under new
betting regulations. The move comes after Ladbroke's gained licences to
operate betting outlets in Italy in December. Applications for the licences
in Spain, set to last five years initially, are likely to be submitted in
mid-January. The firm expects to hear on whether its application has been
successful in the first quarter, a spokesperson said. The joint venture will
also be applying for licences in other parts of Spain, which - like Madrid -
are also looking into regulating betting. Cirsa Slot represents some 9% of
the Spanish Slot Games machine market, and is part of Cirsa which owns and
runs Casinos, Bingo halls and arcades. "We have formed a joint venture with
a market leader in Spain that gives us access to a network of thousands of
potential of site operators," Ladbrokes said.

According to a Turkish newspaper, new restrictions are to be vigorously
introduced by Turkish authorities against 'indecent broadcasting and online
gambling'. The new amendment to the existing censorship laws, Article 301 of
the Penal Code, will see the Information Technology Security Agency, censor
and block offending websites in the hope of contravening offending websites
that are 'denigrating Turkishness, the republic, the institutions and organs
of the state.' The Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reports that where people
have up until now enjoyed the freedom of expression on the Internet, they
will now face considerable censorship. As well as targeting online gambling,
the bill is being drawn up to combat child abuse and indecent broadcasting
and legal action is expected to be taken against site owners imminently,
after substantial investigation and monitoring by the IT Security Agency.
Turkish Internet Service Providers are to comply with the Agency and serve
court orders. Those responsible for websites with content breaching the new
legislation will face punishment that could comprise of sentences between
six months and three years in prison.

HSBC has joined the ranks of banks charging customers higher rates for
gambling transactions processed on its credit cards. The bank will charge
customers the cash advance rate of interest (up to 27.8 per cent) instead of
the normal purchase rate (up to 22.9 per cent). A spokeswoman told BBC News:
"This is one of a number of changes we have made to our credit card offering
recently to bring us in line with the competition." While MBNA and Natwest
now charge customers using their credit cards to make gambling transactions
at higher cash advance rates, Barclaycard and Lloyds continue to charge at
lower rates. Credit card use is illegal for both casino and bookmaker
gambling. But HSBC denies that the move is designed to punish online
gamblers for stacking up debts and defaulting on credit card payments: "We
have not seen that as part of our customers' behaviour," insisted its
spokeswoman. Spending on online gambling accounted for only 0.8 per cent of
all credit card spending in the year to June 2006, according to (Apacs).

The Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported this week that a controversial
law, Penal Code Article 301, is to be applied vigorously by Turkish
authorities against *Internet crimes* that include online gambling. The
legislation is apparently targeted on "indecent broadcasting and online
gambling", and the Information Technology Security Agency will have the task
of blocking broadcasts and offending sites as defined by the Turkish Penal
Code. Restrictions are being introduced by the Code that amount to
censorship of the internet, claims the newspaper report, where people have
hitherto enjoyed Internet freedom to express their ideas in recent years.
According to the bill, ostensibly drawn up to combat child abuse, indecent
broadcasts and online gambling, one of the most important tasks of the
Information Technology Security Agency will be to obstruct broadcasts. It
appears that the manner in which this is to be achieved is through court
orders sought by the Agency following extensive monitoring of suspected
sites. The court orders will presumably be served on ISPs. Legal action will
also be instituted against site owners where these can be reached. Penal
Code Article 301 is controversial because of its widening application
regarding Internet offences such as "Denigrating Turkishness, the republic
and the institutions and organs of the state," under which many free
thinkers including Nobel Prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, have apparently
been prosecuted. Punitive measures in the Penal Code are tough: Article 299
makes insulting the president a crime punishable by between one and four
years' imprisonment. If committed via the media then add one third.
"Broadcasts" made over the internet in contravention of Article 301
"Denigrating Turkishness, the republic, the institutions and organs of the
state," can attract sentences between six months and three years in prison.

As reported by the West Virginia Herald-Dispatch: "The debate over whether
table gambling should be allowed at West Virginia's four racetracks might
come down to who gets to vote on the decision, a group of panelists said
Thursday. "The panel discussion was part of a legislative lookahead forum
sponsored by the Associated Press at Marshall University's Graduate College
campus in South Charleston. ".Racetrack officials will make another push
during the 60-day legislative session, which begins Wednesday, to allow the
four racetrack counties -- Jefferson, Kanawha, Hancock and Ohio -- to have
local referenda on the table gambling issue. ".[Rev. Dennis] Sparks, a
staunch opponent of gambling expansion in West Virginia as well as the
state's reliance on lottery revenues, said any vote on table gambling must
be conducted statewide. ".Ted Arneault, president of MTR Gaming Group Inc.,
which runs the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Hancock County,
claimed that provisions in the state constitution would make a statewide
vote nearly impossible."

WHEN the ministerial association of Terrace, BC learned that a local bingo
palace was asking city council to change a bylaw so it could bring slot
machines to their northern BC community, they knew they had to speak out
against the proposal. Joel Ringma, the pastor of Terrace's Christian
Reformed Church, was delegated to speak at a public forum in October on
their behalf. "I basically said, 'Look, there's going to be a cost to this.
It'll be a social cost, a credibility cost to council, and a spiritual cost
if you go ahead with slot machines in Terrace . . . It may reap some
financial benefit for us as a city, but it will cost more than it gains,'"
he said.
In the end, the mayor and councillors voted 4 - 3 to keep slots out of
Terrace. It was a victory Ringma suspects might not have happened if people
had not made their voices heard. Speaking of one of the councillors who
opposed the slots, he said she "said that the presence of the people that
were speaking against the motion was what influenced her. "There were 17
people that spoke to the motion and there were about 100 people in
attendance. So I think our collective presence there made an impact."
Nothing wrong Such outcomes are much more the exception than the rule. Not
only are most of BC's municipal and provincial governments inclined to
welcome more and more state-sanctioned gambling as a way to fill their own
coffers, but most people -- including most Christians -- see nothing wrong
with it. "Even within our own church," said Ringma, "even though most folks
are opposed to [slot machines], you put out a petition and you encourage
people to sign it, and the participation rate . . . is less than maybe what
one might hope for." Ringma blamed this response on "a general sense of
apathy . . . 'What's in it for me if I speak against this? This doesn't
affect my life, my family, so why should I put the time and energy into
this?'" Vancouver resident Bill Chu, a Christian who coordinates the
Multicultural Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, said he has witnessed
that apathy countless times in close to 10 years of trying to urge
politicians across the Lower Mainland to halt the proliferation of new
casinos and other forms of gambling.

"The culture has been on that route for a while, and the churches have not
been really outspoken about what's wrong with that trend," he said.
"Although some individual Christians are out there helping, I wouldn't
classify it as an overwhelming response. As for identifiable churches, it's
almost nil."

In 2004, when Vancouver city council was debating whether to proceed with a
proposed casino in the Plaza of Nations, only two churches showed up to
oppose it. The casino was eventually approved on a vote of 5 - 4.

Relentless pace

And while churches have, for the most part, kept their silence, the
opportunities for people to gamble keeps growing at a relentless pace.
Greater Vancouver now boasts eight casinos. Businessman Paul Esposito has
renewed his bid to build a casino in Abbotsford. As well, Great Canadian
Casinos has the green light to install 900 slot machines at the Hastings
Race Track in East Vancouver.

In 2004, the BC Lottery Corporation introduced Internet gambling. In 2005,
it added betting on virtual-reality racing. Last fall, it began sending out
'ambassadors' hired to 'educate' bar and pub patrons about a new
poker-themed lottery.

The popularity of these decisions is reflected in the $2.26 billion the
corporation reported earning in the 2005 - 2006 fiscal year; this was up
from $2 billion a year earlier and $11 million more than the corporation
itself had projected. Of that amount, the government garnered $914 million,
nearly $100 million more than in 2005. A further $137.7 million went to more
than 5,000 charitable organizations across the province.

Last fall, the Financial Post reported, the 10 provinces together pocketed
$7.3 billion in profit -- on 'gaming' revenue -- of $12.9 billion; this is a
79 percent increase since 1992.

One high-profile Christian who has had some success with an anti-gambling
campaign is Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary; the local
Catholic school board initially balked when he ordered them to stop taking
revenues from gambling sources, but in September, they complied.

His victory, however, was an exception. Ringma said he suspects many
Christians are simply afraid to take a stand.

"Maybe in their head, they know that it's wrong; but on another level, they
don't want to be perceived as killjoys -- 'Oh, here come the Christians
again saying no to our fun things.'"

Then there is the fact, Ringma added, that a portion of the revenue does get
pumped back into the community.

"If you're against lotteries or slot machines, then you're somehow
associated with being against . . . youth programs or something like that,"
he said.

For local governments, there is the calculation that money from casinos will
make it easier to keep down taxes, a prospect which Chu claimed has been
proven false.

"One Richmond councillor promised . . . if we get the River Rock Casino,
there wouldn't be tax increases for the next four years," he said.
"Obviously, that promise was broken year after year, even after River Rock
happened."

Human toll

What is not a matter of speculation, however, is the rapidly rising human
toll of people whose passion for gambling is such that they pose a danger to
themselves and their families. According to BC's Gaming Policy and
Enforcement Branch, 5,830 people called its help-line in the last fiscal
year to say they had a problem with gambling -- up 86 percent from the
previous year.

