Yara Yarzagaray's Blog

Good news for online poker players as Gambling911.com can reveal that the US Treasury Department is expected to delay implementation of regulations that would require banks to stop online poker and other gambling transactions via credit cards. A number of high profile sources have informed Gambling911.com of this development. UIGEA is short for the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, passed in October 2006, which made some forms of online gambling illegal but exempted others such as horse racing and state lotteries.  Banks and other financial institutions originally had until December 1st, 2009 to comply with the UIGEA rules. The new guidelines have become especially watered down in recent months.  Wires and bank checks are no longer mentioned as part of UIGEA. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has been lobbying hard to delay the scheduled regulations and appear to have had some success on this front.  A hearing on this matter is slated for December 3 but Gamb...

The compromise 12 percent tax on gambling dislocates the Prime Minister's plans. Last week's compromise tax of 12 percent on all Bulgarian gambling turnover may have suited members of parliament, but it has not gone down well with prime minister Boyko Borisov, who wanted to balance the budget with a 15 percent tax. Borisov's plan was to use the tax revenues generated by a 15 percent rate to avoid tax increases on hard liquor and maintain assistance to young Bulgarians trying to purchase a first home. The Novinite news agency reports that after discussions with the parliamentary Speaker, Tsetska Tsacheva, Borisov announced that he had asked his GERB party and parliament for the 15 percent rate. However, parliamentarians had already approved amendments eliminating the first home proposal. Characterising the amendments as a mistake, the prime minister vowed to reverse these decisions. The prime minister told local media that he required the 15 percent gambling tax ...

Draft regulations shows signs of Internet censorship, says  EU  body With all the furore over government corruption and draconian new anti-gambling regulations going on in Poland over the past month, it is not surprising that observers have lost sight of a draft due for discussion next week on Internet gambling  measures. And the content does not look promising. The Office of the Committee for European Integration (UKIE) brought the issue back into sharp focus this week when it criticised the Polish government draft measures for the control and presumably restriction of  online gambling . The publication Gazeta Wyborcza picked up the comments, which were subsequently carried by other Polish media outlets. UKIE apparently does not like provision in the regulations that suggest ISP blocking, a move which the Australian and Italian governments discovered the hard way is guaranteed to get both taxpayers and Internet freedom bodies in a censorship lather. Gazeta...

What the PM wants, the PM gets.... Late Thursday saw a stunning reversal of a decision by Bulgarian parliamentarians to limit taxation on gambling to 12 percent in defiance of the prime minister's call for a 15 percent rate. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov was, as we reported earlier, less than pleased with the 12 percent move and vowed to reverse it....and reverse it he did, pushing MPs in a second reading to vote for the 15 percent rate he needed to balance cuts in alcohol and mortgage taxation areas. The vote was apparently unanimous, with all 149 MPs present in agreement. The Novinite news agency reports that BGN 150 million will be raised from the gambling tax in 2010. The decision did not please everyone; Bulgarian business mogul Vasil Bozhkov slammed the increased tax in a television interview, using some provocative language in describing the politicians involved. Bozhkov is believed in many quarters to be Bulgaria's richest man and was at one time involved in ...

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has scheduled a hearing on Dec. 3 before the House Financial Services Committee to hear testimony on repealing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and creating a regulated online gaming industry in the U.S. UIGEA regulations go into effect on Dec. 1. Frank, who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will lead the questioning as witnesses testify for and against the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (IGRCPEA) and the Reasonable Prudence Regulation Act (RPRA). Both bills were introduced by Frank earlier this year. The IGRCPEA calls for the creation of a regulated online gambling environment that brings transparency to the online gambling industry. The RPRA seeks to delay the implementation of UIGEA regulations by one year. No vote is expected to take place in the Thursday hearing. Source: www.gpwa.org

Gibraltar-based online gaming operator 888 Holdings has announced that its Dragonfish independent business-to-business division has signed an deal with Linden Labs to provide e-payment, fraud and customer support management services. Founded in 1999, Linden Labs is the firm behind Second Life, one of the world's leading three-dimensional virtual environments, and Dragonfish revealed that services would be delivered via its back-office functionality and advanced cashier interface. ”Today's agreement extends our offer of total gaming services into total payment services and highlights the increasingly diverse nature and strength of Dragonfish's operations,” said Gabi Campos, Managing Director for Dragonfish. “We have many gaming partners interested in our e-payment solutions but this is a giant step beyond our core operations into the retail environment. It's an excellent complementary business for Dragonfish, which will provide incremental revenues.” Dragonfi...

Games of chance will be restricted to casinos A new bill just passed in the Polish Parliament, which restricts gambling strictly to within the premises of casinos. The bill's passage comes after a huge scandal, dubbed "Blackjackgate",  rocked Prime Minister Tusk's cabinet  last month. Following the scandal, PM Tusk began a push towards the passage of stricter legislation regarding the country's gambling industry. In a vote of 48 to three with 30 abstentions, the bill passed in the Senate. However, it still requires the signature of President Kaczyński, of which PM Tusk is confident, stating: "Barring any surprises, I hope the president will be able to affix his signature as of November 30". The new laws state stat slot machines, previously allowed in bars, cafes, service stations and some shopping centres, will only be allowed within official casinos. It is estimated that over 50,000 machines may have to be removed. Also, individuals under 18 year...

