Net Security – A new report by McAfee sheds light on the underground world of online gambling. It identifies the proliferation of online casinos, an industry set to grow nearly 30% over the next three years, and how their use is fuelling cybercrime by making it easy to “cash in” on illegal activities. Online gambling involves huge volumes of transactions and cash flows that can obscure and disguise money laundering. Players are not dealing with a tangible, physical product; physical currency does not change hands. As a result, illegal proceeds can be laundered by wagering them on one end of…

iGaming Business – The Scottish National Party (SNP) has become the latest political party to speak out against fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and has called for “sensible regulation” of such machines in the UK. Gamblers in Scotland staked a reported £4.4 billion (€5.3 billion/$7.4 billion) on the machines last year, an increase of more than £100 million on the amount spent in the previous year. SNP politician Stuart McMillan has joined a number of political figures in backing the Fairer Gambling Campaign’s call to reduce the current maximum stake on FOBTs from £100 to £2. UK chancellor George Osborne…

Calvin Ayre – Much has been made of the enormous potential of Japan’s casino market, including throwing out estimates on how much gross revenue the country’s (future) casinos can earn in a year. Telsey Advisory Group’s Senior Gaming & Lodging Analyst Chris Jones recently issued a 44-page analysis of Japan’s casino potential. Jones estimated that the country could stand to earn as much as $23.8 billion a year, which translates to 0.4 percent of the country’s GDP, roughly what US casinos earn relative to America’s GDP. A far more conservative, if not more likely estimate would be about $16.5 billion…

Forbes – In America there is a war going on for the hearts and minds of thousands of online poker players, many of whom have been frozen out of the game they love.  In one corner stand the lobbyists pushing for a federal ban on online poker.  In the other, individual state lawmakers who are forging ahead with plans of regulated online poker for their residents. Three states – Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware – have thus far pushed on with legalized online poker, and New York could be up next. However, with disappointing returns reported to date and tax…

Gambling 911 – The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned Irish online bookmaker from ever promoting bets on the Oscar Pistorious trial.Some 65 complaints were considered after the controversial betting firm began taking wagers on the outcome of the paraplegic runner Pistorius’ murder trial.  The South African fatally shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp but claims he did so by accident out of fear an intruder had entered through a bathroom window. The company made matters worse by featuring Pistorius as an Oscar statuette during the Academy Awards with a caption that read: “money back if he walks”. The ASA…

iGaming Business – Gaming content supplier Realistic Games has announced the launch of two new multi-platform slot games. Mobile and desktop versions of ‘6 Apparel’ and ‘Jackpot Cherries’ will be rolled out across a host of operators and will also be available to new Realistic Games clients. Five-reel 6 Apparel features a top prize of 2,000 times the total stake, which is awarded when five 6 Apparel symbols line-up on any of the 20 win lines. Jackpot Cherries is a three-reel slot that features a traditional one-line arcade-style slot with nudges and holds, as well as a top prize of…

OSGA – Last weekend the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada hosted the first bitcoin expo in Toronto and while there were no easily recognizable names like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet in attendance, the conference was filled with individuals who are well versed and connected with bitcoin. Erik Voorhees who has generally been the spokesperson for the virtual currency in the United States was unable to attend so it was left to Anthony Di Iorio, the executive director of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada and the event organizer, Andreas Antonopoulos who is an author and expert on bitcoins and Stuart Hoegner…

Las Vegas Review Journal – Like much of Nevada, the casino industry is grappling with issues surrounding medical marijuana. So much so that gaming companies and regulators have had little to say publicly about doctor-prescribed pot. Medical marijuana has been legal in Nevada since 2000, but it took state lawmakers 14 years to allow dispensaries to operate. Now, with a state law in place calling for up to 66 potential medical marijuana outlets throughout Nevada, the issue is finding its way into gaming headquarters. No one has suggested Nevada casinos offer medical marijuana dispensaries as part of their retail amenities….