One person they are referred to for help is Ian Gartshore, a Nanaimo-based
therapist and ordained Presbyterian minister, who is under contract with the
government to counsel problem gamblers.

"They're here," he said, "because they're fearful of what's going to happen
if they don't make a change . . . It might be a spouse who says, 'You've
just blown $40,000 of our money on gambling. You better go get some
counselling. Otherwise, you may not have a spouse.'"

Gartshore said he worries those numbers will keep rising, especially as more
and more teenagers become avid gamblers. "Research is showing that the
earlier you get started in gambling, the more likely you are to get into a
real problem with it," he said.

"So if they're doing more of it now, which appears to be the case, then
what's that going to mean when they're in their 40s?"

Problem gambling

A recent survey by the Responsible Gambling Council found that problem
gambling among people aged 18 to 24 rose 400 percent between 2001 and 2005.

Another emerging problem is the rise in crime in B.C.'s casinos. As the
enforcement branch also reported, the number of investigations launched into
alleged loan-sharking, money-laundering, fraud, thefts, threats and assaults
rose 36 percent in 2005 - 2006.

Also investigated were 1,155 attempts to pass counterfeit money and 652
Gaming Control Act violations, more than double the 279 in the previous
year. But only 11 criminal charges were laid. Chu said he is not surprised
by this trend. "We are becoming government for the casinos and by the
casinos, because this government of ours is addicted to [gambling]," he
said.

"And yet . . . they're not spending a cent on social housing. So we are fast
becoming part of a heartless community -- a group of heartless people that
would rather shift the tax burden from the rich and famous to the vulnerable
in society."

This is all the more reason, he added, for Christians to wake up and "call
God's people into repentance, acknowledging our silence in the past and
hopefully to act in the future."

Law enforcement agencies confiscate 16 illegal gambling machines and several
thousand dollars from a business in Middle Valley. Police served a search
warrant at the Putter Inn at 6937 Middle Valley Road last night. Deputies
found video poker machines and active card games inside the facility.
Approximately 50 patrons and all employees were interviewed before being
released. Officer Ron Rice with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department
says they've been investigating the Putter Inn for several months. Rice says
the more evidence they collect...the easier it is for the district
attorney's office to prosecute the owners. The investigation continues, and
there is no word yet on any charges.

Hundreds of slot machines were rolling last week in Broward County, where
crowds thronged a new "racino" at the former Hollywood Greyhound Track,
newly dubbed the Mardi Gras Racetrack and Gaming Center. At nearby
Gulfstream Park, slots were introduced in mid-November and more than $77
million has already flowed through its machines. Two more tracks plan to
open rooms for slots soon -- and there's little the Legislature can do about
it. A statewide constitutional amendment approved in 2004 allowed voters in
Miami-Dade and Broward counties to vote on allowing casino-style slots.
Miami-Dade voters said no, but the issue could face a re-vote in the coming
year. Broward voters said yes, and the Legislature -- under pressure from
Gov. Jeb Bush, a gambling opponent -- scrambled in 2006 to enact
restrictions and set a tax rate on the new machines. For the most part, the
restrictions made sense. Lawmakers mandated that 50 percent of slots revenue
go to the state, to be used for education. That's in line with the education
revenues produced by the Florida Lottery. State law also restricts hours of
operation for slots, a measure intended to break the trance many gamers fall
into when they begin to play the slots. Along the same lines, casinos are
not allowed to offer free or low-cost alcohol to gamers. Automated-teller
machines are banned from slot-machine parlors, along with check-cashing or
loan services.
These are important protections. With slots, "you can use up so much money
in so very short a period of time," says Pat Fowler, executive director of
the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling. "The only thing that makes the
gambler stop is the need for more money." Bush insisted on these regulations
as a way to protect Floridians from slots -- perhaps the most addictive form
of gambling available. Lawmakers who support gambling are already suggesting
that these measures be repealed, and they're counting on Gov. Charlie Crist
to back their play. Crist accepted thousands of dollars in campaign
contributions from many of the state's gambling interests. But Crist, along
with the Legislature, should stand firm. Instead of making it easier for
problem gamblers to sink deeper into debt, state officials should consider
using the slots revenue to shore up programs to treat gambling addiction.

First, the state needs a good look at trends. The Legislature commissioned a
study of gambling that was completed by the University of Florida in 2003.
That study -- which provided valuable information on the national, as well
as regional, impacts of gambling -- cries out for a follow-up now that slots
are established in the state.

The state can also maximize the programs it already has in place by
investing in publicity for its gambling helpline. Spending money on
advertising carries a dual benefit: It helps Floridians reach out for help
they might not otherwise know about, and it gives the state a constantly
updated picture of problem wagering.

But the hotline faces its own challenges. Too often, staffers can't offer
problem gamblers a place to turn for anti-addiction counseling. Some
mental-health professionals still treat gambling as a self-control issue,
despite studies showing it's a geniune addiction with mental and
physiological components. Better training for the state's psychiatric
community -- and subsidies for those who can't afford to pay private
physicians -- would help.

An organization that lobbies for expanded casino gambling in Kansas released
a poll this week showing 46 percent of Kansans support the creation of more
nontribal casinos in the state. Thirty-nine percent of the 500 respondents,
all registered voters, opposed the idea, and 15 percent were undecided. The
survey was commissioned by Kansans for Economic Growth and was conducted
Nov. 14-16 by Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates. The poll, with a 4.3
percent margin for error, comes as the Legislature prepares for Monday's
start of the 2007 legislative session. Expanding casino gambling long has
been an issue before the Legislature but hasn't passed. Supporters say the
state loses revenue to casinos in neighboring Oklahoma and Missouri. They
say that money could be used for schools or to reduce property taxes.
Opponents of casino gambling point to its associated social ills and say
casinos are a drain on other entertainment-related businesses. Park City and
the Wichita Greyhound Park have been in the running for additional gambling
opportunities in the past, either through a destination casino or slot
machines at the dog track.

It is eminently sensible to teach mathematics with reference to everyday
activities in the real world, whether that be the probability of a certain
card being dealt, a winning ticket being bought in the National Lottery, or
of a particular bus arriving within the next five minutes. I recall that I
was taught probability with reference to the outcome of one coin being
tossed, then by two coins being spun simultaneously, followed by the outcome
with one die and then two dice being rolled.
The maxim that there are lies, damned lies and statistics holds true today
largely because we do not question statistics and use them in a careless
manner. Indeed, the apparent fact that one is more likely to be killed from
a part falling from an aeroplane than winning the lottery (your report,
January 4) is a case in point. The probability of winning the National
Lottery on Saturday with the It is eminently sensible to teach mathematics
with reference to everyday activities in the real world, whether that be the
probability of a certain card being dealt, a winning ticket being bought in
the National Lottery, or of a particular bus arriving within the next five
minutes. I recall that I was taught probability with reference to the
outcome of one coin being tossed, then by two coins being spun
simultaneously, followed by the outcome with one die and then two dice being
rolled. The maxim that there are lies, damned lies and statistics holds true
today largely because we do not question statistics and use them in a
careless manner. Indeed, the apparent fact that one is more likely to be
killed from a part falling from an aeroplane than winning the lottery (your
report, January 4) is a case in point. The probability of winning the
National Lottery on Saturday with the purchase of one ticket can easily be
shown to be one in 13,983,816. If the probability of being killed on that
same day by a piece falling from a plane is, indeed, less at one in 10
million then I would expect to hear of five or six such deaths in the UK out
of a population of between 50 and 60 million. I suspect that will not be the
case since the probability no doubt relates to possibility of such a fate at
the end of one's life, rather than on just one day, which suggests that
lessons include a detailed examination of apples and pears as well as cards
and dice.

Tic Tac Fruit" could turn out to be a lemon for Ohioans unless - and
possibly even if - state legislators don't do something about it and similar
"games." "Tic Tac Fruit" is familiar to many in East Ohio. It is a video
"gaming" machine that looks and operates much like a video gambling machine.
It gained popularity last year because its promoters, claiming it was not
subject to the state's laws against gambling, opened up parlors with "Tic
Tac Fruit" and similar machines in many areas of the state, including ours.
Promoters of the machines claim they are not gambling devices because
players affect the outcome - whether they win or lose. But late last year, a
judge in Franklin County Common Pleas Court ruled that "Tic Tac Fruit" is a
gambling device. He noted that the machines are programmed to guarantee that
operators will make profits of 5 percent of the amount of money pumped into
each device. That means that player skill is not the critical factor, the
judge ruled. His ruling backs up the state Liquor Control Commission, which
has banned "Tic Tac Fruit" and similar games in licensed bars. But the judge
warned that new "gaming" machines - all designed to rake in money in large
quantities from players - will be designed. That may make it less easy for
the courts to rule that such devices are illegal gambling machines, he said.
In November, Ohio voters said no to legalized machine gambling at racetracks
and a few other locations. We don't believe they want to permit electronic
one-armed (or one-buttoned) bandits masquerading as "games." That makes it
essential for legislators to take another look at Ohio's gambling laws and
close loopholes that allow devices such as "Tic Tac Fruit."

