Online Casinos Directory

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 This left the rules sketchy and proves how outdated and irrelevant the bill really is.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.

Russia is a country having problems with gambling. In Europe it is one of the few countries that has legalized forms of gaming in the online world. It has worked hard to build up these forms of gaming and knows full well the benefits of the activities. Residents have shown that they want to wager. They want their opportunities to continue wagering and taking a chance at the big payouts online casinos are building for them. Still, the country is now having problems with regulation. Despite the openness of allowing gambling companies into the online market, there are still quite a few underground and illegal gaming facilities that are still in operation. Right now Europe as a whole is seeing a lot of growth in the market and a lot of new customers joining in on internet fun when it comes to wagering. Russia is no different. The problem though is how to legislators effectively manage the activities and assure that people are not opening their own doors to illegal activities? This is a difficult question that is creating many sleepless nights for legislators trying to get a handle on it.

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated recently that he wants the illegal activities that are running rampant to immediately be stopped. This was due to the overwhelming amount of undercover and illegal gambling facilities working within the country’s borders. To combat the problem Medvedev is stating that their own legalized online and land based gaming facilities can offer better gaming and better advantages than these illegal casinos can. He is also trying to call attention to the problem with illegal gaming and how it does nothing to protect gamblers. Plus if they have any issues, there is no third-party regulator to go to and speak up for them in an effort to find a solution. This could cause problems if they do run into problems. Hopefully the president is seeing this discussion as one that will continue to deter people from patronizing illegal gambling companies. Unfortunately these companies are getting smart. They are offering gamers things that the legal casinos cannot and claiming they have a lot more to offer.

The world of gambling is changing everywhere and Papua New Guinea is no different. The countries officials recently had to suspend the operation of their lottery due to religious pressures. It is no secret that gambling is changing and in the market, there are hundreds of changes moving into the market. Formerly the state run lottery of Papua New Guinea was highly successful. It was state-operated and brought in a lot of revenue for various public works programs. Throughout the world legislators have used gambling for years as a way of bringing up revenues and the lotteries are some of the most popular ways to do so. Anyone who has ever purchased a lottery ticket knows that it is a great shot at a good win. Consider that most lottery tickets cost anywhere from $1 to $5 per ticket. The payouts over time can grow well into the millions. Just ask the latest lottery winners and you can easily see how much money they have on the table and how popular ticket purchases are. In Papua New Guinea the same is true. Millions of residents have so far participated in state-run lotteries and are showing no signs of slowing down with their gambling. That may all be finished now though.

The country’s legislators just announced that they are pulling back on the lottery and closing it down. Too much pressure from conservative groups and religious based groups have come to the market and are targeting the lottery. The government decided to ban the lottery operations due to pressure. It was enough to create a completely different gambling world for the country. The mobile lottery was introduced to the market a few months ago, but was under a lot of criticism over the past few weeks. This isn’t to say that lotteries are going to stay out of the market, but the government is temporarily suspending them until further review and consideration can be made. It could be that the lottery will be reintroduced, but with a better sensitivity in the future. Or, it could be that the market will say goodbye to the lottery altogether and never return to older ways of life. Foxwoods Resort Casino is the first casino to use direct market research.

Part two coming next.

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.

If anyone has made waves in the illegal gambling headlines it is Daniel Tzvetkoff. Tzvetkoff was arrested in April of this year due to his illegal internet gambling activities. He is accused of money laundering, financial institution fraud and a myriad of other gambling-related charges of conspiracy. The US Justice Department was investigating him for a few months before they closed in on his activities and alleges that he processed over a half-a-billion dollars in payments from online casinos to gambling firms. If he is convicted of the crimes listed, in the end he could face over seventy years in prison. The odd thing about the case is that so far Tzvetkoff has sat in prison waiting investigation since April. Now though, officials granted him bail arrangements. It was out of the blue to the press that he would be offered a way out and came up with a method of negotiating. Why though? Why was he allowed suddenly the opportunity to talk? It could be a simple answer.

