Blackjack Champ – The mobile casino industry continues to grow, as more and more people enjoy playing on their smartphones and tablets. If you’re looking for something to invest your money in, mobile casinos are a safe bet. The future of this ever-growing industry looks bright and the market is expanding. But don’t just take our word for it. All gaming trends point to the same thing: mobile gaming is big and it’s about to become even bigger. Mobile sports betting is already popular in certain European countries, but the gambling industry is expanding not just in Europe, but also…

China Post – With a turnover of 53 billion euros (US$73 billion) in 2013, the ‘Ndrangheta mafia from southern Italy made more money last year than Deutsche Bank and McDonald’s put together, a new study said Wednesday. The study by the Demoskopika research institute detailed the international crime syndicate’s sources of revenue, including drug trafficking — which brought in an estimated 24.2 billion euros — and the illegal garbage disposal business, which earned it 19.6 billion euros. The southern Italian mafia earned the equivalent of 3.5 percent of Italy’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year, said the report based on…

USA Today – Some call it the Lucky Country, but Australia is not so fortunate when it comes to wagers. Eighty percent of its citizens engage in some kind of gambling — the highest rate of any country in the world — and they lose more than anyone else, to the tune of some $21.5 billion a year. Gambling comes in various forms, including lotteries, bingo and sport betting, but the main drivers behind Australia’s epidemic are the electronic gaming machines known as “pokies.” There’s one poker machine for every 108 people — only tiny Monaco can compete — and…

Press of Atlantic City – Raising the standards for companies processing Internet gambling payments could encourage banks and major credit card companies to accept more deposits, adding millions to the state’s fledgling industry, one executive told Trenton lawmakers Monday. Testifying in favor of a bill that would encourage foreign Internet gambling companies to set up operations in New Jersey, Chris Thom, chairman of Secure Trading Inc., told a state Senate committee that a critical component of the legislation would require Internet gaming payment processors to go through New Jersey’s stringent licensure process. Currently, state law requires the processors, which act…

Poker News – As February came to a close, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell made history by inking a poker-only interstate compact. It was the first of its kind, and both Sandoval and Markell were eager to welcome more states as online poker is legalized throughout the country. There were only two issues with the signing; New Jersey was self-excluded, and there was to timeline for implementation. “I’ve had conversations with New Jersey,” Sandoval said when asked about a partnership with the third and final state offering legalized and regulated online gaming. “We’d love to have…

Las Vegas Review Journal – A bill to restore a ban on online gaming was introduced Wednesday in Congress, adding another layer to the big-money battle over whether gambling should be allowed on the Internet. The bill by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah., seeks to reinstate federal law to prohibit “all forms of Internet gambling.” It comes in the wake of a December 2011 Justice Department opinion that the relevant law, the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, covers only sports betting. That opinion dramatically changed the landscape, sparking moves by states, casino interests and technology vendors…