Online Casino Edition – Casino News News about online casinos and gambling

A review of the mobile gambling world had been recently brought out by a research company by the name of Research and Markets. This review has been appropriately titled “Mobile Gambling: A Comprehensive Strategy and Market Review.” It focuses on a complete analysis of the mobile market, its technological advances, and its market potential, including the case studies of many important and influential casino operators and suppliers. This year is believed to be crucial where mobile gaming technology is concerned. As early as 2005, Jupiter Research had predicted that mobile gaming services were going to generate nearly 20 billion more revenue by 2009. The past few years actually witnessed a growth rate as expected regardless of the economic recession. In February 2012, another study by comScore MobileLens suggested that smartphone users are more likely to indulge in mobile gaming rather than the generic mobile users.

Celebrity Guest Nick Leeson at Celebpoker.com

Nick Leeson who had been convicted of turning the Barings Bank bankrupt came as celebrity guest in Celebpoker.com. This poker website that had been launched recently allows the punters to place their bets against celebrities. Here, of course, the guest was none other than Leeson who had become famous after losing $100 million in a single day in Singapore Foreign Exchange. He had gambled as much as $800 million, but all the while he had successfully hid his losses from his seniors till it turned out to be very late. The site’s managing director, Donovan, believes that this incident by Leeson appeals to all gamblers, more so because the freedom to send mails to such celebrities can actually offer a lot of entertainment value to these gamblers who are otherwise tired of playing against faceless rivals. The other celebrities are comedian Kenny Lynch, snooker specialist Jimmy White, and magician Michael Feighan. Incidentally, Leeson had stated that he was actively practicing poker and was hopeful of scoring better here than in the stock market. Although he had never played poker till the last one and a half years and had never faced real opponents, playing online was definitely more entertaining and thrilling.

Belgian gambling problems increase

There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of self-exclusion requests over the past year. In this connection, the Belgian Gaming Commission has disclosed recently that the numbers of exclusion requests had gone up substantially because the numbers of those affected by gambling addiction had risen sharply. All the Belgian gambling venues were witnessing this development. Nearly 14,000 punters have put down official requests for banning them from getting access to any gaming center or online casino. This was publicly stated by the gaming commission saying that there had been 4000 self-exclusion requests in 2011. According to gambling-related laws in Belgium which had been passed in the month of January 2011, those suffering from the problem of gambling addiction could actually be legally prohibited from attending any gambling venue based on the requests by their doctors and family members concerned about this addiction.

Gambling has been prevalent in every society in some form or the other. Often taken up as an entertaining activity, it is welcomed by every society. It was probably this same sporting spirit that encouraged Taunton residents to vote in favor of the $500 million casino resort in their area. Taking the process a step further, the Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe reached a tentative agreement on the project. This resort casino deal was struck on 12th July.

The governor will be tabling the deal before the legislature on 13th July. The lawmakers will have time till 31st July to consider all aspects of the deal and give their final verdict.

As per the agreement, the state will be entitled to receive 21.5 percent of the tribal casino gambling revenue. It is true that this figure is less than 25 percent which would have been the case if this had been assessed on a commercial casino built in the area. The agreement also means that it gives the Massachusetts authorities control over all possible crimes and violations in gambling committed at the tribal casino.

Under the states gambling laws, there is provision for three resort casinos in the area giving exclusive rights to a federally recognized Indian tribe. This will hold true if the deadline of 31st July is met.

Tribal Council chairman Cedric Cromwell is overwhelmed with the victory, but he states this to be a victory for the residents of the area. He looks forward to the creation of multiple job opportunities. This will lead to increased self-dependency of the tribe. By Monday the tribe will be getting back to finalizing the compact on a project.

Like any other project, this proposed project too has its pros and cons. There is a section of the society that has raised its concerns surrounding the development of the casino resort in the area. To name a couple, the project will bring increased traffic problems in and around the casino region. The casino can also lead to a rise in crime rates in the region. Leaving these concerns aside, what could be a real hurdle in the approval of the project is the proposed location which lies close to three schools and environmentally sensitive areas.

Another hurdle on the way is stated by KG Urban Enterprises which claims that as per a previous US Supreme Court jurisdiction the Mashpee tribe is not legally eligible for the Taunton land mentioned in the agreement. This could prove to be an uphill battle for tribe.

Promoters are downplaying these concerns as they are looking at the economic benefits coming to the region. It has already been agreed upon that an upfront payment of $33 million will be paid to the city by the tribe. This will be followed by a minimum annual payment of $13 million to the city once the casino starts operations.

Cromwell has termed this as a monumental step in the process. This is the first time that local residents have polled in support of a casino in their region. Governor Patrick had signed a new gambling law for the state last year.

Casinos are a great source of revenue for a country and due to this many countries encourage the operation of casinos within their boundaries. But the easy access to casinos can encourage the citizens of that very country to engage in gambling activities. This can lead to a backfiring situation for the government. In order to avoid such situations, every casino-operating country makes sure to prepare and implement strict laws that keep the citizens away from casinos. Singapore is no exception to this.

The two casino giants in Singapore, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Genting Singapore (GEN.SI), might be seeing major changes in the Singapore Casino Control Act leading to the toughening up of rules. The changes proposed in the law aim at bringing about the changes that will be in the benefit of both the government and the citizens.

• The proposed amendments aim to put a check on problem gamblers and limit the number of visits per month for Singaporeans. A Singapore citizen is not permitted to visit the casino more than five times a month. Along with the limited visits, he or she may now have to furnish proof that they are not in any kind of financial distress and do not face any kind of restrictions. This has been proposed to keep a check on vulnerable groups and protect them from the harms of casino gambling.

• The amendment proposals also plan to allow the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) to impose fines amounting up to ten percent of the generated annual revenues. In the present circumstances, fines imposed can go up to a maximum of S$1 million. When the proposals are passed, the fine amount can go up to a whopping S$200 million. As per a minister in the Prime Minister’s office, these changes are proposed to enable Singapore’s multi-million dollar business function successfully as full-fledged tourist destination.

• The proposal also includes clauses as per which the casinos are to immediately notify the CRA of any kind of unresolved patron dispute.

• Another proposal involving junkets, also known as International Market Agents (IMA), is also included in the amendments. It will empower the CRA to impose a cap on the commissions casino companies pay them. In addition to this, the penalties levied on illegal junkets will also be increased. In March the CRA had given out its first IMA licenses to two Malaysian junkets. These licenses are to be renewed annually.

• The proposed amendments also include VIP casino visitors. Post changes, all VIP high rollers will have to draw down their SG$100,000 deposit before they receive any further credit from casino operators.

• The proposed changes also aim to include steps by which casino operators take steps to discourage and deter any kind of illegal betting and gaming.

Changes are made in existing laws to include new clauses as per the changing times. These changes in the Singapore Casino Control Act are steps in a similar direction. What remains to be seen is how effectively they are implemented. What also is to be seen is how these changes affect the operations and finances of the two Singapore casino operators. Singapore had dropped its ban on casinos and allowed the two giants LVS and Genting to start operations two years back in 2010.