Internet Gambling Australia

In a rather interesting move, online gaming effectively became illegal recently do to a new piece of legislation. this move by the federal government raises a host of issues.

In what some consider a sneaky move, online gaming was effectively banned recently by a piece of law passed within another piece of law. this often happens in Congress to the frustration of many. in this case, Congress was set to pass the Safe Harbor Act, which was a piece of legislation concerning our ports from potential terrorist attacks. Online gaming, poker specifically, would seem to have little to do with terrorist and ports. Nonetheless, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006 was attached to it. when the Safe Harbor bill received a favorable vote, the attached gambling act also became law. there was no separate vote.

Given the name, one would think the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act makes online gambling illegal. it does not. instead, the powers that be went after the money. They effectively made it a crime for a bank to transfer money to an online gambling company. by cutting off the money, they effectively eliminate online gambling. in the ultimate bit of hypocrisy, certain types of gambling such as horse racing were exempted.

Make no mistake, the purpose of this new law is to attack the online poker industry. the industry has grown like mad. Annual revenues are believed to be in the ten to fifteen billion dollar range. at least they used to be. With the passage of the new law, the publicly traded online poker companies either closed outright or saw their stock devalued to the point where it nearly became the equivalent of toilet paper. in a flick of pen, an industry was wiped out.

Legislating morality is nothing new with government. we have laws on drinking ages, smoking ages, assault, battery and, of course, murder. there is a fine line, however, between legislating against a real threat and simply playing big brother. when it comes to online poker, there are as many people that will support its legality as there are that argue it should be illegal. those against it, however, seem to have some explaining to do when it comes to the fact most states have lotteries which are a losers bet any way you look at them. Throw in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Indian casinos and you suddenly have a pretty difficult time seeing why online poker is so bad when these others prosper.

Whatever you opinion on the matter, there is a bigger issue at hand. at what point are people responsible for their own actions? Personal responsibility seems on the wane in this country and to disastrous affect. Why, new York City is even thinking about banning certain types of fast foods. Last time I looked, nobody was forcing people to eat fast food. Where will it end? will cars soon have safety devices on them that only allow us to drive 55 or whatever the state speed limit is? it sounds like a stupid question, but no more so than banning online poker in my opinion.

Our country was originally based on the idea that people are free to do what they want for better or for worse. these days, one has to wonder if that still holds true.

Effectively Making Online Gaming Illegal

Saturday, 19 may 2012, 2:10 pm Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

19 may 2012 MEDIA STATEMENT

National’s consultancy culture is out ofhand

An explosion in the cost of state sectorconsultants and contractors over the last five years clearlyshows that the National Government has failed to live up toits promise of a more efficient public service focused onthe frontline, says Labour’s State Services spokespersonChris Hipkins.

“Between 2006/07 and 2010/11 the totalspend on consultants and contractors leapt from $336 millionto $525 million. The biggest leap came in National’s firstyear in office when it imposed its arbitrary ‘cap’ on thenumber of staff the public service canemploy.

“National’s cap on staff numbers has causedthis blowout in consultants and contractors costs, plain andsimple,” Chris Hipkins said.

“They’re notdelivering more efficient public services, in fact quite theopposite – Kiwis are paying more to get less.

“It can’tpossibly be more efficient to make someone redundant one dayand then pick them up as consultants a few dayslater.

“National’s supposed drive for greaterefficiency in the public service has failed miserably.They’ve failed to adequately monitor the effect of theircuts, failed to stop cost blowouts in other areas, andfailed to live up to their promise of a more efficient andeffective public service.

“The consultancy culture hasgotten so out of hand under National that bill English’s owndepartment, the Treasury, even hired a consultant to write areview on the use of consultants.

“In these tight economictimes, Kiwis want to know that the government is spendingtheir tax dollar wisely. A more efficient and effectivepublic service should be a major priority for anygovernment. National has failed to deliver it,” ChrisHipkins said

ends

National’s consultancy culture is out of hand

Phil Kadner | (708) 633-6787 may 17, 2012 10:26PM

storyidforme: 30658307 tmspicid: 4032421 fileheaderid: 2114504

Updated: may 18, 2012 9:06AM

State Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) wants Illinois to become the first state in the nation to legalize online poker.

Earlier this week, Cullerton announced he would introduce a bill creating a Division of Internet Gaming within the state lottery.

I’ve been critical of the Legislature, particularly its leaders, when it comes to some of the draconian cuts proposed in social programs and a potential shift in teacher pension funding from the state to local school districts.

but when a lawmaker makes a proposal that makes sense, I’m willing to say it deserves a hard look.