According to the BBC, although HSBC customers will now immediately pay
interest of between 21.9% and 27.8% instead of the previous charge of
between 15.9% and 22.9%, they will not be charged the one-off fee applied to
other cash transactions such as the purchase of foreign currency.
AdvertisementThe BBC reported that, in the last year, all major banks have
protested about increasing numbers of bad loans within their credit card
businesses. It commented, however, that HSBC's decision has not come as a
result of fears that customers who use their credit cards to gamble are more
likely to amass debt that they cannot pay.
The HSBC spokeswoman told the BBC: "We have not seen that as part of our
customers' behavior." Instead, she stated: "This is one of a number of
changes we have made to our credit card offering recently to bring us in
line with the competition." At present, the UK credit card industry does not
have a standard policy regarding gambling charges. While Barclaycard and
Lloyds charge at their lower purchase rates, MBNA, Royal Bank of Scotland
and Egg charge at the cash advance rate. According to the BBC, there is,
however, a loophole in HSBC's strategy as payments that are channeled via
the online payment service Paypal will still be charged as a retail purchase
and therefore continue to attract a lower rate of interest. According to the
Association of Payment Clearing Services, credit card gambling carried out
by UK consumers in the year up to June 2006 accounted for just 0.8% of all
credit card spending

An increase in gaming revenues resulted in more money for the Washington
County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, the Washington County Gaming
Commission announced. In a press release Wednesday, Washington County public
information officer Norman Bassett said the gaming association distributed
$664,790.05 to the fire and rescue association. The money represents half of
the gaming fund revenues from July 1 through Sunday, Director of Gaming
James Hovis said. The most recent revenues are 5.6 percent higher than the
January 2006 disbursement, the press release states. Ten percent of the
overall gaming fund revenues go toward the operating expenses of the
Washington County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, President Glenn
Fuscsick said. The remaining money is split evenly among the county's fire
and ambulance companies, he said. The gaming commission distributes the
money raised by tip jars throughout the county. Nonprofit organizations get
gaming funding in August, while the fire and rescue association's funding
comes in January and August. Since its beginning, the commission has
distributed more than $31 million, the press release states.

Four men, including an Arvada postal worker, have been indicted in an
alleged sports gambling operation that took in as much as $85,000 in bets
every week for a year. The alleged ring was broken after undercover Arvada
and Lakewood police officers were introduced to Mark J. Evans, 38, of
Arvada, who investigators say recruited bettors and collected and paid off
bets while on duty for the post office. Evans, a letter carrier based at the
Indian Tree station in Arvada, was arrested Dec. 26 and was being held
Wednesday in the Jefferson County jail on $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to
appear in court Jan. 11. An U.S. Postal Service employee for more than 14
years, Evans was placed on unpaid administrative leave, pending the outcome
of the investigation. Also indicted last month were William Burbidge, 65, of
Centennial; Todd Lane Vaughn, 42, of Brighton; and John Mencin, 57, of
Denver. Vaughn was arrested Dec. 22 and was released on $100,000 bond on
Dec. 26. His first court appearance will be today. Arrangements reportedly
are being made for Burbidge and Mencin to turn themselves in. All four men
face organized crime, conspiracy and professional gambling charges.

Dozens of Costa Rican employees have been laid off by one of the online
gambling industry's larger companies, BetUS.com, according to a report from
sportsbook portal Gambling911 this week, which suggests that the company is
the latest group to significantly downsize its Costa Rica operations.
Bodog.com announced similar plans last month. Costa Rica's economy, in which
the offshore gambling sector is an important element, sustained damage when
BetonSports with close to 1 500 employees shut down during the summer
following the arrest of its CEO on US soil and the subsequent passage of the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The Costa Rican online gambling
industry is believed to employ well over 5 000 people, 911 reports. The
sector is the Central American nation's third largest industry after
telecommunications and tourism. Operators have expressed the fear that the
Costa Rican government may not be sufficiently committed to protecting the
industry from extra-jurisdictional actions initiated by an aggressively
anti-online gambling US Justice Department. BetUS.com maintains a marketing
office in Vancouver, and there are unconfirmed reports that the company may
soon open a new call centre in Panama, Antigua or Curacao (Netherlands
Antilles). A conference call ended this afternoon with the layoff of several
dozen employees. The American NFL (National Football League) has reportedly
sent BetUS.com a cease and desist order regarding the use of certain images
in advertisements and on the BetUS.com website.

An increase in gaming revenues resulted in more money for the Washington
County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, the Washington County Gaming
Commission announced. In a press release Wednesday, Washington County public
information officer Norman Bassett said the gaming association distributed
$664,790.05 to the fire and rescue association. The money represents half of
the gaming fund revenues from July 1 through Sunday, Director of Gaming
James Hovis said. The most recent revenues are 5.6 percent higher than the
January 2006 disbursement, the press release states. Ten percent of the
overall gaming fund revenues go toward the operating expenses of the
Washington County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, President Glenn
Fuscsick said. The remaining money is split evenly among the county's fire
and ambulance companies, he said. The gaming commission distributes the
money raised by tip jars throughout the county. Nonprofit organizations get
gaming funding in August, while the fire and rescue association's funding
comes in January and August. Since its beginning, the commission has
distributed more than $31 million, the press release states.

Professor Alastair Gillespie, chairman of the Scottish Mathematical Council,
believes that by introducing simple gambling games into Maths lessons,
children will become more engaged and will likely to improve their
mathematical skills. Gillespie claims that young children have problems with
mathematical problems such as probability, a concept at the heart of
gambling. "Things like tossing coins and cutting cards are simple techniques
which teach pupils about basic maths and I think it would catch the interest
of students if we were to introduce that in schools. What you are trying to
do is engage with pupils and present them with scenarios which interest them
because it shows how maths can be relevant and we need to do more of that,"
Gillespie advised. Gillespie immediately came under fire for his comments
from anti-gambling societies, claiming that his ideas would only serve to
encourage children to gamble. However, one gambling expert agreed with
Gillespie, stating that there is no evidence of teaching people gambling
skills leads to problem gamblers, as long as people are aware of problems
that can lead from gambling. "Gambling should be on the school curriculum
because it engages people with basic maths," said Mark Griffiths, professor
of Gambling Studies at Nottingham Trent University. "I have taught in
schools and if you show people that there is much greater chance of being
hit be lightening than of winning the lottery, it puts gambling into
perspective. As long as there is an understanding that in some circumstances
gambling can be a problem, I don't think there is anything wrong with this."

Dozens of Costa Rican employees have been laid off by one of the online
gambling industry's larger companies, BetUS.com, according to a report from
sportsbook portal Gambling911 this week, which suggests that the company is
the latest group to significantly downsize its Costa Rica operations.
Bodog.com announced similar plans last month. Costa Rica's economy, in which
the offshore gambling sector is an important element, sustained damage when
BetonSports with close to 1 500 employees shut down during the summer
following the arrest of its CEO on US soil and the subsequent passage of the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The Costa Rican online gambling
industry is believed to employ well over 5 000 people, 911 reports. The
sector is the Central American nation's third largest industry after
telecommunications and tourism. Operators have expressed the fear that the
Costa Rican government may not be sufficiently committed to protecting the
industry from extra-jurisdictional actions initiated by an aggressively
anti-online gambling US Justice Department. BetUS.com maintains a marketing
office in Vancouver, and there are unconfirmed reports that the company may
soon open a new call centre in Panama, Antigua or Curacao (Netherlands
Antilles). A conference call ended this afternoon with the layoff of several
dozen employees. The American NFL (National Football League) has reportedly
sent BetUS.com a cease and desist order regarding the use of certain images
in advertisements and on the BetUS.com website.

An increase in gaming revenues resulted in more money for the Washington
County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, the Washington County Gaming
Commission announced. In a press release Wednesday, Washington County public
information officer Norman Bassett said the gaming association distributed
$664,790.05 to the fire and rescue association. The money represents half of
the gaming fund revenues from July 1 through Sunday, Director of Gaming
James Hovis said. The most recent revenues are 5.6 percent higher than the
January 2006 disbursement, the press release states. Ten percent of the
overall gaming fund revenues go toward the operating expenses of the
Washington County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, President Glenn
Fuscsick said. The remaining money is split evenly among the county's fire
and ambulance companies, he said. The gaming commission distributes the
money raised by tip jars throughout the county. Nonprofit organizations get
gaming funding in August, while the fire and rescue association's funding
comes in January and August. Since its beginning, the commission has
distributed more than $31 million, the press release states.

Along California's rugged northwest coast, a freshly paved highway exit
marked "Bald Hills Road" is for most nothing more than the entrance to Lady
Bird Johnson Grove and Redwood National Park. For the Yurok, the state's
largest and perhaps poorest American Indian tribe, it's where the road home,
and the Yuroks' struggles, begin. Past the park, Bald Hills quickly narrows
to a deadly, one-lane logging path and snakes high into the Pacific coastal
range. Around blind corners and frequent cliffs, charred remains of Jeeps
and rusted cars litter the ditches of a 40-mile-long washboard welcome mat.
It is a clan the state, if not time itself, has left behind. For years, the
Yurok have asked California lawmakers for permission to operate slot
machines to begin making the money they say could help pull the poorest of
their 5,000 out of grinding poverty. Their casino would be so remote it
would seem few might visit, but the tribe estimates it could bring in more
than $1 million a year, as much as doubling its discretionary budget in bad
years and allowing the tribe to begin saving money to pave, or at least
regularly grade, roads such as Bald Hills. Here, surrounded by steep hills
and stripped redwood forests, hundreds of Yuroks survive dug into the
remote, muddy banks of the Klamath River. Most live without electricity or
clean running water in clusters of dilapidated trailers supplied after a
flood when Lyndon B. Johnson was president. Children still learn in one-room
schools. Wood fires warm homes. And a tribe that once thrived off salmon
grapples with a river with few fish. The tribe's only jobs come from federal
grants, or in helping timber companies take the very trees Yuroks believe to
be their own. The way the Yuroks' gambling efforts have been thwarted for
years, both through bureaucratic slip-ups and in the crossfire of larger
political feuds in the state Capitol, is the story of a tribe beset by
misfortunes as confounding as any in the state.

