Online Casinos Directory

One of the biggest markets for online gambling is in the UK. It’s no secret that gambling is taking over many country’s negotiations. The global recession did a lot to bring economies all over the world to their knees. Deficits are huge and budgets have huge shortfalls. Gambling is one of the few markets that has not suffered as a result of the economic downturn. In fact, gambling has shown a good growth performance over the past few months. In particular online gambling has shown a huge growth rate. Legislators from all over the world know that there are billions of dollars available in the market of gaming and are trying hard to capitalize on it’s lucrative nature.

In the UK the same changes are happening, but somewhat in reverse. Due to changes in legislation in the UK, several large online gambling operators left the country, opting for offshore business centers. The UK is now looking for changes that will keep operators in the country. The government is considering making the move to instill a mandatory gaming license for offshore companies. They would have to pay for their licensing and if they don’t, they would be banned from accepting or soliticing companies from within the UK borders. Two of the companies that moved out of the country were William Hill and Ladbrokes– both are giants in the world of online gambling. They both moved their operations to Gibraltar, a location where gambling is welcomed and taxes are low.

The UK government is noting a need to help regulate the industry to stop the sports betting scandals that have risen in recent months. In addition, however, the government is hurting from losing the huge revenues that William Hill and Ladbrokes brought in. Together there is a loss of millions of dollars that could have been kept in the UK economy if laws were different. Despite the move, the UK has lenient gambling laws for online operators. The economy has been built up due to changes in the US law. In particular the UIGEA of 2006 drove companies out of the US and into the UK market.

Governor Patrick of Massachusetts once ran for office on a pro-gambling platform. Like many other legislators he took the stand that logically, the state should move into gambling as a means of finding the huge funds it needs to survive. Like most states, Massachusetts fell under the same difficulties as a result of the recent recession.  The lending, housing and car manufacturing crashes all pushed the economy into a recession and though experts are saying it is now over, there is still a lot of ‘catch-up’ for states to make. The most recent problem for them to deal with is the huge deficits they are left with. Many state legislators are trying to move to a pro-gambling stance as a means of bringing in the estimated billions of dollars available via gambling.

Patrick however, as of late has changed his stance somewhat on the issue of gambling. To align with social progessives in his party, he seems to be moving to the other side. He helped drew up a bill that would have brought casino resorts to the state, but the bill was quickly denied. The main opposition was led by former House speaker Salvatore DiMasi. DiMasi was at first instrumental in pushing the slots initiative forward, but then changes his mind too.

The biggest issue to contend with is the ethical stand some conservatives are pushing. They believe that the amount of problems legalizing gambling would create for society far outweighs the money.  The estimate is that millions of annual dollars could be found via managing gambling the right way, but there are added millions in addiction resources. Martin Engleson of Gamblers Anonymous said, “If you expand casinos straight across the board, you will inevitably create more addicts…without the proper resources to handle the change, society is in trouble.”  Critics believe that the millions of dollars states believe will come in via gambling revenues will be eaten up quickly by the need for new programs and resources to handle new addict. In particular young people and the elderly are noted to be particualrly vulnerable to the growth of online and land-based casino expansions.

Because gambling is one of the most popular projected up-and-coming industries for 2010, many states are rushing to make moves to find their own laws. US News and World Report has named the gaming manager job as one of the fifty best careers in 2010. That is because with the increasing number of casinos comes an increasing number of jobs. For example, Missouri, Florida, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and California all have gone through expansions regarding gambling and casinos. Each one noted its growth in job possibilities and how the moves are working to turn around the unemployment issue that all states are facing.

In past years, Las Vegas and Atlantic City were considered gambling hubs of the US. People from far and wide went through travel complexities to visit the gambling meccas and as a result, both cities were fueled by gambling activities. Now that deficits are so hefty in all states, they are all looking to gambling as a way of bringing in money.

On the down side, states still realize that they can’t rely solely on casinos to help them turn around their economic crises. Some states are making the mistake of already counting on gambling money that they don’t have and portioning it out for various programs. They are trying to project what their potential revenues could be and then earmark the money for development, planning, expansion, public works programs, jobs and education. This is a bold move and most economists and analysts believe it may come back and haunt lawmakers.

Legislators however, are pushing hard to make the gambling initiatives work. Those looking to bring gambling to their state are citing not only money, but also the increase in jobs as a positive aspect of the move. While unemployment rates continue to rise in other industries, casino owners are hiring employees for their new casinos on an almost daily basis. Casino totals are expected to grow exponentially throughout the coming 2010 year. US News projected that employment will grow by 12% by the year 2018. The best part of the gaming projections is that it is a low-education job creation possibility. Training is on-the-job and not more than a high school diploma is needed to get a job in the industry.  That is good news for the huge amount of unemployed Americans who find themselves in need of jobs and without a lot of formal training. It could be a solution to the problems the recession created for America.