Online poker sites based offshore were shut down several years ago by the federal government. Millions of Americans were playing on those sites, and billions were being wagered throughout the world.

Illinois has roughly $83 billion in unpaid pension liability, faces a structural budget deficit of billions of dollars and there’s a proposal to cut the education budget by $250 million. Given such financial problems, it makes sense to me to look at new ways of raising money.

“The state could organize the first major poker pool, garner worldwide popularity and position itself as a ‘hub’ for multistate and international iGaming,” Cullerton wrote in a letter to the governor and other legislative leaders.

A spokesman for Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said the House speaker would take a look at the proposal.

Republican leaders said the state needs to focus on cutting Medicaid funding for the poor and pension reform.

When a casino expansion bill was discussed this week, Gov. Pat Quinn’s staff also indicated he doesn’t want the Legislature to lose sight of the need for Medicaid and pension reform.

I understand the need to do that. I also understand that this state, even if it shaves billions of dollars from those programs, is still going to be in big financial trouble.

Social service agencies that help the poor, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled are all facing budget cuts. The state owes millions of dollars to school districts and vendors.

And that’s with the largest income tax hike (67 percent) in Illinois history, which is set to expire in 2015.

Cullerton’s idea makes sense, but because it does I doubt it has a chance of being passed by the General Assembly or signed into law by Quinn.

This is an innovative idea, a fresh approach to the gambling debate. and it acknowledges the reality that many people simply enjoy playing poker on the Internet.

I would not only advocate for online poker but for sports gambling. I don’t understand why the government forbids gambling on sporting events.

Sure, professional sports leagues oppose the idea, but millions of people wager illegally on those games every day. look around the office, and you’ll find more than one person who knows a bookie.

So what the government is basically saying is that it supports a wonderful revenue stream for organized crime.

It’s the same sort of whacky thinking that allows the illegal marijuana trade to grow — corrupting governments throughout the world while filling our prisons with people who could be earning an honest living and paying taxes.

Those who argue about the immorality of gambling don’t seem to notice that governments are making millions of dollars off the sale of cigarettes and liquor.

They also turn a blind eye to the realities of the social condition.

Property tax bills are forcing people out of their homes. Local governments are being forced to cut their budgets and vital services to the community.

Cuts in government payrolls mean more people on unemployment and fewer people paying taxes. Food pantries have seen their client base triple in the last year as their state aid has been cut.

I’m not saying Internet gambling is a cure-all. It’s just a piece of the solution that needs to be looked at.

And iGambling is the wave of the future.

The notion that legislators can’t consider new revenue streams while making pension and Medicaid cuts seems ludicrous to me.

As for the moral argument, I’ve watched Oak Forest Hospital close without howls of protest about the morality of denying health care to the poor.

And Tinley Park Mental Health Center, the only hospital in the Southland providing psychiatric care to those without Medicaid, is about to close with hardly a peep from the anti-gambling crowd.

Now the state is prepared to cut Medicaid spending for the poor, and that’s being hailed as a landmark achievement.

I fail to see the morality in any of that.

I would like to hear your point of view. Should Illinois consider this idea or sit on the sidelines as other states take the lead?

Kadner: Illinois should place bet on Internet poker’s future

Anthony Smigiel / MLiveThe Luck Spot, an internet sweepstakes cafe at 7632 S. Westnedge Ave. in Portage, was closed after a state investigation into illegal gambling.

PORTAGE, MI – A Portage business is among eight internet cafes in Michiganto halt operations indefinitely after an investigation revealed illegal gamblingoperations, the state Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday.

The Luck Spot, 7632 S. Westnedge Ave., was operated byInnovative Entertainment of Michigan. The company reached an agreement with the attorney general’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division to remotely shutdown the gaming software at all eight of its locations.

The Luck Spot owner shut the doors on Westnedge about two weeks ago and had planned to move to a new location on East Main Street in Kalamazoo Township.

Internet sweepstakes cafés are businesses that sell Internetaccess and the chance to play computer-based casino-style games through which customerscan win cash prizes, according the attorney general. The operations arehoused in buildings that contain banks of computers with Internet access.

Some serve light fare, like pop and chips, to patrons. each purchase entitles the customer to acertain number of sweepstakes entries.The customer is then given the opportunity to “reveal” whether thesweepstakes entries are winners by using a computer monitor that activates aspinning wheel similar to that of a casino-style video slot machine.

