At a gathering of the nation’s top law enforcement officers today, American Gaming Associations (AGA) President and CEO Geoff Freeman invited attorneys general, police chiefs and other top law enforcement officials to partner with the AGA in its “Stop Illegal Gambling – Play it Safe” initiative to crack down on illegal gambling operations across the country that harm consumers, steal jobs and deprive state and local governments of revenues that pay for vital public services. Freeman spoke at Beau Rivage in Biloxi during the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Presidential Initiative Summit. “Legal and regulated casino gaming in America is…

The Restoration of Americas Wire Act bill (known at RAWA) is in Congress and would ban Internet gambling. However, it could also inadvertently criminalize Nevada’s booming mobile sports wagering business, which has been credited with turning the Silver State’s sports books into a $3.9 billion-a-year industry. The measure, backed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson, is aimed at reversing changes made in 2011 to the 1961 Federal Wire Act. If approved, the RAWA bill would end most forms of online betting, including interactive poker in Nevada. Because the bill would stop transmission of gambling information through wire communications…

The Sheldon Adelson-inspired Restoration of America’s Wire Act, introduced in the House of Representatives by Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), would deal a severe blow to the fight for online poker regulation in the US if it were to be enacted. Just how severe depends largely upon the final language itself, as there are expected to be several ‘carve outs’ before it could pass. But could an anticipated exemption for state lotteries leave a large door open for hopeful online poker players? Delaware was the first state to enact online gaming, and by approaching it through their state lottery, it would seem…

Plans for “super-casinos” should be revived as controls are introduced to promote more responsible gambling, a senior figure in London’s gaming industry said today. Roy Ramm, governance and public affairs director at Caesars Entertainment, claimed casinos had improved their standards since the dispute over proposed super-casinos a decade ago. Plans for the giant gaming centres were scrapped by Gordon Brown. Mr Ramm called the current 2005 Gambling Act a “complete failure” that had not delivered casinos to communities that bid for them. The Act allowed new casinos to operate up to 150 slot machines when older ones were limited to…

Nevada has approved a bill to allow gaming equipment manufacturers to add a skill-based, arcade-style element to slot machines in the US state. Proposed by the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), Senate Bill 9 had already received approval from both legislative houses in the state and has how been passed on to be signed by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper, the bill will now enable manufacturers to create slot machines that have an element of skill and other features. The Nevada Gaming Commission will draft regulation to allow the development of technology into…

The Alabama Senate Marketing and Tourism Committee is to vote on a new bill that could lead to the legalisation of lottery and casino gambling in the US state. Put forward by Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, the amendment would create a state-wide lottery and bring casino gaming to the four dog racing tracks in Alabama. The bill would also issue the state’s Governor with the power to negotiate a gambling pact with the Parch Band of Creek Indians. Money from a lottery would be placed in a trust fund while gaming revenue would be taxed at a rate…