It is no secret that officials are trying to break up large underground gambling rings. They know that the rings are often times intricate and have a lot of spider-vein like affiliations within them. It could be that they are more interested in finding the names of and uncovering the underground billion-dollar illegal crime rings than they are of convicting one man for illegal activities. If he can give up names, companies, contact information and other pertinent information, he could be more valuable to the government as an informant than he would be as a criminal locked away in prison. Most likely Tzvetkoff came up with some type of negotiating tactic and is offering up pertinent and secret information for a lighter sentence. The bail request for Tzvetkoff was ultimately denied—most likely because he is too big a flight risk, but expect him to continue to work with the government and come up with some inside details on how online gambling works and what illegal operations are out there in today’s market. This information could ultimately protect gamers as they log into casinos and bring a new regulation to the world of virtual gambling.

Though many states in the US are pushing for gambling changes, there are still some that are holding out. Washington for example is a state that is banning online gambling. Though there are millions of tax revenue dollars to be had with a good gambling plan, the state’s legislators don’t believe that is enough to legalize gaming. This is a move that has been long coming. People are wondering whether or not they can wager for a while now. The answer is no and the state is sending a tough message to those who don’t heed it. Secure Money Inc. is a company based out of Las Vegas and it issued about $2.7 million in checks to various customers over an eight-month long period of time. The company now is being prosecuted for the infraction within the state by legislators. The company also allowed seven people within the state to receive these funds under the heading of “payroll checks.” Overall the activities were considered to be illegal and the company is now under scrutiny by investigators cracking down on gambling issues. The government seized over a half-million dollars worth of revenues as a result of the investigation.

This is just another example of the issues that gambling brings with it. Many anti-gambling activists believe that the cost to have gambling in their state is too hefty to support. For example, though gambling may being in $2 million in tax revenue dollars per month, if the number of addictions and criminal activity incidents increases substantially, a good portion of that could have to go to shoring up resources for issues. For example, if the police force has to be strengthened to manage a growth in illegal activities, that could eat up a huge portion of that additional $2 million in revenue. If ten-thousand new gambling addicts enter the market they are going to need additional resource centers to help them with their disease. This too could end up costing the government more money per month than it is bringing in via gambling revenue. Only time will tell what is going to happen with the market, but overall the Washington market is not ready for gambling and is fighting hard to keep it out of the state .

Canada has long been in the midst of gambling changes. A lot of provinces have opted out of gambling altogether, but some are taking their chances. Their legislators see gambling as a benefit and want to capitalize on the games. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is one organization that is having huge shifts in operations. The company is pushing out its executive positions and trying to move responsibilities to senior vice presidents who can manage the jobs. The goal is to streamline their businesses and come up with ways of making the company more efficient. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation chairman Paul Godfrey stated that the workers in gaming companies have the biggest salaries. If you do a comparison between executives at gaming companies against executives at other companies, then you are going to see the disparity. New studies are showing that gaming companies are paying out their executives a considerable amount more.

The problem with the Ontario Lottery Corporation though is that it has been under scrutiny for illegal activities in the past. The organization’s old CEO Tim Hudak was moved out of his post after allegations surfaced. He was accused of misappropriating lottery winnings and company coffers. The company has 9 vice presidents and that number is soon to be reduced to just 6 in the coming months. This is a move that should streamline the company’s operations and help to turn things around. Currently the lottery is highly lucrative and very popular with gamblers. It is one of the things that is still growing despite problems. Gamers want to have the chance to win millions of dollars at an affordable price. This is great news for gaming companies and the lottery division. They know that as long as they continue to create lotteries and attractive promotions they are going to continue to reap the benefits of the gambling dollars being brought in. If gambling is such a huge draw, then it should be able to sustain itself and grow in the market. Canada is still experimenting with the changes and is most likely going to continue to do so until the process is simple and working like a charm.

