Korea Times – K-pop’s rise is fast and furious, representing the country’s booming cultural industry. Yet this doesn’t mean K-pop is the most profitable export item among cultural products. Guess what the No.1 is? Computer games. According to the state-run Korea Finance Corporation, Korea’s games exports in 2012, the latest date, reached $2.6 billion, nearly more than half of the country’s cultural products exports. The figure was a whopping 11 times the $235 million in exports of K-pop content that year, the institution said Monday. By sector, online games using fixed-line Internet were the biggest money-maker with $2.4 billion or…

Fansided – The 2014 NBA Playoffs begin on Saturday, which means it’s time to crunch the numbers and take a look at the betting odds. The folks in Las Vegas have slapped down their odds for the most likely team to bring home the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy, and it is none other than the two-time defending champion Miami Heat who are listed as the favorites. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are next in line, with the Indiana Pacers serving as the only other team to have odds under +1000. How does Vegas view your favorite team’s…

Legal US Poker Sites – The Baltimore Sun reports that Maryland state legislators passed a bill on April 4 which would fine gamblers under 21 caught playing in a land-based casino. For the bill to become official, the bill will have to be signed by Governor Martin O’Malley. The bill is endorsed by Maryland casino operators, due to the deterrent factor provided by the fines and penalties for those who break the law. Prior to the bill’s passage, underage gamblers had no discouragement besides being thrown out of the casino, while the casino itself faced its own stiff fines. The…

Bugsy Siegel never had to deal with an Internet gambling ban. He opened the Flamingo Hotel in 1946 and launched the Las Vegas Strip, and gambling has held a tenuous position in American life ever since. Now that casinos have spread nationwide and allegedly shed their mafia ties, a new branch of the industry is fighting for legitimacy. Some countries regulate online gambling, like the United Kingdom. Some ban everything, including gambling advertising. Las Vegas based casinos and overseas operators have begun an all-out battle, hoping for an Internet gambling ban. nationwide but carries with it the promise of billions…

Seeking Alpha – In 2009, I wrote a piece on the global economics of gambling. The subject interests me because I had previously determined what types of entertainment people spend the most money on. It turns out that drinking, “entertainment” drugs, and sex are at the top of the list, but gambling ranked a healthy sixth after restaurants and movies. My gambling data was provided by the Global Betting and Gaming Consultancy (GBGC). GBGC has worked with or supplied information to over 400 clients, the majority being blue chip organizations. I have found its gambling database to be the best…

NJ Spotlight – As Atlantic City’s “Do AC” campaign enters its second year, the Atlantic City Alliance, a casino-funded marketing group, is refocusing its message, promoting specific events it hopes will pull in more tourists rather than emphasizing AC as a clean and safe place to visit. Atlantic City, meanwhile, is still struggling to find its feet. Entertainment and food revenue leveled off in 2013, according to the ACA’s 2014 report, after increasing for the previous four years. Casinos continued to lose money, although at a slower rate. And 2013 revenue was flat, or at least posted a very modest…