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Big news in the market is the EPT, or European Poker Tour. It is as large as the WSOP and proving that poker gambling is highly lucrative and fun. Thousands of people took part in the tournament in an effort to make it to the final table. There was only one though who could eventually take that title and it was Swedish player Kent Lundmark. He eventually faced off with a professional poker player at the final table to win €825,000. This is a sign of how big poker gaming is becoming all over the world these days. There was a time when the big payouts of the WSOP for example were unique. The organizers stood alone in handing out the huge life-changing amounts. Now that is not the case. Now you can find big dollar tournaments everywhere. The EPT is just one more example of how big the games are getting nowadays. Everyone loves poker gambling for what it has to offer in terms of gaming and strategy building. The casino games are fun and come with a long time of study and honing skill. Unlike slots, for example, you most likely can’t just jump into a tournament and do well. You have to put in the hours to practice with players and learn how to manage your hand and bankroll.

The final table for the EPT was made up of eight people and they all duked it out. Perhaps as a sign of where the market is going, the players were all from different countries. It was representative of how popular poker is all over the world and how everyone is trying to get in on gaming fun. It means that more and more gamers are expected to join in on the fun next year. The WSOP has shown consistent growth over the years and most likely the EPT is going to show the exact same thing as more and more gamers get in tune with the game. Poker is a game that has a lot to offer and one by one, gamers from all over the world are finding that out.

If you are a Mac user, you can no longer claim you are being ignored by gaming companies. For a long time now those who used Apple-products have had a hard time with finding software for their specific program needs. Developers in online casinos put their time and efforts into building new software for gamers. They come up with some of the most unique and fun games anywhere in the market. In fact, developing companies are even outrunning longstanding companies that have been in the land based gaming market. Technology is working well with gaming companies and they are able to introduce new games virtually every month. It isn’t hard—most gaming companies have a few base formulas for building games and the alter them slightly as they develop new games. On version of a game might be Egyptian-themed and have a “Wheel of Fortune” like bonus game in it. A newer version may have a wider wager range and a NASCAR-theme to it. The bonus game may be a “choose to look under the hood” for your bonus prize instead. Though the games have different features, they may be the same basic game. Developers know how to dress up games and make them unique, without having to start fresh every time they want to build a new game for users to play.

This is helping to push the Apple/Mac market forward in terms of gaming. More and more companies are coming out with their own Mac-friendly software. Now customers can go to their websites and click on special links with software that allows them to sign up at a casino just like a PC user does. They can be up and running within minutes, just like other gamers have been for years now. The change is going to open the door up for a completely new market that is going to bring more gamers into the mix. Expect gaming companies to continue to focus on developing the Mac market. They will now start creating rosters of games that are as diverse and fun as PC-users have had the privilege of using for years now.

One of the ways companies use to change their company cultures is to bring in “new blood.” They change the CEO or the VP and make them the central director of where the company is headed. This is a way for companies to keep things fun and relevant to the market. Netplay TV is a company that is doing just that. The company announced that by the departure of their CEO Martin Higginson. He was with the company for five years and has now disbanded. Speculation says that his ideas for where the company was going is one of the reasons that he left; other speculations say that he failed to reach the goals laid out by the company throughout his tenure. Part of the issue came up with the company’s bingo division called Bingo Stars TV. Higginson failed to make this portion of the company as lucrative or reach the benchmark goals it had intended. Bingo Stars Television ended its operations just six months into its trial period of broadcast. It noted the initiative as a “colossal failure financially.” This could have been what sealed the coffin for Higginson and ended his stint at the company.

This is just one of the repercussions of the market. It isn’t stable yet—there are still a lot of changes coming into play and that is causing many companies to question their management board. If a project doesn’t take off like they anticipated, someone has to take the fall. In the above case Higginson took full responsibility for the project too, so it was on his shoulders to make it a success, or at minimum avoid complete failure. In the end the project is completely put on the shelf indefinitely but the company is still looking to rework its other divisions to absorb the losses. Hopefully they will be able to work with losses. Most likely the company will be fine. They currently have enough collateral and other projects on the table to bounce back relatively quickly. They are going to continue looking into bingo gaming however, they claim. This is not a dead issue and since bingo is popular, why wouldn’t they regroup and try again?

Again the market is shifting—now it is Playtech that is making some strategic changes. One of the things researchers are going to find in the gambling market today is that things are changing. Even highly successful companies like Playtech aren’t resting on their laurels. The company is making no bones about how it is pushing towards continued growth and aggressive change in the market. Their leaders know that this could be the main reason they stay relevant. Face it though—Playtech has a great shot at staying relevant to the market. The company is one of the leading software developing companies in the market today and showing no signs of slowing down. Even despite the recession, the company was able to show a profit and lived through the minimum of losses. While other gaming companies had to scale back drastically, Playtech was not one of them. The company has been around long enough that it was able to sustain itself despite diminishing numbers in all markets, including online gambling. Now the company is pushing ahead by signing as an affiliate with Tain, a Swedish B2B gambling provider for online casinos. Tain is a company that began with its company vision on the global market and that is exactly where Playtech obviously wants to be. Together, the companies will have a great shot at becoming relevant to all parties involved in the market.