Re "This time, let's get state pension reform done right," commentary by
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dec.. 28: The reason state pension and health
benefits are better than the private sector's is that state salaries are
below the private sector, significantly so at upper levels. For decades,
legislators and governors of both parties have saved money in yearly budgets
by not paying fair market salaries, at a cost to future generations in the
form of pension and health payments. Does this sound familiar? State
salaries are insufficient to attract quality employees without the pension
and health plans. I would support pension and health benefits changes linked
with salary reform, so that all three were more in line with the private
sector. However, you can be sure that Republicans, including the governor,
will focus only on the pension and health benefits and ignore the salary
issue. They couldn't care less about the state's ability to attract quality
employees. Democrats are more likely to focus on the underlying problems of
salaries and employee recruitment, but they, too, respond to the siren call
of putting off current costs into the future. I'd be surprised if anything
positive comes out of the governor's benefits commission.

Customers at the Island Resort Casino now have access to a larger gambling
area with more slot machines and a new gambling pit. The renovations are
part of a $43 million expansion for the Harris casino, located in the Upper
Peninsula. It includes a 211-room hotel tower, 1,300 seat showroom,
restaurant and bar, lounge and 18-hole golf course. Eventually, 450 slot
machines will be added to the gambling area. Construction began in the fall
of 2005.

We may not admit it but we are all, no matter how pious we maybe, once in a
while fascinated by riches and the rich. Given a choice most of us would
rather be another billionaire Bill Gates than another the late Mother
Theresa of Calcutta. While we easily express anger when for instance
certain sections of our nation award themselves huge salary increases while
the majority cannot even afford a decent meal every day, we would happily
exchange places if given a chance. The bottom line is most of us are rather
mad and sad that we are not rich. It is, therefore, not surprising that a
number of Malawians are jumping at the opportunity to become millionaires
through gambling at the mushrooming casinos or the lottery. In the past due
to pressure from the church and other quarters gambling was considered
illegal in most countries. But over the years in order to balance their
books governments have resorted to establishing national lotteries and
legalising gambling in the hope of raising more revenue. They have thus
avoided the politically risky option of raising taxes. In Malawi the main
reason given has been that legalising gambling would promote tourism and in
turn increase revenue for the government. But while the benefits of gambling
have been trumpeted it appears little has been said about the disadvantages
of gambling. It is as if there are no risks in gambling. It is as if
gambling is like any other "investment". Gambling itself produces nothing of
value other than taking money from the many people who lose and giving it to
a few winners. I would, of course, be hiding my head in the sand if I did
not acknowledge the fact that some good things have or may come out of
legalised gambling. For instance, revenues from gambling may be used in
poverty alleviation projects. However, we cannot ignore the fact that as a
consequence of our search of the fool's gold of gambling a lot of
undesirable consequences have or will befall the poor the revenues are
supposed to assist. It is a proven fact worldwide that the majority of the
people mostly likely to engage in gambling are the poor. And yet this is the
group that can least afford to engage in gambling. The result has been that
income that could have been used to purchase food and other basic
necessities of life is instead spent on gambling. Being the least educated,
in most cases, the poor may have a poor understanding of basic probability
and not understand their low likelihood of winning. This is especially
exacerbated by the fact that the gambling industry usually does not
advertise or warn those playing or buying the lottery tickets of this. In
any case, owners of gambling machines and in some instances governments are
more interested in making more money.
The fact of the matter is that most of the people who buy the lottery ticket
will lose. You may have to spend millions of kwacha to be sure of winning
the jackpot. While the rich can afford to spend their excess money in
gambling it is tragic when the poor use their meagre resources in gambling.
I recently heard of a gentleman who spent all his monthly salary in a
casino. Some may say that since the people who engage in gambling do so
voluntarily and are grown ups, then it is not our problem but theirs. I only
wish it were so, unfortunately, the pathological gambler imposes hurt not
only on herself or himself but on her associates, family members and the
general public. This is so because to finance his or her gambling habits and
debts they may have to borrow money from those close to them. If this does
not materialise they may even involve themselves in theft and fraud to fund
it. We, therefore, cannot say that the problem will remain with him or her
alone.
Gambling is addictive and those who eventually become addicted do not set
out to become addicted. We, therefore, need to take steps to assist those
who get addicted to it in the same way we need to help those who get
addicted to tobacco and alcohol. According to the American Insurance
Institute at least 40 percent of white collar crime in America is committed
by and on behalf of problem gamblers. In fact, two out of every three
compulsive gamblers in America report that they would resort to crime to pay
for their gambling habits. Relying on compulsive gamblers to raise money for
the government amounts to taking advantage of their addiction. Research in
other countries has also shown that claims that gambling aids and benefits
the local communities are not totally true. This is because this revenue is
offset by the increased costs of crime, policing and societal disruption.
The National Council on Problem Gambling in America reports that compulsive
gamblers annually cost American businesses a staggering $40 billion in lost
wages and insurance claims. Even the argument that legalised gambling
increases revenue to the government is a weak one. This is so because it is
a question substituting sources of revenues from one sector of the economy
to another. In other words money that was supposed to have spent in buying
goods and services from other sectors is now spent on gambling. As a result
loss of revenues from taxes that should have been collected from these
sectors is now obtained from the gambling sector. Maybe the only benefit
that we would get is from tourism receipts if we have an increase in
tourists because of the casinos. But we all live in one world we should not
ignore the side effects of gambling on the tourists. While there is a law
that prevents children below the age of 16 from gambling I wonder if
mechanisms were put in place to prevent them from buying lottery tickets and
frequenting casinos. Children are more likely to get addicted to gambling
than adults and need our protection. It is quite obvious to me that addicted
children will eventually steal from their parents and engage in other anti
social behaviours which may have far more serious consequences on the nation
than those from the elderly.
Some have argued that gambling revenues is a form of a voluntary tax
especially in nations where they have national lotteries run by the
government. If that is the case then that tax does not meet the principles
of a good tax system since it is a regressive tax because all pay the same
amount for a lottery ticket. In other words the poor pay a greater
proportion of their income than the rich when it is supposed to be the
opposite. I hope that this article may stimulate a healthy debate on the
dangers of gambling. It is also my sincere hope that in future owners of
gambling machines and lotteries would be forced to put warning labels on
tickets and in their adverts on the odds of winning and potential for
addiction.

For the second time in less than a year, state lawmakers have let the clock
run out on simulcasting rights for the state's four racetracks. At least one
of the tracks - Suffolk Downs - planned to close today because the off-track
betting rights expired at the end of the day yesterday, and other tracks may
go dark as well. The Legislature could still reach a resolution during their
last informal meetings tomorrow before the current two-year legislative
session ends. But some damage already has been done to a struggling industry
that can ill afford to lose its key source of revenue - even for a couple
days. Leaving such a controversial issue to be handled in informal
sessions - when one lawmaker can block a bill - only raises the likelihood
that the legislation won't be passed in time. A similar scenario played out
last spring, when three of the four tracks closed down for nearly a week
after lawmakers failed to reach a simulcasting extension agreement by a
March 31 deadline.
Instead of coming up with a more permanent solution that would satisfy the
four tracks, state lawmakers have continued to grant temporary extensions in
recent years. There was some hope that a measure to allow slot machines at
the tracks would alleviate their dependence on simulcasting. But resistance
in the House proved to be too stiff for that bill to pass. The track owners
aren't entirely blameless, either. They view each other as competitors
instead of coming up with a consensus that can satisfy all of them. In
particular, the owners of Raynham Park and their legislative champion, Rep.
David Flynn of Bridgewater, have been holdouts, pushing for significantly
expanded simulcasting rights at Raynham when such a move risks simulcasting
for everyone. There's no good reason why lawmakers on Beacon Hill waited
until the last minute. They have been well aware of the Dec. 31 deadline
since it was first set last spring. This isn't about whether gambling is
good or bad. The state already runs the biggest gaming operation in
Massachusetts - the Lottery - with nearly $4.5 billion in annual revenue.
Besides, the Legislature long ago decided that betting on horse and dog
races at regulated racetracks is legal. No legal industry should face this
kind of uncertainty due to the inability of government to act in a timely
manner. While it's not an engine of growth like the state's life sciences or
financial sectors, the racing industry still provides for hundreds - if not
thousands - of jobs. The Legislature should stop gambling with those jobs.
It's a bet that they've lost for the second time in a row.