Attorney General bill Schuette asserts that this type ofgaming violates the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act.

“Internet sweepstakes cafes that permit illegal gamingare nothing more than unregulated pop-up casinos and consumers should steerclear,” Schuette said in a news release. “We willcontinue to work with the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Gaming ControlBoard to shut down these and any other illegal gambling operations.”

Innovative also licensed and supplied two cafes in GrandRapids and one each in Jackson, Holt, Saginaw, Lansing and Flint.

The AttorneyGeneral’s Office sent a series of cease and desist letters to Innovative onApril 9 that led to the voluntary closures. The letters warned of possible legal action against the cafes inFlint, Lansing and Holt if they refused to halt ongoing gambling operationsthat violated state gaming laws.

Investigations are still pending against the owners andoperators of the businesses that may result in criminal or civilcharges and the Attorney General’s Office will take immediate action to shut down any of the locations if they reopen, its news release said.

The attorney general is urging citizens to report any suspicious orillegal gambling to the Michigan Gaming Control Board by calling their 24-houranonymous tip line, 888-314-2682.

Contact Anthony Smigiel at asmigiel@mlive.com.

The Luck Spot in Portage among 8 internet sweepstakes cafes to close after gambling investigation

Gambling is a way to get money fast. the question is, does gambling really teach you what you need to know about how to make money?

If you want to get money fast by gambling, you have to beat the odds. Walk through a Las Vegas casino and you will see people mechanically feeding slot machines, hoping for a payoff, motivated by a combination of greed and hope.

Las Vegas dangles before people the promise of winning lots of money. Money is both the price of playing and the tangible reward for winning. But the real game is much deeper.

How the Gambling Game is Stacked Against You

Unless people are hopelessly nave, they know that the house wins most of the time. the slot machines and the poker tables and the roulette wheels make tangible the eternal human hope to win against the odds.

Watching people in casinos reminds me of college psychology classes about conditioned behavior. Rats, mice, and pigeons can be conditioned to trip levers again and again as long as they get a reward once in a while.

People sitting in front of slot machines behave the same way. Gamblers mechanically feed coins into the slots, and pull the lever, again and again. when someone wins, lights flash, special music plays, and coins clatter. the human lab rats pulling levers on nearby slot machine see the lights, hear the music, and hear the clattering coins, and think, maybe I’m next.

If no one ever won in Las Vegas, the casinos would close down. But the casinos fix the odds so that people win often enough to keep the hope alive and keep pulling the levers, waiting for the payoff.

If you go to Las Vegas and look around you, you’ll know that it took more than a few pennies and quarters to build these monuments to excess in the desert. the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip are massive creations of glitter, gaudy colors, glimmering lights, and the constant ding-ding-dinging of slot machines. all you need to do is to look at the size of these casinos to know one irrefutable truth. each casino makes much more money than it pays out in winnings.

What Gambling cannot Teach You About how to Make Money

Gambling has some inherent limitations as a way to teach anyone how to make money.

The most important limitation is that whether you win money or lose money is not really up to you. You might win. more likely, you will lose. As a method for getting money, gambling depends upon chance, luck, and computer programs designed to give the lion’s share of the money to the casino.

When it comes to playing the odds, gamblers hope to beat the house at its own game. You increase your own odds to make money when you become the house and play your own moneymaking game through your own efforts rather than waiting for luck.

Is Gambling A Good Way To Make Money Fast?

LONDON, May 11, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ –

        Super Slot Cast at Sky Vegas show how Movies makes the best Online Casino Games

Sky Vegas, always famed for their range of spectacular online casino games, has produced some star turnouts. not only are their list of games so innovative and dazzling to play, but they are also borrowed from some of the best movies in the business!

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From fairy tale to comic classics, Sky Vegas brings three superheroes to the slot with Batman, Spiderman and Superman. Batman especially, is one of a kind – the world’s first and only Batman slot machine. Players can join the dark Knight as he battles The Joker in a 50-line game that features stacked wilds and a Batman Re-spin feature where all prizes are doubled as 3 free spins are played with one reel!

Spiderman is another great game with 25 win lines. Players can bet from 1p to £5 on each win line, with bold, cartoon graphics and a range of twists, turns and battles against villain, Venom, to save heroine, Mary Jane.

To play at the ultimate Superhero, Superman is the epic slot. Perfect for new starters too, as this slot game will contribute 100% of player’s stakes to their welcome Bonus: a super stake! Superman is a 50-line game with five reels. you can bet in your from 1p to 20p on each win line.

