Online Casinos Directory

It seems that everywhere in the world that is experiencing large growth rates in terms of gambling is also facing growth in illegal gambling. This was a definite concern of legislators who were writing laws. The anti-gambling activists believe that the rise in legal gaming means that crime and corruption will abound. They believe that if thieves realize how much money is to be had, they will try their own ways of taking advantage of that market. This will create a new cost—investigating, breaking up and persecuting those involved in the activities. They believe that the price is too big to pay. The Australian market is proving their suspicions may be right. The Federal Families Minister Jenny Macklin is voicing her concerns regarding gambling both land based and online. It is no secret that people want to wager—more and more Australian citizens are clamoring for gaming options. They want to be able to wager from the privacy of their own homes and at land based casinos. The issue though is that the legalities have to be regulated and those laws have to be written still. Right now the estimates are that the country’s citizens are spending over $1-billion a year on gambling. This growth rate has some concerned about how to adequately manage and still protect citizens.

As of right now there are no protections for citizens playing in online casinos and no recourse if they are scammed. This could pose huge problems for the market in the future. What if gamers start having issues? Are more companies going to move into the market? If so, how will they be regulated? There are a lot of questions the Australian market has to answer as they move closer and closer to gambling and as the market grows so quickly. Macklin stated that legislators are now trying to come up with laws that can sustain the added weight of a growth market. It may take time, but she is afraid that in that time more gamers may get into trouble with online casinos. They may have issues to deal with right off the bat and laws are not yet in place to protect the gamers involved.

One of the biggest issues with online gambling today is censorship. More and more legislators are starting to censor websites that offer online gambling to their state’s residents. Just consider Asian countries—they have banned some internet IPs and forced gambling companies to retreat from the market. They are also banning the companies from advertising on television and radio, along with billboard and print advertising. This is raising the question of whether or not governments are allowed to step in and ban activities based on what they think isn’t right for their citizens. Poker Stars has been the latest casino to see a ban. Now it is Nine Network and Network Ten that have both come together to ban the casino’s online advertising in Australia. They claim that the ads are a breach of advertising regulation in the country. Right now the country works under a certain list of rules specific to the online gambling market and these are the rules they are arguing.

This is a blow for Poker Stars. The online casino is one of the biggest in the country and has made a great showing for itself in the market. They pour millions of dollars into advertising over their fiscal year and hope for more and more notoriety to continue to grow the brand. Of course poker itself is a great game and showing its own huge growth market right now. With Poker Stars focusing mainly on the game, it is putting itself in a great position for gambling excellence. Right now the Australian government is standing in the way for that growth though. The state’s authorities claim that the International Gaming Authority prohibits promoting online gambling on television. Of course the networks are claiming that the inclusion of players for free is a way around the rule, but the IGA isn’t buying the argument. Rather they are continuing with their censorship plan and making it difficult for Poker Stars, Nine Network and Network Ten to continue their affiliations with each other. Only time will tell what is going to happen in the future as poker gambling continues to grow in popularity, but surely Australian legislators are going to have to revisit the issue in the near future.

Most countries these days want more gambling. They believe that gambling is the key to bringing a growth market to their economies and herald the millions of dollars to be had. Though the overall push is for increased gaming, there are still some countries that are pushing back against the demand. Australia is a country that isn’t all for gambling increases. Sure the government is well aware that it is a great way to shore up funds. The market overall is a billion-dollar one and it is expected to move-than double in size in coming years. However, with it some new problems are arising that the Australian government cannot ignore. Namely addictions for the country are on the rise. This is causing legislators to question how useful gambling is. Sure it may ring in a lot of money, but if that money needs to be channeled then into high-cost addiction centers, how useful is it? Plus addictions bring about a lot of other problems like foreclosures, bankruptcy, defaults, repossessions, not to mention marital and social problems. These all cost money to rehabilitate. That money could seriously cut down on the amount of revenue being brought in and make it moot.