Police have crushed the biggest gambling syndicate of 2006 in Penang, which
raked in more than RM1 million in bets a month, and detained six people,
four of them women. The six were detained in a raid at the syndicate's base
located at a flat in Taman Seri Hijau in Jalan Perak here at about 6 pm on
Dec 30.
Penang Criminal Investigation Department Chief, SAC II Abdul Samah Mat, said
the six were aged between 25 and 40 years. He said the syndicate mastermind
was also held. He told a news conference the suspects were collecting the
betting papers from the facsimile machines when they were detained.
"Police believe the syndicate is one of the biggest that operated in Penang
and Kedah with a turnover of RM1 million a month," he said. Abdul Samah said
the police seized betting slips as well as computers, lap-tops and other
equipment worth about RM25,000 from the premises. The flat was renovated to
make it suitable for use as a gambling den and was equipped with a closed
circuit camera to monitor police movement, he added.

Online Gambling Insider is proud to announce that it will continue to give
away an Apple Ipod each monthly in association with Casino Rewards, a
leading Micerogaming online casino and poker operator...During 2006, Online
Gambling Insider and the Casino Rewards Group gave away an Apple Ipod each
month. For the second month running, a UK player won the Ipod.
Congratulations goes to Lisa S. from Stoke on Trent. Your Ipod is on its
way! To qualify for our first giveaway of 2007, you will need to become a
real money player at one of the online casinos or poker rooms in the Casino
Rewards Group, before January 31. before the end of the current month.

Our report about the astounding amount of money put through poker machines
in the region alarmed many. 'Scary' was one word used by readers of this
newspaper. Considering that Jupiters Casino, the largest gambling venue in
North Queensland, isn't included in the figures 'scary' might seem an
understatement. As we reported on Friday, $66 million was put through the
region's 1604 machines in just 11 months. The figures equate to each person
in the twin cities spending an average of $410 each year on pokies alone.
Clearly, something is wrong. An increasingly large proportion of the
population now thinks nothing of putting their money into gambling while
their families face the very real prospect of starving or being made to
leave their homes. And too many people, according to the Salvation Army,
simply don't see that they have a problem. The statistics would suggest
otherwise. Sadly, while governments reap so much benefit from the
community's over-spending on games of chance, efforts to warn those who
might be or become problem gamblers are destined to be half-hearted. The
fact that many don't see gambling as the problem that, say, alcohol and drug
addiction are, is also a concern. The Salvation Army sees the effects of
this particular problem all too clearly, and its members have no hesitation
in likening it to drug and alcohol addiction. While the Government should be
supported in its early efforts to halt the number of gambling addicts -
their 'don't let the game play you' campaign, for instance - there is
definitely room for improvement. Perhaps, as many have suggested, an easing
of the number of new machine licences granted would be a good place to
start.

The number of video gambling machines in Montana declined slightly between
2004 and June 30, 2006, but gamblers were putting more money in the machines
that remained. Statistics compiled by the Gambling Control Division of the
Department of Justice show that the total number of establishments with
video gambling statewide increased by just one between '04 and the end of
fiscal year '06, from 1,727 to 1,728. During the same period, the total
number of video gambling machines actually declined, from 17,239 to 16,498.
While those numbers crept downward, the amount of money fed into the
machines continued to rise. According to the Justice Department's Gambling
Control Division, Montanans wagered a record $1.13 billion on video gambling
machines in fiscal year 2006, which ended June 30. The amount wagered this
year was up from $1.06 billion in 2005 and $1.01 billion in 2004. In
Yellowstone County as of June 30, there were 134 businesses offering
gambling in Billings, 10 in Laurel, two in Broadview and 28 elsewhere in the
county. The figures for Billings include everything within a five-mile
radius of city limits. The number of machines in the county increased from
2,374 in '04 to 2,397 this year. Small fluctuations across the state led to
the increase of one gambling establishment from 2004 to 2006. For instance,
the number of establishments with video gambling machines increased from 107
to 110 in Butte-Silver Bow County, while the number in Cascade County
dropped from 152 to 149. Missoula County lost two, dropping to 128 in '06,
while Gallatin County gained three, going to 97. In all of Treasure County
in 2004, there was just one bar with two machines. Both numbers doubled in
2006, to two bars with four gambling machines. That tied the county with
Petroleum County, which also had two bars and four machines, down from two
bars and five machines in 2004.
Despite the decline in the number of machines in Montana, the amount of
money spent on gambling increased this year. Gambling tax collections - from
a 15 percent tax on gross gambling machine income - totaled just under $57
million in fiscal year 2006, up from a little over $53 million in 2005. All
that money goes into the state general fund. In 1990, the gambling tax
raised just $17 million. Tax revenues jumped to $31.3 million by 1995, and
to $41.5 million in 2001. From 1994 to last June, the state collected a
total of $585.2 million in gambling machine taxes.

The figures showing a reduction in the number of machines statewide can be a
little misleading. Video gambling machines originally offered just one game,
poker or keno, on a single machine, and for a time a bar or casino could
only have 10 poker machines and 10 keno machines. Now bars and casinos can
have up to 20 machines with any combination of games, and one machine can
have a mix of poker and keno, with some machines offering 25 different
games.

John Blair, owner of the Reno Club on Calhoun Lane and a former chairman of
the state Gaming Advisory Council, called the new machines "the same old
whore in a new kimono." Even so, he said, they do seem to have contributed
to the uptick in gambling.

"I think maybe gambling's on the rise, maybe because of the bells and
whistles," he said.

The newest bells and whistles are on the U1 machine, manufactured by a
company in Belgrade and being distributed by Century Gaming, the largest
owner and distributor of video gaming machines in Montana. Steve Arntzen, a
co-owner and chief operating officer of Century Gaming, said the company
traditionally has distributed machines it owns.

But in this case, the company in Belgrade wanted to test out the new U1
machine here before placing them in casinos the company owns in Nevada, and
Century Gaming agreed, for a price, to put them in casinos to which it
already supplies machines. The U1 machines have a 24-inch-wide,
ultra-high-definition screen and a special chair that can be ergonomically
adjusted, as can the screen itself. Arntzen said the difference between the
U1 machines and traditional games is like the difference between
PlayStations 2 and 3.

Spending on other forms of gaming in Montana hardly begins to compare with
the spending on video gambling.

In comparison with the $1.13 billion wagered on gambling machines in 2006,
the next biggest amount wagered was on the lottery, on which Montanans spent
$39.9 million. That was followed by simulcast racing, $7 million; live
bingo, $3.5 million; live keno, $3.1 million; and live horse racing, $1.9
million.

Except for the lottery and gambling machines - and live horse racing, which
stayed the same - amounts wagered in 2006 were down compared to 2005.

The state doesn't track how much is wagered on live poker games, which saw a
surge in recent years, but the trend there seems to be running downhill.
Card dealer licenses issued soared from 157 in 2004 to 582 in 2005, but it
dropped down to 450 in 2006.

The hypocrisy of government institutions that support general forms of
gambling, but ban Internet gambling on moral grounds has at last been
examined by the international magazine Newsweek in it's upcoming January 8
issue. And the story has been picked up and distributed widely by other
online and offline media.
Titled "Morality vs. Money - nations say they attack Internet betting for
sake of the children. But they also run gambling operations," the story by
Silvia Spring deals primarily with the European scene, referencing the
claims by France, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and
Sweden that "...it's all about saving our people from the sins of gambling."
But, the author points out, the problem is that all of these countries allow
licensed gambling internally, and in some cases are promoting its expansion
very aggressively. "So what's it really about?" she asks. "In recent months
the EU has launched proceedings against all these nations for protecting
national monopolies in violation of EU laws guaranteeing free movement for
goods and services." She adds that the result of state protectionism for
selected forms of gambling is a business that flowers in chosen places
precisely because it is banned elsewhere. "That's true where national or
state governments license private casinos (think Vegas or Atlantic City) or
where the government runs the monopoly (as in Germany, where the state
franchise runs gambling operations in all 16 states)," she writes. In
Europe, state casino and lottery monopolies generate more than $31.7 billion
a year, and in the United States private casinos alone generate roughly the
same, the article continues before quoting legal expert Paul Renney who
opines: "How can you say that you're concerned about gambling being
dangerous to the moral and social fabric of your society if, at the same
time, you promote a massive lottery and try to get people to come and
gamble? It's contradictory.'' Opponents of online gambling are exploiting a
loophole in the EU laws protecting free trade, which allows member states to
take measures to protect the social and moral fabric of their societies. The
Netherlands has used that provision to ban Ladbroke's of Britain from
offering online betting to the Dutch, arguing that such Web operations are
harder to police for fraud and monitor for addictive behavior. The French
deployed a similar argument in arresting the two Austrians, bwin.com
executives Norbert Teufelberger and Manfred Bodner, in September. They have
been released on bail and are awaiting trial. Didier Dewyn,
secretary-general of the European Betting Association, refers to such
proceedings as "witch hunts" that deprive targets of even the basic EU right
to travel freely within the union.

Spring writes that although Britain is trying its own strategy to lure
online casinos to set up in Britain, subject to British regulation - and
taxes, there's probably no way Britain can compete with places like Malta,
where she claims regulations are loose and the taxes as low as 4.17 percent.