The two giants have been affiliated for the past five years, so they already have an efficient working relationship with each other. They are not increasing that connection though and embarking on an aggressive growth plan. They see the gambling market as a quickly expanding one and know that if they position themselves in the right way, they can take advantage of those growth markets from the ground up. They can push for better gaming and then gain as big a market share as possible right from the start. This is a smart move on their part. They see the gambling market for what it is—a high growth billion-dollar market. Expect great things from these two companies in the future as they embark on taking over the global gambling market together.

There are still a lot of issues the online gambling market has to sort out before things are running seamlessly. One of the biggest ones is finding a uniform law to work under. The US and gambling have been toying with each other for years now. It was the 2006 UIGEA that was the most aggressive legislators ever got when it came to wagering. The bill failed, but it was supposed to push gambling out of the US market. The purpose was to task financial institutions with flagging and denying any activities that had to do with gambling. Banks were not crazy about the bill because they knew that the added cost would be a big one. Imagine having to create the manpower to go through every transaction. Sure there are coding laws used, but not all gambling transactions are coded the right way. If a bank accidently let a questionable transaction go through they were then in danger of the money being seized, but also in danger of hefty fines by the government. The trouble it caused to banks was one that they were hoping they could get rid of soon—no such luck. There are legislators trying to turn around the UIGEA, or at minimum amend it, but that isn’t happening as quickly as some would hope. The issue is still up in the air and the UIGEA stands.

Part of the problem with the UIGEA though is that it didn’t define what exactly “gambling” was. This left the rules sketchy and proves how outdated and irrelevant the bill really is. The only thing the bill ended up doing was pushing US gamblers to offshore companies. That channeled billions of dollars out of the country and most likely they are never going to be recovered in the market. Though legislators are pushing towards change, if the issue isn’t faced this year, it could be completely put on hold for another two years. This would be tragic for the US market. It means that states would not yet be able to take advantage of the huge tax revenue dollars that gaming brings in. It will take time to sort through the issue, but hopefully it is sooner than later.

Once again gambling in the UK is feeling the brunt of changing laws. Now it is the online casino market, land based bookmakers and horseracing industries that are having problems dealing with new laws. The problem is that some legislators are holding to the idea that these companies need to contribute more funds to subsidizing the horseracing market as a whole. It is no secret that racing as a whole is suffering huge losses. Since the recession, the racing market has been dwindling quickly. People have had problems with wagering for some time now and the recession was difficult on all. People who used to support racing, were unable to do so after the recession occurred. Their biggest problems were paying for everyday bills, rather than having discretionary funds for wagering or racing wagers. Though the casino market has seen some growth and turnaround since the recession ended, racing hasn’t. In fact, as a whole the market has continued to decline to dangerously low numbers. It may take some time for things to even show the most nascent of signs of a turnaround. Because of this the racing industry is asking for help from other markets. They first petitioned for slots gaming to help them. A lot of racetrack owners requested their states allow them to open a slots parlor to help them elevate the numbers and bring in more revenue and traffic. This worked for a choice few, but not overall. Now they are looking for other ways of sustaining themselves until the market opens up to support them once again.

The decision to tax online casinos and land based bookmakers though is not sitting well with the two types of businesses. They believe that this is only penalizing their businesses for the purpose of helping a struggling one. Should they be held responsible for a failing market? The company’s directors also state that they are not yet far enough out of their own financial struggles as a result of the recession and this is another reason why they shouldn’t be burdened with turning things around. The cost to these companies can be huge and legislators are debating whether or not they are going to go through with the changes in taxation. So far it is UK’s Culture Secretary who will make the decision to decide whether or not the changes will happen.

The Danish government is not having an easy time with creating adequate online gambling laws. So far the legislators have put the decisions on hold for more time to debate out the issues. So far it will be at the earliest summer of 2011 when a decision is being made. Originally legislators decided that they were going to allow Denmark online casinos to open their doors to offshore players. This would have allowed the country to take advantage of how lucrative the market is right now and come up with new ways of bringing in revenue. The decision was to happen on the first day of the new year. Companies were being asked to contribute an annual fee and a portion of their total gross numbers. The average fee would have been between €7,000 to €200,000 per year in taxation. This could have been a highly lucrative move if it had gone through. Still the country opted for a postponement of the issue until later in the coming year.