There are dozens more; from fantastic Four, King Kong, Robocop and Treasures of Troy. an abundance of adventures and cinematic journeys under the same Sky!

For more information on all of our games and offers, please visit  skyvegas.com 

Sky Vegas is the online casino division of BSkyB. Established in March 2003, it now boasts more than 200 games including slots games, table games, instant win games, penny arcade and community games. Sky Vegas does not accept customers from the USA and operates fully within UK law under a licence issued by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.

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Hitting the Big Time: Sky Vegas do the Movies with Star Slot Games

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, may 07, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –Health care providers, parents and governments need to pay closerattention to gambling among Canadian adolescents, according to a newposition statement published today by the Canadian Paediatric Society(CPS).

Although gambling by minors is illegal, many adolescents are involvedin legalized and self-organized gambling activities, both at home andin school. Underage gambling can start in children as young as 9 and10 years of age and most Canadian teens say they have gambled atleast once.

“If children are playing cards or dice games for money-even if it’swith their family members-then they are gambling,” says Dr. JorgePinzon, chair of the CPS Adolescent Health Committee and co-authorthe statement. “It seems harmless, but as kids get older, thesebehaviours can develop into more serious gambling activities. and fartoo many youth develop problems with gambling.”

Overall, adolescents are two to four times more likely to havegambling problems than adults. As they get older, teens usuallygamble more with their friends and classmates-from betting on sportsto online gambling games.

“It’s normal for adolescents to experiment with risky behaviours suchas gambling. this can make them more vulnerable to developing agambling problem,” explains Dr. Pinzon. “Parents, teachers, andhealthcare providers need to be aware of risk factors includingdepression, impulsivity, antisocial behaviours, and changes tobehaviour such as skipping school or lying to hide their gambling.”

among the CPS recommendations:

— Physicians and healthcare providers should screen for gambling problems, as well as depression and suicide risk in adolescents already known to have a gambling problem. — Parents should be aware of the signs of problem gambling and monitor their children’s online activities and gambling habits. — School boards should increase awareness among staff of gambling problems in youth, encourage counsellors to talk with at-risk teens about gambling, and adopt and enforce a no-gambling policy within schools. — Federal, provincial and territorial governments should address the impact of gambling on young Canadians, develop strategies to support youth and families that are affected, and assess the potential impact of new gambling offerings on youth before licensing them.

The Canadian Paediatric Society is a national advocacy association thatpromotes the health needs of children and youth. Founded in 1922, theCPS represents more than 3,000 paediatricians, paediatricsubspecialists and other child health professionals across Canada.

to access the full CPS position statement, e-mail .

Contacts: Andree Dion Media Relations Coordinator Canadian Paediatric Society 613-526-9397, ext. 247

SOURCE: Canadian Paediatric Society

mailto:

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Paediatricians Warn of the Dangers of Teen Gambling

California, the wealthiest and most populous state in the United States and the great hope of Internet gambling advocates, is again staring down a massive budget deficit—$16 billion by Gov. Jerry Brown’s latest estimate—but odds are it won’t be enough to get a contentious internet poker bill through the Legislature this year.

As of this writing (18 may 2012), with less than two weeks to go, according to statute, for bills to pass their house of origin, an Internet poker bill introduced in the Senate back in February by Los Angeles County Democrat Roderick Wright hadn’t been reported out of the senator’s own Governmental Oversight Committee. meanwhile, a June 15 deadline looms for the Legislature to apply some sort of patch to the state’s fiscal troubles so that a budget can be passed that Brown will sign. that patch inevitably will require tax increases to avoid a worst-case scenario of deep cuts to public education and law enforcement.

This is where Wright’s “Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2012” (SB1463) comes in. the bill promises the state treasury an immediate infusion of $200 million from a one-time $30 million licensing fee charged to each operator for the right to offer Internet poker to California residents. Operators, which also must be California-based, would be reimbursed in the form of a credit against a tax on their monthly take, which the bill assesses at 10 percent of gross gaming revenue. Licenses are open to the entirety of the state’s gambling establishment—card clubs, race tracks and federally recognized Indian tribes— and would be good for 10 years initially. Only poker would be permitted for the first few years, but that could expand to other games depending on the outcome of a state review at that time.

Foreign operators could qualify for licenses or they could not. Pointedly, the bill excludes from consideration any company or entity that took bets from California residents after the 2006 passage of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. it is less clear on the qualifications of entities that have faced prosecution for actual or alleged violations of federal or state laws pertaining to Internet gambling.

