Lately a lot has been written about the regulated jurisdictions in the US (New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada) and the online gaming battle going on in Pennsylvania. Has everyone forgotten about California? For a while there, all signs pointed to California being one of the leaders in US online gaming legalization. Then the tribal interests and land based operators and lotteries and legislators all got involved and Read More
Resorts Gets It
Land-based casino owners (well, at least the ones who aren't dumb jerks) seem to have finally turned away from the "old" way of thinking (circa the mid to late 2000s) that online gaming is a threat to their business. Most of them have gradually been dragged (some kicking and screaming) into the 21st century way of thinking, which is that brick and mortar casinos can leverage online gaming to expand their business. Read More
Pennsylvania on the Front Lines
Pennsylvania State Representative John Payne (R - District 106) has introduced an online gaming expansion bill in the House of Representatives. Payne’s bill, (HB 649) would only legalize online poker in Pennsylvania - not all forms of online gambling - although the legislation seems to leave the door for a more comprehensive approach. The bill currently has 18 other cosponsors. Not to be outdone, days later a new Read More
An Ace That You Can Keep
Most people who are old like me are familiar with the Kenny Rogers song "The Gambler". The premise of the song generally is that life involves a series of decisions that require us to analyze risk and reward, much like gambling. Historically in the United States, opponents of gambling have cited reasons such as increased crime, gambling addition, religious prohibitions, regressive taxation, and the other usual Read More
The Split is (Not) Bananas
One of my favorite sources for internet gambling news, iGaming Business, is reporting that shares in bwin party have jumped 24% recently following rumors the group was thinking about splitting up into regulated- and unregulated-focused operating entities. I hope this is true and if it is I applaud whatever genius came up with this idea. Why would I use a term like "genius" to describe this idea? Because I thought Read More
The Hypocrisy of the United States Gambling Laws
Gambling is for the most part under the jurisdiction of state law in the US, and every state has laws that relate to gambling. Some form of legal gambling is permitted in 48 of our 50 states, however only one state (Nevada) has legalized most forms of gambling on a state-wide basis. Gambling has been a vital part of American society since the 18the century, and the general trend is that the availability of and Read More
Clock running for US Online Poker Regulations
An October 2 article in the Seattle Times by Ken Ritter highlights the unlikely prospect of Congress passing internet gaming regulatory laws this year. A well known understanding in the gambling industry is the threats online wagering hosted by sites overseas pose to the casino industry in the United States. American Gaming Association chief, Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr. stated to reporters in Las Vegas that passing a Read More
The buzzword of 2012: Convergence!
All indications are that the US is finally starting to catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to the convergence of land-based casino gaming with online, social, casual and mobile gaming. We are seeing daily examples of this in the news. Here is a picture that is supposed to illustrate convergence, although to me it looks like rejected artwork from a Journey album cover. One such example was announced Read More
