Gambling and iGaming News all over the world 03.01.2010

03.01.2010, Estonia On Verge of Expanding Gambling Economy / Hungarian Poker Players Protest Against Laws / Belize Looks for Other Illegal Gaming Operators / Bookmaker Absorbs Bet Canadian and Las Palmas

Estonia On Verge of Expanding Gambling Economy
Eastern European countries are having a tough time in this global economic meltdown. So many countries in that region of the continent are looking to establish new sources of revenue.

Relaxed laws regarding gambling in Estonia have created a new found and very popular past time for those people who love to gamble. This new economy has created an international base of clients that are providing revenues and jobs. The Estonian economy is reportedly down as much as 36% and residents in every sector of the country are feeling the devastating effects. This trend is slowly being rectified by government efforts to stimulate business in many parts of Eastern Europe. This progressive country is notably proactive in its attempts to turn a bad situation into a good one. Stability is on it's way with Estonia being the next country to adopt the Euro as it's currency. This move is sure to bring more trade and more jobs as the Estonian people will be able to compete more effectively on a global scale.

The introduction of online gambling to Estonia is also going to help bring jobs and much needed taxes to the country. The lottery offered by the Estonian government will give some lucky people a chance at changing there lives but for the most part it has been good for the government. Unlike Russia where the casinos were banned to far flung regions of the country, Estonians have as many as 150 land based casinos situated in over 12 cities at their disposal. The population of the small country is only one and a half million, so that's a lot of casinos for so few people. The offering of online casinos and wagering to Estonians is considered the next logical move by law makers there. Local level measures are already taking place with an international focus coming in January of 2011. The international online gambling industry is where the officials of Estonia see the real benefits occurring. The legislators see regulation and the granting of online gambling licences for the Estonian jurisdiction as being a sustainable business that will bring continued new wealth to their country.

=========

Hungarian Poker Players Protest Against Laws
Hungary is full of passionate people that have as much love for gambling as any other country in the Eastern European area. Hungary has been dealing with the economic slowdown as well as this strong nation can, with measures put in place to help their recovery.

Recent developments in Hungary's gambling laws have however created a certain amount of confusion with regard to the local poker industry. New legislation seems to be focused on limiting poker activity to only casinos. The new amendments have suggested limits to the locations where players can play poker and limits the number of tables in poker clubs to only10. The small profit that can be made when all of the rules are followed will then be taxed at up to 25% making it relatively unprofitable to run a poker room.

Gergely Tatar, who is senior representative of the Hungarian Poker Association, said, the current government is using this law to put poker rooms out of business and drive all gambling traffic into casinos. Poker being by far the most popular form of gambling in Hungary where tens of thousands of people are active poker players. Protests are mounting as the public demonstrates against current policy as was seen recently in one of the main city metro stops. There are no true Hungarian online casinos as the country does not allow online gambling. They have even taken measures to prevent players from using foreign casinos online. Since June of 2006, Hungarian banks have not been allowed to process payments to and from internet gambling sites.

The gambling monopoly in Hungary, state run Szerencsejáték has exclusive rights to all lottery and sports gambling, and has a major interest in most Hungarian casinos. The Hungarian government sees internet gambling as competition and therefore tries to control it. The European Union has been putting pressure on Hungary to open its gambling industry to foreign interests and adhere to E.U. laws for e-commerce freedom. Poker will not survive these changes and the poker players are vocal with the Hungarian Poker Association asking the country’s president, Laszlo Solyom, to send the bill back to parliament for further consideration.

==========

Belize Looks for Other Illegal Gaming Operators
Belize is a relatively small country with an approximate population of 320,000 people. It gained it's independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. Formerly known as British Honduras this Central American country still retains it's ties with other Caribbean nations. The area covered by the country is 8,867 square miles of (2008 est.), with the population density being the lowest in the Central American region and one of the least populated places in the world.

The people of Belize speak a variety of languages, most however speak English, the official language, or Spanish. It is a rich and culturally diverse place that is a bordered by Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean. Recently from the capital city of Belmopan a report has surfaced that the government of Belize has discovered several online gaming websites operating in the country without any licences. Fulton Data Processing Limited and Sports Offshore Limited it was reported to internet users are the only legally licensed operators of online gambling in the country.

Lincoln Blake from the Ministry of Economic Development told local television station Channel 5 Belize, in a recent interview, "Any other company that claims to have such a licence from Belize is clandestine. We ask all Internet users to refrain from doing business with these," All online gaming businesses in Belize are required under the Gaming Control Act and its online gaming regulations, to apply for a licence. Mr. Blake went on to say, "They must follow strict requirements and they must have a proven track record in gaming. The other companies that from time to time, operating online and claiming to have a licence, sometimes it's hard to find out who are the persons behind these operations," When an international web based gambling operation was curtailed recently the Belize government became aware of the illegal activity. Two brothers from Israel apparently ran the operation out of a top notch villa in Belize while the actual servers were located elsewhere supposedly in Europe. Officials in Belize are currently conducting an investigation in the country to determine if other online gambling operations are operating from there without detection.

============

Bookmaker Absorbs Bet Canadian and Las Palmas
Bet Canadian and Las Palmas, are two small but well established sports betting web sites. As another example of consolidation in online gambling operations globally, the much larger company BookMaker, has taken over these firms.

Bookmaker's quality of service and well known bookmaking experience of more than twenty years in the business, has given them a well deserved reputation. BookMaker's aim is to serve both professional and recreational players. “Where the Line Originates” is a slogan that rings true for sports book enthusiasts world wide. BookMaker provides a safe and secure sports betting platform on sporting events, as well as horse racing, online casino games, poker, bingo and mobile betting from almost anywhere at any time. The take over is regarded as mutually beneficial for all parties allowing all of those concerned to expand and move forward. Las Palmas since 2001 has had a positive outlook, but in recent times, earlier last year has had trouble with pay outs. Members were not happy with the very slow returns on winnings, a problem that Bookmaker says will soon be resolved. Bookmaker has revealed that the Las Palmas brand will remain as it is while the service level will be brought up to par with the standards of Bookmaker.

Bookmaker's Chief Executive Officer, Mickey Richardson, had this to say about the deal, "Maintaining our growth strategy is critical for us, and we continue to achieve our goals by finding strong players in the industry that can complete our wide range of products, or by sharing our benefits with customers that have been playing with other companies through the acquisition,"

Bookmaker, continues to have higher rates of success than most other sports betting sites in the North American betting market. The prohibition on payment processing for online gambling in the USA has made things more difficult in recent months but Bookmaker still is a trusted source on which to place wagers with confidence.

Über iGaming News:

Casinos.ch ist die Gaming & Entertainment-Plattform der Schweiz und mit über 20 Informationsportalen und rund 100 Internetnamen (Domains) das grosse News- und Pressenetzwerk der Casino- und Glücksspielszene in Europa.

Aktuelle News, Interviews, Fotos und spannende Stories - direkt und live aus den Schweizer Casinos, der Spielbankenszene Deutschlands, über das monegassische Casino von Monte Carlo, weitere Casinos aus ganz Europa und der ganzen Welt finden Sie auf www.casinos.ch. Und last but not least natürlich auch aus der Sin City 'Las Vegas'.

Die Informationen sind unterteilt in die Bereiche Casino-Informationen, aktuelle News, Events, Jackpot und Tournament-Informationen, Fotogalerien, Live-Berichte und Interviews.

--- Ende Artikel / Pressemitteilung Gambling and iGaming News all over the world 03.01.2010 ---


Weitere Informationen und Links:

Weitere Nachrichten der Gaming-Branche