Nor would the establishment of a British online-gambling capital address the
threats to morals or money flow in rival states like France and Germany,
which appear willing to fight this to the bitter end. France's state-run
betting agencies, Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) and La Française des Jeux (FDJ),
took in Euro16.9 billion in 2005, and Germany's gambling market is estimated
at Euro29 billion.

It is a myth that the Internet cannot be policed, the writer claims,
offering China as an example. But the EU has no stomach for the kind of
strong-arm methods China employs. After the U.S. ban took effect in October,
major operators like bwin.com, PartyGaming and 888 Holdings became even more
reliant on marketing to European customers.

With gambling now available on some 2,300 Web sites worldwide, through
mobile phones and interactive TV, an estimated 3.3 million people in Europe
now regularly bet online. Even if they win the EU legal battle, on-land
gambling probably can't stop the online threat, not in the long run, Spring
concludes.

The sun is setting fast and early over Yarbeshe, a hillside neighborhood of
crumbling brick houses, dark alleys and a creaky wooden drawbridge that
sways uneasily over a stream in this fabled gateway city that links far
western China to the recesses of central Asia. Winter is arriving. You would
know it instantly by looking at the director Marc Forster, who is bundled in
a parka as he paces the chilly interior of a smart two-story villa built
specially for his film in one of the poorer parts of town. But it is not
arriving fast enough for the demands of this evening's scene, which is set
in Kabul. So a crew on the villa's rooftop busies itself operating an
artificial snow machine that blows out a respectably thick simulacrum. The
lights go on and, long into the night, the cameras roll. There are many
challenges involved in turning a runaway best-selling novel into a Hollywood
film. But when the novel is largely set in Afghanistan, and ranges widely
over that country, which after Iraq is perhaps the second most dangerous
place in the world for Americans, making snow is the least of the
filmmakers' problems.
Khaled Hosseini's novel, "The Kite Runner," has the added complication of
being an epic, once a staple of big-budget Hollywood productions but
nowadays an increasingly lost art. The story, about the doomed friendship
between two boys, sprawls over generations and roams well beyond Kabul,
notably to parts of Pakistan and to San Francisco, where Afghan exiles live
bound and haunted by a common sense of loss. "For me from the very beginning
this was a story that needed to be told on an epic scale, and you tell a
story on an epic scale with a little bit of fear," said Forster, whose film
is scheduled for release by DreamWorks and Paramount Vantage in November
2007. Specifically, he said, he tried to recreate a feeling of Kabul in the
1970s, of streets filled with color and of life in a country whose middle
class brimmed with hope, and then revisit the city a few years later, after
the Soviet invasion, to explore the sense of lost identity among exiles and
returnees "whose country has been raped and destroyed."

Hollywood does not have a happy history of managing what has been two of the
film's most daunting problems: finding the ideal remote location and casting
a large-canvas story about brown-skinned people from a faraway and
little-understood country. Traditionally big films have required Western
actors in lead roles, and preferably stars at that. The needs of marketing
typically dictate that the dialogue be in English, very often resulting in
inconsistent or even ridiculously stereotypical accents. Extras could be
relied upon to help moviegoers suspend their disbelief, uttering a few
incomprehensible lines and stumbling colorfully about. And once these
details have been nailed, location has never loomed terribly large.

For "The Kite Runner," though, filmmakers have placed a huge wager on
authenticity. They are betting, among other things, that audiences can be
persuaded to sit still through two-plus hours of subtitled plot
development - something moviegoers have become more accustomed to lately,
thanks to studio films like "Apocalypto," "Letters From Iwo Jima" and
"Babel," all of which unfold completely or largely in languages other than
English.

The crux of this gamble is here in Kashgar in China's Xinjiang region, where
a large slice of the film was shot, and the story of how this came to pass
is something of a tale itself.

The production team spent three months researching locations, giving little
thought to Afghanistan itself, for obvious reasons, as they drew up an
initial list of 20 countries and deliberated on which one would get them
closest to Afghanistan's look. The possibilities ranged from India to
Morocco to South Africa, but E. Bennett Walsh, who oversaw the search, said
the conversations kept returning to Kashgar, a place that few people in
Hollywood had ever heard of and where no Western film had ever been made.

Kashgar was always the best fit in terms of appearance, beginning with a
diverse but overwhelmingly Muslim population and a countryside that
plausibly resembles Afghanistan. "In some locations you are limited to
working small, little corners, whereas here you can shoot 100 yards down the
road," Walsh said. "The streets of this city are just dripping with
production value. All you have to do is change the signs."

The search for a cast proved even more challenging. The streets of Kashgar,
teaming with bearded men and women in burkas might fool the eye into
thinking one is seeing Kabul. But dialect cannot be finessed so easily, and
the producers needed to find a Dari-speaking cast once the decision was made
to film in the original language. Homayoun Ershadi, a 59-year-old Iranian
actor who played the lead in "Taste of Cherry," which was one of the winners
of the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, was recruited from
Tehran to play the role of Baba, the father of the principal character,
Amir.

Along California's rugged northwest coast, a freshly paved highway exit
marked "Bald Hills Road" is for most nothing more than the entrance to Lady
Bird Johnson Grove and Redwood National Park. For the Yurok, the state's
largest and perhaps poorest American Indian tribe, it's where the road home,
and the Yuroks' struggles, begin. Past the park, Bald Hills quickly narrows
to a deadly, one-lane logging path and snakes high into the Pacific coastal
range. Around blind corners and frequent cliffs, charred remains of Jeeps
and rusted cars litter the ditches of a 40-mile-long washboard welcome mat.
It is a clan the state, if not time itself, has left behind. For years, the
Yurok have asked California lawmakers for permission to operate slot
machines to begin making the money they say could help pull the poorest of
their 5,000 out of grinding poverty. Their casino would be so remote it
would seem few might visit, but the tribe estimates it could bring in more
than $1 million a year, as much as doubling its discretionary budget in bad
years and allowing the tribe to begin saving money to pave, or at least
regularly grade, roads such as Bald Hills. Here, surrounded by steep hills
and stripped redwood forests, hundreds of Yuroks survive dug into the
remote, muddy banks of the Klamath River. Most live without electricity or
clean running water in clusters of dilapidated trailers supplied after a
flood when Lyndon B. Johnson was president.
Children still learn in one-room schools. Wood fires warm homes. And a tribe
that once thrived off salmon grapples with a river with few fish. The
tribe's only jobs come from federal grants, or in helping timber companies
take the very trees Yuroks believe to be their own. The way the Yuroks'
gambling efforts have been thwarted for years, both through bureaucratic
slip-ups and in the crossfire of larger political feuds in the state
Capitol, is the story of a tribe beset by misfortunes as confounding as any
in the state. Whether the Yurok can begin to escape their troubled past
remains entirely unclear, but the issue is likely to come up again when the
Legislature reconvenes Jan. 3. In the short decade since voters approved
gambling on Indian land, the Yurok tribe has morphed from a poster child for
needy tribes to an anomaly. Many tribes have become so rich from
mega-casinos erected from Palm Springs to the Sacramento suburbs that the
disparity between them and those such as the Yurok is now staggering. Nearly
50 tribes raked in a combined $13 billion from gambling in 2004, according
to the California Attorney General's office, and their casino profits
continue to rise.

By comparison, counting every cent of its federal grants, timber sales and
$1.1 million from a state fund that shares casino revenues between rich
tribes and poor ones, the Yurok spent $12 million last year. That's less
than what one of the richest, the Agua Caliente Band of Mission Indians near
Palm Springs, is spending to appoint rooms in its new resort hotel with
granite counter tops, whirlpool baths, plasma-screen TVs and other luxuries.

Widening the economic gap between the tribes, rich ones also spend tens of
millions on political contributions in the state capital supporting laws
limiting competition and increasing their profits. Sometimes that means
big-game tribes work to subvert small tribes' efforts to get into the
business.

At the same time, antigambling forces and labor unions have stepped up
efforts in Sacramento to block expansion of Indian casinos they say have
already far outstripped - even perverted - what voters intended, and left
thousands of workers in the state without protections commonly afforded in
casinos from Las Vegas to Atlantic City.

Caught in the middle are tribes such as the Yurok.

"Gaming can do a lot of good for tribes, and for the Yurok it could be a
small part of a larger solution needed to help them," said former state Sen.
Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, who unsuccessfully lobbied for years for the Yurok
compact until he was termed out in the fall. "Compounding their trouble,
however, has been the increased efforts of big-game tribes to squash those
who are not yet gaming. Yurok stands out as the most disturbing example of
that."

The Yuroks' most recent attempt to win rights to a modest 99 slot machines
was cut short in the fall when a compact they signed with Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger was held hostage in a political showdown between labor and
large gaming tribes over 20,000 new slot machines and bigger casinos, mostly
to be built in Southern California.

In the delicate words of the Yuroks' deputy executive director, Reweti Wiki,
the tribe's journey is analogous to the childhood misadventure story of
'Lemony Snicket.' "It's been a series of unfortunate events," he said,
forcing a smile through clenched teeth.

Others have a harder time hiding their disgust.

After four hours trekking through a remote swath of the reservation, Frankie
Myers, the tribe's planning director and budding cultural leader, blurts out
his true feelings.

"We got screwed, and we continue getting screwed. I think that's the
underlying issue in everyone's psyche," said Myers.

