iGaming Business – Online affiliate and sportsbetting service Freebets.com has announced its first foray into major horseracing sponsorship as part of an effort to boost its presence in the industry. The firm will lend its name to the 1:50 Grade Three Freebets.com Trophy Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse this Saturday at the track’s Festival Trials Day event. Previously known as the Murphy Group Steeplechase, the race has a prize fund of £50,000 (€60,761/$83,116) and the winner is likely to return to The Festival at the racecourse in March. The race has attracted 19 runners at the provisional stage, with six previous…

Bloomberg – Caesars Entertainment Corp., Genting (GENS) Singapore Plc and MGM Resorts International are in discussions with the Osaka government on plans for a 500 billion yen ($4.8 billion) casino resort. Officials met with Caesars and Genting last year and are scheduled to sit down with MGM in the next few months as Japan’s second-biggest metropolis expects Japan to end its ban on casinos, Osaka Prefecture Governor Ichiro Matsui said in an interview. “It’s just a matter of time before casinos are legalized,” he said. A gambling complex on reclaimed land Osaka owns would lure investment and tourists to a…

Journal Sentinel – In a move that brought about a tectonic shift in how states can legally offer gambling online, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a simple and discreet ruling that opened the gate for states and operators to offer online poker, bingo, lotteries and casino games to U.S. citizens. The ruling was timed to be as discreet as possible: issued Friday, Dec. 21, 2011, when many in the industry were either traveling or preparing for the Christmas holiday. The DOJ shifted its position regarding the Wire Act of 1961, which previously barred the transmission of betting data over…

Las Vegas Review Journal – Sports betting is big business in Nevada with $3.45 billion wagered in race and sports books statewide in the last reporting year. It also helps bring in millions of tourists annually to wager on the Super Bowl and NCAA basketball tournament. “Sports betting has been tremendous for us this year,” said Matthew Holt, vice president of business development at CG Technology, formerly Cantor Gaming. “We expect huge numbers this weekend from the final four in the NFL playoffs. Denver versus New England and Seattle against San Francisco will do very well.” But Las Vegas casinos…

Bloomberg – MGM China Holdings Ltd. (2282) fell the most in seven months, leading declines among Macau casinos after JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its rating to neutral and recommended investors trim holdings of rival operators. The operator controlled by MGM Resorts International (MGM) declined 6.6 percent, the most since June 11, to HK$32.65 at the close in Hong Kong trading. Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. fell 5.5 percent to HK$76.95. Sands China Ltd. (1928) and SJM Holdings Ltd. (880) dropped 4.1 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. “We believe the sector is at risk of entering a period where there is…

Courier-Journal – An attorney for a leading anti-gambling group in Kentucky said Wednesday that the General Assembly cannot approve a bill to regulate casinos until after the state constitution is changed by voters, which at the earliest would be in November. Stan Cave, an attorney for the Family Foundation of Kentucky, said a number of Kentucky court rulings say the legislature cannot act on something that it doesn’t already have the power to do under the state constitution. Cave made the comment in a hearing before the House Licensing and Occupations Committee, which gave opponents a chance to testify against…

The Telegraph – The smart money is on a gambling machine clampdown as early as this year, according to the bears at JPMorgan Cazenove. Ladbrokes dropped 8.1, or 4.9pc, to 158.6p and William Hill slid 6.6, or 1.8pc, to 355.4p after the broker’s betting experts said Government restrictions on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) were likely to be implemented in the autumn, although moves could be made earlier in 2014. “A reduction in stakes and/or prizes is the most likely outcome, in our view, which could be achieved within existing legislation,” the analysts argued. That in turn could lead to…

Journal Star – Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber thinks it’s high time that Nebraska approves casino gambling, which he says will raise money for tax relief and state aid to schools, among other things. Nebraska allows keno, horse racing and a lottery but has resisted video gambling machines and casinos. Casino gambling is allowed in the states that surround Nebraska. “We’re giving so much of this (gambling) money to other states. Why not save it for ourselves?” Karpisek asked. He introduced a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday (LR416CA) that would ask voters to approve casino gambling in the state. Under his…