The Australian government is well aware of the growing addiction problems too. They see how numbers are increasing and attribute it not only to the growing popularity of gambling as a whole, but also to online gambling. Residents are being inundated with forms of gambling from every angle and it could be taking its toll on them. They seem to be managing well thus far, but that doesn’t mean the government is turning a blind eye to concerns over addiction. Senator Xenophon is calling for stricter rules regarding gambling. He wants to shore up all the rules regarding the pastime and creating regulations that protect the people. He also warns that legislators cannot be blinded by the revenues that gambling provides, and allow problems to go unmanned as a result. He wants to continue with the gambling initiatives because it is clear that people want to wager, but his main concern is to get rules into place before another growth spurt occurs.

Internet gambling is in the midst of serious debate. Now Australia and China have joined in on the arguments and are hearing various sides of the issue. Critics are accusing the Australian government of using internet gambling as an excuse for policing and censoring of internet activities. Namely, Blogetery.com is a website that features over 75,000 bloggers who write on various issues. The Australian government shut down the website and blocked its usage. Now the New York Times is investigating the issue. The problem revolves around the controversial issue of internet censorship. Does a government have the right to step in and blog websites that involve topics they don’t want promoted or discussed?

The issue is a difficult one and is going to rise more and more as things in the world of gambling changes. Online internet gambling has millions of dollars at stake but also is being debated by the pros and cons sides of the issue. Yes there are millions of dollars at stake, but that doesn’t make it an open and shut case. Opponents still believe that though there are millions of dollars at stake, the price is too big to take on. They believe that the inevitable rise in crime and corruption will offset any gaming revenue that comes in. they also believe that the proper laws are not in place to protect gamers, gaming companies and governments. Their stance is that a growth in addiction to gambling alone is going to stress budgets that are already pushed to their limits.

It will take time for the world to accept gambling and time for laws to be written that are adequate to handle them. Australia is the most notable country in debates over the issue, but that by no means makes it a singular one. All over the world changes are being made and expect them to continue over the coming months. There are millions of dollars at stake, along with other repercussions of legalizing and regulating online gambling. Without some clear cut debates and weighting out of all options, it is going to be difficult to implement viable gaming law.

Online gambling is lucrative, but not without controversy. In fact, almost every country is heavy in debates over the issue and trying to come up with laws that adequately police the issue. They want to take advantage of the million-dollar business, but still protect all players involved. Gamers need protection so as not to be hurt by unscrupulous gambling companies. Companies need to be protected by adequate gaming law. Governments need to be protected to make sure they are getting the appropriate portion of revenue from the activity. There are a lot of rules to write and that is why legislators are working so hard to come up with solutions.

Australia is the latest country to be working on gambling law. The Prime Minister is known to be staunchly against internet gambling and wants to shut down websites that deal with casino gambling. He has long been an opponent to the activity in the country and is working to ban it for good. Despite his individual position on the issue, recent studies are showing that some Australian statees are considering changes to their gaming law. They are seeing the benefit of gambling and legalizing it and want to at least toy with the idea before completely denying it. They are stating that they are open to increasing legalized offshore gambling for their residents and aren’t completely against it like the Prime Minister.

In addition to state legisator’s decisions on gambling, the country also has the support of residents. New research is showing that Australians are welcoming of gambling, namely slots and other luck-based games. They are curious about the possibilities of bringing gaming in and with the numbers that have been thrown around in terms of revenue, it is looking more and more positive. Although the Prime Minister is against gambling, Australian citizens are spending over $790 million in offshore casinos. This is the same mistake that the US made- it banned gambling in2006 and gamblers merely moved their gaming to other offshore companies. As a result, they put millions into other countries and the US lost big dollars. Australia is set to repeat the same mistake if they don’t change their stand on the issue and create legislation that works for all parties involved.

Big changes are coming in the industry of gambling. Now that rules are being changed, the industry is experiencing growing pains. Australia knows them well. The Australian Daily Telegraph is reporting that the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia has changed its payout. For blackjack it pays by the 6 to 5 rule that first appeared on the Las Vegas Strip three years ago. That means that the rule is now in play on A$5 and A$10 minimum tables. By the casino reducing the blackjack payout on $5 to $10 tables on the gaming floor, they are sending a distinct message out. Despite the change, payout odds remain the same in the high-roller rooms. Experts are saying that the move will surely bring millions of dollars in extra revenue to the casino at the expense of battling punters. Another rule change implemented by the casino is that the house is allowed now to hit soft 17 and a second zero is being permitted on the roulette wheel. That changes things considerable. It takes the house edge from 2.7% up to 5.26%.  One critic stated, “That is not a small jump in house edge. It’s almost a 50% jump and that’s too big for any casino to just implement without giving anything back to the players.”