Other problems facing the tribe, such as a diabetes epidemic, rampant
methamphetamine abuse and a lack of higher education, also are rooted in
years of poverty and neglect and won't be easily solved, even if the tribe
is allowed to offer gaming.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law December 30 that
will close casinos and slot-machine halls across most of the country in a
few years, forcing the establishments that have become a garish feature of
the new Russian landscape into four legal gambling zones. The law also
outlaws online gambling and online poker, and sets the minimum gambling age
of 18 years. The bill had sailed through the Federation Council (upper
parliament house) without opposition on December 27, 2006. The State Duma
(lower parliament house) had already approved it on December 20, 2006. The
sites where the zones are planned are now infrastructure-free wilderness,
and all are distant from Moscow, the capital: the Altai Territory (southwest
Siberia), Primorye (Far East), the Kaliningrad Region (Russia"s exclave on
the Baltic Sea), and on the border of the Rostov Region and the Krasnodar
Territory in the south of the country. After July 1, 2009, any gaming
facility operating outside of the four approved gambling zones will be
banned. "Bookmaker's offices and pari- mutuels will make an exception in the
law and will be able to conduct their activities outside gambling zones,"
the press service pointed out. After the collapse of the Soviet Union,
casinos mushroomed in Russia's major cities and slot-machine halls have
sprouted throughout the country. Their prevalence has sparked resentment
among some Russians who recoil at the sight of flashy cars parked outside
flashier casinos, worries about gambling addiction and concerns about the
lifestyles of young people, whom Putin has urged to live healthy and
productive lives.

When the 80th Texas Legislature convenes for a 140-day session Jan. 9,
lawmakers will tackle a bevy of bills that target thousands of state laws -
some newly introduced and at the forefront of national debate, and others
dealing with unresolved matters that were swept aside last session amid the
state's school-finance woes. Legislators will consider changing a range of
state policies, including: water use and reuse, conservation and
environmental flow; placing a cap on extreme price increases on electricity
or extending regulation; overhauling how governmental bodies can seize
private property; and disclosure of all real estate sales prices.
The fight over how to fund public schools and fix a flawed property tax
system topped the state's biggest battles in 2006. Legislators cut school
property taxes and replaced that revenue with a new state business tax and a
higher cigarette tax that became law Jan. 1. A pack of cigarettes rose
nearly $1 and about $12 per carton. The boost is expected to bring in $680
million over the next year. But the smoke over an educational overhaul won't
have entirely cleared by the time the bell rings for the next session. A
bill proposed by the Texas Gaming Association would merge resort-style
casinos, video slot machines at racetracks and gambling at state Indian
reservations - all proposals that face strong opposition from social
conservatives in the Legislature. The gaming association proposes opening 12
resort-style casinos in Texas, including one in Tarrant County and two in
Dallas County. Advocates of the proposal, which would require voter approval
for a constitutional amendment, estimate that the gambling expansion would
bring in $3.2 billion in tax revenue to the state's coffers and an
additional $800 million to city and county governments. The bill would
allocate half of the state's revenue, or $1.6 billion, into a financial aid
fund that would pay college tuition for every Texas high school graduate who
meets certain requirements. The remainder would go into the state's general
fund. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, meanwhile, said he'll ask lawmakers to
approve a plan to revamp standardized testing for high school students. His
proposal, which teachers oppose, would replace the Texas Assessment of
Knowledge and Skills with end-of-course exams in each of the core high
school subjects. The proposal also would require high school juniors and
seniors to take the ACT or SAT college entrance exams at taxpayers'
expenses.

Following a national trend, immigration will no doubt be front and center
with Texas policymakers, who may pass diverse legislation, including laws
that would: restrict birthright citizenship; deny undocumented residents
state assistance such as health care and education; make it illegal for them
to obtain business permits; impose an 8-percent tax on money transmitted
from Texas to Mexico or Central and South America.

The federal government has authority over most laws governing international
borders, but Gov. Rick Perry used border security as a cornerstone of his
re-election bid. He's expected to ask the Legislature for additional funding
to border counties for law enforcement.

On another front, House Bill 349, filed by state Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort
Worth, would require more disclosure from cities, counties and school
districts about what they spend on lobbyists. The bill would also require
more detailed financial disclosure from lobbyists and political consultants
who work for governmental entities. Critics of the lobbying system say that
more jurisdictions are hiring private lobbyists, with taxpayers footing the
bill for funding that goes to the public entities - ranging from water
districts to city councils - that they represent.

The issue of conflicts involving political consultants and lobbyists spurred
local controversy recently after no-bid contracts totaling almost $2 million
were given by the Tarrant Regional Water District and the Trinity River
Vision Authority to consultant Bryan Eppstein. Eppstein, one of the top
political consultants in the state, helped elect two members of the Water
District board.

PacificNet Inc., a provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) which
seems to be having more fun in the gambling business than CRM these days (as
if that's such a huge leap), has reported that its PacificNet Games Limited
subsidiary has been selected by Jai Alai Casino, a casino in Macau, to
provide multi-player electronic gambling machines. Phase one implementation
includes 40 multi-player electronic gambling machines. Terms of the
agreement were not disclosed for competitive reasons. Located at Jai Alai
Building, Avenida de Amizade, Macau, in Communist China, Jai Alai Casino
Macau has 67,075 square feet of gambling with about 250 slot machines, 61
table games and 4 VIP rooms, and is open 24 hours a day. And if jai alai,
baccarat, blackjack and roulette aren't your cup of green tea you can lose
money on more traditional Chinese gambling such as Fish-Prawn-Crab, Sic-Bo
Cussec and Fan Tan. Two weeks ago, PacificNet announced that its PacificNet
Games Limited (PacGames) subsidiary was selected by Casino Lisboa to provide
120 multi-player Electronic Gaming Machines (EGM) for Phase One
implementation at Casino Lisboa. Previously, PacGames also announced that it
was selected by Holiday Inn Macau Casino to provide multi-player electronic
gambling machines. Victor Tong, President of PacificNet, notes that Macau
has become the fastest growing part of China and "we are very excited to be
moving forward in our pursuit of the Macau gaming technology business. We
believe the Asian gaming market has huge growth potential and that we are
well positioned to win more hotel-casino clients and capture a growing
market share as a leading gaming technology provider in the region." The
numbers bear him out: According to recent statistics provided by the Macau
government, Macau is one of the fastest-growing gambling markets in the
world and is predicted to surpass Las Vegas in total revenues by 2007. In
2005, Macau's gambling revenues reached $5.8 billion, second only to Las
Vegas gambling revenues of $6 billion.

With the disposable income of the average Chinese on the rise Macau, the
only area in China where gambling is legal, expects its gambling and
entertainment market to grow for years to come.

Earlier this week PacificNet, Inc. announced that its Take1 Technologies
subsidiary has introduced a new line of gambling machine products:
Electronic Bingo Machines.

Recent regulation changes in several European countries have opened the
doors to more widespread electronic bingo operators and a need to upgrade to
the latest client-server based bingo gambling machines.

For the first time in several years, the Missouri Gaming Commission has
begun expanding its list of people banned from area casinos. While the
commission's "exclusion list" was once oriented toward cheaters and
organized crime members, it will now include criminals such as two men
recently convicted of felony theft, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The two carpet installers gambled away money they had received as payment
for services they never performed. The commission voted last month to ban
them. "If a judge puts somebody on probation and there is some link to
gambling, then we will look at that and consider putting them on the
exclusion list," said Gene McNary, executive director of the state group. If
those on the list are found on the premises of any Missouri casinos, they
can immediately be charged with trespassing, a Class B misdemeanor. The
commission is also looking into strengthening the penalty attached to
violations, the newspaper said.

A recovery in the online gaming economy act is gaining traction, according
to several reports. The passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act by the US left a swath of economic misery in its wake, but
efforts by the major players in the industry to refocus their energies on
Europe and Asia are starting to pay dividends. Both Sportingbet.com and
Partygaming.com reported stronger than expected earnings last week, as
increasing numbers of players from the European and Asian markets offset the
loss of the enormous American market. Partygaming.com reported an increase
in daily poker revenue from $637,000 in October to $721,000 in November.
Overall daily revenue in November, excluding the sportsbook, averaged
$921,000. Sportingbet.com reported an increase in traffic from 6,000 players
per day to about 7,000 according to Gamingpublic.com, an industry trade
paper. Banking giant UBS responded by upgrading its stock evaluation from
reduce to neutral. Harrah's has agreed to a $27.8bn buyout, according to a
company press release. The largest gambling conglomerate in the world is
being taken private by a group of investors led by the Texas Pacific group,
in one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. Harrah's began as a
bingo parlor in Reno in 1937, and became the first Casino operator to be
listed on the NYSE back in 1973. This comes on the heels of Murdoch's
BskyB's
takeover of 365 Media, which itself had just gobbled up longtime competitor
Bowman's. It also follows the announcement a strategic partnership between
the Sands and Cantor Gaming, and the confirmation by El Reg of ongoing
merger talks between Ladbrokes and 888 Plc. The collapse of the sector after
the passage of the UIGEA has provided both the opportunity for
consolidation- i.e., ridiculously low stock valuations relative to the cash
generated by the sector- as well as the impetus to get big enough to weather
any adverse legal developments in jurisdictions such as Germany, France or
South Africa where internet gaming remains controversial. It's easy to
imagine the online gaming sector going through same growing pains that beset
the search portal industry in the late '90's- too many competitors in a
field likely to be dominated in the long term by a few major brands.
Ironically, major American players like The Sands or MGM Mirage, with strong
brands and cash to invest, are well positioned to pick up the pieces of a
fragmented, weakened market.

