2008 April 02 Gambling News, Events and Happenings

THE GRAND area theaters, starts Friday As the convergence of two cooling trends - poker and the comic mock-doc - this largely improvised comedy set at a Texas hold-’em championship is itself somewhat the victim … via City Pages

“Still others, including some gambling businesses and many consumers, asked that the rule clarify that certain types of gambling, such as pari-mutuel betting or poker, are lawful.”

Contrasting attitudes toward the betting exchange concept pioneered by Betfair and expanding rapidly in Australia were showcased this week when the New South Wales government welcomed the opportunity to work with the company instead of litigating against it as was the case with Western Australia.

The fascination and excitement of gambling was reflected this week in the outstanding North American box office returns from the newly released movie “21,” which recorded $23.7 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend.

This week’s 35 - 37 vote Dutch Senate defeat of an attempt to grant the state-owned Holland Casino.com an exclusive three year license for the Netherlands will have no material affect on the casino’s new software provider, Cryptologic has advised.

Timed to precede Wednesday’s Congressional hearings on Internet gambling and the implications of the problematical Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), a land casino supplier has come out strongly against the online industry in an expensive, full page statement in the global edition of the respected Wall Street Journal.

Dutch media reports indicate that a controversial proposal before the Dutch Senate to give an exclusive and protectionist three year online gambling license for the Netherlands to the state-owned Holland Casino.com has been rejected, suggesting a more cautious approach by Dutch legislators acutely aware of the scrutiny of the European Commission

Having achieved legal standing to litigate in its case against the US government’s UIGEA earlier this year (see previous InfoPowa report) the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) online gambling trade group has now filed a Notice of Appeal in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals (Philadelphia) to progress its challenge against “policy enforcement” of the UIGEA.