Casino gambling is one of the hottest new industries around. Despite the recession, it is one of the few that hasn’t seen a notable drop in patronage. While the lending, car manufacturing and housing crashes happened, gambling stuck strong.  One gaming analyst, Martin Beamon said, “The face of gambling changed throughout the recession in that people started flocking towards the penny-slots and smaller-limit machines, rather than the high-roller tables…however, gambling itself had a relatively unchanging amount of customers. It surprised everyone.”

The performance of gambling startled everyone. Although huge industries fell, gambling didn’t. Las Vegas noted a decline in tourism and that caused a fall in revenues, but in terms of local casinos, they did well. Beamon added, “States released their numbers and they were stable…although the Las Vegas market is down by 60% and tribal-owned casinos were also down, local casinos and internet gambling both stayed stable and popular among patrons.” One of the biggest drivers of performance for gambling came from the general increase in legalizing and regulating gambling that most states are currently going through. They see how lucrative gambling is and the recession left them with huge deficits. Gambling is seen as a viable option to bring in revenues. One expert said, “For every month the US does not legalize gambling, they are losing millions of dollars.”

So far the US is still wrestling with the UIGEA of 2006. It was a law that banned financial institutions from allowing gambling money to be withdrawn or deposited. Banks were tasked with watching their transactions and flagging any that came directly from online gambling activities. Banks were not happy with the move and most made a fowl sweep of any activity that came even close to gambling. Legal activities that were affiliated with lotteries and sports betting were in danger of being flagged by banks, and many were. The funds were confiscated or at minimum, held from winners. What the UIGEA actually showed was its limitations and lack of proper rhetoric in terms of defining what gambling actually is. Many lawmakers are currently working to revamp the UIGEA and write amendments that will make it more relevant and poignant to the US market.  

Part two coming next.

North Carolina has been embroiled in the issue of gambling for some time now. The sides drawn are not unlike those of other states—on one side there is the ethics-based groups who believe that the move is a sure-fire way to bring in problems for the state and on the other side is a legislative branch that believes that the money available is too much to turn down.  Ethics-based groups believe that gambling within the states will bring in crime, corruption, money laundering and a greater need for addiction resources. Legislators however, see the huge dollars that are available with legalization and regulation of gambling and are pushing hard to make it work. They are currently writing and rewriting laws to bring in millions of potential gambling-tax dollars.

In North Carolina, the gambling issue is now settled, however the issue of internet café gambling is now at the forefront. Though video gambling machines have been banned and cited as illegal, internet café gambling isn’t. The state’s Court of Appeals recently clarified that video gambling machines are illegal. They cited poker machines as illegal to use within the states and any bar or pub using them had to immediately get rid of the machines. Though the ruling was thought to be thorough, it left one gaping oversight—the question of internet cafes where customers are allowed to play for a sweepstakes game once they buy internet time or a phone card. When customers purchase either, they have, by contract, the right to play the sweepstakes games on their computer. The games are poker-like in nature and they are legal according to operators because the games offer players the chance to win a prize, rather than cash. Mostly operators are offering customers the chance to win a prize that promotes their brand, product or service.  Owners are divided on the issue and many believe that it is just another form of gambling and should be illegal. Thus far, law enforcement officials have been told to let internet cafes continue their sweepstakes activities until a ruling is officially made on the issue. These sweepstakes are popular within the state of North Carolina and are showing no signs of waning.

For a few years now the NFL has been vehemently fighting against allowing gambling in the sport. The league has released various documentation citing gambling as a means of “sullying” the name of the NFL and a way for gamblers to jeopardize the integrity of the game.  Despite their former stance, the league has allowed some gambling activities to touch the sport—namely, scratch off tickets have been released that feature NFL teams. Despite the move, the league still maintains that it is against gambling and allowing it to jeopardize the sport.

Now the NHL is jumping on the anti-gambling bandwagon. The move that spurred on the stance was the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers both agreeing to use gambling revenue to raise money. Many groups are citing the moral issue regarding gambling saying that it should not sully the name of any sporting league that wants to be “taken seriously.” The NHL however, is seeing their numbers down and wants to find ways to bring in much-needed cash. Like a lot of states, the league is looking for any way to bring money in.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers both have allowed their logos to be printed on Pennsylvania’s $2 scratch-off lottery tickets. The teams of course will be rewarded for their logo usage with a cut of each $2 ticket sold. Fans of the NHL will be able to support their preferred team. The funds are set to go directly to older residents of the state. Ironically, seniors are the group that has been fighting most against the blending of the NHL and lottery funds.

Earlier this year the NFL set the stage for sports leagues involvement with gambling by legally challenging Delaware from offering single game betting. Though the NFL challenged the move, league owners approved allowing individual teams to create contracts with the state’s lotteries. The New York Giants and the Washington Redskins already formed contracts with their state’s lotteries. The NBA commissioner was the first major sports leader to cite gambling as a viable option for leagues to bring in much-needed funding and channel some of the money raised into various charity events .

