Associated Press – A divided Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Michigan can’t block the opening of an off-reservation American Indian casino because the state’s legal challenge is barred by tribal sovereign immunity. In a 5-4 decision, the high court said the state could not shutter the Bay Mills Indian Community’s casino about 90 miles south of its Upper Peninsula reservation. The ruling was a win for Indian tribes, which have increasingly looked to casinos as a source of revenue and have relied on immunity to shield them from government interference. But it’s a disappointment for Michigan and more than a…

Six Australians and a one person from New Zealand have reportedly been arrested in Thailand over an illegal gambling operation. Police used an undercover informant to place bets at the Ned Kelly Bar at Valentine’s Guest House in Pattaya on May 10th, the Pattaya Mail reported. The bets were made on Australian horse races broadcast over the internet onto large-screen televisions. Police raided the bar this month and arrested New Zealander Philip Smith, 59, who is allegedly the operator, and six Australians. Smith told police he had been accepting bets and paying according to the website rate, while receiving a…

Ho Chi Minh City police on Monday arrested 28 people in a major Vietnam gambling ring. The illegal lottery is believed to have operated for more than a year. Police said the ring’s kingpin is 36-year-old Nguyen Ngoc Thang, who had served three convictions of mugging, robbery and causing public nuisance. Preliminary investigation found Thang organized so de, an illegal numbers game based on the state lottery, allowing players to bet any amount they want for payoffs up to 80 times the original wager. He employed dozens of agents across the city to receive bets in this illegal Vietnam gambling…

Three state recognized tribes that are seeking federal recognition could push to open more casinos across Connecticut, which has local officials worried about traffic and land claims in the area. The Golden Hill Paugussetts in Colchester and Trumbull, the Eastern Pequots in North Stonington, and the Schaghticokes in Kent are closing on an approval from the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs that will change the current standard of proof required for tribes. “The casino issue is percolating again,” said First Selectman Rudy Marconi on Monday. The tribes are “trying to get the regulations relaxed so they can…

Birmingham Mail – A Birmingham gambling addict who lost £10,000 in a decade-long betting spree went on the rampage after frittering away his last £230. Hassan Yousaf smashed up a roulette machine with a stool, causing damage put at £6,000 at a Birmingham bookies. The 26-year-old lashed out at Ladbrokes branch in Green Lane, Small Heath, just a year after being convicted over a similar attack at a bookies in Manchester. After the first vandal attack, Yousaf told police he had gambled away £10,000 on fixed odds machines since he was 16. He told Birmingham Magistrates’ Court he was not…

Auckland Now – A new game show with a difference has hit our TV screens in a bid to help people recognise the early signs of harmful gambling. “This is a new approach to help people protect themselves and others from gambling harm,” Grant Reihana, Team Leader for Raukura Hauora o Tainui says. Department of Internal Affairs figures show more than $2 billion is lost to gambling nationwide each year. Mr Reihana says the same data shows more than $53 million was  lost to non-casino gaming machines in the Auckland region alone during the first three months of 2014. The…