would immediately impact Delaware, one of
the three states that offers such activities.”
Former Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.)
Lobbying for Sheldon Adelson to Ban
Online Gambling
Former Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) is
lobbying for Las Vegas casino magnate
Sheldon Adelson in support of legislation
that would ban online gaming, a sector of
the industry that competes directly with
Adelson’s casino holdings. Also, a few
weeks ago, Adelson’s company hired the
lobbying firm, The Keelen Group, to work
on the issue.
“The bill to ban online gam-
bling from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)
and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) would
overturn a 2011 Justice Department deci-
sion allowing states to legalize the games
within their borders.”
Online Gaming vs. Casinos: Re-
search Finds a Casino Advantage
Studies indicate that Internet gamblers
exhibit a remarkable amount of restraint in
their gambling habits.
“From these studies,
a prominent, unifying theme emerged: In
each gambling category, the vast major-
ity of players gambled infrequently and
in moderation, while a small subset of
players (between 1 percent and 5 percent)
exhibited intense gambling behavior that
far exceeded that of the rest of the sample.”
New Kentucky lotto game exceeds
profit expectations
The Kentucky Lottery’s new keno
game hasn’t attracted as many retailers
as projected, but sales have exceeded
expectations.
“Kentucky Lottery Chief
Financial Officer Howard Kline told The
State Journal
) that
the bingo-style game, which has drawings
every five minutes, sold $28.5 million in
wagers as of June 21. He says that’s about
$500,000 more than estimated.”
They had
272 Keno-only retailers sign on to offer the
game by the end of May.
“Lottery officials
initially had anticipated having 400 Keno-
only retailers by the end of June.”
The
lottery had reached out to less traditional
venues such as bars and restaurants, hop-
ing to play towards keno’s strength as a
more social form of gaming.
European Court of Justice:
Schleswig-Holstein Gaming Law does
not Affect Other States
Gibraltar-licensed online gaming firm
Digibet suffered a blow when the Euro-
pean Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the
more liberal gaming policy adopted by
the German state of Schleswig-Holstein
does not obviate federal German regula-
tion.
“The ruling was issued in response to
a request from Germany’s Federal Court
for clarification on whether Schleswig-
Holstein’s liberal gambling policy may
affect the prohibition on games of chance
in the other German states, as they relate
to European Commission rules on the
freedom to provide services. The German
Federal Court case involves Digibet and
state lottery operator Westdeutsche Lotte-
rie (WestLotto), which had secured a court
ruling ordering Digibet and its manag-
ing director Gert Albers to cease offering
games of chance via the internet to players
in Germany.”
Iowa Lottery CEO:
Mobile Gaming has More Potential
than Internet Gaming
Iowa Lottery CEO, Terry Rich says “
I’m
not as interested in internet gambling as
mobile gaming — being able to utilize a
cellphone on a one-time purchase … Our
big thing is, it needs to be kept within state
borders and controlled by our state legisla-
tors — not by somebody nationally or
somebody in Las Vegas controlling whether
we do or don’t do it.”
“We’ve done a lot of research, we are
ready … when the demand is there. And
I think the demand comes from the 25 to
31-year-old demographic.”
European Commission Calls
for Online Gambling Addiction
Warning Labels
These messages would be similar to
those displayed on cigarette packets and
would be placed on advertisements for
gaming products. Similar initiatives are
already taking place in many countries.
In France a help line number and health
warning message are present on all igam-
ing websites and advertising.
Supreme Court Passes on New
Jersey Sports Betting Case
According to 1992’s Professional and
Amateur Sports Protection Act, sports bet-
ting is legal in four states: Nevada, Oregon,
Montana, and Delaware. The state of New
Jersey has long lobbied for sports betting
to be allowed in its Atlantic City casinos.
Lawmaker Raymond Lesniak has intro-
duced legislation that would remove gam-
ing restrictions from New Jersey books, in
defiance of federal law. Lesniak compares
such a move to marijuana-legalization laws
recently enacted in Washington and Colo-
rado—laws which the federal government
has chosen to ignore for the time being.
A financially beleaguered Atlantic City is
eager to utilize legalized sports betting.
“It is estimated that over $500 billion is
wagered on sports illegally in the United
States each year. Las Vegas casinos have
had sports betting since the 1970’s. As
more and more states surrounding New
Jersey legalize table gaming, Atlantic City
and New Jersey’s racetracks are beginning
to feel the pinch.”
Aristocrat Acquires Video Gaming
Technologies
Gaming machine and casino manage-
ment systems firm Aristocrat has will
purchase US competitor Video Gaming
Technologies (VGT) for under $1.3 billion
(€941.8 million). This deal will increase the
Australian firm’s share of the US industry
from 5% to about 31%. VGT makes slot
machines for Native American casinos
as its main source of business. Aristocrat
has also acquired Paltronics, an Illinois-
based supplier of gaming products and
systems.
“Paltronics provides a range
of value-added applications for in-game
media windows and bonus applications for
electronic gaming machines, video poker
and table games.”
43% of Spain’s Online Poker Players
Play on Illegal Websites
This is according to research from
Spain’s CODERE Foundation and
the Institute of Policy and Governance of
Public Gaming International • July/August 2014
46
Pulse
of the
Industry
Continued …