The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation is also under criticism. They allowed the casino to make these changes, but they are known as an organization that is meant to “protect consumers.”  If they are allowing changes that directly benefit the casino at the expense of consumers, then what is their purpose really?  And without them protecting citizens, who is? Do casinos really need another governing body watching over their best interests or do consumers need a watch dog service? In the beginning the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation was just that—an organization set to protect and “monitor the casino habits in an effort to assure fair gaming and practices in the casino to client relationship.” Now that they have jumped ship, so to speak, they are leaving citizens with no one on their side to help them maintain fairness in the law when it comes to casino gambling. Though the Australian organization is under fire, they are insisting that they are impartial.

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour is set to end this year in its final week of December 1^st through the 6^th.  The poker tour, a product of PokerStars.net, had two consecutive past years of huge success in the poker market and this year proves to be much of the same. The final leg of the tour is being held at the Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia and the location alone is enough to send any poker fiend into a frenzy.

The Grand Final has a myriad of tournaments around it and a wide variety of start involved. Some notable names so far are: Team PokerStars PROs and former world champions Peter Eastgate and Joe Hachem as well as fellow team members Lee Nelson, Emad Tahtouh, Tony Hachem, Eric Assadourian and APPT Season 1 Grand Final winner Grant Levy. This season’s APPT champions – Simon Watt, Dermot Blain and Dong-bin Han – have also won a seat into the Grand Final as part of their prize.  

President of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Jeffrey Haas said, “This season’s APPT has been a great success with over a thousand players competing in the three events already held in Macau, Auckland and Cebu in the Philippines. This has been made possible by massive enthusiasm for the tour right across the region. This season’s Grand Final in Sydney is set to cement the tour’s reputation for providing incredible events in great locations.”  The schedule is a hectic one and the AUD $200 Pink Diamond Ladies No Limit Hold’em Tournament is slated to be a top priority event. There will also e the PLO event and mega-million satellites to the Main Event.  For the main event the side events included will be the AUD $15,300 High Roller, a bigger buy-in (AUD $550) Ladies Tournament, an AUD $1,100 team event, an AUD $3,200 Heads-Up event and the AUD $340 Camp Quality Charity Event in aid of the Australian Children and Families Cancer Charity. On December 7, the annual APPT Tournament of Champions event will take place. This is an invitation-only Tournament of Champions that features winners from the APPT as well as some of the biggest names in poker, all competing to help their favorite charities. In its first year, the event was won by former world champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem from Australia and last season by American Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso.

The Australian Daily Telegraph is reporting that the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia has changed its payout. For blackjack it pays by the 6 to 5 rule that first appeared on the Las Vegas Strip three years ago. That means that the rule is now in play on A$5 and A$10 minimum tables. By the casino reducing the blackjack payout on $5 to $10 tables on the gaming floor, they are sending a distinct message out. Despite the change, payout odds remain the same in the high-roller rooms. Experts are saying that the move will surely bring millions of dollars in extra revenue to the casino at the expense of battling punters.

Another rule change implemented by the casino is that the house is allowed now to hit soft 17 and a second zero is being permitted on the roulette wheel. That changes things considerable. It takes the house edge from 2.7% up to 5.26%.  One critic stated, “That is not a small jump in house edge. It’s almost a 50% jump and that’s too big for any casino to just implement without giving anything back to the players.”

Another critic is questioning the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation. They allowed the casino to make these changes, but they are known as an organization that is meant to “protect consumers.”  If they are allowing changes that directly benefit the casino at the expense of consumers, then what is their purpose really?  And without them protecting citizens, who is? Do casinos really need another governing body watching over their best interests or do consumers need a watch dog service? In the beginning the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation was just that—an organization set to protect and “monitor the casino habits in an effort to assure fair gaming and practices in the casino to client relationship.” Now that they have jumped ship, so to speak, they are leaving citizens with no one on their side to help them maintain fairness in the law when it comes to casino gambling.

Though the Australian organization is under fire, they are insisting that they are impartial. The change, according to them, is one of necessity and not to be read as a shifting of loyalties to casinos and gambling organizations.