In Indiana gambling laws state that casinos can only operate on riverboats. It’s a law that has served the state well over the years. Patrons from the state and neighboring states travel to visit the riverboats and enjoy gambling in a novel way. There are changes to the state laws coming though. Lawmakers are looking to discuss the possibility of changing the state law tying gambling and riverboats together. They are now looking to allow a new land-based casino to be built in downtown South Bend.

There are several groups pushing for the move to build the new casino. They are citing its possibility of reinvigorating the economy and bringing millions into the state’s budgets. Another repercussion of the move would be to create jobs for the local economy. Many people are unemployed in the state and this is one of the biggest advantages legislators are advertising and promoting. Gaming analyst Steve Schwartz said, “Right now, there are several different groups who want to bring land-based casinos to Indiana. If the state laws change, these groups had better move quickly or they are going to lose out on licensing.” 

Despite a strong push for the move, like with other states there is an opposing side that sees the new land-based casino as a bad move. One of their biggest arguments is that South Bend is a financially risky area for a casino. Analysts are citing that there are more financially sound areas of the state where it would make more fiscal sense to build in.

At this time Indiana has eleven riverboat casinos but more than a few are citing bad location as their number one problem. Some are even petitioning the state to allow them to relocate to inland areas. Though legislators have thus far denied the requests, they still are working to build up their case for the moves. Another issue that is weighing heavily on the state is building a land-based casino that could potentially infringe on the daily routines of locals. Many are worried that having a land-based casino in the area would congest roads, bring in crime and bring in more need for addiction services.

Dog racing has been popular in the US since the 1920s. Over the years the sport evolved into today’s greyhound race tracks featuring circular or oval tracks and a “lure” for the dogs to chase. Greyhounds are thin dogs with very little body fat and long thin legs that lend themselves well to the chase. As is common with many other sports, greyhound racing experienced its highest popularity juts after the Second World War. For example, in 1946 there were over 34 million fans of the game. It was during the 60s that the sport waned in popularity. Though now it has returned to the market as a viable gambling activity, there are many changes in the industry threatening its survival.

Recently the state of Massachusetts officially ended its greyhound racing industry. It took a lot to end the sport and many people fought over the issue. Animal activists were thoroughly sated with the move to end racing of the dogs in the state. They cited abuse as the main reason for the move. Though they did take it as a victory, many dog racers are already set on moving the sport to a different state and continue the races. Gaming analyst Brad Dawkins confirmed, “There may be some celebrating going on, but that does not mean that the dogs will be treated any differently than they already were being treated. These owners are simply relocating, not stopping the races.”

Despite most dog racers having a contingency plan to move, advocates of animal welfare have worked hard to close down the race tracks. They believe that dogs are pushed and mistreated and when they become too old or injured to run, they are either neglected or put to sleep. On the other hand are those who believe that the end of the industry is bad news for the dogs. They believe that ending dog racing altogether will cause owners to euthanize dogs.  Greyhound racing has been a strong part of the Massachusetts culture since the 1930s. Regardless of the sides fighting it out, new law put into place makes dog racing officially illegal starting on January 1^st of 2010.

The state of Pennsylvania is deeply embroiled in a battle over table games. For many months now the state has been divided over the issue. Governor Ed Rendell has been one of the strongest proponents of bringing gambling to the state and using its tax revenues as a means of funding various state-run programs and plans.  He’s worked hard to urge lawmakers to write laws that are workable for the state’s use.

The good news is that Rendell’s hard work may be coming to a happy ending for him and other proponents of table gaming revenues. Lawmakers are now closer than ever to resolving the issue of table gaming and legislation that would allow it. The main hold-up was the issue of a new casino resort license that some lawmakers had been pushing for, and others were not in support of.  This past week legislators agreed to add a new license to the state’s existing licensed gambling portals. The only problem remaining is that the license is set to begin in 2017. Of course some are looking at the positive aspect of making a far-off move like this. They believe that allotting enough time will give the state enough time to get used to the use of gambling and iron out any kinks in legislation that would hinder the effectiveness of the move.

The state has already included the revenue from table games in their state budget calculations. Though this may be a bit premature, it does manage to put pressure on lawmakers to come up with code that legalizes and regulates casinos in the state. Until this recent addition of laws, state legislators were at a stand-still regarding coming up with adequate rules and regulations for gambling games. Part of the push came from Rendell pressuring legislators with the threat of cutting over 1,000 jobs if there was no gambling-tax revenue to fund them in the future. The threat managed to push legislators in the right direction.  The official vote on the issue won’t be heard until early 2010. The House and the Senate are set to gather at the state capitol on the 5^th of January. So far projections are that table game revenue could potentially bring $250 million to the state annually.