The anti-gambling activists who are standing against legalizing gaming believe that legalization of gambling online will inevitably bring in crime, corruption, money laundering and addictions. This has yet to be proven but they have a good argument. It only stands to reason that if you increase the pool of people allowed to gamble, there will be more incidents that are questionable rising. Plus when people see that gambling is legal and lucrative, they may try to hold their own illegal gambling activities. There have been incidents as of late to prove their case too. For example, Canada has Stewart Goldstein. Goldstein is being charged with fraud regarding the Bank of Montreal. He allegedly bilked the bank out of $600,000. Goldstein claims though that he was strong armed throughout the entire deal and is claiming an even bigger mafia-like ring is at fault. He was just a “pawn” the ring used and he is the easy target in the intricate and illegal dealings. Goldstein is accused of racking p a huge amount of debt during his affiliation with the mafia-organized gambling ring. In fact, it reached upwards of $1.5 million. He failed to address his debt or the interest involved with it and that is what caused his problems in the start. Since he could not pay the debt, he was left at the mercy of the illegal gambling operators and they called the slots allegedly on what he was forced to do illegally.

This is a sign of how things in the gambling world can go wrong. Anti gambling activists are having a field day with the information and the incidents in the world of gambling like this one that prove there is some concern regarding activities. The police force needed to watch over these activities could be substantial. This alone could mean an additional millions of dollars in expenses for states in the future. They could easily eat away at their funding from legalizing gambling and have to put millions into shoring up their police task forces. Of course this is only one incident, but it could be a sign of what legislators face as they continue to push and change rules regarding legalizing and regulating gambling.

Canada has had its own share of gambling problems throughout the past few months. Washington state legislators made a stand against gambling this past month by banning it. It was thought that the voting public was warming up to the idea of legalizing gambling but the November ballot told otherwise. It seems that residents of the state voted to keep gambling out. And the vote’s tallies were not evenly divided; the state voters in much larger numbers requested that gambling not be brought into the market. They don’t want the gambling activity to be legalized or regulated, despite promises of additional tax revenue dollars and jobs. It was a startling message for legislators who believed that the voting public was coming around. Now things continue to push towards keeping gambling out of the state.

The Seattle PI published reports recently stating that its federal prosecuting body is confiscating over $550,000 in gambling related funds from a company that is based in Canada for operations. The prosecutors originally started the issue with a civil complaint that requested the company forfeit their money. It is Secure Money, Inc. that is under question and has mailed various monetary amounts to poker gamers in the state. Now, this is being cited as a direct violation of the state’s ban on casino gambling and internet gambling too. Because of this, the company is under fire for not only breaking the law, but also delineating payment. The payments are also under question because they were not handed out as direct “gambling wins”, but rather disguised under “payroll checks” to the residents. Prosecutors state that this is a clear sign that the company knew it was acting illegally and was purposefully going out of its way to hide its illegal activities. The Assistant US Attorney is involved in the issue and noted that Secure Money Inc. dispensed the funds and need to be brought up on charges now. This is a sign of how strict the state’s legislators are being on the issue of online gambling and how they are going to push for a stricter law on it in the future.

If you have been following the world of gambling then you know how the rules are changing by the week with the US legislators involved. There are some that want gambling to be legalized so they can take advantage of the huge tax revenue dollars avialable. There are equally passionate legislators who believe that they cannot allow gambling to be legalized because of the many other issues that would open the door to. They believe that legalizing gambling would inevitably bring in crime, addiction and corruption to the areas in question. Which side is right has yet to be settled but in the mean time states are fighting it out themsleves. Kentucky is a state that is involved in the debates and just make a move on Microgaming, a leader in the world of software gaming online.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky named Microgaming as an offender of their laws this past week. The lawsuit states that the company is powerful enough and has a notable hold on the various areas- enough of a hold according to legislators that it could potentially come up with a “personal jurisdiction.” This jurisdiction in turn allows them hold poker games, using proprietary software gaming systems, have affiliate programs with their online portals and taking rakes. These activities are detrimental to the state because it is allowing Microgaming to create a monopoly of sorts with their online power and stregth in the gambling market. The state is also citing that Microgaming was involved in illegal activities within their jurisdiction frm September of 2005 until October 2008. All the money customers lost throughout this time is being requested back. This could be a huge amount considering how popular and widespread Microgaming is. The company received millions of dollars thoughout this period of time and asking them to repay the cost of loses to all residents within the state is a huge amount. This could be a monumental case if the state of Kentucky is successful in its request for compensation. Only time will tell what happens, but Kentucky legislators have made it clear that they don’t want gambling to be legalized in their jurisdiction and will do what it takes to keep it out.