High Stakes For Online Gamblers Newsweek By Jeremy Herb Between online gambling and the countless ESPN reruns of the  World Series of Poker,  poker has become a mainstream "sport." More than 6,000 people paid $10,000 to enter this year's World Series main event, and gambling experts say 10 to 15 million Americans wager $100 billion on all forms of Internet gaming annually. The online gambling industry—made up of offshore companies—earns somewhere between $6 and $10 billion in the U.S. each year. But it's a poker game of politics, not cards, that will decide the fate of online gambling in the U.S. The battle rests on a bill that was passed in the final hours of the 2006 Republican-controlled Congress, when Sen. Bill Frist tacked it onto a port security bill. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) forbids banks from accepting illegal Internet gambling transactions. In essence, it prevents would-be players from using their debit or credit cards—a standa...

More High-Profile Media Attention for Anti-UIGEA Movement November 25, 2009 (CAP Newswire) --  More mainstream media attention is being focused on the online gambling industry in the United States. On  Newsweek ’s online site, Jeremy Herb has written a lengthy argument against the UIGEA, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the 2006 law that basically makes online gambling illegal in the U.S.  Citing the vagueness and the difficulty in enforcing the UIGEA, an argument made by many other online gambling advocates, Herb goes down the list of events negative to the online gambling industry that rose from the law’s implementation. Though that list, including PartyGaming’s prosecution and the difficulties imposed on the banking industry, are familiar to many in the Internet gambling industry, most average Americans aren’t aware of these problems. So, exposure in a high-profile publication such as  Newsweek  -- one of America's most read news sources -...

24 November 2009 (London, UK) – The Cake Network team are proud to be sponsoring the historic Fire&Ice party for a second year in a row. This year, the rapidly expanding Cake Network has increased their presence at Fire&Ice and will help get the party started with the bevy of gorgeous Cake Girls. “This is an opportunity to both host our clients and suppliers at the industry’s most famous event, and a way for Cake Network to meet and entertain new licensees in a fun, casual environment,” said Cake Network’s London based Event Manager. Fire&Ice 2010 takes you back to the exquisite Gilgamesh, where fantasy meets reality in a sexy Babylonian setting with a full evening of partying and entertainment. “Without revealing too much and spoiling the surprise, this year’s event will be sexy, provocative and very entertaining!” said co-host Jodie Thind. “We are thrilled to have the Cake Network as a sponsor for a second year in a row. Their sponsorship of Fire&Ice is their gi...

As banks in the US prepare for the implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in December, customers of internet sportsbooks, casinos and poker rooms are growing nervous. Make that more nervous. We have gotten dozens of calls and emails all wondering what this means for Internet gambling, several have viewed this as ‘the end’. However, this appears to be just another scare tactic from the U.S. government. This law, though it has a catchy title and a cool acronym that appear to give the it teeth, really appears that it will have little or no effect on the current state of money movement to and from Internet gambling houses. The American Bankers Association, a trade group that “works to enhance the competitiveness of the nation’s banking industry” and represents over 95% of the country’s banks, clearly notes that the Final Rule on the UIGEA issued December 18, 2008 is aimed at companies and credit cards. Banks are now required to do more due diligence at ...

BETFAIR AND LADBROKES ARE to take on the Dutch government tomorrow in two separate landmark legal battles at the EU’s highest court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), over the right of offer egaming in the Netherlands.  For Betfair, the case follows a formal complaint made to the European Commission in May about a letter from the Dutch government to banks telling them to block payments from the British betting exchange’s Dutch customers, arguing that the letter was in breach of EU rules which allow companies authorised in one European Union member state to offer goods and services in any other.  If the case is successful, Betfair will also sue the Dutch government for damages that legal counsel Mark Warrington told  EGRmagazine.com  “will certainly run into millions.”  For Ladbrokes, the ECJ hearing will decide the fate of end of the British bookmaker’s seven-year struggle against an injunction imposed by Dutch courts that prevents Ladbrokes from accepti...

American President Rails Against Chinese Censorship while Continuing to Allow It in U.S. November 18, 2009 (CAP Newswire) --  U.S. President Barack Obama is in China at the moment, making a historic and hugely publicized mission to promote trade and other international matters. The media took note when Obama went a bit off the Chinese government’s carefully scripted plans earlier this week to take a quick shot at that government’s policy of censoring its citizens’ access to the Internet. While many would agree with Obama that the Chinese government shouldn’t restrict access to perhaps the most open and democratic form of mass media in human history, many others were quick to note a trace of hypocrisy in his stance, since the U.S. President could stand to improve the issue of online censorship in his home country.  As the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) goes into wider effect in these last weeks of 2009, online gambling is becoming more and more restr...

Lawmakers send a proposal for a Gambling Commission back to the drawing board Plans to introduce a Gambling Commission on the island of Jersey off the French coast have been postponed pending the submission of further information on costs and methods, reports the BBC. The formation of a Gambling Commission for the island, which is becoming active as an  online gambling jurisdiction, has been proposed to license and regulate gambling operations and provide responsible gambling measures and facilities. The week the governing States asked Senator Alan Maclean, the economic development minister, to provide more information on the proposed Commission, specifically how it would work and what sort of costs would be involved. The minister had already outlined some details, but politicians felt they needed more information before the debate could continue. Source:  LatestCasinoBonuses: 19th of November 2009

More regulation on the way According to the chief executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region, the local government intends to increase its commitment to Responsible Gambling on the gambling island. Presenting his annual report to the Legislative Assembly yesterday (Wednesday), CEO Ho Hau Wah said that officials will cooperate with local academic institutions and civil groups in promoting the concept of "responsible gambling" in a bid to alleviate the negative impact of the island's gaming boom. Ho's term of office ends in December, when he will be succeeded by another government appointee. In addition to the responsible gambling initiative, government intends to create more diversity in an economy which it feels is too dependent on gambling, Ho remarked. The Chinese news agency Xinghua reports that Macau total gaming revenues for the third quarter this year reached 31.78 billion patacas (US$4.02 billion), which was the highest yet recorded, accor...