Public Gaming International • July/August 2014
50
Swiss Government Drafts Online
Gambling Bill
Switzerland is working towards finding
the right balance for casino operators and
residents who want to gamble online. The
government has now published a draft of
the newly
California Indian Tribes Reach
Consensus On Online Poker Bill
At issue were the number of licenses to
be granted and whether operators which
continued to offer i-gambling in violation
of the UIGEA.
American Gaming Association (AGA)
Drops Support for Online Gambling
The fight to regulate online poker and
gambling in the U.S. lost a major player as
the American Gaming Association (AGA)
has announced that it will no longer be
supporting the cause. Citing divisiveness
among the casinos it represents, AGA
CEO Geoff Freeman stated that the organi-
zation will cease lobbying efforts regarding
online gambling, referring to the matter
as
“an issue that the association cannot
lead on,”
the Wall Street Journal reported.
PGRI Note: This is a must-read for any-
one interested in the politics of regulating
i-gaming, and the in-fighting among the
biggest casino operators, in the U.S.
Social Gaming Market could be
Worth $17.4 Billion by 2019
The growth (estimated be compound
annual rate of 16%) is driven by the rapid
adoption of smart phones, tablets and mo-
bile devices. Watch for operators to merge
the extraordinary popularity of social
gaming with real-money games. Another
driver of the rise in social gaming is the ap-
plication of “gamification” principles and
tactics as a marketing tool by main-stream
companies who sell non-gaming products
and services. Food and Bev and retail
industry are among the first to pursue this
new method of engaging consumers.
Republicans Sponsor a Bill to Ban
Online Gambling
Hopefully, state attorney generals,
legislators, and governors will step up to
defend the rights of states to regulate and
tax the gambling industry, including inter-
net gambling. To do otherwise would set
a dangerous precedent of transfer of all
manner of trade and commerce legislation
over to the federal government. The “Res-
toration of America’s Wire Act” would
rewrite the Federal Wire Act of 1961 to
criminalise all “wire” communications
related to gambling.
“Not only does the
proposal trample states’ rights, it will fail
to eliminate illegal online gambling while
making consumers less safe online, elimi-
nating millions of dollars in tax revenue
for states, and favoring a special interest.
It is also based on a blatant misrepresen-
tation of existing law.”
Arizona Court Rejects Appeal of
Plaintiff Who Tries to Sue the Opera-
tors of an Off-Shore Internet Gaming
Site for the $800,000 He Lost
The judge stated that state racketeering
laws do not protect gamblers, even when
they play on illegal off-shore gambling
sites.
“Gambling is a voluntary activity
and therefore does not qualify as an injury
to person.”
INTRALOT Signs Amendment to
Extend its Contract with the New
Hampshire Lottery
Commission Charlie McIntyre, the
Lottery’s Executive Director, commented:
“New Hampshire was the first U.S. state to
start a lottery in modern times (1964). We
are now celebrating 50 years of successful
operations. Since INTRALOT converted
our systems, lottery sales have increased
by more than 20% and we very much look
forward to continuing that trend during
our partnership through 2020. Over the
past four years, INTRALOT has provided
excellent service and created tremendous
value for New Hampshire citizens and for
the New Hampshire Education Trust Fund.”
Supreme Court Rejects Gov.
Christie’s Appeal to Legalize Sports
Gambling in New Jersey
PGRI Note:
This is not a legal opinion
that ends all debate on this issue. News
articles are sometimes failing to make the
point that the Supreme Court declined to
hear the case as opposed to ruling that
states are in violation of federal law if
they legalize sports-betting. The distinc-
tion could be quite material, as it appears
that NJ is proceeding with regulating and
legalizing sports betting without a ruling
from the Supreme Court. That’s when the
U.S. Dept of Justice will need to decide
whether to sue the state of NJ to force
them to prohibit sports-betting. If that
happens, then this case may be referred
back up to the U.S. Supreme Court to
settle this question once and for all. At
issue is whether PASPA, the federal law
that prohibits sports-betting in all but
four states, is constitutional and would be
upheld in a court of law, with the ultimate
court being the U.S. Supreme Court.
New UK Gaming Regulation to be
Challenged in Court
“The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming As-
sociation (GBGA), which represents com-
panies such as 32Red and Victor Chan-
dler, is to take legal action against the
UK government over new licensing and
tax rules due to come into force later this
year.”
The association argues that the new
rules violate European law and could
expose British players to “unscrupulous
operators.”
“From December 1st all on-
line bets placed in Britain will be subject
to a 15% ‘point of consumption tax’ which
is expected to bring in around £300 mil-
lion each year to the Treasury.”
The Chief Executive of the GBGA, Peter
Howitt, said,
“The likely impact of this
legislation will be to drive UK consumers
towards unregulated or poorly regulated
operators, leaving them exposed to unnec-
essary risks.”
PGRI Note:
Disingenuous in the
extreme to claim that the only way to
protect consumers is to lower the tax rates.
Everyone, from NACS (see story above) to
remote i-gaming operators, tries to cloak
their own transparently self-serving finan-
cial agenda with this concern for the safety
of the consumers. Presumably, legislators
across the world see through this ruse.
Report: Mobile Gaming To Be $28.9
Billion Market By 2016
Pulse
of the
Industry
Continued …