SB1463 is almost identical to the Internet gambling bills Wright has been trying to get through the Legislature for the last two years. the fiscal case for turning California’s 2 million or more internet gamblers into a public resource has been compelling on each occasion. this latest effort is backed by the California Online Poker Association, a lobbying group which gets better organized every year and whose members currently include 30 of the state’s 150 card clubs and 29 of the 66 tribes with state gaming compacts, including the wealthy and politically connected Morongo and San Manuel tribes of Southern California. the powerful 33-tribe California Nations Indian Gaming Association has given the bill qualified support. as an added measure of weight, Senate President Darrell Steinberg has signed on as a co-sponsor.

But the problems are legion. In every state where it’s been proposed, with the exception of Nevada, online gambling continues to prove a tough sell. this is true even in New Jersey, home to Atlantic City’s ailing $3 billion casino industry, where a recent poll shows a majority of voters oppose it, and Republican Gov. Chris Christie, originally a supporter, is believed now to see it as a threat to his national political ambitions.

This is no less true in California, whose great wealth and myriad conflicting economic and political interests, place those difficulties in a class by themselves. the thorniest are those surrounding the state’s complicated relationship with its Indian casino industry, the largest in the country, valued in the neighborhood of $10 billion in annual revenues.

It’s almost inevitable as well that should SB1463 pass the courts will be called upon to decide whether it also violates the tribes’ exclusive right to provide machine gambling, which is guaranteed them under their compact with the state. Among the questions this raises is whether a home computer or a bank of computers located in a card club or racetrack constitute “gaming devices” under the terms of the compact.

The bill recognizes the complexity of this particular issue by attempting to push it down the road. it reads, in part: “It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the Governor, immediately following enactment, to enter into meet and confer negotiations with interested tribal governments that have tribal-state gaming compacts with the state to resolve the questions related to exclusivity of tribal gaming.”

This isn’t likely to fly, though. In fact, it’s already being challenged by some tribes.

Wright, meanwhile, is battling voter fraud and perjury charges in Los Angeles County in connection with allegations that he falsely registered a home address when he ran for re-election in 2008.

Finally, there is the issue of time, with legislative business now devoured by deal-making and arm-twisting over the budget and the Senate and Assembly heading toward summer recess on July 6. they return August 6 and have until the end of August to pass legislation. the current session ends September 1. September 30 is the last day for Brown to sign bills to become law in the current session.

Not surprisingly, Brown has yet to make known his position on SB1463.

1. California Dreaming – Update on I-gaming Prospects
2. Lesniak concerned by NJ I-Gaming bill Delay
3. California's tribes and poker rooms prepare for legalization

Uphill Battle For California I-gaming Bill

Betting on sports can be frowned upon by many people. When one declares they are a professional gambler, eyebrows are raised and knowing smiles belie the fact that people think it’s a foolish pastime. certainly, most people who gamble lose money – the novice gambler who throws down a loose bet on a hunch may win one or two bets, but in the end they are hit with a hefty failure, and give up.

Alternatively, they gamble away their life savings, digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole of debt. there is some truth in these stereotypes; gambling addiction is the reason behind many modern personal bankruptcies. however, there are also the significant minority of gamblers who make a living from their talent. They may not even see themselves as gamblers at all, but strategic risk takers. At the end of the day, there is little difference between a city stockbroker, betting his or his client’s money on whether the stock will rise or fall, and the professional gambler who makes small bets where the odds are in his favor.

The professional gambler scoffs at the novice, even when he makes a big bet that pays off. The risk was too high, and he will get his comeuppance soon enough. The professional gambler is in the business to reduce risk as much as possible, and make a solid living from informed bets. in this endeavor, he must using betting tips and the services of betting tipsters, who are also other bettors who know their craft to a fine art. in the trading world it is known as ‘fundamentals’.

The more information that one has, the more informed a decision one can make. This boils down to what the market (in this case, other bettors) believe the outcome of a sports bet will be. One can get opinions from anywhere – newspapers, magazines, bookies, friends, associates, and increasingly – online.

There are sites where one can pay a membership to get access to the best tips and knowledge out there. other statisticians, professional gamblers and bet traders will have done the sums for you, and you can drastically reduce your risk by making an informed decision. These betting tips sites are also full of pertinent information on when to make a bet, and with which bookmaker. With the advent of the internet, sports betting has been completely transformed. those who simply read the Racing Post or make gut decisions are being left at the starting post.

Professional Gambling – Where to Get Betting Tips

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