Online Gambling News all over the world 31.08.2009

31.08.2009, Costa Rica May Introduce Taxes on Online Gambling / Online Gambling Donates to U.K.Labour Party / Pro-Online Gambling Senator Appointed in Florida / Online Fantasy Football Interest Surging

Costa Rica May Introduce Taxes on Online Gambling
Costa Rica is most likely one of the few jurisdictions where online gambling operations are permitted without any regulations of taxation. But now the finance ministry is about to present to the legislature of the country a bill to regulate online casino operations located there. According to the Costa Rican newspaper AM Costa Rica, authorities plan on levying a tax on online casino operators based in the country. This is not welcome news for the operators there who have been enjoying a tax free status for quite some time. Estimates from the department of finance are that the proposed legislation, if passed could raise as much as $100 million in funds for the nation. For several months arguments have been on going in the legislature both for and against the need for taxation of the online gambling industry in Costa Rica.

Jobs in Costa Rica have been provided by the industry and there is a fear that should a tax laws be introduced the country will suffer more unemployment. Experts agree that online gambling operators will leave the country for more profitable jurisdictions. Costa Rica has been a success story because the favourable tax laws allow for a reasonable margin in the highly competitive online gambling industry.

Minister Jenny Phillips has said the online casino industry is presently entirely unregulated, and some amount of taxation could be expected at any new location.

The largest and most established sports betting operation in Costa Rica in terms of bet sizes taken, BetCRIS, Chief Executive Officer, Mickey Richardson, said, "They (The Costa Rican Government) needs to understand our business and the consequences before passing such a law," "Hopefully nothing will happen. I think they would ask for our input and then we might be more supportive." It is estimated that the online gambling industry employs as many as 10,000 or more people both directly and indirectly in the nation. "The industry pays above average salaries and contributes substantially to household incomes," Richardson said.

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Online Gambling Donates to U.K.Labour Party
Peter Coates made a very sizable donation to the U.K.Labour Party coffers after online casinos, bookmakers and betting websites were permitted to advertise their products on TV. Mr. Coates, who owns football club Stoke City, gave most of the money to the party as ministers in parliament pushed ahead with proposals to free up the gaming industry. The gambling tycoon has been accused of paying a £100,000 'thank you' after his firm benefited from the controversial decision to relax the betting laws.

Mr.Coates who is a director of the web betting firm Bet365 has donated over £400,000 in the last five years. His business is said to be worth an estimated £275million that's £100million more than it was worth last year. The gentleman has always strongly maintained that he is a lifelong Labour supporter and was not trying to influence the political representatives.

The Electoral Commission, which monitors donations to political parties, made the information public. The Daily Mail broke the story, causing just a bit of uproar from anti- gambling sectors. It also reported that Hillside (New Media), the company behind Bet365, made the donation to Labour in June. Back in 2007, Labour accepted a donation of 150,000,GBP from Bet365 just a few short weeks before Gordon Brown's government scuttled plans for a mega casino in Manchester, the Daily Mail reported.

Mr Coates, built his business empire after starting out at football grounds by providing food also donated £50,000 in June of 2004 and another £100,000 in December of 2005 as the Government's proposals for a more relaxed approach to gambling were starting to take shape.

The LibDem culture spokesman, in the house, Don Foster, said, given the 'highly addictive nature of online betting' that Bet365 should make a priority of giving money to fund research and treatment for problem gamblers rather than supporting Labour.

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Online Fantasy Football Interest Surging
According to the "dictionary" Fantasy football is a game in which participants assemble an imaginary team of real life players and score points based on those players' actual statistical performance or their perceived contribution on the field of play. Usually players are selected from one specific division in a particular country, although there are many variations.

There are huge numbers of "fantasy football leagues", in the U.K. as well as just about everywhere else, yet, even though they are free to enter, there could be charges for using your credit card at cash withdrawal interest rates and possibly some monthly fees, that are small that help increase the pool at the end of the competitions.

It looks as if the money generated by the rake on this and the fees the banks are making is driving a big economy that the USA Department of Justice is staying away from for now.

Time magazine printed recently that the average charge for a player entering a fantasy football league is $73.

While there are sites that offer free basic services, many, charge a fee to minister to the league's drafting and scoring needs. Participants have a chance of winning the grand total prize collected an approximate 78 times out of a hundred and up to over 90% for certain sites. Similar to Poker you have to provide an amount of money up front as an entry fee and when all statistics are calculated, the winner takes all. All and for the most part a good form of fun that can cost you if your on to a good thing and use your credit card. It is not known to most consumers that many U.K. banks started implementing back in 2007 the policy of putting gambling transactions through as "cash" and then charging accordingly.

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Pro-Online Gambling Senator Appointed in Florida
Florida 'The Sunshine State' in the USA is one of the world's top vacation destinations with Disneyland and the Space Center and beautiful beaches. It has been trying to expand it's gambling operations without much success in order to replace lost tax revenues caused by the recent economic downturn.

Recently the Governor of the State Charlie Crist has appointed George LeMieux to the vacated Senate post of Mel Martinez. This is good news for those who favour online gambling in the country as a whole.

LeMieux has been working with Governor Crist on a gambling compact with the Seminole Indians of Florida, LeMieux being part of the process when Crist first agreed to a deal with the Seminoles in 2007. The states Supreme Court, nullified the proposition then lawmakers agreed to a plan that would reinstate the talks with the tribe. LeMieux has been a top negotiator with the Seminoles hoping to compete the compact.

With his appointment to the Senate LeMieux will have the opportunity to take his pro online gambling views to the house. He will be one of many that are supporting the overturn of the USA prohibition on online gambling. Legislation introduced by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and that of Barney Frank proposes that online poker and online gambling be permitted and regulated in that country. These propositions are getting lots of support from various sectors including a million or so online poker players but has been delayed because of more pressing issues on the US Senate's agenda.

LeMieux's, pro-gambling position and experience, can only help Frank's and Menendez' legislation. He will be sure to voice the obvious need for the revenues that will be generated by the regulating of online gambling in the States. In the long run the move by Governor Crist will hopefully benefit the people of Florida too.

Über iGaming News:

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