This is just one example of how the gambling market is still changing. Legislators are working to create workable laws, but some are finding hang ups and are unable to move forward. Whether or not things are going to change quickly has yet to be seen. Right now the Danish government is asking the EU to step in and help to sort through the taxation laws. The EU is pushing for gambling to be allowed, but under its own laws of free trade and good business. This is coming into question because a lot of countries are writing their own laws in terms of gaming. They know how much money is at stake and are trying to create their own monopolies within their borders. Whether or not this will continue to go unnoticed by the EU has yet to be seen. They have brought their concerns up to member countries, but a lot of them are putting the issues on hold. They need more research and more time to sort through all the changes. The market is moving quickly and this is not making it easy for legislators to create adequate laws to sustain it.

Cincinnati racetrack River Downs has been suffering since the recession. As everyone knows racing has been suffering financially since the recession. It is difficult to get people to wager when they are having problems with their own finances. Millions of Americans were left in the unemployment lines when the recession first happened. They had to cut back on everything and that for the most part included cutting gambling completely out of their monthly budgets and spending. This caused land based casinos and racetracks to suffer. They had no way of bringing in the former dollars. Most land based casinos were sitting pretty for a long time, bringing in millions of dollars per month. They believed that their markets were safe and they had nothing to worry about. When people were under financial attack due to the recession though, this stifled their spending and land based casinos felt the brunt of the attacks. They tried to reinvigorate the market, but it was almost pointless for them to be able to make the necessary changes. Racing for the most part was left with few options to find revival. The River Downs was one of those longstanding racing locales that had a rich history to work with, but no market to sustain it. It was thought that the racing facility may have to close down due to a lack of prospects in terms of turning its revenue stream around. Now, thankfully that is not going to have to happen.

Pinnacle Entertainment made the announcement that they are going to purchase River Downs, for $45 million. This is a big purchase, but it could be a good move for the gaming company. Pinnacle Entertainment has the funds needed to fuel into the business and create great cards. It can also put together a good promotional package and build other gaming facilities in the location. It could be that they use a combination of promotion and slots parlors to bring people into the area once again for the purpose of returning to gambling, and in turn returning to wagering on the horse races. Only time will tell what happens, but most likely Pinnacle is the company need to turn this racetrack around for good.

Though New Jersey legislators are making moves, they could have some competition when it comes to bringing gambling laws into their markets. Now it is Maryland and Maine both that are makign moves towards solidifying their market shares in the northeastern area. Both states are new to gaming and by no means are experts; still this isn’t necessarily a negative thing. They are toying with various rules to see what works for them. The fact that they have premiere gaming could be the first step in becoming gaming centers in their area of the US. Maine of course was debating Oxford County’s petition for a casino. It was the recent recession that changes it all when people opted to vote a casino to be built. A casino was approved for building. This was a huge change because prior to the official vote, the sides were pretty evenly divided. Maryland too has its own gambling initiative going. The state of course has been working iwth Anne Arundel County for some time now to bring a casino to the mall. This would be a huge facility and would introduce a good amount of competition to the area as a whole. This could change the face of gambling in the northeast.

So who is going to win? That depends on what the fickle gaming public are looking for. Since all the states involved are advanced, they know what good casinos should offer. They have a great handle on what needs to happen in terms of gaming floors, promotions, deals, specials, etc. They have strong gaming companies that are able to help them put together the right plans for opening facilities if they don’t have they yet, and to develop facilities if they are already built. This could pose a problem for New Jersey– not tha the state already hasn’t seen its share of issues. The state’s numbers have been down for a long time now– since the recession actually and they are showing no signs of a quick turnaround. No one knows how the competition will sort itslef out or where gamers are going to show the most loyalty. That has yet to be seen.

There were debates on what US state would be the first to come up with adequate online gambling laws. Many were pining for the position, but it looks like New Jersey may be the forerunner and winner. The state recently announced that it is bringing changes to the internet gambling market. Part of the reason is the flailing Atlantic City gambling market. Atlantic City has been suffering for some time now and there are no signs of revival coming soon according to the numbers. Recently the casino had to do mass layoffs—twice. They let go of thousands of workers both times. The problem is that neighboring states are opening their own premiere gambling facilities and that is creating serious competition for the gambling Mecca. Add to that the rise in online gambling and gamers have a wider range of options than they ever had. Plus some of the other options are much newer and showcasing bigger and better games and promotions. In response, Atlantic City has been creating its own new promotions, but they don’t seem to be as effective as once hoped. Now the state is stepping in.

New Jersey officials are defining a new law in a way so that it will not be defying any current US laws on a federal level. They know that it is a tricky subject to create gambling laws right now when the UIGEA is still in effect. Nothing has changed it, though there have been various legislators how are trying. The issue may be shelved for another two years if changes aren’t made soon. This is leaving states on their own when it comes to writing online gambling law and New Jersey is taking the initiative with the issue. They are hoping that the allowance of online gambling will help to bring in the old revenue numbers post-recession. If they can bring in the same money, or even more, this would make the market that much easier to turn around fully. Remember that New Jersey is still suffering in terms of finances. They want Atlantic City to be a success again, or if not they want some other revenue stream to replace its old income levels—even if only temporarily.