Bloomberg – Russian officials are weighing a proposal to create a gambling zone with casinos and hotels in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed from Ukraine, according to four people with direct knowledge of the planning. Officials discussed the option at a March 21 meeting led by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Russia’s ministries of economy, finance and regional development have an April 15 deadline to present a plan for the gambling project with spending and revenue estimates, the people said. Russia is seeking to make Crimea…

In January 2012, Schleswig-Holstein passed a liberal German gambling law which enabled online operators to apply for licenses for most games of chance, including sports bets, poker and casino games. The other fifteen German federal states, however, passed the reformed Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2012. Although the ISTG enabled online operators to accept sports wagers and liberalized the German gambling industry (in particular with respect to lotteries) to a certain extent, it also maintained the state monopoly for games of chance and the general ban on online gambling as set out under the previous legislation. Schleswig-Holstein withdrew its new German…

Biz Journals – Travelers will soon be able to gamble at Kansas City International Airport. Joe McBride, a spokesman for the Kansas City Aviation Department, confirmed that the airport will start selling lottery tickets and running keno games inside the airport’s passenger terminals through the Missouri Lottery. McBride said the airport is excited about the addition of another activity in the passenger terminals. He added that revenue collected through the gaming will go to the state’s education needs. Susan Doolen, a spokeswoman for HMSHost Corp., confirmed that the airport will soon allow gambling. She said that the agreement, which will…

The Hill – Texas Governor and potential presidential candidate Rick Perry wants Congress to step in to prevent online gambling. In a letter to Congressional leaders and the House and Senate Judiciary committees sent Monday, Perry asked Congress to reverse a 2011 Department of Justice interpretation of the Wire Act that opened the door to legalized online gambling in the states. “Congress needs to step in now and call a ‘time-out’ by restoring the decades-long interpretation of the Wire Act,” Perry wrote in the letter. Even as members of Congress battle over whether or not to legalize online gambling at…

Another new and exciting game from Interblock, and another exclusive preview from This Week in Gambling! Due out in the first part of this year, Big 3 Six Wheel game is the latest offering from Interblock. According to the company website, Big 3 Six Wheel is an exciting new spin on an old classic.  The game consists of 3 Wheels which offers 3 times the fun and 3 times the action.  The 3 Wheels also act as reels for a Slot Machine themed Side Bet Before each spin, the player may place a wager on any or all of the 6…

Three years after the nation’s Tribal casino industry experienced its only annual gaming revenue decline in the 24 years since figures have been kept, the market is on an upswing. For the second straight year, Indian casinos nationwide combined for a new annual gaming revenue record, topping $28.13 billion in 2012. The 2 percent increase was a lower percentage jump than in 2011 when Tribal casino business grew nationwide revenues 3.4 percent, to $27.59 billion. That’s a cause for concern, said California economist Alan Meister, who compiles the figures for Casino City’s annual Indian Gaming Industry Report. “It was the…