PartyGaming has awarded more shares and multimillion-pound bonuses to its
senior executives, despite the group's plunging share price, in a move that
could irritate institutional shareholders. The online gambling group's new
management incentive arrangements will take the new incentives and bonus
package of Mitch Garber, the chief executive, to about £18.5 million.
Although the figure was less than the £40.5 million that Mr Garber's share
options package was valued at in April, the share price has fallen from 150p
to 31¾p in the same period. Shareholders that bought into PartyGaming at the
initial public offering in 2005 and the secondary placing in June have lost
about £925 million. The company argued that the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act in the United States has "severely impacted the value of
incentive arrangements for the executive directors and other key employees
of the group". PartyGaming defended the move as vital to secure the most
talented management. A spokesman said: "Some institutional shareholders
asked us what we were going to do to incentivise executives, what with the
share price coming down so much. I don't think you can please all
shareholders, but many were concerned that we couldn't retain senior
people."
Mr Garber has had the shareholder return performance targets scrapped over
his options for 20 million shares. The 20 million shares can be awarded next
year in eight monthly tranches from May to December. He has been granted new
share options of a further 15 million shares, which will vest in 30 equal
monthly tranches until May 2009. He will also be paid £3 million in cash in
30 equal instalments until May 1, 2009, and will receive a minimum bonus of
£2 million provided he remains with the company on December 1, 2007. Michael
Jackson, chairman of PartyGaming, said: "PartyGaming has the leading
executive team in online gaming. Whilst the passing of the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act changed the business environment, the online gaming
sector has remained no less competitive both in terms of attracting and
retaining talented individuals."

Some months ago Online-Casinos.com/InfoPowa reported on development work by
Gaming Partners International on hi-tech gambling chips with embedded
alarm-triggering tracers. In a sequel to the story this week, GPI has
announced that the final product will be launched next month - probably at
the London ICE show. The anti-theft measures incorporated into the chips
consist of an RFID-based Electronic Chip Surveillance (ECS) system that uses
tags within the chips, triggering alarms if taken through electronic
sensors. The system combines the benefits of the 125 KHz frequency casino
currency control with increased security protection against theft. GMI's
other RFID products and readers suitable for table management applications
and casino currency controls will likely be showcased alongside the new
electronic chips. Pre-show publicity from the company highlights a poker
table reader with a capability to count up 800 chips and calculate both the
total value of the pot and the operator's commission.

Phase one implementation includes 40 multi-player electronic gambling
machines. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed for competitive reasons.
Located at Jai Alai Building, Avenida de Amizade, Macau, in Communist China,
Jai Alai Casino Macau has 67,075 square feet of gambling with about 250 slot
machines, 61 table games and 4 VIP rooms, and is open 24 hours a day. And if
jai alai, baccarat, blackjack and roulette aren't your cup of green tea you
can lose money on more traditional Chinese gambling such as Fish-Prawn-Crab,
Sic-Bo Cussec and Fan Tan. Two weeks ago, PacificNet announced that its
PacificNet Games Limited (PacGames) subsidiary was selected by Casino Lisboa
to provide 120 multi-player Electronic Gaming Machines (EGM) for Phase One
implementation at Casino Lisboa. Previously, PacGames also announced that it
was selected by Holiday Inn Macau Casino to provide multi-player electronic
gambling machines.
Victor Tong, President of PacificNet, notes that Macau has become the
fastest growing part of China and "we are very excited to be moving forward
in our pursuit of the Macau gaming technology business. We believe the Asian
gaming market has huge growth potential and that we are well positioned to
win more hotel-casino clients and capture a growing market share as a
leading gaming technology provider in the region." The numbers bear him out:
According to recent statistics provided by the Macau government, Macau is
one of the fastest-growing gambling markets in the world and is predicted to
surpass Las Vegas in total revenues by 2007. In 2005, Macau's gambling
revenues reached $5.8 billion, second only to Las Vegas gambling revenues of
$6 billion. With the disposable income of the average Chinese on the rise
Macau, the only area in China where gambling is legal, expects its gambling
and entertainment market to grow for years to come.
Earlier this week PacificNet, Inc. announced that its Take1 Technologies
subsidiary has introduced a new line of gambling machine products:
Electronic Bingo Machines. Recent regulation changes in several European
countries have opened the doors to more widespread electronic bingo
operators and a need to upgrade to the latest client-server based bingo
gambling machines. PacificNet's Take1 Electronic Bingo Machines are played
much like traditional bingo, but without the hassle of paper cards and mess
of ink blotters. The Take1 Bingo Machines are based on a client-server
computer network architecture and players can buy electronic bingo tickets
using one of the many electronic bingo terminals (or client betting
stations) situated in a variety of electronic bingo sales outlets.
Just before Christmas PacificNet's Epro subsidiary was selected by China
Unicom's (News - Alert) Shanghai Branch to provide CRM consulting and call
center training services. According to China Tech News, under the project
service agreement, PacificNet Epro will "enhance the CRM service level and
telemarketing management capability of China Unicom's customer service
center, called the 10010 Information Hotline," according to PacificNet
officials. Fei Jing Zhi, Manager of China Unicom's Shanghai Call Center
10010 Information Hotline, said the company hopes to work with PacificNet
Epro "as our long-term CRM partner on future call center projects." David
Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David
Sims' columnist page.

Those looking for skilled gambling establishments in the village will have
to keep waiting as Village Council on Wednesday extended a temporary ban on
the machines. Mayor Don R. Bethel said the temporary ban will give council
time to pass regulations for the gambling machines. Bethel said regulations
are needed because many out-of-town individuals have inquired about
operating machines in Cadiz. He said the village has received calls from
individuals as far away as Texas who plan to bring gambling businesses into
the area. The temporary ban expires Dec. 31 and will be lifted upon council
adopting an ordinance that would place regulations on the machines and their
ownership. In other business: Council took its first step to create the
position of village administrator. An ordinance was read that would add the
position, which will be full-time. Bethel said the responsibilities of an
administrator are essentially the same as a city manager. The administrator
will be in charge of utilities and the street department and will oversee
all operations of the village. Two major aspects of the position also are
economic development and fundraising. "There are numerous things the village
is planning on doing in the next few years,î Bethel said. ''The future of
Cadiz dictates a need for a village administrator - the village is a
business, and we need a business person. Bethel said the position could be
filled as early as February. Councilman Kenneth Zitko said that several
properties have been cleaned up and that work is currently being done on
several houses. Zitko also said that the roof on the street department's
salt house has been completed."Hopefully, we won't have to use it too much
this winter,î Zitko said. Councilman Paul Coffland also said the ice rink,
located behind Wallace Lodge at Sally Buffalo Park, is available for use if
the weather cooperates.

Arthur James Welmas, who served as chairman of the Cabazon Band of Mission
Indians when the small tribe won a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in
1987 that laid the foundation for the Indian gambling movement, has died. He
was 77. Mr. Welmas, who led the Riverside County tribe for a decade, died of
kidney failure and complications from diabetes Dec. 17 at a hospital in
Escondido, said his wife, Elma. After the Cabazon Indians began offering
high-stakes bingo on their reservation in 1983, local and state officials
repeatedly went to court to stop them. The high court ruling said that
states were not allowed to regulate gambling on reservations. The decision
led to the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which opened the door to
modern Indian gambling. Toehold established ``Had it gone the other way, the
industry would have legally collapsed before it really got a toehold,''
Howard Dickstein, an attorney who represents Indian gambling tribes across
California, told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. ``You can't overestimate
the impact of that case on what we are seeing now. It led to the political
powers of tribes.'' When Mr. Welmas took over as tribal chairman in 1978,
the Cabazon Band had 23 members and 1,700 acres of barren land near Indio --
and little else.
The first business venture Mr. Welmas oversaw was a tax-free cigarette and
liquor shop that opened in 1979. But when the Supreme Court ruled that
states have a right to collect tax on cigarettes sold to non-Indians on
reservation land, the enterprise closed after a year. `Sovereign immunity'
Next the tribe turned to gambling, opening a room for poker and card games
in 1980. They invoked the same theory of ``sovereign immunity'' -- the idea
that the reservation was beyond the reach of state and local government --
that they had used in establishing the smoke-shop business, a 1982 Times
story reported. Legal troubles quickly began when the casino was raided by
Indio police. Even after the landmark 1987 Supreme Court decision, the tribe
continued to tussle with state authorities over what kinds of gambling could
be offered. That ended in 2000 when a proposition passed that gave tribes
the authority to operate casinos in California. Mr. Welmas was born Dec. 10,
1929, on the Los Coyotes Indian reservation in San Diego County and lived in
nearby Rincon for most of his life. By the 1970s, Mr. Welmas was active in
Indian affairs. He worked in San Diego developing jobs for tribe members and
helping the city coordinate and disseminate public information to American
Indian groups, according to ``Return of the Buffalo: The Story Behind
America's Indian Gaming Explosion'' (1995).